Pumpkin and Sausage Pasta

I recently made this pasta for our Bible study and it's always a big hit. It's also easy to do for large crowds. Requires a little prep work but worth it. Also, I wouldn't say it's the prettiest suce I've ever seen but the taste makes up for it in a big way. Enjoy!!

-olive oil
-red onion (chopped)
-1 garlic clove
-pancetta (chopped, one ounce round or equivalent). or I prefer to use sausage. just the cheap kind is good.
-grated pumpkin (2 or more cups)
-cream or milk (~100 ml)
-pasta (spaghetti works best) I use penne for big crowds.

*Saute first four ingredients for 10 mins
*Add grated pumpkin and stir, cook 'til boils down, make take a bit of time. starts to look like orange/brown mush.
*While doing this, boil pasta water and cook pasta
*slowly add cream to pumpkin mixture. then combine with warm pasta
- serves about 6

Pumpkin Puree

So most of us live in Italy and that means we don't have all the great conveniences of canned items like in America. So here is how I make pumpkin puree for bread, pies, etc. It also freezes well so I make a bunch at one time.

Cut the rind off your pumpkin and cube it. I use a pressure cooker because it is significantly faster. I pressure cook the pumpkin with about 1/4 c water or a tad less for around 10 ish mins. once it reaches full pressure. Then transfer the pumpkin to a food process and process til smooth. Place the puree in a sieve and let drain for about an hour to get out the water. Now it's ready to cook with or freeze.It's a bit of a process so I suggest doing a bunch at one time.

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

I'm not much on tomato soup but over hte last couple year I've started to become a fan. However, I prefer the creamier versions which can be a little less healthy but I mean it's soup so it's ok I think. Ha!! Below is a recent recipe I've been enjoying. Very simple nad makes a great quick dinner. In italy it's especially good with some schiacchiata or focaccia.

• 4 tomatoes - peeled, seeded and diced (I used canned diced tomatoes as a time saver)
• 4 cups tomato juice
• 14 leaves fresh basil
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup butter
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place tomatoes and juice in a stock pot over medium heat. Simmer for 30 minutes. Puree the tomato mixture along with the basil leaves, and return the puree to the stock pot.Or use an immersion blender.
2. Place the pot over medium heat, and stir in the heavy cream and butter. Season with salt and pepper. Heat, stirring until the butter is melted. Do not boil.Serve hot and with some crusty bread. 

The fall and all its glory...

I must say the fall and early winter are some of my favorite times especially here in Italy. The culinary world comes alive during this season full of chestnuts, pumpkin, soups, and much more. As the weather is turning cooler here in Florence and the first smells of autumn are peeking out I find myself getting more excited to be in the kitchen. This week I've gotten back into the swing of things with soup, chili, pumpkin/sausage pasta and pumpkin bread. Below I want to share one of my team's favorite recipes for Pumpkin Bread. It actually comes from allrecipes.com. It is a tried and true recipe that is sure to please everyone. You can make loafs, mini loafs for gifts or one giant bundt.

Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread: recipe from Laurie Bennett allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree 4 eggs 1 cup vegetable oil 2/3 cup water 3 cups white sugar 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.
2.	In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
3.	Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

* I like to add just a bit more spices than the recipe calls for. Also the bread is much better the second day. Freezes well also. Enjoy!!

Bank Deposits and Random People

So today I headed to the post office to make my bank deposit. Yes I know that is strange but it's one of the many quirks here in Italy but it's also really handy. Anyway, today I ran to my local post office and to my surprise it was pretty empty. My number was called and I headed to the teller window and began my process to make my bank deposit. We were only half way through the deposit(I still had the cash) when the lady asks "hey would you like a scratch adn win card?" to which I reply "hmm well I've never played before but why not". She returns to type a couple things on the deposit then pulls out the envelope of scratch adn win cards and proceeds to go through each option and how much they cost. So I choose the 1 euro card but tell her I don't know how to play. She says"oh well let's go back and finish the serious stuff first then I'll show you". We finish the deposit and she shows me how to play the game and sadly I lost by 1/2 point and didn't come home 70euros richer today. She said"darn I really would have liked you to win" and I replied "well next time. at least now i know how to play". I thank her and turn to leave the post office smiling and laughing at the same time and then there was this young guy sitting in the chairs whose jaw drops and her just stares at me and watches me as I walk out and then says HI in english. It was a bit hilarious and well flattering at the same time. Would these things ever happen in the US? Probably not but then the mundane isn't as fun their either is it???

On another note I am currently helping my teammate/current roommate look for an apartment. Last week we were walking to an agency by my house when we stopped to look at the listings in an agency window. There was a guy smoking outside so I though maybe he worked there since no one was inside. He said somethign to us, which I assumed was can I help you. I turned and ask cosa? meaning excuse me and he said "oh nothing i was just looking at the beauty". Caught a little off gaurd but flattered none the less. These kind of encounters are pretty daily around here for us and at first I thought they were so forward and a little awkward but I've come to enjoy their honesty and their opennes to comment on what they see, feel and think (as long as it's not when they are telling me I've gained weight). I mean what what I do if I walked down the street in america and some guys said this to me??? I say this to enourage more outgoingness in the american male population. : )

Easter baking

Today I thought I'd make an Easter cake but not just any cake one like my mom used to make when we were kids. She always made this bunny head cake with licorice whiskers and jelly beans eyes with a bow tie and all. I decided to make a homemade strawberry cake with buttercream frosting. It took a little while to make since I used fresh strawberries,etc. but the result is nice minus the bow tie. Apparently, I missed the memo there is actually a diagram from like the 60's telling you exactly how to make this cake and it includes a bow time. No jelly beans to be found in Italy and licorice is super costly so I settled on some bubble gum balls I found and some pink icing. After making the cake my teammate Kelly and I decided to check out what other bunny cakes could be found online. She was wondering if this cake design was a popular and well known things. We saw some nice cakes but these took home top prie for awesomeness. Just couldn't resist sharing.

