My Ricotta Cake

Goodmorning!!

it's Spring Break and my children are all home. They are still all asleep, I was able to wake-up early to sip my big cup of caffe'-latte while reading the news and catching-up on my instagram feed, I love checking everybody's pictures and new posts, it gives me a lot of inspiration.

So, in this time of peace and calm I'll take advantage to share with you a delicious cake I made a few days ago. In Italy it's a classic: the Ricotta Cake. I used to make it all the time, then somehow I forgot about it, maybe because here in the States I never eat ricotta, as it's very different from the one I was used to eat. I saw a recipe online and I suddenly remembered the taste and how soft and tender that cake was. I had to make it!! I adapted the recipe to my taste and memories.

Here it is.

MY RICOTTA CAKE

Ingredients:

• 3 EGGS (whites and yolks separated)
• 1 cup of SUGAR
• 7 tbsp of BUTTER (melted)
• 1 cup of RICOTTA
• 1 cup of FLOUR
• 1 tsp of BAKING POWDER
• LEMON ZEST (1 lemon)
• 1 cup of CHOCOLATE CHIPS (semi-sweet)
• POWDER SUGAR for dusting

1. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until fluffy and pale yellow. 
2. Add the ricotta and keep mixing until smooth and the melted butter.
3. Sift-in the flour together with the baking powder.
4. Beat the egg whites until firm and gently add them to the batter, mixing softly, making sure they don't get flat.
5. Gently mix-in also the lemon zest and at last the chocolate chips.
6. Grease and flour dust a cake pan (9 inches), add the batter and put in preheated oven at 350 F degrees for 30-35 minutes. (Always insert a tooth-pick in the cake to check if it's well cooked. If it comes out clean, it means the cake is done). 
7. Dust your cake with powder sugar and serve.

It's a very simple recipe and you'll see how good it is!! Everyone will love it! My children were a little skeptical at first but they ate it all! I hope you'll enjoy it as well.

xoxo,

~But first Coffee...

Buongiorno!!

I was reflecting on traditions and the importance to pass it on to your children. Last Sunday was the feast of St. Joseph (father of Jesus), in Italy is a big deal because that's when Father's Day is celebrated. I have to explain it to my children every year, as in the United States Father's Day is celebrated sometimes in June, I think, and for sure not on the feast of a saint, as it's not a catholic country. 

One tradition that for sure I will never change is the way I make coffee! There's million of coffee drinkers around the world and I think Italians are the most picky. I know because I'm one of them.

This is the way I make coffee:

 As you can see I used a specific machine (mine is electric), it's called MOKA. Yes, that's what you're going to get if you order a "mocha" in an Italian cafe. :)

The result is a thick, extremely dark, luscious coffee. You can mix it with milk (= Caffelatte) or with a foamy milk (=Cappuccino) or just drink it as it is. 

I don't use any type of coffee for my Moka machine, it has to be Italian, because of the way it's grounded and the flavor. My favorite brand is Lavazza {pron. LAH-VAH-TSA}.

If you are interested in authentic Italian coffee and you would like to use my Moka machine you can order yours here:

Once you'll start to make this type of coffee you won't like it any other way!! Trust me.

Now excuse me if I go drink some...

xoxo,

Rustico ~ a delicious recipe from my town.

Hello Hello!!!

I have been asked to write the recipe of this delicious treat. I have published it on my Recipe Blog... but it's in Italian {here is the LINK, if you are interested}. I'm translating here the recipe in English for all those who would like to try it without using google translate... because who knows what would come out!!! :))

If like me, you use the frozen puff-pastry it will be very simple. Here we go:

INGREDIENTS

• 2 sheets of frozen PUFF-PASTRY

Bechamelle Sauce

• 2 cups of warm MILK
• half stick of BUTTER
• 3 tbsp of FLOUR
• SALT
• PEPPER

extra ingredients for the filling

• a can of PEELED TOMATOES
• 1 cup of FRESH MOZZARELLA
• 1 EGG

1. Thaw the puff-pastry.
2. Prepare the bechamelle sauce:melt the butter in a small pan on medium heat. When melted add the flour. Mix well, always stirring. Add the milk very slowly, always stirring, until it becomes a cream. Add salt and pepper. 
3. Every rustico is formed by 2 discs of puff-pastry (diameter of 5-6 inches), you can also make it square... any shape you like.
4. Put a dollop of bechamelle in the center of the first disc, add 3 chunks of mozzarella and one or two well squeezed can tomatoes. Add a pinch of salt.
5. Beat the egg to use it as a "glue" to attach the two puff-pastry discs together. Brush the edges of the first disc and close the rustico covering the filling with the second disc, pressing well the edges to form kind of a dome on top.
6. Brush the whole surface with the rest of the egg-wash.
7. Use the rest of the puff-pastry and ingredients to make 2 or 3 more rusticos.
8. Bake in pre-heated oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Well, that's all!!! I hope you like it... and if you make it... please let me know!!!!! :)

 

xoxo,

One Year Of Silence Filled With Blessings.

