Yes, I DO go out by night

The Manzoni theatre by night, originally uploaded by ilva-sableye.

PEAR BALLS WITH PARMESAN AND TOASTED SESAME SEED COATING or PALLINE DI PERA CON UNA COPERTINA DI PARMIGIANO E SEMI DI SESAMO

I have just realized that one of my neighbours reads this blog (Ciao Aurelio!) and that he shows it to my other neighbours, well those who he socializes with because my tiniest of village is divided into two fractions. I have no idea if he actually reads what I write or if he just pops in now and then to take a look at the photos but I realize that I have to be careful with what I say here. Not that I would ever say what I really think about the things happening here on Lucullian as it concerns my opinions (positive and negative) about people around me but still... It makes me realize how much I want to separate my life in time and space (I refuse to call it my real life because my blog life is as real as any) and what I do on my blogs. I really don't understand why. Anyway, I found it out when I had a cup of coffee with one of my neighbours and she started to talk about my photos. She is from Apulia, the beautiful heel of Italy, and we had a nice chat about food which resulted in her giving me some of her treasured dried Apulian oregano. It pays of to be social sometimes! And this just proves my point, we always end up speaking about food here in Italy!

You need some finger food really fast? Then this is for you, it's even faster if you cut the pears into small cubes. (BTW, anyone out there who knows the technique of how to make perfect balls with one of these? I'm trying and trying but they rarely come out as perfect spheres)






PEAR BALLS WITH PARMESAN AND TOASTED SESAME SEED COATING or PALLINE DI PERA CON UNA COPERTINA DI PARMIGIANO E SEMI DI SESAMO

soft but still firm pears, I used Williams
parmesan cheese, grated
sesame seeds, toasted (optional)

- Toast the sesame seeds in a skillet and mix them with the grated parmesan.
- Peel the pears and scoop out small balls out of them with a melon or fruit baller. Or just cut them into small cubes.
- Roll the pear balls in the parmesan mix until completely covered and tick a toothpick into each of them and they are ready to go.

along the Arno

along Arno, originally uploaded by ilva-sableye.

A HEART HEALTHY STRAWBERRY SMOOTHIE WITH MINT AND OATS

I have forgotten to say that the HotM theme this month (Michelle of The Accidental Scientist is holding the reins) is Herbs, check out the announcement here and participate! I still eat a lot of strawberries and now and then I use them for a heart healthy smoothie like this. Instead of milk I used rolled oats that I had soaked in tepid water until they were really soft and then mixed together with the other ingredients so there's no animal fat in this smoothie, just heart healthy fruit and oats, that wonder grain when it comes to heart health!  And with a little mint, it picks you up anytime! 

A HEART HEALTHY STRAWBERRY SMOOTHIE WITH MINT AND OATS
1 servings

4 tblsp rolled oats
5 tblsp water
5 big sweet strawberries (sometimes I deep freeze them before using them so that I get a very cold smoothie)
1 small banana
a sprig of fresh mint leaves
(honey)

- Mix oats and water and let it stand for about 45-60 minutes or more if needed. The oats have to be really soft.
- Cut strawberries and banana into pieces, put these in a mixer, add the oats together with the water, add the mint and run the mixer until smooth.
- If needed you can sweeten the smoothie with honey.

I couldn't decide...

the seaside

umbrella, originally uploaded by ilva-sableye.

EASY STEAMED SPRING SALAD WITH RUNNER BEANS, RADISHES AND AVOCADO DRIZZLED WITH BALSAMIC VINEGAR & OREGANO or UN SEMPLICE INSALATA AL VAPORE DI TACCOL

