Food Florence Style-love the market!

Finding the right cheese to bring home~just too many to choose from!

Then we have all these gorgeous veggies to "wish" we could bring home!

Yes, this little" piggy" did go to market!

Signs of Fall

A favorite time of the year for me with great market finds.
The beginning of the salmon run from Lake Erie.

Signs of Halloween and Thanksgiving, just around the corner.

Goat Cheese Frittata

There have been a few nights when I made a mad dash to the pantry or refrigerator to figure out what in the world we are going to have for dinner tonight that is really fast, fresh and delicious. Finding a nice wine to accompany the dish is another question.......this is a simple, but spectacular all in one meal tasting its' best, directly from the oven to the table. Most of the ingredients are probably in your possession right now! It is so easy and quite filling!

Slice one large red onion, cut into medium size pieces

8-10 fresh basil leaves, chopped

Six eggs, lightly beaten

Salt and pepper to taste

Four ounces of goat cheese, broken into 1/2 inch chunks

One small garlic, pressed

Three medium cooked potatoes, sliced

Two T. olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Use a ten inch pan or pie plate, slightly greased. Heat a small frying pan and saute the onions and garlic, adding the potatoes and basil last. Stir everything well. Transfer the onion mixture in to the beaten eggs. Place the dish in oven and bake for 18-20 minutes or until the eggs are set and top is light brown. That's all there is to it!

Anyone For Fish-Trey Ngeat

Traveling to far off places gives me a real reality check. I may not have the top of the line dishwasher, cooking appliances or even the latest style in a kitchen design, but I am grateful for what I can come home to. I know most of us feel the same way. I look at the water in this photo and cringe at the thought of washing anything in it or even eating anything from it, but people have been surviving this life style for years and it continues to this day.

Drying freshly caught fish and spreading them open on wooden racks is a common sight along the waterways and lake areas around Cambodia. The fish must be quickly preserved as there are no means of modern freezing or cooling in many areas. Forget about electricity! As you can notice, the fish is split, insides removed and salt is added to remove much of the moisture as well keeping bacteria from forming. Pray for no rain!

When dried, the sun fish is stacked and hauled off to the local markets. Catfish is a common catch that can later be grilled or fried and served with a bowl of hot steaming rice.

A Grand Terrine

Passing through the Marche Paul Bert last year, I came across a rather large terrine in one of the antique shops. Apparently there was exposition and this terrine was made just for the occasion. If I understood the story correctly, the ingredients did not cook according to planned and spoiled. I took a picture of a photograph of the chefs adding their last finishing touches. What a pity it was unable to completely cook all the way through.This would have fed a village!

The terrine was not for sale, just on display along with a few more photos of the exposition. So, what does one do with this rather large baking terrine afterwards? There is just no stopping the French when it comes to competitions, thank goodness!

Blueberries and the 4th of July

Every 4th of July we always have something with blueberries....oh, we have the watermelon as well, but the berries are my favorite.

Tonight we are having Blueberry Tartlets to start the celebration off with a bang and maybe an extra pound or two! No, this is all good for you!

Blueberry Tartlets

1 C. blueberry or blackberry jam

your favorite sweet short pastry

1 C. mascarpone

1 pint of fresh blueberries

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Gently melt the jam, set aside until cooled, but still runny. Using individual tart molds, non-stick, place and form dough inside, weigh down and blind bake until lightly browned. Cool pastry cases on wire rack. Spread the base of each with plenty of mascarpone, then top with berries and runny jam. This is just too easy and so delicious! Serves 6

Avocado Salsa with Crab Fritters

This is such a wonderful time to be cooking ~ the endless array of fresh fish, crabs, fruits and vegetables are just around the corner! This dish is perfect for that hot day and does not require you to be slaving in the kitchen and missing out on a summer activity, like working in the garden or maybe mowing the yard or even riding on your motorcycle.

My house has been empty for over a month and this is the first meal I have prepared this summer! Maybe I passed some of you while riding on my motorcycle through the Rockies~it's great to be back in the kitchen again. Have lots of catching up to do reading previous posts.....I can't wait!

For the salsa

1 yellow bell pepper

1 red bell pepper

1 ripe avocado

1 firm mango

3 ripe tomatoes

1 small red onion

juice and finely grated rind of two limes

3 T. of fresh cilantro, chopped

Chop and dice all of the above into small pieces. Stir in the lime juice, rinds and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper.

