Miscellaneous Sunday photos

Green scene with figure


Still Life found on beehive


Slopers

RED CABBAGE SALAD WITH EGGS, CHIVES AND FRIED BREADCRUMBS

It is a cold cold winter this year, yet again we have minus degrees in the morning but as January is almost over, I just know that soon, very soon this will change. At least I hope so and i am already beginning to look forward a little to what the spring will bring that I can cook with. And look at, because here it is always a feast for the eye as well! But there is still a lot of good food around!



Cabbage is not everyone's favourite vegetable, I know, but I like it quite a lot. The only problem with it is that it is a bit of a cold vegetable, it is somehow best to eat uncooked or at least that is how I prefer it but that makes it cold, it feels colder than many other vegetables I eat raw. And while we're at it, a little unfriendly too, I think that is because when you slice it (unless you make paper thin slices) it is 'spiky' and it is difficult to bend and comfortably put on a fork which means that I don't always feel like eating it when it's is a chilly day. But this salad is not like that, to make the cabbage bend to my will, I steamed it for a couple of minutes and that turned it into a far more enjoyable companion!





RED CABBAGE SALAD WITH EGGS, CHIVES AND FRIED BREADCRUMBS

red cabbage
hard-boiled egg yolks
breadcrumbs, with or without gluten in the
chives, chopped
any vinaigrette or dressing that you like and you thinks goes well here
extra-virgin olive oil

- Slice the cabbage and steam it for 2-3 minutes. If you want it to be really soft, you just steam it a bit longer, I like it to still have a bit of crunch and do it quickly!
- I suggest you to add some of the vinaigrette to the cabbage while it is still hot so that it absorbs the flavours better.
- Fry the breadcrumbs in some olive oil and let them drip off any excess fat on kitchen towel paper.
- Put the cabbage in a bowl, add the crumbled hard-boiled egg yolks, the chopped chives and the fried breadcrumbs then drizzle vinaigrette over and toss it quickly before serving.

SUNSHINE CAKE

When I in December wrote about the pleasure reading my mother's old cookbooks gives me, I was surprised by the feedback I got through comments and emails and it sparked off an idea about these treasured cookbooks we have around us. A couple of years ago, I did two pseudo events, it started off with me showing my kitchen in a blog post and timidly suggesting people to send me a link to a post where they showed us their kitchens and I was so surprised when I ended up with 50 kitchens to show! Six month later I made it again, this time it was Show Us Your Apron with 49 proud aprons on show. Then I stopped but now I feel it is time again, if you are interested that is, with a Show Us Your Most Treasured Cookbook! I think many of us, maybe everyone, have a cookbook that is special for some sentimental reason, it could be one that has belonged to someone who meant very much to you, a cook book that you cooked from when a child or maybe a cookbook with a recipe that you cooked on a very special occasion; there must be thousands of reasons why a cookbook has become a treasured cookbook but only you know the reasons to why yours is one. So why not share this with us? Make blog post about your most treasured cookbook, give us the story behind it and, if you feel like it, cook something out of it and make a link to this post. Send me your link to luculliandelights AT gmail DOT com, please put Show Us Your Cookbook as a subject so I don't trash it by mistake, before the 17th of February and I will make a roundup of all our treasured cookbooks. If any. If you don't have a blog, you can send me the story and I will post it in the roundup post.



If you are an habitual reader here, you know that my treasured cookbook is a book about baking. For a long time I had no idea of the title because I have only seen it in the sad state you can see in the pictures, no covers or details about printing year but I now know that it is a very early edition of the book, Sju Sorters Kakor, (first published in 1946) that has sold most copies ever in Sweden - 3,5 millions! And that in a country that now has reached 9 million inhabitants. I bet that most of my Swedish readers have a copy at home because it is a very good baking book, my children always use it when they want to bake. I started my baking career with it too and the cake you see here is the one I always made, often just because I wanted to eat the batter that I loved. And the cake tin you see is identical to the one I always used. The cake is really easy to make but always good, they still have it in the 87th printing that I have here next to me, there are some very small changes but it is still a winner but I obviously use the original recipe.