Living in Italy has changed my life. Well that seems pretty obvious and it would be sad if it hadn't. What I mean is that it has changed how I behave and react, how I perceive myself and others and above all how I eat and perceive food. You can say many things about Italians but you can hardly call them shy and for a shy Swede it has been very liberating to live in a place where people aren't ashamed of themselves and what they do. A vast field of life opens up before you! You are supposed to grab your space and enjoy it and this has given me a better self confidence. That and growing older. And then we have what in Swedish is called 'outsidership', don't know if one can say so in English, this is something that I most of the time relish in the sense that I don't have to get caught within a specific social framework because I am a foreigner anyway, I will never be able to fit in perfectly. Sometimes it makes me feel a bit lonely but I would probably feel like that anyway. And then the food, I can still feel awe in front of the Italian food tradition, it's so rich and there's such a profound knowledge about ingredients and how to use them, changing from region to region. And the incredible interest Italians have for food and how nice it is to share food with them! The pleasure and satisfaction of sharing a meal with someone who really feel and care about what it tastes like and then to get the approval from those eating what you have cooked-that is unbeatable, only to be beaten by being a guest at the table of a good cook!





EASY STEAMED SPRING SALAD WITH RUNNER BEANS, RADISHES AND AVOCADO DRIZZLED WITH ACETO BALSAMICO AND OREGANO or UN SEMPLICE INSALATA AL VAPORE DI TACCOLE, RAVANELLI E AVOCADO CON ORIGANO E ACETO BALSAMICO

fresh runner beans or taccole
radishes
avocado
cucumber in very small dice or whatever it can be called
a small sprig of fresh oregano, chopped
balsamic vinegar
salt
extra virgin olive oil

- Cut the broad beans into pieces (2,5 cm/1 in) and slice the radishes. Steam the beans for about five minutes before adding the radish and then steam on for no more that 3 minutes, probably less, we want to have some fresh crunch in this salad.
- Slice the avocado.
- Mix olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and the chopped oregano.
- Put the beans and the radishes on the plates, arrange 3-4 slices of avocado on top, sprinkle diced cucumber over it all and drizzle the vinaigrette over before serving

crossings

crossings, originally uploaded by ilva-sableye.

TAPIOCA CREAM WITH STAR ANISE AND CANDIED GINGER

I feel quite boring right now, I think we all go through times when our own voice and the stupid things we bleat out sometimes make us think "What? Did I manage to say a thing like that? What has happened to me?" At least that is how I feel now and then and I wonder "Where did I go? What happened to what I once was?" As if I was any better then. The tricks we play on ourselves, the self deceptions, they never stop to amaze me. Anyway, I was going to say that I wouldn't bore you today with a lot of words and here I go again, I should just shut up and get on with the recipe, that's what I should do.

Tapioca cream, now that can sound booring, a quiet, rather bland dish but it is really very satisfying as comfort food. Well, I don't think I need comfort right now, I need to wake up and get going mentally so I started with pepping up my tapioca cream with star anise and candied ginger! I made it a bit lighter by using both milk and water.




TAPIOCA CREAM WITH STAR ANISE AND CANDIED GINGER
3-4 servings
100 g/ 3,5 oz tapioca pearls
300 ml/ 1,25 cup water 
200 ml/ 0,85 cup milk
4-5 tblsp sugar but if you like it sweet take more
2-3 star anise
4-5 tsp candied ginger, finely chopped

- Put all the ingredients except the ginger in a pan and let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
- Add the chopped ginger and simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Leave it to cool down and eat!

Books and cookbooks!

Lately I have received three books very different from each other, two cookbooks and one novel about food. I am a compulsive reader even though I have got better but still I have to read before I go to sleep and if I manage, there's nothing better that waking up, stretching out a hand and grab a book and read for an hour or so. What you see above is a photo of my bedside table, these are books that I am going to read or am reading because I am always reading several books at one time, I just have to read something that suits my mood and as that changes from day to day, I always have a book going on to match it. Always been like that. Next to my bed there is also a bookshelf with half of the cookbooks I have, those that I like to read but not cook from that often, those I use often I keep in the kitchen. So in this way I can also grab a cookbook when I feel like it, laying on my bed and reading cookbooks almost beats my sofa!
But now over to the books I have received.


