Archive for 2008
best holiday gift ever: painting holiday in italy
I’ve raved about Julian and Amanda‘s blog A Tuscan View – From Umbria here, but that was before they had a fabulous video to show you exactly why you should reserve your (or your loved one’s) spot on one of their painting holidays or art workshops “in the inspiring Tuscan and Umbrian countryside.”
Seriously, watch this four and a half minute video, drink in the gorgeous views and words of Julian, and then tell me you don’t have the urge to get on a plane or train with a pencil and drawing pad in hand:
“Artist in Italy is offering painting holidays and art workshops for people who love art, Italy, good food and wine. The week-long painting and drawing courses include photography and some basic printmaking.”
Now booking courses for April and May 2009.
Feel free to spread the word to all your artistic friends!
Now excuse me while I watch that video over and over and wonder why I haven’t made it to Tuscany or Umbria yet. And also why I haven’t picked up a drawing pencil in years and haven’t taken any formal painting lessons either. Hmm….
Have you been to or lived in Tuscany or Umbria?
What are your *must-sees*?
La Buona Cucina Americana: Bagels
This week I turned to a tried and true recipe for this week’s La Buona Cucina Americana entry –one I can now make without referring to the recipe since I’ve made it so often.
For those of you who have been around a while, you’ve already seen this recipe here, but now I’m reposting the ricetta in italiano so our amici italiani can try it too.
The original recipe comes from our resident Bagel Queen in Italy (La Regina dei Bagel), New Yorker Michelle of Michellanea, although I did slightly adjust the salt and sugar measurements for my taste.
Bagels
(makes eight large bagels)
Bagels cooling
- 250 ml warm water
- 30 g fresh yeast
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 tsp salt
- 3 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp honey
- 500 g flour
1. Dissolve yeast in 250 ml of warm water and add oil.
2. In large bowl, mix together salt, sugar, and flour. Make a well in the center and add in yeast mixture.
3. Mix together all ingredients, working in flour on the sides of the bowl in order to get an even mixture. Work dough into a ball.
4. Cover bowl with a damp towel for about 40 minutes and let dough rise in a warm place; it should double in size.
5. Put a piece of wax paper on the baking sheet you’ll be using for the bagels.
6. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes. Divide into 8 little balls. Make a hole in the center of each ball and widen the opening until it begins to take the shape of a bagel.
7. Let the bagels sit on the warm towel for another 15 minutes while you heat the oven up to 390°F/200°C.
8. In the meantime, bring a large pan of water to a light boil and add honey. Let each bagel boil lightly for about two minutes on each side and then remove and put them back on the damp towel.
9. If you are adding sesame or poppy seeds, at this point, sprinkle them on a plate and press each bagel down lightly over them.
10. After about five minutes, put the bagels on the wax paper-covered baking sheet and place in oven for about 20 or 25 minutes until they are golden (but not too brown as they will get a bit browner after they’ve cooled), flipping them after about 10 minutes to ensure even baking.
I Bagel
(ingredienti per 8 bagel grandi)
- Acqua tepida 250 ml
- Lievito fresco 30 g
- Olio 2 cucchiai
- Sale 2 cucchiaini
- Zucchero 3 cucchiaini
- Miele 1 cucchiaino
- Farina 500 g
1. Sciogliete il lievito in 250 ml d’acqua tiepida, quindi aggiungete l’olio.
2. In una ciotola unite il sale, lo zucchero e la farina. Fate una fontana nel centro e versatevi il lievito.
3. Lavorate gli ingredienti incorporando anche la farina rimasta sui lati della ciotola fino ad ottenere un impasto omogeneo. Formate la palla e lasciatela riposare nella ciotola.
4. Copritela con un straccio da cucina umido e fatela lievitare in un luogo caldo per 40 minuti finché raddoppierà di volume.
5. Preparate una piastra con della carta da forno.
6. Lavorate la pasta per 10 minuti, dividetelo in otto porzioni e con queste formate delle palline. Forate il centro di ogni pallina con il dito, quindi allargate l’apertura finché diventerà simile ad una ciambella.
7. Disponete i bagel su un straccio da cucina umido e lasciateli lievitare per 15 minuti. Preriscaldate il forno a 200°.
8. Nel frattempo, portate a leggera ebollizione una pentola d’acqua con 1 cucchiaino di miele e immergetevi i bagel, 2 minuti per lato, quindi adagiateli sul straccio da cucina umido.
