It's raining here

Daisy, originally uploaded by ilva-b.

How To Make Fresh Cheese

This weekend I have been making fresh cheese, I haven't made that for years but now I am at it again, it is so easy and it is so good! I use an old recipe that I really can't remember where I found, maybe I copied it from somewhere, maybe someone gave it to me, what I do know is that this recipe is a great base recipe and that you can embroider it as you feel like, I made traditional fresh cheese covered with chives and black pepper with one part of it and with the rest I just made plain ones that I served with honey. But I list a long list of ingredients that I will add in the future: garlic, fresh herbs, really finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes, olives are just a few. Just remember that if you are making sweet ones, you have to exclude the salt.





FRESH CHEESE
4 small ones

1,5 litres/6,3 cups whole fat milk
500 ml/2,1 cup fresh cream
2 tsp chemical or animal rennet, I use chemical that I buy in my pharamacy
1 tsp salt (if you make sweet ones, exclude this)

- Pour milk and cream into a pan and heat it up to about 50°C/122°F.
- Add salt and rennet and mix very well. Leave it to stand and stabilize for about 1,5 hour.
- Pour the liquid and all into a cheesecloth-lined colander or sieve set over a bowl or tray and leave it to drip off the excess liquid for 3 hours.
- If you want to add ingredients to the cheese, this is when you do it.
- Now you can eat it straight away if you want or you can take the fresh cheese and pack it into small draining baskets that you put on a plate or a tray and leave overnight.
- If you just want to cover the cheese with an ingredient or more, you put the finely chopped ingredient on a plate and then roll the cheese in it before serving it.

The Heart of the Matter- Winners and Announcement of April's theme

So we finally got two winners, one in each category and I am not going to make it a long wait for the hopefully happy winners! So here we go: there were no problems with getting a winner for the Best Presentation Category who wins the Hawaiian food parcel, Michelle and I are happy announce Bee and Jai from Jugalbandi as winners! Congratulations for a well deserved 1st place for their entry Baked Masala Nuts/Seeds! All you have to do is to send an email to Michelle (phillipslayden AT gmail DOT com) with you address and you will receive your prize in the post! And now we have the Best Recipe Catogory, here we had a tie between three entries but after a second voting we have a clear winner... eCurry and her Savory Layered & Nut Stuffed Chickpea Swirls! Congratulations from me and Michelle! Send me an email (luculliandelights AT gmail DOT com) with your address and I will send you your prize, the Italian food parcel!
Thanks to you all for participating and for voting!



But now it is time for the announcement of April's HotM theme, it was not difficult to choose a theme, it somehow presented itself because right now I see them all over the place! Have you guessed what I'm thinking of? Flowers. Yes, the theme of this month is flowers and you are pretty free to interpret it the way you want. If you need a little help to get started I am thinking dried flowers like lavender, roses or camomile which leads me to all the different herbal/flower teas that you can get or make, hibiscus/karkade is just one example. Saffron is flower related, there are quite a few types of honey that have clear flower connections, not to speak of all the edible flowers we can find. Or if you want you can present your dish as a flower. See there are an infinity of possibilities here and I am looking forward to see what you come up with! Please send me your entries to luculliandelights AT gmail DOT com, the deadline is Saturday, 25th of April! Remember that your entry should be low in saturated fats (lean meats and fish), be low in salt (sodium), and that you can be abundant with vegetables or fruit. See the HotM blog for useful links. Please only use your entry for this event so that we can keep things centered on heart-healthy recipes.

the fall

the fall, originally uploaded by ilva-b.

yellow

yellow, originally uploaded by ilva-b.

the road

the road, originally uploaded by ilva-b.

SOFT RICE CAKES WITH ONION, GOAT'S CHEESE AND THYME - Gluten-free

First I would like to ask you to head over here to give a decisive vote in the tie between three great recipes so that we finally have a winner in this month's HotM. Thank you for being so cooperative!
That done, I can go on with Gluten-free Friday. There are a lot of dishes that I make that are naturally gluten-free, apart from pasta and pizza, I think Italian cooking is quite a treasure trove if you want to eat delicious gluten-free food, the lack of those heavy sauces that often are flour based, the simple but tasty vegetable dishes that are abounding and meat and fish cooked in purity as they would say here are examples of what you find when you go out and eat.
This is a nice little starter to serve at any time, it is good all year round but maybe it's best right now when you can find fresh onions that still are pretty slim and sweet.