One year of silence from this blog. 

One year of miracles.

The pictures below will speak for themselves.

We were extremely blessed with the conception and birth of our fifth baby.

We had the incredible opportunity to go to Italy to visit my family.

Our heart is full, giving thanks to God.

 ...drinking from a fountain in Rome.. {5 months pregnant}

 Castro, Italy.

 Enjoying a delicious meal with family and friends.

 My Love.

 Making pizzas using an old wood-burning oven.

 "Swiss-guard" at the Vatican.

 Beautiful beach at the feet of a castle.

 My sweet baby Rita, one day old.

So many stories to tell, so many things.. a little silence sometimes is good.

xoxo to you all,

A scent of Italy.

Hello Friends!!!

what a beautiful hot day we had here in California today!! After a few days of rain, the sun is back again! It really felt like summer... and when I feel that type of warmth I can only think of my South of Italy {where I come from}. I recently had the opportunity to purchase something I had on my "I-really-want" List for a long time and it arrived two days ago all the way from the beautiful Calabria (Italy)!!! 

I purchased a pretty locket with a deliciously homemade solid perfume called Scirocco. I first fell in love with the name as it takes me back to the South of Italy... for those who don't know, it's the name of a wind that originates in Africa (in the Sahara desert) and blows through the Mediterranean sea. It brings with it the scent of summer, of the jasmine, the oranges and other citruses.. well, that perfume contains it all! I can close my eyes and smell the countryside where I grew up.

I want to thank so much Mariu', the owner of the beautiful Etsy SHOP called LaMiaCasaNelVento, meaning My House In the Wind {she makes also organic soaps and candles}. She also writes a BLOG where she shares the most amazing pictures! You should check it out!!

Her talent is great and the care she takes in bringing every little detail to perfection is what touches me.

I feel honored to have one of her pieces and to be able to smell Italy. If you are curious... you should go order one of her perfumes as well and let me know what you think!! :)

this is what I received.... 

Here is something you can find in her shop:

Natural Solid Perfume

Organic Chamomile

Hugs to you all!!

..and tanti baci...

Rich & Creamy Hot Chocolate {Italian style}

Hello everyone!

How many of you watched the SuperBowl yesterday??... well, I hope you were all SeaHawks' fans, because for the Bronco Fans it has not been a very good afternoon.. :(

It was so disappointing that at the end of the game I had to find a way to cheer up and the first thing that popped in my mind was the Hot Chocolate I used to drink in Italy. What's better than a dense and luscious hot chocolate?? And when I say dense I mean it! Every time I make hot chocolate for my children (the store-bought kind) it's basically a hot chocolate-milk.  The kind I used to drink is like velvet, it sticks gently to the spoon.. but it's at the same time liquid enough to drink.

If you have never had it you should try it... and the secret is very simple!

RICH & CREAMY ITALIAN STYLE HOT CHOCOLATE

• Your favorite kind of Hot Chocolate {I used the "double chocolate" Starbucks brand}
• 1 full tsp of Corn Starch each serving
• sugar {only if you need it}
• Cold Milk

Mix the cocoa powder and the corn starch together in a pot. Add as much milk as directed (usually one cup per serving). Stir on low heat... never stop stirring! Let it boil a little bit and serve hot.

 

Yesss! The corn-starch does the magic!

 

What's your favorite kind of hot-cocoa? Share your recipe... I would love to know!!!

 

xoxo,

 

 

Best Summer Drink ~ Lemon Italian-Ice Recipe

What can I say.. summer heat is on and it's time to get refreshed with a delicious drink!

Today I want to share with you a secret recipe of the most delicious "Italian-ice"... in Italian it's actually called GRANITA {probably because it's as hard as granite??}, it's a very popular homemade summer treat. You can eat it by itself in a cup or enjoy it in a drink. It's really good mixed in a glass of ice-tea... but my favorite way to eat it is in a big glass of Coke! {did you know I'm addicted to Coca-Cola?}.. just add a few big chunks to your drink, they will replace the ice-cubes and will slowly give a lemony flavor... :)

Ok, here is the recipe:

Lemon Italian-Ice  { a.k.a. ~ Granita di Limone ~}

• 4 big lemons
• 4 cups of water
• 1 cup sugar

Boil the water with the sugar, until dissolved. Let it cool down.