Crab Fritters

2 eggs,beaten

1/2 C. of all purpose flour

2 C. cooked fresh corn

2T. fresh parsley, chopped fine

10 Oz. cooked white crabmeat

3 to 4 T. of olive oil for frying

salt and pepper to taste, lime or lemon wedges for serving

Place the fresh corn, flour and eggs together in bowl and stir until well mixed. Lightly fold in the crabmeat, parsely and season to taste with salt and pepper. Drop large tablespoons of the fritter batter into the hot oil and cook 3 minutes or so on each side or until lightly browned.

Place on paper towel to absorb any oil and serve the fritters immediately with the salsa.

Eggplant Stemperata

One of these days, I am really going to figure out how to do all this blogging properly. I see that I have knocked out all my favorite bloggers sites~I changed the template and all hell broke loose! I'll keep working on it...

Anyway, this is a wonderful side or served on a grilled crostini. Tonight we are having lamb and I thought this would step up the flavor some. Most of the ingredients were on hand.

Preheat oven to 350.

Ingredients

2 medium eggplants

3 T. olive oil

1 sm. red onion, finely chopped

1 med. red and yellow pepper, finely chopped

sea salt to taste

1 T.honey

2 garlic gloves, crushed

1/3 c. raisins

1 med. tomato, diced

1 C. chopped green olives

1 T. capers

2 T.roasted pine nuts

pepper to taste

2 T. shredded fresh mint

Slice the eggplant into 1/2 thick slices. Brush with oil on both sides. Salt and pepper. Bake until well done, 30 minutes, but not to the point where it starts falling apart. Roughly chop when cooled.

Heat the oil and saute the peppers and onions until tender. Add the honey and cook until the vegetables have a caramelized coloring. Add vinegar, stir in olives, tomato, raisins, garlic, capers and cook for 2 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve: Combine the eggplant, stemperata, pine nuts and fresh mint and stir very gently. Makes 2-3 cups.

Happy Mother's Day

Waking up to the berry best Mother's Day ever~ right out of the oven, bursting with fresh berries and goodness!

Hoping your day was filled with love and happiness.......

Hihi Olive Estate

On March 9th, we left for New Zealand to help with the 2010 olive harvesting. Our friends in Hihi raise a variety of olives on hundreds of trees. With that number of trees, help is always needed when the olives ripen and must be picked. This season, not all the trees were bending over with the weight of the fruits. The water situation in the Far North may have a terrific impact on the oil and olives this year. We sure hope not! The ground was extremely hard and dry. Large cracks had formed, wide enough to sink your foot into at the base of the trees. The trees varied in the amount of olives that were produced, some with a

handful and other trees with baskets filled to the brim.

In spite of harsh weather conditions this fall, the Hihi Olive Estate continues to produce award winning oils to sell throughout New Zealand.

Here are a few pictures of the groves and landscape.

Nuts about nuts!

A few days ago, I had an urge to bake something with macadamia nuts. I found a sight on Amazon where I could order them by the pound.......low and behold, they arrived today and the baking frenzy begins!

You are now viewing the box of ten pounds of raw, broken pieces of nuts, truly decadent and equally healthy. So, where does one begin cooking or baking?

Banana Macadamia Nut Bread

2 1/2 c. flour

1/4 c. of sugar

1/2 t. salt

3/4 c. of packed brown sugar

3 1/2 t. baking powder

1 1/2 t. Cinnamon

1 1/4 c. mashed bananas

1 t. vinegar

3 T. vegetable oil

1 egg

1 c. coarsely chopped macadamia nuts

1/3 c. milk

With mixer, blend all the ingredients together EXCEPT the macadamia nuts in a large bowl on medium speed. Mix three minutes or until everything is well blended. Add nuts and stir with spoon until incorporated into mixture. Pour into well greased 9x5 loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes . Easy!!!

So, I only have have 9 and 1/2 pounds to go! Will be busy roasting! Fortunately, the nuts can be frozen and remain in good shape for a year.

Pasta made easy!

Getting down to the basics here.......and that fantastic pasta machine! Never in my wildest dreams did I think I could do this, making pasta from scratch, but I had some great instruction and fresh range eggs!

This cooking experience took place a few years ago outside of Florence. The person pictured has much more gray hair now.....