SOFT RICE CAKES WITH ONION, GOAT'S CHEESE AND THYME - Gluten-free
6 pieces

200 ml/0,85 cup rice, preferably a risotto rice like arborio, carnaroli or vialone
4 tblsp grated parmesan
9-10 small, rather thin fresh onions
thyme
6 slices of soft goat's cheese, you know the type with white rind
salt
extra-virgin olive oil

- Cook the rice in lightly salted water until soft but not too soft.
- Drain any eventual cooking liquid, add parmesan and stir it well.
- Clean the onions and cut them in halves, cook them slowly in olive oil and thyme until they are soft and a bit golden.
- Take a cookie circle or cookie cutter, mine has a diameter of 7,5 cm/7 in, put it on a baking sheet with parchment paper on and fill it with rice, pat it down, packing it a little. Take away the metal circle and you will have a rice cake. Repeat until you have all 6 done.
- Brush the cakes lightly with olive oil and bake the cakes in a pre-heated oven (225°C/440°F) for 8-10 minutes, this is to give the cake a crispier surface.
- Put three onion halves on each rice cake and then top with a slice of goat's cheese and, if you want, a small sprig of thyme.
- Bake in oven, still the same temperature as before, for 5-7 minutes but keep an eye on them just to be sure.

FILLO CIGARS WITH BANANAS, GINGER AND ALMONDS

For some strange reason I bought a lot of bananas a couple of days ago, I think I got seduced by the yellow colour and because they looked so good. They spoke to me and I responded. But they obviously have to be eaten and even though they eat bananas in my family, they never eat them when I buy many, only when I buy a few. It never fails so here I am with far too many bananas for my own good, well, was I should say because I made these little fillo cigars, easy to fix when you have sudden guests. For example.

My Mac is beeping now and then which means it could be a hard disc problem so if I disappear for a while, you know why!







FILLO CIGARS WITH BANANAS, GINGER AND ALMONDS
8 cigars

8 sheets fillo pastry sized 10 x 20 cm/3,9 x 7,9 in
2 bananas
30 blanched almonds, lightly toasted in the oven or in a skillet
1 piece of fresh ginger, finely chopped. How much is up to you
1-2 tbslp honey
1 pinch ground cardamom, optional

- Cut the bananas into small pieces and chop the almonds.
- Put them in a bowl and add ginger and honey, mix well.
- Put the fillo pastry rectangles on a flat surface, spoon 1,5-2 tblsp of banana mix in a string by one end and then roll it into a tube. Do this for all 8 of them.
- Put the tubes on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and bake in pre-heated oven (200°C/390°F) for approximately 10 minutes. If you want you can brush them with melted butter before the oven.

Tulips-the end, take 1

Tulips-the end, originally uploaded by ilva-b.

Tulips-the end, take 2

Tulips-the end, originally uploaded by ilva-b.

COFFEE AND CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH FARRO

For days I have had the intention to tell you that Michelle posted the roundup of this month's HotM is up and tell you that you must vote for best recipe and best presentation, check out details here and here, but I forgot it every time I posted here. Today I finally managed to get my old brain on strike to cooperate, about time as the deadline is really closing in so please hurry!

I had a sudden urge to make a coffee cake which I found rather strange as I dislike coffee with sugar but who am I to deny myself a baking session? I made it with farro/emmer flour because I like soft cakes made with a little wholemeal flour, I am no health fanatic, I just like the added flavour it gives cakes and cookies, more depth to the taste, and I take the healthier product as a bonus.





