Monday Musings: Itty Bitty

We made man size calzones, and calzones for hungry big boys, and finally a little itty bitty calzone for a little itty bitty person.



A pinch of pizza dough, a dollop of tomato sauce and a sprinkling of mozarella is all it took to put a big sparkle in his eyes, and earn a happy "Mmmmmm" from this little Wild Thing. Of course he sampled the dough before it was ready to be baked, and he somehow managed to grab a handful of flour with his itty bitty fingers and trail it through the kitchen and living room. The dog even inherited half of his calzone when we weren't paying attention. And when his lips were covered in tomato sauce, guess who he came over to for a big hug? Before I could grab a napkin he grabbed me and turned me into his personal napkin (again). Yes this happens, sometimes daily. Nothing says "I love you Mamma!" like a lip print of tomato sauce on your new jeans.

And yet I wouldn't trade these days for anything. Soon he won't use me as his personal napkin anymore. Right now his needs are few, his wants are simple, and I can meet them all. I know when he needs a cuddle and when he wants to be tickled. Right now I am in his every horizon. Later, only a few short years from now I will not be his center, I will be peripheral. His wants will become more complex, and I may not be able to make all his dreams come true. But right now, right now we're tight. So I will take those messy kisses, the messy floors, the diapers and even the frazzle brain that comes with being with a toddler 24/7. This time is fleeting.

Honestly

I am thrilled to have been given the "Honest Scrap" blog award by KC of The Shock of the Old . Grazie mille KC!
Upon accepting the award I need to divulge ten honest things about myself and then pass the award to "a fellow blogger whose blog’s content or design is, in the giver’s opinion, brilliant.”

My ten honest things:

I much prefer to read rather than watch television. I love the feeling of relaxation I get with a quiet moment and a book in my hands.

My cooking dramatically improved upon moving to Italy. It was there that I had the time and plenty of inspiration to take an interest of mine and turn it into a strength.

I am full of strange inconsistencies. For instance, I love to be a night owl, and yet I crave watching the sun rise in the mornings... but above all as a parent of a toddler the last 18 months of my life have been punctuated with very little sleep- and sleep is what I crave most!

I am very creative and come up with all kinds of different and fun ideas of how to fill my time. But drat it, real life intrudes with things like cleaning and laundry.

Time management is an area where I could definitely use improvement (see above).

As weird of a path my life has been, I probably wouldn't change even one single thing of which I had a choice! But I also like to look back and say "What if?"

I carefully guard and nurture my dreams because if they don't come true, I don't know what I'll do!

Physically, mentally, or spiritually, I am always on some sort of crusade for personal improvement.

I know I have many new things to learn, and I welcome them.

My life is full of blessings, and I am grateful for them. When I strive for better things, it does not negate the fulfillment I find in my life.

And here is an extra: I tend to "over think" things. While thinking of things I love to tell you all about it, and so I end up talking your ear off! (But you already knew that, didn't you)?



Seven is my lucky number, so here is a list of seven truly brilliant blogs I am bestowing this award to.


Cherrye at My Bella Vita
Michelle at Bleeding Espresso
Rowena at Rubber Slippers in Italy
Gail at Fort Rock Glimpses
Piccola at Life in la Citta' de Rosas
Shirley at Bocconcini e Pomodorini
Jeni at The Passionate Palate

Rodeo Bronc, I feel your pain!

Early this morning I brought the little Wild Thing into bed with me when he woke, and after a little cuddle we fell back asleep.

Suddenly and without warning I woke again. The Wild Thing was on my back bouncing up and down and squashing my kidneys. Bounce, bounce, bounce, then a high screech as he pitched himself off of me and onto the bed. "Good, game over." I thought to myself and tried to resign myself to the reality of waking up.

Bounce, bounce, bounce! "Wheeee!" he said as he flung himself off me again.

"Ugh." I said.

Bounce, bounce, bounce! "Wheeeee!'

This is way too much for a mamma to take before her first sip of coffee.

Nest

What would you do with the luxurious soft undercoat hair of a German Shepherd dog? Since she is shedding, we have been brushing her outside. It seems her hair has been re-purposed! This is recycling at its best!



What a soft new world these babies will be hatched into.

I have never been so close to this nest, but this morning when I walked outside with coffee in hand, I noticed the parent birds weren't around. I zipped in to the house to grab the camera while I had a rare photo opportunity!

The birds must have gone off for a romantic breakfast together. I know better than to get too close to the nest when the parents are around, after all it would be terrible if they abandoned their eggs, so I got a quick shot and left. Through the window I can see at least one parent bird has returned to the nest. Sweet!

Happy Spring!

Half Hour

What is the value of half an hour?

In half an hour I can shower, apply make-up and fix my hair.

In half an hour I can catch up on a mountain of laundry.

In half an hour I can catch up on emails.

I can get the breakfast dishes all caught up.

I can whip out a post for the dear lil' blog.

I can go blog-hopping, leaving enthusiastic comments all over the www.

I can (if I am extremely lucky and haven't fueled myself too much with coffee) take a nap with the baby for half an hour.