SUNSHINE CAKE
from Sju Sorters Kakor

3 eggs
300 ml/270 g/9,5 oz sugar
150 g/5,3 oz butter, melted
300 ml/210 g/7,4 oz flour
1 tsp baking powder

- Whisk eggs and sugar for 10 minutes by hand.
- Add the melted butter and mix well.
- Sift or just add the flour and baking powder and stir until smooth.
- Put the batter in a greased and breaded cake tin and bake in a pre-heated oven (175°C/350°F).
According to recipe you can put blanched and sliced almonds on top before putting it in the oven but I never ever did this so I didn't do it now either.

TIAN WITH POTATOES, MUSHROOMS AND ROSEMARY

Let's talk about potatoes. Potatoes have had an important role in my life since I was a child, I can't say that I remember much of eating them, except that my brother loved potato purée and I didn't, I still don't but I love what my mother called potato stomp which is a very rustic variation of the potato purée, I think the name says it all! I wonder if my brother still loves it, must ask him. Anyway, I do have vivid memories of making stamps out of potatoes, both at school and at home (now when I come to think of it, I have completely forgotten to teach my youngest how to do it, will do this afternoon!), I can't say that the prints were beautiful but it did show me that you can turn one thing into another which is a useful exercise in itself. I also remember making animals out of them as well but that they always had to heavy bodies for the sticks we used for legs and crashed ungracefully into the ground they stood on. Quite cruel actually.



Growing older, I began to love the potato for its taste and incredible adaptability. If potatoes could be made spies, they would be perfect, they go so well with almost everything and never ever do they stick out and make a show of themselves. If they do, it all the fault of the cook I think. Not to talk about if they were nurses, the comfort a potato can give you is indescribable and they somehow seem to tuck in the slipping blankets and make everything feel all-right again. I cannot but thank Monsieur Parmentier for bringing this treasure to us here in Europe!






TIAN WITH POTATOES, MUSHROOMS AND ROSEMARY

potatoes
mushrooms
1-2 tblsp rosemary, finely chopped
garlic
water
breadcrumbs, optional
salt
extra-virgin olive oil


- Peel the potatos and slice them very thinly.
- Slice the mushrooms and fry them gently in some olive oil together with a lightly crushed clove of garlic. When they are ready, throw away the garlic and put the mushrooms aside
- Mix the rosemary with salt and a couple of tblsp of olive oil, drizzle over the potato slices and mix well, the slices must be covered with oil and herbs.
- Pack the slices in rows with mushroom slices between them. Add a little water, just enough to cover the bottom of the dish, and sprinkle breadcrumbs over the potatoes.
- Bake in a pre-heated oven (175°C/350°F), the first 20 minutes covered with aluminium foil and then without for 15-20 minutes or until the crust is golden and crunchy.

CHESTNUT FRITTERS WITH PANCETTA, PRUNES AND PINENUTS

There are certain dishes that are really, really Tuscan and Castagnaccio is one of them, the traditional one is a sweet dish but I have made a savoury version of it as well. But now I have made my absolute favourite version, a great starter or finger food dish, chestnut fritters with a topping that takes the prunes from the sweet version and the pancetta from the savoury one, the pinenuts go with both. Chestnut flour has this sweet and slightly smoky taste that marries so well with the salty pancetta and who can resist fritters of any type? I certainly can't.



If you can find chestnut flour, you must try this and then put the rest of the flour in the freezer to make it last longer. And to make it even better, this is one of these naturally gluten-free dishes that make us all happy regardless of we have to keep to a gf diet or can indulge in whatever we want, perfect for my Gluten-free Friday series.





CHESTNUT FRITTERS WITH PANCETTA, PRUNES AND PINENUTS
10-12 fritters

100 g/ 3,5 oz chestnut flour
200 ml/ 0,63 cup water
200 g/ 7 oz pancetta or bacon, diced
8 large prunes, chopped
3-4 tblsp pinenuts

- Fry the pancetta gently until crispy. Let dry on kitchen towel paper but keep the excess fat to fry the fritters in. If you don't want to do that, you can use olive oil instead.
- Mix pancetta with runes and pinenuts.
- Whisk chestnut flour and water until smooth.
- Fry the fritters in the pancetta fat, one tablespoonful at a time, on both sides.
- Top each fritter with the pancetta, prune and pinenut mix and serve!