COFFEE AND CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH FARRO

3 eggs
200 ml/0,85 cup sugar
100 g/ 3,5 oz salted butter
150 ml/0,63 cup fresh cream
100 ml/0,42 cup very strong cold espresso, if you want a more distinct coffee taste, make it really really strong! 
100 g/3,5 oz high quality dark chocolate
300 ml/ cup farro/emmer flour. If you can't find it, try some other type of wholemeal flour
200 ml/0,85 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder

- Melt the butter. Chop the chocolate.
- Whisk sugar and eggs fluffy before adding butter, coffee, cream and chocolate. Stir well.
- Add flour and baking powder and mix properly.
- Pour into a baking tin and bake in a pre-heated oven (175°C/350°F) for 25-30 minutes.

the house

the house, originally uploaded by ilva-b.

FRITTATA WITH TENDER TUSCAN KALE AND POTATOES

One of the nice things with the winter here in Tuscany is the incredible winter greens that I can choose between, I am happy there is something that I can put on the plus side because I don't really like the winter much, I only like it because it provides that contrast which makes spring so incredible and I like it for the winter greens. Tuscan kale or cavolo nero is one of them, dark green with a strong, nice flavour, rustic is a perfect word for describing it, but when the big leaves are gone, a far more delicate kale appears on the very same stem, it is now the turn for the broccoletti or germogli di cavolo nero. They are just like miniature heads of kale, so small and delicate and you can eat them as they are in a salad or you can use them in a frittata like I did. If you get the chance to get hold of them, go for it, they are well worth trying out and I think Nature is great to give us small delicatessen like this now when we are in-between winter and spring produce!






FRITTATA WITH TENDER TUSCAN KALE AND POTATOES
a frittata for one

2 eggs
2 tblsp parmesan, freshly grated
a handful of broccoletti of Tuscan kale
1 small potato, peeled and diced
chili pepper, optional
garlic, whole or chopped
salt
extra-virgin olive oil

- Whisk egg and parmesan quickly.
- Start cooking the potato in olive oil together with the garlic and chili pepper. When it begins to soften, add the kale, salt and a little water.
- Let it cook until tender, then add the eggs.
- Fry on both sides and serve immediately.

the Magnolia House

the Magnolia House, originally uploaded by ilva-b.

CARROTS AND GREEN BEANS WITH ROSEMARY, GINGER AND PINE-NUTS

The carrot is an incredibly useful vegetable but usually it is used as a complement and, in my opinion, too rarely it is allowed to shine in its true splendour! Here it has a partner but it is a perfect partner in the sense that the beans don't take over, they leave space for the carrot to show itself. The same goes for the rosemary and the ginger, these two bring out the loveliness of the carrot - just like real friends. Real friends don't only think about themselves, they leave space for you too and even help you to shine brighter. Friendship is not always easy but it is a beautiful thing and I know for sure that my life would be so empty without my friends. And let's face it, life would be empty without carrots too!

I had this with egg noodles but you can just as well serve it as a side dish.





CARROTS AND GREEN BEANS WITH ROSEMARY, GINGER AND PINE-NUTS

carrots, sliced
green beans, lightly cooked
fresh rosemary, finely chopped
fresh ginger, finely chopped
garlic, finely chopped
pine-nuts
salt
extra-virgin olive oil

- Prepare the vegetables and start with slowly frying the carrots with the garlic.
- After 3-4 minutes add the beans, rosemary and ginger and go on cooking for another 5-10 minutes, it depends on how crispy you want your vegetables. Don't forget to salt.
- Serve as it is or with for example pasta or rice.

CHICKPEA FARINATA WITH TOMATOES, ONION, OLIVES AND HERBS - GLUTEN-FREE

Farinata is a Ligurian dish made with chickpea flour, water, salt and olive oil, just like the socca you find in Nice. I am very fond of farinata, it is one of those dishes that make me eat. And eat. And eat. And if you ever get tired of the original, you can always make this version where I added onion, tomatoes, olives and herbs-all ingredients that have a central position in Italian cooking. Another very positive aspect of this dish is that it is gluten-free which makes it so useful when you have gf guests, no need to make special food and make them feel singled out, not to speak about the beauty to be able to share the same food with everyone! And it is Gluten-free Friday after all!