Tonight for dinner we had Tagliatelle with walnut sauce. A light went off that somewhere in my collection of photos, there was a picture of me squeezing and re-squeezing the pasta through the machine trying to get the correct thickness. It was just a process of folding and refolding and making the setting smaller. The thickness I was attempting to achieve was thin enough to read a newspaper through. That never happened. Continuing on, it was a delight to be working on this marble surface and not in a bowl, something I don't do very often. I felt very professional as I broke the eggs in the flour well and then was able to whisk away, incorporating the flour as needed. Chilled water was added, a quarter of a teaspoon at a time to make a loosely massed dough ball.Then on a lightly floured surface, I was able to knead the dough until it was slightly glossy in appearance. We covered the dough with a tea towel while we drank wine for thirty minutes. Now, that's how you make pasta........

Tagliatelle with Walnut Sauce

1 3/4 lb. of butter

1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup of heavy cream-use whipping cream

2 cups of finely chopped walnuts

3/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil

1 extra large garlic, chopped very fine

1/3 cup of freshly chopped parsley

14-16 oz. of pasta, such as tagliatelle

Use a small frying pan and lightly brown the walnuts, about three minutes, moderate heat. Let the walnuts cool. Process the walnuts and parsley together until finely chopped and blended and then add the butter. Mix. Gradually add the oil in a steady stream while processing. Add the garlic, cream and then Parmesan. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook pasta according to directions, al dente, drain and toss with sauce. Serves four.

Do we ever have enough?

Astier de Villatte, 173 rue Saint Honore, Paris

Beautiful white-glazed earthenware based on designs from the 18th and 19th centuries.

I am not speaking about money, but all the extra elements that complete a well planned meal......dishes, serving pieces, tabletop luxuries..... those gorgeous accessories that make our meals taste more delicious than they appear. I have a passion ( big time) for any tabletop piece...it can be plates, cups, napkin rings, teapots, cups and saucers, crystal-you get the picture.

Throughout the holidays, I spent some time viewing blog sights of different shops and designers. I found a plethora of tabletop settings that almost caused me cardiac arrest a few times. How can there be so many beautiful pieces of china, ceramics, earthenware and porcelains produced and there are still more to come. Where does all this talent come from?

Having owned a shoppe or two with similar products, I'm constantly on the lookout for something calming and elegant that would suit my lifestyle today. I visited this shop in Paris last month and stole a few shots. I hate it when they have signs saying, no photos....some day I am going to get caught. Regardless, I got the shots that I wanted to share. It is worth the visit to stop in and view the beautifully designed earthenware if you are in the area.

A Holiday Wish!

May you have a wonderful Holiday Meal

With all your Friends and Family

~Peace to All on this Earth~

Cookies, Anyone?

Last Sunday, a group of friends met for a cookie exchange~like we needed cookies to eat! We really wanted the opportunity to get together. Our time that afternoon was very special and we had a wonderful selection of cookies to exchange. Several of the gals mentioned cookie experiences from past holidays as we lunched on home made tomato soup, grilled cheese and egg salad sandwiches.

This was the first cookie exchange for most of us. There must be a thousand different methods to this exchange madness, however, we managed to make certain we had plenty to take home.

Trying to remember the cookie I preferred the most around the holidays, the classic Peanut Butter Blossoms came to mind. These are a one bite and disappear cookie, good frozen or served at room temperature and easy to prepare. I loved these cookies as a child and as an adult, I will root around the cookie tray to single out the Peanut Blossoms ! I don't do this all the time!

Ingredients:

48 Hershey's Kisses

1/2 c. shortening

3/4 c. creamy peanut butter

1/3 c. light brown sugar

1/3 c.granulated sugar

1 egg

1 t.vanilla

2 T. milk

1 1/2 c. all purpose flour

1 t. baking soda

dash of salt

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Beat the shortening and the peanut butter until well blended. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy. Add the egg, milk and vanilla. Stir together the flour, baking soda and a dash of salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll dough balls in the granulated sugar; place on greased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a kiss into the center of each cookie. Remove cookie after a few minutes of cooling and then place on racks to cool.

White and Green

White and green and delicious! One of my favorite vegetable dishes to prepare around the holidays.......it dresses up turkey, ham or your favorite roast. My French sister taught me how to peel each stalk and steam it perfectly. I have a recipe to make homemade mayonnaise to top the asparagus, but it appears I just do not have the know-how or expertise to make the mayo as good as she does~so, the Hellman's appears! This side dish can be served chilled or hot, either way, it makes a beautiful presentation.