PASTA WITH CREAMY WALNUT AND HERB SAUCE

A blank mind is what I have to offer you this morning, there are times when I have so many ideas, so many things I feel that are ramble worthy here but lately (and I do blame January again) blank is my second name. I do have a lot of ideas about what to eat though because the cold outside and inside our cool stone house makes me perpetually hungry, I'm beginning to feel like a machine, my jaws are continually moving and mowing. And if I don't eat, I seem to order cookbooks. Or at least adding them to wish-lists.

Anyway, I made a little poll for you to take a look at and to vote on/in, it's in the right hand marginal!



This must be one of the most perfect pasta dishes for times like this when you need something nice and creamy to cheer you up. I think it is pretty good in the summer too actually so let's just say that if you like walnuts and/or herbs, this is a pasta dish for you, all year round.






PASTA WITH CREAMY WALNUT AND HERB SAUCE
2 generous servings

pasta for 2
50 g/ 1, 75 oz walnuts
30 g/ 1 oz pine nuts
10 g/ 0,35 oz sunflower seeds
1 tblsp finely chopped fresh herbs, I used thyme, sage, rosemary and lavender shots
100-150 ml/ 0,42-0,63 cup fresh cream
salt
extra-virgin olive oil or butter

- Chop the nuts and seeds finely, it is better to do it by hand, and toast them slightly in a non-stick pan for a couple of minutes, stirring often.
- Add the herbs and toast for another 30 seconds before addin the fresh cream.
- Let it simmer until the cream has thickened. Add salt, stir and mix with freshly cooked pasta.

Bread Baking Babes make Naan bread

We Bread Baking Babes begin the new year with and Indian bread chosen by master baker Lynn of Cookie Baker Lynn fame. I love Indian food but I really am afraid of making it because I think you need such a lot of knowledge to make it right. Another reason to why I don't make it is because I can't find all the ingredients I need here in my nook of Tuscany BUT we do have a real Indian restaurant in Pistoia that I think is pretty good. Both me and my oldest daughter are big fans of Indian cooking and I am working on the middle son so that we can form a majority here. The silly thing is that I have such a lot of incredible Indian food blogging friends spread all over the world and still I hestitate, it is plain stupid considering all the gourgeous recipes I can find on their blogs. Well, maybe I will dare soon, I am considering ordering an Indian cookbook that Tanna, my fellow Babe, told me about and I hope that will give the final push, just think of all the good things I am missing.

I made plain Naan and they disappeared within minutes, my family showed disquieting signs of primitive behaviour but I am already planning to make more, I will just have to tame them a bit. And practice my nanna making skills as well, I am looking forward to that. If you click over to Lynn's blog (she will also give you the details of how to be a Bread baking Buddy) or check out the other BBBabes' posts, you will find some spicier versions for those of you who are more daring than I am! For the complete list, see here and remember that they might not have woken up yet so if they haven't posted, there's a possibility they will do it later today!





Plain Naan
from Paul Hollywood's 100 Great Breads

- makes 3 naan (which I wonder about - same amount of flour as above, so why half the yield?)

500 g/scant 4 cups white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
1-1/2 tsp salt
15 g/1/2 oz fresh yeast
water to mix
1 tsp cumin seeds, I skipped that
1 tsp caraway seeds, and I skipped these too
olive oil for frying

- Line a baking sheet. Put the flour, salt and yeast into a bowl and add enough water to make a soft, but not sloppy dough. Add the seeds, then divide the dough into three pieces and put on the baking sheet. Let rest for 1 hour.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and, using a rolling pin, flatten each piece into a circle, 10 inches / 25.5 cm in diameter, and let rest for 5 minutes.
- Heat a skillet to a medium heat and add a splash of olive oil. Shallow-fry each naan until browned on both sides, then set aside to cool slightly before serving.

I don't know about you but this is what I am longing for today

FRUIT SLICES DRENCHED IN CITRUS AND HONEY SYRUP FLAVOURED WITH STAR ANISE AND CINNAMON

I like living in a land where lemons and oranges grow, I never cease to find that exotic and exclusive even though I suppose it' is no stranger than apple trees, cloudberries and all the other things growing in my native country but not only are orange trees exotic to me, I find them very pretty to look at too, the orange dots among that fresh shade of green make me feel good. Right now we are wading through oranges, they are sold everywhere, I see small baby trucks selling them by the crate when I am out driving and I am always ready to eat an orange or clementine myself but sometimes it is nice to actually do something with them so I make things like this, I slice different fruits and drench them in any kind of syrup I feel like at that precise moment.