CHICKPEA FARINATA WITH TOMATOES, ONION, OLIVES AND HERBS - GLUTEN-FREE
12-15 pieces

300 ml/1,2 cup chickpea flour
350 ml/1,5 cup water
0,5 tsp salt
3-4 tblsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 small tomatoes
0,5 medium onion
15-20 black olives
1-2 tblsp mixed fresh herbs, finely chopped

- Whisk chickpea flour, salt and water for a couple of minutes until it is smooth. Leave it to rest for 30 minutes or more.
- Chop tomatoes, onion and olives finely and mix in a small bowl. If the tomatoes are very watery, let them drip off the excess for a little while before adding them to the rest.
- Pour olive oil in a oven-proof form of approximately 25x29 cm/9,8x11,4 in, then pour the chickpea batter into the form as well.
- Sprinkle the tomato mix evenly over the surface and then bake it in a pre-heated oven (225°C/440°F) for 20-25 minutes.
- Let the farinata cool down before cutting it into squares or lozenges.

like snow but better

blossoms again, originally uploaded by ilva-b.

minute

minute, originally uploaded by ilva-b.

signal

signal, originally uploaded by ilva-b.

PASTA WITH GREEN PEAS AND FOUR HERBS

I am longing for fresh peas, I can't wait and it is in moments like these I am happy that someone have had the good idea to invent a. the freezer and b. frozen vegetables. The idea of keeping food cool and even freeze them is very old but to make it into an easy and manageable system is not that old, the first actual freezer that resembles what we use now is from the second half of the 19th century. How I like people who wants to solve a certain problem and then does it, it is admirable and inspiring. Anyway, I don't know how I managed to turn this into a eulogy of the invention of the freezer when I only wanted to share this easy-peasy (can't be anything else can it?) recipe with pasta and peas. I will not give you any measures because it is not that kind of dish, no, this is a "oh holy cow-we were supposed to be eating NOW" recipe and we know how they are made, on a hip as you say in Swedish. (Don't ask me how that is supposed to be explained but that's what we say)






PASTA WITH GREEN PEAS AND FOUR HERBS

pasta
green peas, fresh if possible but frozen are OK too
a fair amount of fresh thyme, sage, rosemary and oregano, finely chopped
a dash of white wine
garlic, slightly crushed or chopped, it depends on how strong you want it to be
salt
extra-virgin olive oil

- Start the pasta procedure.
- Heat up some olive oil and garlic in a skillet, add peas, herbs and salt and cook for 2-3 minutes while you stir it.
- Add a dash of wine and go on braising. When it dries up, add water and go on cooking until the peas are cooked and easy to mash. Don't mash them completely but leave some intact to get more texture.
- When the pasta is ready, add it to the peas and stir well while you keep it hot.
- Serve with our without freshly grated parmesan

AVOCADO CREAM SANDWICH WITH BRESAOLA AND WALNUTS

Making this sandwich has made me realize how people's opinion about food blogs has changed since I started 3 1/2 years ago. And how much media's attitude towards us has changed as well. Three years ago, the Cheese Sandwich Controversy exploded in the food blogging community after an article in Food & Wine, my friend good Kalyn happened to be one of the targets of the journalist's attack and soon a quite astounding amount of blog posts about cheese sandwiches started to pop up all over the place as a protest. I doubt that this would happen now because it seems to me that the media has accepted us and instead of regarding us a threat, they try to collaborate more and more with us. Happily cohabiting, more or less, just like it should be, we live and let live. What do you think, do you see it like I do? Has a truce been established between us?

Here is the sandwich, finally.





AVOCADO CREAM SANDWICH WITH BRESAOLA AND WALNUTS
1 sandwich

nice bread
1/2 avocado
1-2 tsp lemon juice
1 pinch of ground chili pepper
2-3 slices bresaola or some other type of dried meat. Or ham.
walnuts
fresh rosemary, the top of a small sprig
salt

- Scrape out the avocado 'meat' and mix it with lemon juice, salt, chili pepper and rosemary and run it in a blender until smooth.
- Cut the meat into strips and chop the walnuts.
- Spread out the avocado mix on the bread, cover with a layer of meat and top with walnuts.
- Sit down, take a bite and think about the importance of the right to blog about sandwiches without being ridiculed!