maggio 18, 2011
A classic Tuscan antipasto, a savoury break or, even better, something that will tickle your appetite and please your taste buds: Cinta salami, pecorino cheese, salt to match the fresh fava beans that taste just like spring and green. Finally, a good glass of red wine.
An olive wood cutting board, a sunset over the Tuscan hills and the first enjoyable evening fresh breeze. This is the tradition, tomorrow we’ll discover the innovation. Stay tuned!
Posted in Appetizers, Quick Recipes, Spring, Tuscan Recipes 
11 Comments »
maggio 16, 2011
Let’s talk about those profiles you have to fill up when you register in a social media. I don’t remember if I had to do something like this on Facebook, but I certainly had to fill up the profile on MySpace, and this put me in a difficult position. Gender: Female, and this is simple. Hair: brown, easy again, excluding streaks, highlights and temporary experiments. Body: that’s THE point. Body…
There were choices, of course: slender, yeah, right, in my dreams. Overweight: social suicide, no, I won’t write this word associated to myself! Robust: come on, it could be ok for an oak, for a wine or a beer, but not for a girl… Where does the feminine go? I’d rather use this word, Mediterranean. Yes, I like to define myself Mediterranean!
Mediterranean implies the banquet opulence of the people who historically worship the sacred hospitality, the warmth of a sun that ripens juicy fruit, the salty sea from which foam Aphrodite was born, the smell of aromatic herbs, the olive oil and the folk music that invites to dance.
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Posted in Appetizers, Quick Recipes, Side Dishes, Spring, Summer 7 Comments »
maggio 12, 2011
Recipes are wily beings. Sometimes they capture you with an alluring photo, sometimes they flourish in front of your eyes an ingredient you are really nuts about and that you would use anywhere, even in your cappuccino. Other recipes are more reserved, and win you with just one right word, giving you the sensation that this is what you were unconsciously looking for. The first time I leafed through David Lebovitz’s Ready for Dessert looking for a chocolate recipe, I was caught by just one sentence: you must stir the mixture energetically for one full minute, not less, because that will be a life-changing minute.
From that moment on, that life-changing minute crept into me: I wanted to understand how these 60 seconds could be crucial in the balance of a recipe, I wanted to savour the brownies elaborated by Robert Steinberg, the man who changed the world of American chocolate. If even David Lebovitz agreed on defining them as the absolute best brownies, there should have been a reason.
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Posted in Autumn, Baked Good, Chocolate, Desserts, Spring, Summer, Winter 18 Comments »
maggio 10, 2011
Every now and then, during a train or bus trip, when I am listening to the music with half-open eyes and the landscape looses its contours, I let my thoughts go and begin to dream. I do love dreaming, I’ve always done it since I can remember, dramatizing stories and plots, depicting daily life scenes in bright colours.
Dreams are sometimes an escape route from a reality that doesn’t suit you, sometimes an incentive to transform that very reality in a life you’d rather live. In my daydreams I love to surprise: in everyday life I am the one that can be described as the girl next door. Never too much over the top, never colours too flashy. I do not wear high heels, because I’d stumble and fall disastrously to the ground after two meters.
I can not speak out or impose myself into a group, I often find myself nodding to point out my ideas. In my mind I build impressive speeches that sometimes leave me speechless, but then in my daily life I can never be so incisive and direct.
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Posted in Baked Good, First course, Pasta, Spring, Summer 12 Comments »
maggio 5, 2011
I have always been a romantic girl. I have always loved happy end fairy tales, from Cinderella to The Sleeping Beauty. England has always have a special place in my heart. And I’ve been waiting for my Prince Charming for a while now, even though I must reckon that the electric blue tights are not my favourite outfit for a man! I do prefer masculine torn jeans!
Sum all these factors. Which is the first thing that comes to your mind? Quite simple, William and Kate’s royal wedding. Royal weddings make me shed an emotional tear every time, they allow me to dream for a little while without getting hurt, as when I used to watch Cinderella as a little child from a worn out video tape .
What girl doesn’t dream of feeling like a princess, even if just for one day? Watch out! I used the verb to feel, not to be. It is not necessary to have blue blood or marry a royal scion to feel like a princess (even though, if I had to choose one, I admit I have a soft spot for Carl Philip of Sweden, but I do not think I can compete with his current girlfriend, er…).
Last Saturday I felt like a princess, even though on a very low budget! I enjoyed a high tea at the Florence Four Seasons. It is a fabulous hotel, a Renaissance palace with one of the largest gardens in the city, just a few steps away from the Dome. It is possible to book an English afternoon high tea for just 22 €. It was just the three of us, happy, excited, even slightly intimidated … Here’s how I spent the afternoon with Laura and Emiko. Read the post until the end because there is a tiny surprise for you!
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Posted in About me, Travel 24 Comments »
You need "spirito" in your life... wine doughnut cookies!
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