And on some days, when everything in the universe aligns itself just right, I can ignore the guilt for all the things I should do with a half hour of un-claimed time, and apply that time instead to one of my passions: Art.

This is what I did in an half hour of free time last week.






(sorry for the glare, but by using the flash you can really see the interesting texture of the tile in this photo)

I bought a large tile, 18 inches by 18 inches, and applied the kind of paint you can use on porcelain projects and that is easily baked on in your oven! I used my crock-pot lid to stencil out the oval shape- how is that for creativity? And wishing on the coming summer flowers, and my love of Tuscany and farm-land... well I was inspired to combine it all into something useful. I now have a trivet for my table, big enough to easily accomodate my largest spaghetti pot. All I have to do is glue on the back side of the tile some felt, so I don't scratch up the kitchen table.

If you have an extra half hour, what do you like to do with it?

For Kids: A Fun Easter Project! A Mini Tutorial

I first saw this idea on the cover of a recent women's magazine. I thought it was cute, but never entertained the idea of creating it myself. Then while searching for a fun Easter project for kids, I thought of this, and voila! Absolutely adorable cuteness overload- just for kids! Well, ok. There is no reason grown-ups can't get in on the fun, but this is a guaranteed kid pleasing project. My kids are all boys, so the pretty little flower idea had to make way for some male pleasing macho cactus plants- but I am sure you'll agree, the cuteness is not lost at all!





The first step is to break the eggs. Try to crack them gently on the pointed end of the egg, turning slightly and tapping again until it is easy to remove the "cap."





Take some soil and with a small spoon put some soil in the bottom of the egg shell.





Add the plant and gently push more soil around the roots and gently and firmly press down until the plant is well supported by soil.



When all your eggs are planted, spritz water on the plants.






Don't you think this will make a very creative table centerpiece that will make your kids, (or you) proud?

How To Make Pesto

It is green gold, and I love it! It is one of Bella Italia's greatest culinary treasures. Pesto. This recipe was given to me by my dear mother in law, la mia cara suocera. It is good. It is so good that even though it is very green, my wild things will happily eat it. And today I share this wealth with you.

First you gather your ingredients.

We have:

Basil,

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (first pressing and cold pressed is best),

Pine Nuts and

Parmigiano Reggiano.

You may add fresh garilic cloves and salt if you wish.

The next step is to mix the ingredients. If you are using a blender or food processor you can throw everything together and just mix, adding oil if needed.

If you will be using a mortar and pestle, you will want to start with the garlic, and the basil, salt, pine nuts, oil, and cheese. If it becomes too thick in either case, simply add more oil.

Ta da! It is done and ready to dress up your pasta oh so pretty! Or if you are like me and you can't wait to try it with pasta, it is a lovely snack spread upon some crusty bread. Feel free to garnish it with thinly sliced parmigiano and a basil leaf or two. Bello e buono!

The flavors of this pesto are so good, I dare you to stop after just one bite!

Come closer! Closer!

Mmmmm yummy!

Now my dear friends, for your viewing pleasure, let's see how a Genovese woman prepares her pesto! Enjoy!

I have just one little question for you. Have you ever made pesto before, and if so what kind? If you never have made it before, now do you think you will give it a try?

Fried (Green) Tomatoes

This is a flavorful side dish, slightly sour even if your tomatoes are a little more ripe. They are so beautifully golden, with an appealing aroma, they can even tempt children!

I was shopping for green tomatoes, but couldn't find any. I had to settle for almost ripe ones, still more red and juicy than I would have preferred. However, it still worked out perfectly, and while the slices were a little more moist than if they were green tomatoes, they still were very easy to prepare, and the flavor was tangy and tastey. So, this dish is almost fail-proof!

I wanted to try chickpea flour, even though this is usually made with regular wheat flour. I will definitely make this recipe again, with the chickpea (or garbanzo bean) flour. In Italian, chickpea flour is farina di ceci, and is often used in Italian cuisine. I wanted to try it in place of wheat flour because some of my friends are on the south beach diet and can't eat regular flour. So it was a big experiment, and it worked perfectly. Ceci-garbanzo-chickpea flour is low in carbs, so it is a "flour" well worth trying! As for taste, if I hadn't cooked it, I wouldn't have known it wasn't wheat flour.

Starring:



3 large tomatoes (unripe if possible)
1/3 cup of flour (chickpea flour if you feed adventurous)
1/3 cup of olive oil
salt

Here's how you prepare this:

Cut tomatoes into slices about 1/2 inch thick.




Place slices on wire rack to drain the juices,

and sprinkle with salt



Let drain for an hour. Flip tomatoes and sprinkle salt again.



after another hour, place the slices on paper towels,





and pat dry with another paper towel gently laid on top of the slices.



Dip the tomato slices in flour being careful to coat both sides well.







Heat oil in a frying pan and arrange slices of tomato in pan with plenty of room. Fry until golden.



Remove the slices, and place on absorbent paper towels briefly. Continue to fry the rest of the tomato slices in the same way. Transfer the tomato slices to a serving platter.



Last but not least, Buon Appetito!