Squeeze the lemons and add their juice to the sweet water.

Pour the mix in a container (preferably with lid) and put it in the freezer until completely frozen (it should take a couple of hours).

Take it out of the freezer 20 minutes before trying to serve it... it will be very hard! Use a strong spoon to scrape the ice.

Serve it in bowls or in your favorite drink.

 

Enjoy!!!

 

 

xoxo,

 

 

Spicy Oil Recipe.

This Sunday I'll share with you a recipe that I just experimented in my kitchen! Spicy-Delicious-Oil!! The only oil I ever use is Extra Virgin Olive Oil {EVOO as Rachael Ray would say...}, because that's the only oil used everyday in Italian cuisine. I use vegetable oil only if I need to deep fry {because olive oil burns too fast and would burn my food as well}. Well, the type of infused oil I made today is used to give a light spicy flavor to your food.. it's delicious even just sprinkled on a piece of bread!

All you need is this:

• 1 bottle of 500ml of EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
• 5 small spicy fresh peppers (I got mine from the Mexican store)

Clean well and pat dry the peppers. Remove the stems and cut them in half. Put them in a pot on low heat, pour the oil and let it warm up. Once it starts boiling, let the peppers infuse for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let them cool down. Pour the oil by passing it through a small colander into a bottle {I used the same bottle I took the oil from}. Use the oil to cook your food or to just give extra flavor.

Enjoy!!!

xoxo,

My Bubbly Lasagna

Hi everyone!!! Remember when I said it’s really hot in California?.. well, it still is… And remember when I said that my oven is always on no matter how hot it’s outside?.. well, it’s on!!

Today I made one of my favorite dishes. I used to ask my Mom to make it for my birthday when I was still living at home. It’s an easy and delicious recipe..  the Traditional Italian Lasagna. Yes, it’s true that with pasta you can put any ingredient you want.. but the original Lasagna dish is very simple, the main ingredients are the so called “Ragu’ Sauce” {homemade meat sauce..not the, according to my taste, disgusting already made sauce in the jar} and the “Bechamelle Sauce”.

For MY RAGU’ you need:

• half onion
• 1 stalk of celery
• 1 carrot
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 lb. of ground beef
• 1 large can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 splash of red wine
• salt

In a large pan, on medium heat, saute’ the onion, celery and carrot (previously minced) with a splash of Olive Oil. Add the meat and a little salt. When the meat turns brown add a splash of wine and let it cook for 2 minutes.

Add the whole can of crushed tomatoes, add another pinch of salt.

Let it cook on medium-low heat for at least 35 minutes.

BECHAMELLE SAUCE:

• 1/2 stick of BUTTER
• 3 spoon-full of FLOUR
• 2 1/2 cups of milk
• 1 pinch of SALT
• grated NUTMEG (if you have it)

Warm up the milk in the microwave. Melt the butter in a saucepan at medium heat. Add the 3 spoons of Flour, always stirring. Add the warm milk little by little {never stop stirring!} until it becomes smooth and creamy. Add a pinch of salt and a pinch of nutmeg.

The Lasagna noodles I use are the NO BOIL BARILLA ones. They are the best!!! Also when I was in Italy, I used to use them all the time. I never met anybody who uses the boil kind (the first time I saw them was when I came to America)..

Grease a lasagna pan with a little butter, alternate the ingredients: a little bechamelle at the bottom, noodles, meat sauce and bechamelle, noodles, meat sauce and bechamelle… the top layer needs to be only meat sauce. Grate a whole bunch of Parmigiano {parmesan cheese}.

Cook in the oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

ENJOY!!!!

xoxo,

編みぐるみ or.. Amigurumi :)

I've always liked the cuteness of the so-called "amigurumi" and I've always wondered: What does it mean? Maybe you already know, but I had to go check on Wikipedia and the explanation is this:

Amigurumi is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures. The word is derived from a combination of the Japanese words ami, meaning crocheted or knitted, andnuigurumi, meaning stuffed doll. Amigurumi are typically animals, but can include artistic renderings or inanimate objects endowed with anthropomorphic features,as is typical in Japanese culture.

