Consider no more than three rolls for person as an appetizer and adjust proportions accordingly.

Cut the cheese in 1/2 inches cubes. Grate the rind of the orange on a small-hole grater (just the color, never get to the white pith that is bitter). Put the cheese cubes in a small bowl with the orange peel, mix and set aside. Prepare a strong black tea, let it cool and add in the prunes. Let the prunes sit in the tea for 20 minutes.

Filed under: Appetizers, Finger food ]]> http://breadandcherries.wordpress.com/2010/04/11/prune-bites/feed/ 0 cinzia http://breadandcherries.wordpress.com/2010/04/09/a-good-harvest-in-a-small-space/ http://breadandcherries.wordpress.com/2010/04/09/a-good-harvest-in-a-small-space/#comments Fri, 09 Apr 2010 02:13:53 +0000 cinzia http://breadandcherries.wordpress.com/?p=1463 ]]>

What a satisfaction to grow your own vegetables. Not only you are sure of how you grow it, it is also such a zen activity, take care of your space, of the little things that grow. Have the patience to do the right thing in the right moment…  Yes but what if we only have a small space? How many plants do we need in order to have a decent harvest? My backyard is a weird long triangle with the longest side of ca. 26′, as you see from my sketch below. It was necessary for me to do a little planning on how to have a “good harvest” and a nice looking backyard at the same time, without sacrificing all the space to vegetables. Let’s start from the beginning. I organized my thoughts in three main questions that I asked myself and I hope these suggestions will be of help to those of you that are planning to have their own veggie harvests this summer.

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1)  How many plants do I need to have a decent harvest?

According to most forums that I have read (this for example), an average of one-two plants per person should ensure a decent harvest. You need more if you want to can and freeze for the winter. We are only two, but we love vegetables, and I want to can. So, I figured that this is the quantity of plants that I need:

• 9 tomatoes (Roma, Early girls, Big boy, Celebrity)
• 6 peas
• 6 string beans
• 6 bell peppers
• 5 zucchini (of which: two Italian green zucchini squash, one yellow, two “ronde de Nice”)
• 3 eggplants
• 5 bell peppers
• Several hot peppers and herbs.

I am sure that I will not have full harvests of each plant every day, or every other day. But growing many different plants, I believe that I will be able to pick at least some mixed vegetables every day, to grill, for a sauce, for a salad, etc. And at the top of the season, start to can some!

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2) How do I fit these plants in my small backyard?

After a brainstorming with my husband we had the idea of planting vine vegetables along the perimeter of the backyard, all around the fence, so that they can give produce and at the same time serve as decorative plants. Tomatoes, peas, and beans, grow very tall and luxuriant if you sustain them with high vertical posts. I placed the plants in one line all around the fence, about 2 feet apart from each other and half foot from the fence. As the plants start to grow and get heavier, I will fix poles every other plant and have firm strings running between the poles. As the vines grow I will tie the new branches to the poles and strings, and I will keep adding strings higher so that the younger branches grow in height and not too large. In order to have also a nice scent I planted two jasmins along the line of vines. The plants are still small now, but I am sure that altogether they will make a nice beautiful green wall all around my backyard. The bell peppers will go in the narrow space to the right of the sketch, in front of the tomatoes. The hot peppers will probably go into a half barrel planter.

Also, I built with my husband a square redwood planter on a dent of the concrete pavement that covers the rest of our backyard (the rectangle on the left side of the sketch, and below), expanding of additional 4′ x 5′ my veggie garden. If you make a search for “how to build a planter” on the internet you will find lots of useful and well done videos and projects (like this). We followed these instructions, if you login you will also get very nice and precise sketch plans. In the planter I placed the eggplants and the zucchini squash. All herbs will be in the lower narrow part of the planter (1 foot x 4 feet). In the photo of the planter you see a couple of zucchini starters that look “knocked down” from the very recent abundant rain… risks of planting so early. I hope they will recover.

To complete the plan, we planted an eco-lawn and small flowers scattered in the foreground and right below some of the vegetable plants..

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3) Should I buy starters or should I plant my own seeds?

I did both. I bought starters for tomatoes, eggplants, and three zucchini, and I am doing the rest from the seeds. Why the starters? Because I couldn’t wait to see some plants in my backyard. Why the seeds? On one hand to have more plants spending less money, but also for the satisfaction of doing it myself. In fact, I bought a starter greenhouse kit that is a lot of fun (below the kit just seeded). I have planted here herbs, peas, beans, bell peppers, and some more zucchini.

I see it on Amazon for very cheap… I paid it more at Home Depot (15-18 dollars, I don’t remember exactly). Anyways, I loved the pellets that expanded in seconds with the warm water and filled the cells completely. It is quite a fun adventure! I have never grown anything, not starting from the seeds, so it gave me a great sense of satisfaction to see the first seedlings. I found this interesting forum that discusses in very detail how to make the best use of a seed starter greenhouse: for how long to keep the dome on the seedlings, when remove it, if use an artificial light to make your seedlings grow faster, etc. I learned a lot.

