briciole

intermezzo

composition on the beach / composizione sulla spiaggia There comes a time when mind needs some rest from the thoughts that occupy it daily and the body can use a change of air. The answer is called vacation and that is where I was last week. Ad un certo momento la mente ha bisogno di lasciar andare per un po' i pensieri che la occupano e preoccupano ogni giorno e al fisico fa piacere un cambiamento d'aria. La risposta si chiama vacanza e ci sono stata la settimana scorsa. kitchen wall decoration / decorazione su muro di cucina For a week,... Read more →

gocce di pioggia come perle / raindrops like pearls

mother nature as jeweller I am endlessly fascinated by the way raindrops embroider leaves and flowers in my garden, especially nasturtium leaves. Flowers, young leaves and seedpods of garden nasturtium are edible and I have featured them in some recipes: my Rattlesnake bean salad uses nasturtium-infused vinegar and my roasted cauliflower uses the pickled seedpods. Preview: a story I wrote about the nasturtium in our garden will appear in the upcoming issue of Remedy Quarterly. This week, I have the honor of hosting Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook and now... Read more →

giardino di alghe / seaweed garden

a garden of seaweeds A particularly low low tide (-1.862 ft / -56.75 cm) turned this Northern California beach into a special garden with many varieties of seaweeds, some of them edible, like kelp, nori, rockweed and sea lettuce. I didn't harvest any seaweed the day I took the photos, but I have in the past and have some at hand for use in the kitchen. and seagrass There were also tufts of seagrass. Note the interesting shape of the rock on the top left. This is my contribution to edition #135 of Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography... Read more →

Dallas Divide Ranch

at the entrance Two images from our recent weekend in Western Colorado, land of many beauties. On our way back from Ouray to Telluride, the low gray sky kissing the green hills brought us to stop the car not far from the entrance of a ranch. We stood for some time in the silence of a moment totally owned by nature. hills and clouds Dallas Divide (el. 8,983 feet (2,738 m)) is a high mountain pass in the United States state of Colorado located on State Highway 62 about 12 miles (19 km) west of the town of Ridgway. The pass... Read more →

nasturzio all finestra / garden nasturtium at the window

edible window decoration I am looking at the bench in our garden and my view is framed by the intrepid garden nasturtium that has come inside our living room through one of the windows. I have been watching it grow, wondering where it will go, fascinated by its tenacity. Flowers, young leaves and seedpods of garden nasturtium are edible and I have featured them in some recipes: my Rattlesnake bean salad uses nasturtium-infused vinegar and my roasted cauliflower uses the pickled seedpods. I am planning to test additional creative uses for the plant in the coming weeks. Above is a cluster... Read more →

orecchiette e luna piena / orecchiette and full moon

orecchiette on my kneading board... I am working on a new version of orecchiette and also on a new pasta shape. Above is a monochromatic preview of the former. and an "orecchietta" in the sky This is my original post on orecchiette, so you can start practising with your hands. The upcoming post will have some more details based on my experience teaching pasta-making workshops. Update: this post describes in detail how I made the orecchiette in the top photo, using toasted chickpea flour together with semolina flour. This is my contribution to edition #121 of Black and White Wednesday -... Read more →

volare sulle ali di un arcobaleno / flying on a rainbow's wings

a break in the clouds When all is gray around and inside me, a patch of blue sky tells me that gray is not forever. Quando tutto intorno e dentro di me è grigio, un pezzo di cielo azzurro mi sussurra che grigio non è per sempre. rain behind, clear sky ahead And a rainbow makes my eyes look up. E un arcobaleno mi fa alzare lo sguardo da terra. elegant arc When I fear my creativity has deserted me, a rainbow that materializes in front of my eyes reassures me and I can face the blank page again. Quanto temo... Read more →

nuvole nel cielo / clouds in the sky

spectacular sunset The sun sets every day, each day in a different way. Il sole tramonta tutti i giorni, ogni giorno in modo diverso. suspended in space and time Watching the sunset is a way of honoring the day that is ending. Guardare il tramonto è un modo per rendere omaggio al giorno che sta finendo. above the clouds, close to the sky I took the three photos above from the sunset viewing area close to the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station at 9,200 foot (2,800 meter) altitude. (We did not go to the top during this visit to the Big... Read more →

il parco nazionale del Grand Teton / Grand Teton National Park

My adoptive country has many stunningly beautiful parks. Here, I will share some photos I took in September (right after Labor Day) during a short vacation (vacanza) in Grand Teton National Park. (There will be no food in this post.) Per i lettori italiani: potete leggere informazioni sul parco su questa pagina. The first day of our stay, the weather was perfect and we spent several hours kayaking on String Lake and Leigh Lake. The following day, however, a front (perturbazione) arrived. The front signaled the change of the season. It brought snow (neve) on the mountains (montagne). This forced us... Read more →