The Classic Bistro Soup

Just a few Saturdays ago, Paris was chilly with a "few odd showers about". Blue skies kept popping through and stopping the rain periodically.....the perfect time of year for the classic bowl of French Onion Soup.This soup is all about cooking the onions until perfectly caramelized, dark and tender. Then, for me, the best part...the big gooey cheese on the top. Aged Swiss (Gruyere) is the key to getting that rich bubbling crust on the top of the soup. I always seem to have a difficult time scooping up a chunk of the croutes (toasted baguettes) smothered with cheese, and getting it into my mouth without leaving a trail of cheese from the bowl to my mouth! I recently read this classic soup is eaten in the mornings for breakfast as a cure for the common hangover........I think I just would prefer to savor it for lunch! The bistro is located at the entrance of the Paul Bert ( flea) Market on the left. A perfect location to taste this classic, luscious soup.

Zucchini and Feta Fritters

There are many ways to cook with cheese besides melting it on toast or including it in an omelette or even making a souffle. By far, this is a wonderful combination with some of my favorite cheese, feta. This is so easy and incredibly delicious......you have got to try this!

Fritters

5 medium zucchini, coarsely grated

1/2 t. sea salt

1/4 cup grated onion

3 oz. of flour

1 beaten egg

7 oz. crumbled feta

oil for frying.I started out with 1 T. and added more with each batch I fried.

Place the grated zucchini, salt and onion in a large bowl. Mix and let sit for 30 minutes until the juice is drawn out by the salt. Drain. Mix the flour, egg and stir in feta cheese to the zucchini mixture. Fry large tablespoons of the mixture in moderately hot oil until brown on both sides, making sure the fritters are well cooked. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.

I served the fritters with a chunky hot tomato salsa and sour cream on the side.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

The abundance of pumpkins from across the country has to be one of the best aspects of fall. I am delightfully amazed at the varieties that sprout up every season. I recently found some wonderful varieties at my local Walmart, of all places.....not fond of that store at all. Anyway, the pumpkins and gourds came from Frey Farms located in Illinois. This is a huge outfit and one of the largest producing pumpkin farms in the country.

Having just arrived home from another motorcycling adventure with Big Al, I searched and found Central Market in Ft. Worth. They had a beautiful display of fall gourds and vegetables. As I rode the highway home towards Florida (1200 miles) on my little Honda, all I could think about was what I was going to make with the canned pumpkin that I made last November. It was time to pop the lid!

PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

1 lb. of cream cheese, room temperature

3/4 cup of light brown sugar, firmly packed

1 1/4 cup of pumpkin

3 large eggs

1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream

1 t.vanilla

1/4 t. ground cloves

1/2 t. ground ginger

1 t. ground cinnamon

Gingersnap Crust

5 T. melted unsalted butter

1 1/2 cup of crushed gingersnaps

3 T. sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the crushed gingersnaps, butter, sugar and pat the mixture into a 9 inch spring form pan. Pat the mixture up the sides of the pan about one inch.. Bake until lightly darkened, about 5 minutes. Let cool.

In a large bowl, mix the cheese and brown sugar until creamy. Add the pumpkin and eggs and beat until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat until smooth. Pour into the crust- lined pan. Bake for 45 minutes or longer or until firm. Refrigerate until chilled and serve.

Quick Tomato Soup

Native to South America, it took a little time for this fruit to gain acceptance as a food (treated as a veggie today) in the U.S. and Europe. Today, the tomato is an integral part of our lives and many of the worlds cuisines. Sliced tomatoes with fresh mozzarella and sweet basil is one of my favorite summer side dishes. Look at the other recipes that depend and rely on a few good tomatoes to build character in a bowl....gazpacho, minestrone, ratatouille and of course, tomato soup.

For the soup

4 cups tomatoes

1/2 C. medium chopped onion

1/2 C. chopped celery

1/4 C. chopped carrots

32 Oz. of chicken broth, I used low fat

1 t. salt

3 T. butter, salted

3 T. all purpose flour

Gently saute the onion, celery and carrots until soft. Add tomatoes and simmer ten minutes. Add (cooled) cooked ingredients and process until smooth. Add flour and butter to medium size pan to make a roux. Whisk continuously while adding 1 cup of the broth. Slowly add the rest of the chicken broth, stirring well. Incorporate the tomato base to the broth and simmer.

This soup takes very little time to prepare.....so tasty with some warm, crusty French bread.