In fact, I was keeping the greenhouse covered with its dome all the time and over the days I observed, full of surprise, the incredible growth of my peas and beans that are already quite long, and so are the zucchini; whilst the peppers are just starting to appear. The fact that I kept the dome on after the seedlings were growing has caused a few of them to break . So, following the advices of our friends in the above mentioned forum I removed the dome. Also, I have my greenhouse located close to a window that receives a lot of light, which is good, but now I have started to turn it every now and then so that the plants don’t grow in the same direction following the light.

We’ll see how it goes. Today, Friday April 9th, after two weeks from planting, the result is quite encouraging (see above) and I should already move the larger seedlings in the backyard, but this weekend will be pouring rain and is still quite chilly in Marin in these days. I will wait a few days more, hopefully the weather will be less crazy from next week on and finally bring in a long waited spring.

More soon…

The Pastiera Napoletana is the “great lady” of the Italian Easter tradition. Mostly in the South. I know that Easter has passed… but this tart, freshly flavored with citrus, is in perfect harmony with the spirit of this beautiful spring. The preparation is not difficult, but definitely it requires some time and planning. The original recipe, like many of a very ancient tradition, is lost as is the memory of who and when invented this cake. But, like all great traditions, it has left a huge legacy of family recipes that are exchanged, transmitted, jealously kept, and criticized. So, here I am with my first pastiera ever, perpetuating my grandmother’s interpretation of this special Easter cake.

This recipe prepares one 14 inches diameter pastiera.

B) Ingredients for the filling

A) Prepare the short pastry.

B) Prepare the filling.

I learned that it exists an “official” website for the pastiera napoletana ☺ Check it out:

…with these two little things. What to say… we so much wanted a cat. Requisites: ONE, very young (8-10 weeks kinda thing), to be adopted. The only requisite we met is the last one.

It is last Sunday. We leave on our mission. We go to the Milo Foundation in San Rafael (HERE). Now, the Milo Foundation, is a fantastic place with fantastic people that do a great job with all our little friends, stray, sick, lost, abandoned. They take them, they fix them, they microchip them, they neuter and spay them, they give them in adoption. We are there. We are waiting our turn. We are looking around. Cages with grown up cats that have less chances to be adopted at this point (spring is coming… lots of little sweet kittens to be available soon). We love them all. They are all so sweet, defenceless, so in need for love. And there is this couple, they are brother and sister. Usual story of abandonment. They are 8 months old and we are already in love. We take the boy. We spend a horrible night with the thought of the little tabby alone in her cage. The day after we call, we go, we take her and reunite them. They are still adjusting to the house, but definitely look happy and at ease.

Their names are Pablo and Stella –or Stellina, Stelluccia, Stelletta, and all the fantastic variations of this name that I can make in Italian for this little sweet wonder. Enjoy some shots of them and a cute drawing that our little friend Lindy (a 5 years old natural born artist) did when she first met them.

If you want/can have a pet, please don’t buy. Foster or adopt!

To make the better use of fresh spinach, it is a good habit to separate the smaller more tender internal leaves to be eaten raw in salads, and cook the external thicker ones. So I did. Rich, healthy, and quick. Enrich your spinach leaves with raisins, walnuts, pine seeds, blue or gorgonzola cheese if you like, and dress with a simple vinaigrette of 1 tsp extravirgin olive oil, 1 tsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp honey, one pinch of salt.

Grey and rainy here in the North Bay, but weather report says long lasting sun in the weekend and the next future. A fresh bunch of spinach and I took my chance for a may be my last hot soup of the season.

Finely slice garlic and onions and gently sauté with oil in a deep medium sized pan until blond and soft. Add the vegetable broth, meaning add two cups water and two teaspoons vegetable base. Stir well, add the potato cubes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, until potatoes are soft. Add spinach and cream. Stir until leaves wilt, about 3-4 minutes. A very short cooking of spinach is critical to obtain an intense and brilliant green color. Remove from heat and cool the soup to warm. Blend the soup using an immersion blender until smooth. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. I sauteéd a spoonful of pine-seeds in a little butter and used them as decoration.

To complete this dish prepare some garlic and cheese crostini as follows. Cut in two halves a clove of garlic and slightly spread the slices of bread (I used a Semifreddi’s ciabatta). Grate some cheese in rough flakes on the crostini, it might be parmigiano, grana, or even jack if it pleases your palate, and broil for about 10 minutes. Enjoy very warm and stay dry!

