Corner View: Table

What is the best thing about any table? Food on it :-)

Yesterday we came back from Italy. We had absolutely fantastic time with family and friends. We also ate lots of great food, as you can see on these few images above. My pregnancy appetite is really huge, my bump has grown visibly in the past week or so. But... could you really say no to such delicious dishes...? I couldn't...

For more CVs, please visit lovely Fancesca.

Something different.

Do you sometimes get tired of planning meals and you feel like you're always cooking the same things? Boring. I know. I feel this way very often. Luckily, I like trying new things and always look for some inspiration from blogs, cook books or TV programmes. Lately, I've been in love with River Cottage recipes and yesterday I decided to try one of them for supper. River Cottage spinach and goat cheese pie, anyone?

I love spinach. Raw, baked, wilted, steamed, you name it. And I'm a big fan of goat cheese too. To combine them both together is an opportunity I can't miss. Yesterday's pies were a big success. G. wasn't too exciting about the filling but she did love the pastry. We loved everything.

You can find the recipe here.
To make rough puff pastry dough I used a recipe from "Pie" by Angela Boggiano (a really good book for pie lovers).

Corner View: Menu del giorno

primo piatto: spaghetti al sugo di pesce spada
(first course: spaghetti with swordfish sauce)

secondo piatto: insalata vegetariana
(second course: vegetarian salad)

with freshly baked bread on the side

and a glass of home brewed beer

We eat out at least once a week, usually on Saturdays. First we do some shopping and than we look for a nice place to have our lunch. Every time we try to eat in different place but sometimes we come back to the same tratoria or restaurant if the food is delicious. And it usually is (but I am Italian food lover so it's difficult to make me disappointed). What you can find on the menu is differend kinds of pasta with wide choice of sauces, pizzas, salads, seafood dishes, soups, many kinds of bread etc... These photos above were taken last Saturday in a small bar/restaurant in the centre of Genoa and they show my choice from the menu that day.

Menu of the day in other corners:

jane, ladybug-zen, ian, bonnie, esti, sophie, cele, modsquad, caitlin, joyce, ani, couturecoucou, kim, a day that is dessert, natsumi, epe, kaylovesvintage, trinsch, c.t., jeanette, outi, schanett, ritva, dongdong, francesca, state of bliss, jennifer, dana, denise, cabrizette, bohemian girl, ruth, dianna, isabelle, amber, all the lovelies, mister e, janis, kari, jgy, jenna, skymring, elizabeth, audrey, allison, lise, cate, mon, victoria, crescent moon, erin, otli, amy, ida, caroline, lisa, dorte, kimmie, la luna dans le ciel, nicola, malo, vanessa, britta, virgina, april, rebecca, b, sunnymama, kyndale, samantha, karen, kristina, angelina, juanita, pamela, emily, dorit, sophie, janet, mcgillicutty, desiree, travellingmama, aimee, mirtille, madchen, guusje, boise, daan, woolie, 2ndspring, jenell, tina, inna, lisa, ninja, ibb, urbaniche, allegria,line, conny, demara

Somewhere in the maze of those narrow streets in historical centre of Genoa there is one of our favorite vicolo*: Via Dei Macelli Di Soziglia. It's very dark and long and doesn't look particularly attractive but it is where you can find the best organic food in the city. Or if you are after fresh fish and seafood. Or meat, if you like it. Almost every Saturday morning we pack our juta bags and visit our little but well stocked bio-store and do our grocery shopping. This is where we get our fruits and veggies from, along with grains, canned goods, teas and eco cleaning stuff. You can even get organic products for your dog or cat, if you have one.

I don't know why but it always puts me in a good mood when I come back home with bags full of fresh veggies and organic goods. I like to think that we really try to make a difference.

*vicolo- narrow, dark street or alley

Corner View: Favorite dish

This week theme comes from Joyce and it's a tough one ;). I love food and have one zillion favorite dishes, so it is difficult for me to choose that particular one. But if I could have one dish right now, it would definitely be C.'s minestrone with fresh coriander leaves:

served with fresh, home-baked bread:

***

Thank you all for your supporting words in your comments. I hope this melancholy goes away soon..