FRUIT SLICES DRENCHED IN CITRUS AND HONEY SYRUP FLAVOURED WITH STAR ANISE AND CINNAMON
2 servings

1 sweet orange
1 apple
1 banana
2 tblsp pinenuts
the juice of 2 clementines
the juice of 1 pink grapefruit
1-3 tblsp honey
3 star anise
1 cinnamon stick

- Reduce the clementine and pink grapefruit juice to half on medium heat with the cinnamon and star anise. Add honey and cool it down.
- Slice the fruit thinly and put them in layers in tow bowls or in wide glasses.
- Poor the syrup over the fruit and then let it stand for a while to marinate before serving.

CANAPÉS WITH LENTILS, BROCCOLI, GRILLED PEPPERS AND TOASTED SUNFLOWER SEEDS

I beg to differ with T.S. Eliot when he says that April is the cruelest month because it definitely is January, I know what he means but I have to say that January is far more soul destroying than April when there at least is hope in the air and lilacs as well. January is grinding me down right now with bad news and boring grey weather, I am trying to keep my head above the bog and to think about good things (and there are a few around actually) but it ain't easy!



One good help is food, I am baking like a maniac and will soon review a couple of great cookbooks I have bought lately, today I will just offer you a little something before you finally get to the dining table, I hope you will enjoy it!





CANAPÉS WITH LENTILS, BROCCOLI, GRILLED PEPPERS AND TOASTED SUNFLOWER SEEDS

bread cut into canapé sized pieces
brown lentils, dried
broccoli
grilled peppers in oil
sunflower seeds
salt
extra-virgin olive oil

- Cook the lentils, or rather, over-cook the lentils so that you just have to mash a bit to get a 'rustic' purée. Check salt and add some olive oil to it before leaving it to cool down. If it is to dodgy, add a little water and mix.
- Take the broccoli, fresh if you can get it, frozen but thawed if you can't, and break it down into small florets.
- Fry the broccoli florets in some olive oil until they are soft and have a bit of a fried look. Don't forget to salt.
- Cut the grilled pepper into thin strips.
- Toast the sunflower seeds in a non-stick pan until golden.
- Take out the canapé bread and spoon a layer of lentil purée on each piece, then put some broccoli florets on top and then grilled pepper strips. Top with sunflower seeds and they are ready to be served.

CELERIAC, CARROT AND YOGHURT CREAMY SMOOTHNESS WITH SALT-CRUSTED POTATOES

It is humid here now, that is why I am and will be posting watery images here for a while but as soon I see something else I'll change the subject!

I continue with comfort food, this time I am going for baked salt-crusted potatoes with a cream of celeriac and carrots on top, they are splendid especially as you can eat them warm or cold so make some extra for the day after. You can also serve the cream as a cold little soup like thing in small glasses on a buffet table if you want.






CELERIAC, CARROT AND YOGHURT CREAMY SMOOTHNESS WITH SALT-CRUSTED POTATOES

150 g/5,3 oz celeriac root, peeled
75 g/2,6 oz carrots, peeled
125 g/ 4,4 oz creamy natural yoghurt
100 ml/ 0,42 cup fresh cream
1 abundant tsp parsley, finely chopped
5-6 potatoes, big ones good baking and all about the same size
salt
extra-virgin olive oil

- Clean but do not peel the potatoes. Boil them until half-cooked, about 10-15 minutes depending on the size.
- Drain the potatoes before brushing them with olive oil and then roll them in salt. Put them in a oven-proof form and bake in a pre-heated oven (200°C/390°F) for about 20 minutes.
- While the potatoes are in the oven, dice the vegetables and steam until soft.
- Blend until smooth with a hand blender or mixer and let it cool down a bit before adding yoghurt, cream and parsley to it, mix well and check salt.
- Cut the baked potatoes open and top with the cream.
- Serve warm or cold.