The first one is the cookbook Spain and the World, the offspring of the Culinary Institute of America’s 2006 “Worlds of Flavor” International Conference and Festival. The text is by Martha Rose Shulman. This is lavish book, full of beautiful recipes and photos. There is an attractive mixture of traditional recipes and reinterpretations made by both Spanish and American chefs and the recipes span over tapas, soups, vegetables, meat, seafood, rice dishes and desserts so you get a rather braod view of what the Spanish cuisine has to offer. A very attractive feature of this cookbook is that now and then you find informative texts on ingredients,regions and traditions so that you are not just left alone with a new culinary experience, you also have help in understanding what Spanish cooking is about and that is one of the most important aspects about cooking that there is, a deeper understanding of what you are trying to make.


Then I received Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs, a novel about a successful TV chef with her own program who faces changes on both the professional and the personal level. Now I am lousy at explaining plots and give directions so I will not to that, you can read about it here instead where you actually find the 'mock' site of CookingChannel, the TV channel of the novel. What I can say is that I did enjoy the book, it is one of those books that are perfect when you want to read something that is pleasant but not stupid and who am I to resist a writer who actually mentions food blogging, briefly but it's there! And Jacobs also mentions the Julia Child bread that I made for the Daring Bakers Challenge a couple of month ago, that made me feel in tune right from the beginning!

The last book of today is the cookbook FOOD 2.0 by Charlie Ayers who was the chef of google.com. Although the recipes maybe aren't exactly what I usually make, I have to say that this cookbook inspired me, Ayers insistence on freshness and healthy and his useful suggestions how at like that even if you live a busy life made me want to start cooking straight away. The book is divided into two parts, the first part deals with ingredients and a lot of practical and often very smart tips and in the second you find a lot of easy and healthy recipes. I read it like a novel more or less! There are a lot of great photos as well, in my review copy they are in b&w but that doesn't diminish their impact so I'm sure they look even better in colour.

the reality of shadows

oak leaves, originally uploaded by ilva-sableye.

CHEESE AND RADISH SANDWICH WITH AVOCADO AND FAVA BEAN CREAM

It is Mother's Day today and I just read that it was instituted in US in 1870 by the pacifist Julia Ward Howe as a day to reflect upon war and what it brings along with it. (Though we mustn't forget that it was loosely based on the British Mothering Day which has roots in the 16th century) I have to say it has travelled far since then as this is the first time I ever heard about that. What a pity, imagine what a lot of good could be done if the money spent on gifts on us mothers in countries in peace was spent on all those millions of mothers who find themselves in the middle of wars or in the the aftermaths of war. Money spent on helping them to build up a secure future for themselves and their families. I personally never liked Mother's Day, nor Father's Day, as it has turned into a more or less commercial venture so unlike Julia Ward Howe meant it to be. I have reminded my forgetful children about it though, hoping to be able to use it against them as a way to give me the great gift of being nice to each other and that they pick up their things after them, a kind of emotional blackmail and no I am not at all ashamed of it because I am not blaming them, just using it as an argument, after all it should be a day to promote peace and that includes my peace of mind too...



A cheese sandwich with an attitude, that's how I would describe this Cheese and Radish Sandwich with Avocado and Fava Bean Cream. I dedicate it to my mother and Julia Ward Howe.






CHEESE AND RADISH SANDWICH WITH AVOCADO AND FAVA BEAN CREAM
1 sandwich

1 slice of sourdough whole wheat bread but obviously you can take any good bread
1 big leaf of salad, cut into thin strips
1/2 big mature avocado
3 tsblsp fresh fava beans, shelled
a piece of fresh chili, chopped
2 radishes, thinly sliced
two rather thick slices of cheese cut into thin strips
salt

- Mash the avocado, add as much chopped chili as you feel like and the fava beans. If you like you keep some for decoration. Add salt.
- Put the salad strips on the slice of bread and then add the mashed avocado on top.
- Sprinkle the sliced radishes on top and then finish the whole with the strips of cheese.