Now it makes sense!! :) 

I recently bought a pattern on Etsy. The owner and designer happens to be Italian! Her name is Ilaria, she's incredibly good! Her SHOP is beautiful! I also explored her BLOG.. she has some free patterns (I just started to create a little Matryoska doll.. too cute!) and she shows many of her creations. Everything is so adorable that makes me want to crochet all day! and it's exactly what I did today, forgetting a little bit about my messy house...

The pattern I bought from her was very well explained, step by step, with a lot of pictures. I have to confess that the initial request to look for Amigurumi patterns came from my husband {I taught him how to crochet one day, when he was really bored.. and now he became better than me!!}.. he's the one who made Ilaria's Teddy Bear, I just gave it the final touch. 

And these are a few of Ilaria's works of art!!

kokeshi

yummi donuts

cute lemur

It's all for now....until next time!!

xoxo,

Italian TV Commercials :)

Today I was thinking about how much I used to watch TV when I was younger. Right now, married and with 4 children I really don't have the time! We also decided not to have cable, because we cannot afford it, and we don't want the kids to watch useless programs all day long {as I use to do!}. :) So, the only time I have to watch it's bed time.. when the children are already sleeping, I like to watch the local news and one or two episodes of old TV-shows, then I fall asleep!

I remember an old Italian commercial that I used to LOVE.. just because Richard Gere is in it!! haha! Yes, American actors sometimes appear in Italian commercials.. and they speak Italian! Look at this:

I also found a few with John Travolta from a couple of years ago. Here's one:

   

I think they're funny!! 

And you? Do you have time to watch TV? 

A prestissimo!!!

Tomato Harvest

It seems like Fall is never gonna come. It's still very hot outside.. but I have to say that I'm enjoying these last days of Summer. I can still dry the clothes outside, before the rainy days come... and I like watering the plants everyday, especially my tomatoes!! It's the first time I have my own tomato-plants! Yesterday I picked and ate the first one... so good! 

Speaking about pomodori reminds me of something fun I did last summer.. I gave a few Italian Lessons to a sweet Denver girl who wants to learn my beautiful language! I don't know how much she learned in the end, I wish I had more time to do more lessons, but time really went so fast. During my lessons I taught her also some simple recipes {we cooked pasta with tomato sauce... and Pizza with Zucchini Flowers.. everything from scratch of course... }. It was fun!!! The best way to learn a language is to be somehow part of the culture and that's what I tried to do. ♥

my student showing off our Pizza! Buonissima!!!

...the blessings of my garden...

Italian Traditions: Croccante Recipe

Today is August 26th!!! And for somebody like me who grew up in Lecce {in Apulia, South of Italy} this day only means "Town-Fair"! It's the day in which the Catholic Church celebrates St. Oronzo, which is the Patron, protector, of my town {each city in Italy has a different Saint who protects the town}. The Fair starts on the 24th and ends the 26th at night with beautiful fireworks. The city is decorated with lights of all kinds and shapes. When you walk at night through the old streets of the city.. it's just a fantastic experience! There is music playing from some of the hundreds of "bancarelle", the stands selling different items... food, books, jewels, clothes... anything! 

These gorgeous pictures were taken the other night by one of my friends from Lecce.. you can see the Roman Amphitheater and all the lights in the back {and St. Oronzo's statue on top of the column!}. 

And down here..some of the lights.

One of things I miss the most every year is the so called "cupeta" {in my dialect} or "croccante" {in Italian}. It's a delicious treat made entirely of sugar and almonds.

So, this morning I woke up thinking of it... and I decided to make it!! I want my children to taste its deliciousness and to learn about some of my traditions...

I have to say that I never made it before.. but it came out really good and crunchy.. as it should be {the word Croccante means CRUNCHY!}. Here it is!!

If you want to make it you just need:

• 2 cups of sugar 
• 1 splash of water 
• 4 oz. of peeled almonds (I used the slivered ones)

1. Toast the almonds. You can use the oven or you can sautee' them on a non-stick skillet, until golden.
2. Put the almonds on a piece of paper-wax inside a medium metal container (or a pyrex).
3. Melt the sugar with the water in a "thick-base" sauce-pan at a medium-low heat. It will take a few minutes. Just be patient. The sugar will crystallize and then melt in a brownish gluey sauce. 
4. Pour the caramel sauce on top of the almonds RIGHT AWAY covering them completely.
5. Let it cool down.
6. Finally, peel the paper off the croccante and cut in pieces. Enjoy!! and don't break your teeth!!!!! :))

Here's the recipe in pictures:

       

                         

Et Voila'!!

♥

P.S.

This post is linked to the beautiful blog Create.Craft.Love. 

Please go check out some other great blogs participating in this Party!

:)