Monthly Archives: May 2007

Vegetable lasagne

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Lasagne.jpg

It’s spring, and I’m sick! Outside is beautiful all the time, sunny (except a major storm this morning!), hot, enjoyable, and all I can do is to stay inside, all covered, coughing… And so I NEED comfort food, I really do!!!
I don’t know where I found the strength to cook lasagne, not even where I’m founding the strength to write this post, but here I am! Very short: for once I’m not giving you real direction, neither measurements…
Sorry… I still love you very much, do the same with me…
Sorry: when I’m sick I tend to be sentimental… When I was a little girl, every time I got sick, I dictated my will to my mom, leaving all my possessions to my dog…

Anyway…

I’ve used ready made dry lasagne sheets. I made a vegetable ragù with diced tomatoes, aubergine, onion and courgette. I made my usual yoghurt béchamel.
One layer of pasta, one layer of veggy, one layer of béchamel, one layer of pasta, and so on and on….
End with béchamel, cook in preheat oven, eat and fell better…

Japanese curry (or so they say on the package!!!)

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Japanese curry.jpg

I’m not so fond of ready made food. But sometimes, once in a while, a get very lazy (Ah! I’m always lazy!!!) and use industrial stuff, and that normally happens when I do not read the list of the ingredients BEFORE I buy it… And that doesn’t happen so often… But sometimes, you know, you find yourself in the aisles of one of the biggest Chinese supermarket in town, you see colourful stuff, written with nice ideograms, with a nice picture on the package and you think: Well, why shouldn’t I buy it???
And that’s what I did… And of course, once I buy it, I have to use it (I hate to waste food)…
And it wasn’t so bad, at all… It tasted like some lousy Indian restaurant (don’t ask my why they make in Japan a curry mix that tastes like Indian curry)… And that’s not exactly comforting… But you know, as long as you don’t read the list of the ingredients… Really, it wasn’t bad at all… And we are still alive… It was OK… You know, as long as you add fresh ingredients… No, it tasted OK, really…

1 tablespoon of oil
1 red pepper
2 little potatoes
1 onion
360 ml of water
1/2 package of Tasty Curry Sauce Mix, Medium Hot
250 g chosen fish, in chunks (I used cod)

Cut red pepper, onion and potatoes (peeled) in thick stripes. Stir fry the onion with the oil, add the vegetables, stir fry for few minutes and add water. Once the vegetables are cooked, add the curry stuff and the fish. stir and cook for 5-10 minutes or until the fish is cooked. Serve immediately, with some rice.

The discovery of the century!.jpg

I have a new idol!

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I love food communities, and I think Serious Eats is one of the best: they are funny, wit and smart and they have that certain edge (that I like) when speaking about food: it’s a serious matters, ok, but a bit of lightness never hurt anybody!
through them I’ve just discover my new idol: Mr. Minimalist Mark Bittman! I love his article on no expensive kitchen equipments: he couldn’t be more right!!!
I know that he’s well know in America (hell! He writes for the New York Times), but as I live in Italy, is quite difficult to reach for the New York Times (if not on line!) everyday…
But now I will be updated through their feed… (I love feeds…)
Thanks Serious Eats to make me discover this, among the other thousand discoveries I’ve made through your community…

Cupcakes for K

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My dear sweeeeet friend K today turns (insert the number you like)!!! And tonight we’ll party!
I made her this lavender cupcakes I found on one of my favorite blog: thanks so much Chockylit for being a constant source of inspiration! Your cupcakes are gorgeous!!!
The only thing I’ve changed was the decorations (the original one was of course much nicer!!! I’m a real mess!): I added a nice Toulouse violet on top!

And now a food dilemma for you all: why on earth cupcakes are a big hit in the States and back here, in Italy, we don’t even know what are??? They are simple, quick, fancy and you can flavor them with practically anything you want… Why???
As much as why we don’t even know what macarons are… Why???

In my dreams lately I often see a little cake shop in a narrow, old street, with 2 or 3 tables and chairs (may be 2 tables even outside, for spring and summer), the scent of freshly baked goods mixed with the different flavors of the most fragrant teas in the world, people relaxing and chatting, a beating sound coming from the back kitchen, a smiling young Italian woman in the back, decorating cakes…
But that’s just a dream…
:-)

Monthly Mingle: Spring (rainy) soup

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Zuppa d'asparagi.jpg

It’s finally raining!!! After a very long period of sun (and it was beginning to annoying me: I love rain!!!) we finally have a long deserved rain! So now everybody can complain about rain, and how it will ruin the crops, and that of course veggy and fruits will be expensive… Exactly how they would complain if there was sun…
Anyway, asparagus are THE spring vegetable, and as we are deeply in to spring and soon even the asparagus season will be over, let’s make something with them!
I personally love them just steamed, qith nothing more… When I was living at my parents, we had many asparagus Sunday’s lunch: many bunches of asparagus, steamed and eaten just with some butter, fried eggs and lots of Parmesan cheese… Heaven!
But as is raining, the only way that came to my mind to cook the sad asparagus that were living in my fridge since two weeks, was to soup them!
Just boil all the asparagus, except some heads, in not to much salted water.
Mix everything and enjoy with the steamed heads!
W spring!

Warning: no food realted post

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Update: and at this point, will our super chic, super wit, super bright heroine win over the ugly, nasty and evil hobbit? (No offence to hobbits)
Sorry, after watching all the debate, my nice inspirational mood of early morning was washed away by too many “Madame, are you nervous? Why?”, said with that nasty smile on his face… Grrr…

I’m married with a French man, we live in Italy, and this Sunday he is going to vote for the second round of the French presidential election at the Milan French Consulate.
I’m watching the debate that took place yesterday night.
I’m almost in tears… Happy tears!
6 month ago I told my husband that if Ségolène Royal was going to win, we were moving to France.
Watching the debate, honestly, I would like to live in France even if Sarko (and I assure I don’t like him AT ALL) wins…
Such class, charm, wit, both of them use their brain.
Of course Ségolène says what I want to ear form the head of the state I would like to live in, but I realize that even the Sarko point of view is understandable.
Let’s speak clearly: they are both great politician, they know what they are doing and what they are going to do. Italian politicians don’t: they don’t know what they are doing, they don’t even know what they would like to do…
W la France!
And now I’m going to look how much will it cost a nice little flat… Toulouse, maybe Lyon… Paris is to expensive, but we’ll never know… ;-)
And if everything goes wrong, there is always the possibility that Hilary will win in 2008!!!

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