CHILI SAUTEED EGGPLANT WITH BEANS, PARSLEY AND LEMON

There are a lot of things that I want to write about right now, ideas pop in and out of my head with the speed of light which also means that I don't always remember all these ideas. But today I wanted to write about the Paper Chef, your response was nice to see and some of you had some ideas of how Paper Chef could change. One of these was to extend the time to a month and maybe this would make more people participate but it would also take away what is particular about PC and turn it into one of many events. Right now you have 6 days to come up with something and I personally think that this is more than enough, one argument for the extension of time is that it is difficult to plan ahead with PC but it isn't really because it always on on the first weekend of the month so you will always know when it is going to take place. Another problem seems to be the difficulty in finding ingredients, well then you are allowed to substitute it with something similar, just explain why you have to do it and start creating! If you are uncertain, send me an email and I'll try to help you. I have started to announce it over at Is My Blog Burning and if you know any other places to announce it on, please tell me. I will do it over at Food Blog S'cool as well. So as I said, I give Paper Chef one or two more months to see how things are going and then if it there are not enough interest, RIP PC .
But now you have to click over to Hank to see who is this editions winner! I already know that so I will continue here with the recipe.(Thank you every one who voted for me!!)





CHILI SAUTEED EGGPLANT WITH BEANS, PARSLEY AND LEMON

eggplant
fresh chili pepper
garlic
cannelini or borlotti beans, cooked
parsley, chopped
lemon juice
salt
extra virgin olive oil

- Clean and dice the eggplant.
- Chop the chili pepper and the garlic, heat them up in olive oil and add the diced eggplant. Salt it.
- Sauté until the eggplant is golden, then take it out of the pan and let it drop of excess fat on kitchen towel paper.
- Put the beans in a bowl, add plenty of parsley and squeeze a good squeeze of lemon juice over it all. Add olive oil and stir.
- Add the eggplant, mix well and serve.

geometrically

geometrically, originally uploaded by ilva-sableye.

hairy

hairy, originally uploaded by ilva-sableye.

PAPER CHEF 29 - The Roundup (?)

This is the smallest roundup I have ever made and I find it both funny and sad. Funny because it looks ridiculous with a roundup with only two entries of which one is my own and sad because I wonder if the Paper Chef is dead after all... I love the Paper Chef, so much so that I wanted to resurrect the event when Owen felt that he didn't have the time to keep up with it but now I wonder if there is any meaning in keeping it going. The food blogging world has changed a lot since I started out 2,5 years ago (well almost 3 if I count my Swedish food blog), not only has the type of person who food blogs changed and why people blog about food, there are now so many different events that it seems that poor Paper Chef has become a relic of a past way of blogging. I will give Paper Chef one more month but if there are too few participants, I will let go of my old love...
But now over to the roundup!

Tammy of FOOD ON THE FOOD is participating for the first time (let's hope it's not the last). I like Tammy, not only does she make good food and keeps up a wonderful Friday feature where she blogs about her Italian family recipes, she is also funny in her own intelligent quirky way. Sometimes I read her posts and I feel envious, I wish I had written that. And she's a nice person too. I do hope she has some flaws somewhere though, apart from her extramarital crush on The Farmer. OK OK, I'll tell you about what she made for the PC: luscious Fava Bean Bruschetta with Prosciutto and Honey with Shaved Fennel Salad. Sounds good doesn't it?

and then I made these Prosciutto Bakets with Rosemary and Honey Scented Fennel Cream Topped With Fava Beans.

Now Hank, over to you - it's time for judging, I'm sorry for the scarcity of entries but at least you have two to choose from!

and here you can vote for the People's Choice:

People's Choice
	Tammy's Fava Bean Bruschetta with Prosciutto and Honey with Shaved Fennel Salad
	Ilva's Prosciutto Bakets with Rosemary and Honey Scented Fennel Cream Topped With Fava Beans
Free polls from Pollhost.com