Monthly Archive for aprile, 2013

Sourdough bread (at long last!)

Published by Lucina, on 28 aprile 2013 in bread and English Recipes. 2 Comments

sourdough loaf

As I promised yesterday here I am to blog my very first sourdough creation. YES! Let me introduce to you  my newly born, fresh out of the oven  sourdough loaf, and lovely it was too. Ok there is room for improvement (I would like it to be softer inside, for example, with bigger holes) but give me time, right? You can’t be perfect right from the start. If you recall, when I first embarked on the experiment I mentioned that there are many different ways of starting a sourdough. Well….the same applies when it comes to bake with it:  there are many different recipes and techniques out there! (and by the way: rest assured I will try them). Before I continue let me give you a word of warning: sourdough is definitely NOT for the busy, impatient , “right here, right now” person.   Continue reading ‘Sourdough bread (at long last!)’

Another experiment: Herman the German friendship cake

Published by Lucina, on 27 aprile 2013 in cakes and English Recipes. 7 Comments

the ingredients for Herman

Now that I have successfully achieved my sourdough ( and tomorrow I will blog the evidence of my first creation using it) let me tell you (and please don’t laugh) about ANOTHER experiment I have embarked on: Herman the German friendship cake. And what on earth is THAT, I hear you ask. Basically it’s something very similar to a sourdough , only it is sweet and the end result is  a cake. The idea is that you make a starter dough using flour, yeast, sugar, milk and water (see exact quantities below). You then nurture it and feed it every 4 days and stir it on the other days. At the end of the ten days your  dough (you end up with something similar to sourdough: a yeasty, bubbly mixture) can be used to make a cake (recipe will follow in time). But it doesn’t stop there. Oh no! It would be too easy if it did! Continue reading ‘Another experiment: Herman the German friendship cake’

Oggi sposi!!!!

Published by Lucina, on 27 aprile 2013 in Chiacchiere/Chatting. 1 Comment

Tantissimi auguri a Francesco e Sonia che oggi si sposano! EVVIVA! Francesco è il figlio di due miei carissimi amici -Paola e Claudio- e oggi ci sarà il matrimonio del loro adorato “cocchin”. Purtroppo, essendo qui in Inghilterra, non potrò partecipare al lieto evento ma ciò non vuol dire che io non li stia pensando! Ed eccone la prova. Un augurio sul blog. Chissà che fibrillazione al momento in casa C*******i!!!(questi asterischi sono per proteggere la privacy. Non per nascondere una parolaccia…;-) )!

Tantissimi auguri di una splendida giornata (qui diluvia!) e di una felice vita insieme!!! Baci e abbracci anche dalla regina.

 

le partecipazioni

La colazione del 25 aprile! Waffel alla marmellata di fragole e panna

Published by Candida, on 25 aprile 2013 in Chiacchiere/Chatting. 1 Comment

Buon 25 Aprile a tutti! Festeggiamo la Resistenza e ricordiamoci da dove siamo venuti. Un po’ di orgoglio nazionale fondato non su retoriche nazionalistiche ma sul fatto che a fondamento del nostro vivere civile ci sono state le azioni di uomini che hanno anche sacrificato la vita per gli ideali di libertà e di dignità umana. E così l’altro giorno ho saputo che in nessun altro paese occupato dai nazisti c’è mai stata una protesta operaia tanto vasta come da noi. Il 12 marzo 1944 gli operai delle di Sesto San Giovanni hanno incrociato le braccia. E così la Breda, la Falck ecc. hanno chiuso. La risposta nazista è stata dura e spietata. Anzi, la risposta fascista: perché i rastrellamenti di quella notte a Monza sono stati eseguiti dalla polizia fascista italiana, non dai tedeschi. 17 operai monzesi (uno non c’entrava niente con gli scioperi) furono prelevati di notte e poi consegnati ai nazisti come merce per essere deportati a Mauthausen dove arrivaro dopo un viaggio tremendo il 20 marzo. Nevicava e loro, sotto le bastonate  dei sorveglianti, dovettero fare 4 km a piedi con i bagagli. Spogliati, rasati, immatricolati iniziarono così quel loro viaggio “nella vertigine”. Solo 5 di loro tornarono a casa. (P. Arienti, Dalla Brianza ai Lager del Terzo Reich, Bellavita, Missaglia 2011).

Il mio piccolo comune brianzolo da qualche anno non segna più il 25 aprile nemmeno con un manifesto. Perdere la memoria è un po’ come perdere se stessi.

E ora qualcosa di dolce: Continue reading ‘La colazione del 25 aprile! Waffel alla marmellata di fragole e panna’

An experiment with sourdough (part 4)

Published by Lucina, on 24 aprile 2013 in bread and English Recipes. 1 Comment

the sourdough experiment rocks on!