Bell Peppers with Tomato and Basil

I think this one will quickly become a family favorite!

I am on a roll this week with contorni, or side dishes. Today's dish is very flavorful; no one could ever accuse it of being boring. It is also rather unusual for an Italian side dish, in that it includes a meat as one of its ingredients. But there is such a small amount of bacon that it can actually almost be considered a spice! The flavors blend so magnificently in this recipe, but the smell, ah! Wait til you cook this! Your kitchen will smell divine.

Variations: For vegetarians, simply omit the bacon. The rich flavors of the peppers and tomatoes, garlic and basil will make this dish stunning, even without the bacon.

This is a side dish, but I see several other applications! It would be a very flavorful topping for bruschetta, and it would also be a fantastic topping for focaccia, baked right in.

May I present: Bell Peppers with Tomato and Basil- Peperoni con Pomodori e Basilico
Starring:



5 or 6 red and yellow bell peppers
2 strips of bacon or a small package of pancetta affumicata
3 garlic cloves, chopped coarsely
3 or 4 ripe plum tomatoes
about 15 fresh leaves of basil
about 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste

First, preheat your oven to 350F or 180C. Place the bell peppers in a shallow baking pan and bake for 15 minutes.



Meanwhile peel and chop the garlic cloves.




chop the tomatoes,



and slice up the bacon.



also gather together your basil leaves and tear or coarsely chop them.



When fifteen minutes have passed, remove the bell peppers from the oven. (Baking the peppers in the oven before sauteeing them helps to reduce the time it would take to get them to soften in the skillet). Allow the peppers to cool a little, and then grasp the stem and pull to easily remove stems and seeds. Cut the peppers into strips.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and add the bacon.



Fry until it becomes lightly golden, and then add the garlic,




and then the pepper strips.



Turn the heat down to medium low. Fry for about 5 minutes,



and then add the tomatoes.



Cook covered, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes. The peppers should be soft, and the liquid from the tomatoes should have evaporated.

Uncover and add the basil. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Stir gently, and transfer to a serving platter. Serve plenty hot! (Hint: This dish still tastes fantastic after it has been re-heated. You can always make this up ahead of time, and re-heat to go along with dinner if you know you are making a complex meal).




Buon Appetito!

Chard and Pine Nuts

Bietole con Pinoli

This recipe combines some of my favorite things. I love pine nuts, pinoli. And I love chard bietole.

Did you know that great groves of stone pine (P. pinea), trees between Pisa and Viareggio, all along the coast produce such a quantity of pinoli that they are exported throughout Europe?



And since we are already talking about the area between Pisa and Viareggio, a very lovely area of Tuscany, let's throw in some history for ten points (or not). Anyhow, between these two cities is a town called Torre del Lago. Its most famous son is none other than Giacomo Puccini who wrote 12 operas including Madam Butterfly, La Bohème, and Tosca.

Hey! We weren't supposed to be speaking of great Italian composers, but of chard and pine nuts! When I went shopping, I was looking for Swiss Chard, but couldn't find any. On sale instead was some vibrant organic Rainbow Chard. I couldn't resist! It is so beautiful, I am in love with this vegetable!



So let's get started in cooking up this flavorful contorno, or side dish featuring rainbow chard and pine nuts!

Starring:


Organic Rainbow Chard
Pine Nuts
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt

First wash the leaves carefully as they are textured and could harbor grit and sand easily. Next, find a Wild Thing if you have one handy who is old enough to wield a knife... here is my own 13 year old, who was pretty impressed by the colors of this showy chard. He just had to get his hands on it.


Separate the leaves from the stems,



and cut the stems in long thin strips.



Pretty!

I love all these colors.
Can you believe this color is natural, and means it is very good for you? I always look for organic veggies for my family, and buy them when I can. For you Italian readers organic means biologico.

After all the stems are cut in strips, add them to a large pan to which you have already added about two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and let heat. Add the chard stems and cook for about fifteen minutes on medium heat.



Then add one cup of water, or some water and a bit of white cooking wine if you like. Turn heat down to medium low. Let the water steam the stems so they begin to soften. Continue cooking while you or one of your children or one of your friends continues to cut the leaves into strips.



After about fifteen minutes of cooking add the leaves of the chard.



At any time add water or wine if the chard looks like it may become dry. We don't want our chard to stick to the pan.

Cook for about five more minutes after adding the leaves, and it should be done!



Taste and see if the chard is tender. If not, continue cooking and tasting until it is how you like it. Before removing to a serving platter, add salt to taste.

Move to a serving platter and add a drizzle (about one tablespoon) of olive oil on top of the chard. Next sprinkle with the pine nuts. It is done, ready to serve along side an entre of your choice. Buon Appetito!



 Our youngest wild thing ate lots of chard leaves too, although not enough to constitute his dinner, making happy ummmm sounds between bites! Yay, he is a happy veggie eater, at least for now. And since my eldest wild thing helped prepare this dish, he ate a couple of bites too. Meanwhile the middle son wanted to graze on the rest of the pine nuts. He is obsessed with pine nuts- and they are expensive!