***

Favourite dishes in other corners of the world:

jane, ladybug-zen, ian, bonnie, esti, sophie, cele, modsquad, caitlin, joyce, ani, couturecoucou, kim, a day that is dessert, natsumi, epe, kaylovesvintage, trinsch, c.t., jeanette, outi, schanett, ritva, dongdong, francesca, state of bliss, jennifer, dana, denise, cabrizette, bohemian girl, ruth, dianna, isabelle, amber, all the lovelies, mister e, janis, kari, jgy, jenna, skymring, elizabeth, audrey, allison, lise, cate, mon, victoria, crescent moon, erin, otli, amy, ida, caroline, lisa, dorte, kimmie, la luna dans le ciel, nicola, malo, vanessa, britta, virgina, april, rebecca, b, sunnymama, kyndale, samantha, karen, kristina, angelina, juanita, pamela, emily, dorit, sophie, janet, mcgillicutty, desiree, travellingmama, aimee, mirtille, madchen, guusje, boise, daan, woolie, 2ndspring, jenell, tina, inna, lisa, ninja, ibb, urbaniche, allegria,line

Apple crumble...

We can't deny it: winter is coming. I can feel its breath in the air. I don't know why but when I think of winter, I think of apples and cinnamon. It's my favourite combination and yesterday I tried a new recipe that was passed by a good friend of mine (thank you, Blue!). Apple crumble... mmm... sweet heaven in mouth… We ate it almost all at once and we’re sure we’ve found a perfect warming up treat for this coming winter.

Ingredients:
1 kg apples
1 cup instant oats
¼ cup coconut shreds
½ cup flour
½ cup sugar
125g butter
cinnamon

Preparation:
Peel apples and dice them, mix them with a bit of sugar and cinnamon and simmer for about 10 minutes on a low heat.

Mix all dry ingredients. Add soft butter (cut into chunks) and rub it properly until mixture becomes crumbly.

Place warm apples in ovenproof dish and cover them with crumbs.
Bake in 180 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.
Serve with vanilla ice-cream and enjoy! (Believe me, you will…)

(Apple crumble just before putting it into oven. No picture after baking was taken- we ate it immediately! ;) )

Sweet taste of summer.

There are many reasons I love summer for but one of the best things about this season of year is variety of veggies and fruits on the market. Having such a big choice puts me into inspirational mood and lets me enjoy my experimantal kitchen. I try preparing new things but I don't feel too comfortable in the kitchen and I always worry too much about the results of my work. Usually there is no reason to worry because my experiments turn out fine. They are edible. What's more, they are tasty.

Some time ago I made apricot jam. I's my very first jam; I wasn't sure if it was going be a success but I'm more than happy with the result.

I love its thick consistency and vivid orange color. The taste is delicious. Thanks to some lemon juice, it's not very sweet, it's just right. And a breakfast made of pancakes with this jam is a real heaven, trust me.

I think that making jams is a great way of saving a piece of summer for later, for colder and less colorful time of year. My mum used to make lots of jams for winter. Goosberries, black currants, cherries, plums, strawberries, any fruits we had in the garden were turned into little treasures of summertime, closed in jars and put away in the pantry for winter. When I was a child, we used to go to the forest to pick up blueberries and wild raspberries. The first ones were for jams, andf rom the second ones we made juice. I still remember its thick, sweet taste. My mum used to add it to my tea when I cought cold in winter.

To save some sweet taste and color of summer you need:
1.5 kg washed and peeled apricots*
330 grams sugar
half a cup water (around 100ml)
half a lemon

In a big pot mix apricots with water, sugar and juice from sqeezed lemon. Boil on a small heat, stirring from time to time, until the mixture gets jam consistency. Pour into jars and keep it safe. And enjoy!

*or any fruit of your own choice