Dear readers, I bet you are all waiting with bated breath for the latest sourdough instalment. After all it’s exactly ten days (EEEKK!) since I embarked on this crazy experiment. SOOOOO…..Is it still alive? I hear you ask. Am I still nurturing it? Or have I thrown it in desperation down the toilet? Well….I am glad to report that all is well with Tomik. It (he?) is definitely a happy, contented little sourdough now that I have given him some rye flour to eat and started storing it in the much warmer airing cupboard (my kitchen was too cold). This morning I had proof that it is very much alive and behaving like a good, little sourdough should as, once I fed it, it doubled in size. OH YEAH! And in less than an hour! Continue reading ‘An experiment with sourdough (part 4)’

Pea and fennel soup

Published by Lucina, on 22 aprile 2013 in English Recipes and Soup. 3 Comments

pea and fennel soup

This recipe is for all the soup fans out there. As you know I like a good soup and I often experiment with them. It couldn’t be simpler and quicker. Let’s face it, you don’t need any sophisticated culinary skills to achieve a decent one. However, although easy to produce not all soups are equal. Some are a cut above the rest and the combination of vegetables used works particularly well, like in the case of this pea and fennel soup I invented last night, for example. Ok, I’ll come clean : I  had a fennel in the fridge which was beginning to look a bit sad and had to be used pronto and I had just bought a bag of frozen peas in the supermarket. Continue reading ‘Pea and fennel soup’

Piadina mediorientale

Published by Candida, on 21 aprile 2013 in Antipasti, sfizi, finger food..., carne, Chiacchiere/Chatting, Ricette in Italiano and Torte salate, pizze. 3 Comments

  Oh gli orrori della fusion! Anatema sui miscugli che se ne infischiano della filologia gastronomica!! Eppure, qualche volta girellare per il mondo culinario può darci idee e suggerire qualcosa di nuovo che poi nelle nostre cucine nostrane lieviterà e prenderà forme tra l’usuale e l’insolito. A me piace molto curiosare in un bellissimo sito di cucina libanese che mi aperto un mondo di profumi, colori e ricette accurate. E così lì ho rubato un modo per fare le polpette, il delizioso sapore acidulo della melassa di melograno (che mi compravo sempre a Mosca, la narsharab azera e che adesso ho scoperto poter trovare in qualsiasi minimarket arabo o di prodotti mediorientali), mille usi per il pistacchio e tante altre cose buone. Questa mia contaminazione parte dalle pie di carne Damascus style, la cui ricetta originaria (fatta con l’agnello) trovate qui. Ed ecco una libera interpretazione da mamma lombarda. Continue reading ‘Piadina mediorientale’

An experiment with sourdough (part 3)

Published by Lucina, on 19 aprile 2013 in bread and English Recipes. 2 Comments

Welcome back! I honestly thought I would have to announce the demise of my sourdough today and blog it as a misdemeanour (misfatto) but no! The sourdough is still alive and kicking (see photo)! By the way: I read that ,apparently, there is a tradition amongst sourdough hardcore makers to name their sourdough. That’s right! Just like what you would do with a pet. Bizarre,eh? So in line with this tradition I have decided to call mine after the little cat I brought back from Hungary. So Tomik it is! Anyway, let’s rewind a bit and I’ll tell you exactly why I thought Tomik had met his maker (Ha ha…ok, the metaphor doesn’t quite work in this case, but you know what I mean). The reason was that after the first feeding took place (part 2 of the experiment) I noticed that shortly afterwards all bubbles had disappeared and the mixture had gone flat and separated into a top layer of acetone smelling liquid and a bottom layer of oily, gungy looking dough! What on earth was THAT??? Continue reading ‘An experiment with sourdough (part 3)’

An experiment with sourdough (part 2)

Published by Lucina, on 17 aprile 2013 in Chiacchiere/Chatting. 3 Comments

 

sourdough (part 2)

 

Well readers…. it’s Wednesday and here I am as promised to update you on the sourdough experiment. As you can see from the vile brownish colour and bubbles on the surface of the dough it would seem the mixture is active allright! In fact perhaps too active! And by the way the dark top layer is what should happen. As for the smell: I can’t convey it in writing but I can tell you it ain’t all that pleasant! Again this is perfectly within the norm, hence the name “sour”. So far the experiment would seem to have worked. Anyway, for the records: after the initial three days you are supposed to give it its first feed. This process is called “refreshing”. To do this discard half of the mixture and add another 100 gr. of strong white flour and 100 ml. of water . I actually added a little bit less water as the dough was very watery  (I hope this is normal and it doesn’t mean it has gone bad already!). Now I have to wait another 24 hours and then, IN THEORY, I could make my first bread loaf….I’ll keep you paged…well, blogged.

An experiment with sourdough (part 1)

Published by Lucina, on 14 aprile 2013 in bread and English Recipes. 12 Comments

sourdough ingredients

Hello everyone,  making sourdough is something I’ve never tried before and I want to share with you my step by step experiment at attempting to produce my very first batch. Forget the English saying that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. In my book you are most definitely never too old to try new things (see this blog)!!! Of course, like all experiments, there is no guarantee this is going to succeed. In fact it may very well turn into a disaster, but what the hell! Nothing ventured, nothing gained.  As you know I’m into bread making at the moment. Sourdough bread is something I often buy at my local artesan bakery. It has a taste and texture which sets it apart from “normal”, or should I say traditional, bread. When I recently went to my bread making course I asked about it and discovered some very interesting things. Continue reading ‘An experiment with sourdough (part 1)’