briciole

mani che formano la pasta / hands shaping pasta

A photo of my hands shaping an orecchietta. I used the timer on the camera for this shot and I like the framing, which was not planned in detail. This is my contribution to edition #52 of Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook and hosted this week by the creator herself. The photo was shot in color and then converted to black and white. This post contains the gallery of images submitted to the event. On this page, you can find out who is hosting the current and future editions of... Read more →

Edizione speciale: Novel Food #17 / Announcement: Novel Food #17

What are you reading now? I am reading and enjoying Going to Solace by Amanda McTigue and Thomas Jefferson's Crème Brûlée by Thomas J. Craughwell. Both books have a food component, so I may talk about them in the near future. As you can imagine based on the logo on the left, today I am announcing a new edition of Novel Food, the culinary/literary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I started in the fall of 2007. I am now carrying the torch. I am a bookworm and this event is really close to my heart as it brings together... Read more →

caponata di melanzane / eggplant caponata

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] The Abbecedario culinario d'Italia (Italian Culinary ABC) invites us to visit Sicilia (Sicily), and this time I have some photos to share from a visit to Palermo (capital of the region) five years ago. One characteristic of the city that fascinated me was the juxtaposition of sumptuous architecture and urban disrepair. Here are a couple of examples. PALERMO CATHEDRAL The Cattedrale dazzles the eyes with its rich decorations. SAN CATALDO The 12th-century Norman church of San Cataldo catches the eyes with its set of pretty red domes. FONTANA PRETORIA Piazza Pretoria is... Read more →

cartello alla fiera / sign at the harvest festival

SIGN AT THE SHARON SPRINGS HARVEST FESTIVAL Continuing the series of interesting signs at food events, here is one I observed during a visit to the Sharon Springs (NY) Harvest Festival last weekend. This is my contribution to edition #51 of Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook and hosted this week by Cinzia of Cindystar. The photo was shot in color and then converted to black and white. This post contains the gallery of images contributed to the event. On this page, you can find out who is hosting the current... Read more →

risveglio / waking up

THE VIEW FROM THE BED I have been away from home for a week, away from my kitchen. I am in a beautiful place, surrounded by beautiful people. More on the trip in a future post. Read more →

borlotti freschi / fresh cranberry beans

pods have yielded their treasured content For a brief period, towards the end of summer, these beautiful organic beans from Warren Creek Farms are available at the Arcata Farmers' Market. I bought 5 lbs. of them and shelled them in while waiting for dinner to cook. Their marbled pod and skin is eye-catching even in monochrome version. This is my contribution to edition #50 of Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook and hosted this week by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once. The photo was shot in color and... Read more →

Halloumi fatto in casa / homemade Halloumi

Halloumi and Anari from its leftover whey Halloumi is from the island of Cyprus and is characterized as a semi-hard, unripened, and brined cheese made traditionally from mostly sheep's milk with the addition of a smaller amount of goat's milk. Modern Halloumi is made from a mix of goat's and sheep's milk, and sometimes cow's milk is added. Thus Jim Wallace introduces this wonderful cheese on the page dedicated to his recipe for making Halloumi at home. Every month, Jim contributes a cheese recipe to the Moosletter, the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company newsletter and I look forward to receiving it... Read more →

Presto Pasta Nights #280: il riepilogo / the roundup

It's Friday and time to share the pasta dishes that I have received as contributions to edition #280 of Presto Pasta Nights, the popular event created by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast. For each contribution, I will give you the official information (author, blog name and post title) and a short quote or brief description — a teaser that invites you to follow the link to read the relevant post. Priya of The Humpty Dumpty Kitchen prepared Tortiglioni with Fire Roasted Tomatoes and Lime Infused Béchamel — "What I wanted to do was a lime infused cream sauce... The only... Read more →

fusilli al ferro / handmade fusilli

handmade fusilli with browned butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano In learning to make maccheroni al ferro, I saw the possibility of using the same simple tool to create another type of pasta shape. Slightly different hand movements result in different shapes. (from this post) This is what I meant: Browsing around, I found a video where the hand movements are basically the same as mine: as I suspected, I had made fusilli. In Italian fusillo means small fuso (spindle). As I have mentioned before, the names of pasta shapes may be a bit confusing. For example, in this video Rosetta Costantino shows how... Read more →

cartelli al mercato / signs at the farmers' market

Healthy soil feeds healthy plants... — Ingredients: Soil, Water, Air, Sun, and some Chicken Manure. Feel free to ask! A quick visit to Portland, last weekend, included a tour of the Saturday farmers' market at PSU, where I took the two photos above. I had read that it was nice and it surpassed my expectations: it was wonderful. We bought apples, bread, blueberries, cherry tomatoes, chocolates, hazelnuts, and wheat bran. We enjoyed a lovely morning surrounded by good food. NO SPRAYS! Nada, Zip, Zilch Before that, I visited Art in the Pearl, an amazing showcase of artists: browse the website to... Read more →