It looks nice doesn’t it? (… it was evening, hungry, no time for white balance, the photo is horrible…). But in less than half a hour I put together this seriously nutritious dish in a beautiful presentation. The preparation in few steps:

1) quickly wash 1 cup quinoa and put it in a small pan with 2 cups of cold water, at medium-low heat, put the lid on and leave it gently boil for 20 minutes;

2) pull out from freezer two handfuls of green beans and boil them according to instructions on the bag. Usually you put the frozen beans in the cold water and cook for about 10 minutes after the water boils. Drain, set aside;

3) put on a medium heat a large pan with two teaspoons olive oil, 1 clove of garlic, a handful small tomatoes chopped in halves, black olives (and capers if you like, they are a very nice addition);

4) after five minutes put the fish fillets in the pan with the sauce and cook for 12 minutes. At half time turn the fillets upside down to cook throughly.

5) DONE! For a nice presentation, shape quinoa into little mounds and arrange beans and cod around it.

I did it again. Veggie burgers for the happiness of our vegetarian friends, and also mine even though I am not vegetarian. I love vegetables with all their derivates, remixing, and interpretations. This time is a very peculiar veggie burger made with a healthy and comfy combination of kale and potatoes. The winter season is almost behind us (finally!) so enjoy the last kale or replace it with spinach or broccoli.

• 1  bunch kale, trimmed (less than a pound)

Chop kale after cleaning it, and put it with half cup water in a steam bag. Cook in the microwave for 8 minutes; stop at half time and turn the bag upside down for a throughly cooking. Put kale in a food processor and mix it for few seconds, add a pinch of salt and set aside.

Ingredients for these easy-to-prepare traditional Italian cookie are very basic.

1/4 pound sugar
1/2 pound butter
2/3 pound flour
1 yolk
icing sugar for decoration (or jam)

Soften the butter into a bowl; add the sugar and mix to obtain a consistent mixture. Add the egg yolk and continue mixing. Transfer this dough onto a flat clean surface and gradually add the flour, kneading. When the mixture is a consistent and solid ball, wrap in clear plastic and leave to rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Pull out of the fridge and roll out the ball into a 1/3 inch thick sheet (a little less than a centimeter). Start cut the cookies with a biscuit cutter in the shape of a flower with a hole in the middle (classic shape of canestrelli). Alternatively you can use a non-holed cutter and have handy a small circular cutter to make the hole separately. This will be useful if you want to prepare “sandwich” canestrelli as I did. Remix quickly the dough that has left from the first cut to make another sheet of dough and continue cut.

Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper and place the cookies over it. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 F and bake for about 20-25 minutes. Let cool down. Decorate dusting with icing sugar. These cookies are amazing with a vanilla or zabaione cream, perfect with tea or espresso.

For the sandwich alternative of the picture. Cut thinner canestrelli (say 1/4 in.) using a non-holed flower shape. After you have all the “bases” done, cut out a hole from the half of the canestrelli that you obtained. Spread a teaspoon jam on a non-holed base and place the holed flower on top of it in a way that the “petals” overlap perfectly.

I chosed the recipe found on this blog. This nice guy named the blog “Mr Canestrello” after his preferred and most successful cookie recipe apparently… Indeed cookies were very good,  the recipe is accurate and the procedure very well explained. For those who can read Italian.

Ingredients to prepare gnocchi are so very simple that is difficult to go wrong with the recipe, even though the procedure requires attention, and to achieve a good result some expertise in cooking is needed.

Instead of writing the recipe myself I selected a couple websites that I like, where I found the same ingredients and procedure that I use and that are also guided with step by step photos. I just add here a few important things that is good to know for maximizing the result. Here are the ingredients:

Step by step recipes here and here. Interesting in the second, Elise cooks potatoes in the oven, even though the risk here is to have too dry potatoes and a harder dough. Nice the variation of the shape, kinda square with a light pressure in the center. Finally in this page of the website of Giallozafferano that I love and check often, you can find a video taped preparation that you may find useful.

B&C TIPS

1) Which potatoes to use

2) How to cook potatoes

3) At the end of the mixing and kneading process the dough must be a smooth soft and fluffy ball, non-sticky.

4) Prepare a large working space (flour will go everywhere ) and a large flat baking sheet or tray coated with flour where your gnocchi will sit until cooking.

5) Gnocchi need a VERY SHORT cooking time. You will notice that when you pour gnocchi into the boiling water they will drop to the bottom of the pan. In one-two minutes you will see the gnocchi come to the surface, that is the sign that they are cooked and ready to be removed from water. DON’T DRAIN gnocchi as you would do with pasta. Gnocchi are very soft and delicate, instead remove them as they float to the surface with a strainer and put them into a pan or in the skillet with sauce. Dress and serve them immediately.

6) Preferred condiments are a simple tomato sauce with basil and grated parmigiano reggiano, or as suggested by Anna Maria Volpi butter and sage.

Enjoy warm with a beautiful glass of red wine