9. Se volete aggiungere i semi di papavero o i semi di sesamo, dispone i semi in una teglia e poi premere i bagel leggermente sopra per attaccare i semi.
10. Lasciateli raffreddare per 5 minuti, e infornateli per 20/25 minuti fino a dorarli.
Grazie di nuovo a Michelle di Michellanea per la ricetta e per la maggiore parte della traduzione. Grazie mille anche a Sara di Ms Adventures in Italy per il suo aiuto!
love thursday: care package from mom
Last week, I was surprised by a box from Mom–this one containing our Christmas presents. Yes, she’s on the ball!
An added bonus to the wonderful, warm winter clothes that we are just starting to need was a container of cookies and homemade chocolates. YUM!
Normally I get one of these *after* Christmas, but this time, since Mom had been hired to make cookies and candy a bridal shower, she sent me some of the leftovers:
Tasty as all get out and perfect for Love Thursday!
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
May all your care packages contain sweet, delicious love.
playing with knives: sharpening, honing, steeling, and a giveaway
In lieu of What’s Cooking Wednesday this week (come back Friday for my La Buona Cucina Americana recipe though!), I’m letting all of you cooks and wanna-be chefs know about a fabulous post and contest over at Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen:
How to Sharpen Your Knives + Knives Giveaway
This post tells you everything you need to know about keeping your knives in perfect working order and also offers some great resources for finding out more.
And you want to talk about a great contest?
You can win a fabulous knife of your choice from the Phoenix or Fusionwood lines of New West KnifeWorks. I can’t even begin to tell you how awesome these knives are, so please go have a look for yourselves.
To enter this contest all you have to do is pick your favorite knife and leave a comment on this post. That’s it! And you can get another BONUS entry by stumbling, tweeting, or blogging about the contest. Ends November 30th.
———
Now, I have to tell you that P is the official knife sharpener in my house, as well he should be–his father was the village knife sharpener for many years (although he didn’t act like this one that Shelley of Really Rome told you about). And my mom has generously sent us many fabulous knives to keep him busy; they’re generally less expensive in the United States than here.
But one knife that isn’t in our arsenal is something to cut the amazingly crusty Calabrian bread. The traditional way is like this (as demonstrated by P’s mom):
But I’m not down with this. Can you guess why?
And so, I’ve picked this Fusionwood bread knife should my name be chosen:
Pretty, no?
So wish me luck, and I wish you luck as well!
Now head over to Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen and comment!
step right up! bailout line starts here
I wish I had more time and energy to sit down and write a well-reasoned, well-researched opinion piece on the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) or, as we know it, The Bailout (cue scary music). Aside from not having the time, though, I’ll also admit I’m no expert on this and really have no business writing such a thing–although, to be clear, I do like to think I have slightly more than a John McCain-like comprehension of the economic system.
So instead of getting into the details of who deserves to be bailed out and why or why not, I want to point your attention to The End of Wall Street’s Boom by Michael Lewis on Portfolio.com. In this piece (and apparently in his book Liar’s Poker: Rising through the Wreckage on Wall Street), Lewis exposes something that amazed me when I was a college senior 11 years ago and that is: at that time, one of the most desired and lucrative jobs available to me fresh out of college (with degrees in English and history) was a position at an investment banking firm–a job path that many of my fellow graduates took.
In short, whahuh?
Now I’m certainly not blaming fresh-from-college kids on Wall Street for the economic mess, but I did find Lewis’ piece rather enlightening about the system as a whole, and I strongly encourage you to read it. It’s long and can get tedious in parts if you’re not used to all the terminology, so if you find yourself drifting, take a break, do something else, and come back to the article. Seriously. This is worth reading.
Right now, all I can muster in terms of an Op-Ed is this:
More suggested reading:
- Paul of The Clue by Four‘s Third Cluesday in November: Where Did All the Money Go?
- Obama lays out general terms for auto bailout
- Enough with those bailout lines by Joan Vennochi at The Boston Globe
- Many line up for cash but bailout plan falters by Michael J. de la Merced at The New York Times
- Pull away blanket of secrecy on federal bailout
- States want their own federal financial bailout
- Canada considers joint bailout of carmakers with US, CP says
- Obama to tweak bail-out plan
So what do *you* think about the bailout?
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
Calabria Guidebook
Recipes