 This guy was quoted as my pride and joy and... I could see this on the top shelf in a bakery. hm?!?

                                                     um not so sure about what this is??

                                              Not sure when pigs came onto the Easter scene

However, those birds and flowers are really cute.

maybe just the colors and decoration went awry. the cake shape is great. 

This is my simple bunny. Not much to work with here for decorations.

Easter in Italy

Some of you have asked what Easter in Italy is like, do we dye eggs, hunt eggs, is there an easter bunny??? So to answer some questions. Sadly the Easter bunny does not exist in Italy nor does the idea of him bringing you a basket or hiding eggs in your yard (not that we have yards to hide them in). Very few stores decorate for easter around here and if they do it's a huge display of big chocolate hollow eggs that contain some sort of prize. The grocery store is also packed out with these eggs with all kinds of themes: yogi bear, cars, winnie the pooh, spider man,etc. The cafes tend to have the more fancy decorated eggs for us adult types. I will say one cafe hear my house had included orange and green dinosaurs, iguanas, and shiny purple cats with furry collars in their window display. It was super interesting to say the least.
On Easter Sunday the few faithful around here attend mass and then have a big traditional Italian easter lunch with friends or family. Today, however, I learned that there is a saying here: Natale con i tuoi, Pasqua on chi vuoi which means Natale with your parents, Easter with who you want. So not everyone is hanging out with family celebrating tomorrow. I won't be that's for some logistical travel reasons not by choice. The large majority of people not attending any church services can be found in the center of Florence enjoying Lo Scoppio del Carro (the explosion of the cart) which is a long held each Easter Sunday in the main square of town. The tradition was started in 1099 after Pazzino dei Ranieri de' pazzi led a group of armed crusader to Jerusalem. While there he was given 3 stones from the Holy Sepulchre. Pazzino took these stones back to Florence and they were used to create a spark of new fire that represented new life each Easter and then after a blessing was said they "gave" out the fire to each individual family to reignite their family fire. Thus it became common to do as in Jerusalem and hand out this fire of the Holy Spirit which is a sign of ressurection here to the clergy and people of Florence. This story varies a little according to what you read.

Two white oxen covered in flowers carry the giant cart which is accompanied my 150 military, musicians, flag people,etc. through town to the Piazza Duomo. Once it arrives in front of the famous church a wire line runs form the cart into the church and hooks to the front altar. At the end of mass when the song Gloria in Excelsis Deo is sung a fire is lit on a dove attached to the wire. Then the dove goes zipping through the church to the cart where he sets fire to all the fireworks in the cart. The fire one the dove is a symbol from the holy fire that came out of the rocks Pazzino had received and then the fireworks represent the fire of blessing or the Holy Spirit going out to the whole city. However, there are other interpretation of the meaning of this ceremony origionally if the dove didn't arrive at the cart (the used to use a real dove)  it meant a bad harvest year for Florence but today it is either seen as a good or bad sign of the coming year for Florence.

So no bunnies, cute ducks and baby chicks but still an interesting day all the same here in Florence.

This is the lovely winne the pooh easter egg I picked out for myself. It was non milk chocolate option. Can't wait to check out my prize inside on easter morning.

http://youtu.be/qZPtKkZfbO0 Here is a link to a video of the cart and the parade.
http://youtu.be/o-vubGTbLqA This is a link to see the dove rocket out from the church altar.pretty cool.
http://youtu.be/5AJfuMRqPyY This is a video of hte insanity of the fireworks coming from this cart.

Mercatini...or what we call Italian old lady garage sales

So around Christmas time, early spring and Easter mercatini start poppin up all over the city. Mercatini is simply the Italian words for markets. But really you should picture maybe a side room in a church or an open area somehwere in the city that is filled with tables that are covered with every knick knack you can imagine- we're talking jewelry, dishes, clothes, old pictures, table cloths, toys,etc. It's really reminiscent of a garage sell but way better. Usually the tables are run by a group of older Italian ladies who've prety much just cleaned out their house of stuff from the last oh 70yrs or so and put it up for sell. The mercatini are almost always used to benefit the catholic mission of the church it's held in or a hospital project of some sort. You can most definitely get some cool stuff at these markets at rock bottom prices. My teammates and I are somewhat addicted to them. I had the pleasure of attending a sprign market today at a local church where some of the proceeds went to our project in Malawi, Africa. I tried really hard to resist this 5 piece old heavy painted metal set of pots-they were oh so fabulous. Teal on the outside with super cool retro pattern adn white on teh inside. But alas I resisted the 12 Euro purchase and ended up with a restaurant quality skillet for 3 euro and a plastic drip basket that makes 1 cup of american coffee. Not a bad day but a lot of fun talking to these older ladies hearing their life stories, where they got the items, and such. Next time I'll be sure to take pics so you all get the feel. Mostly I am excited because it's spring and Easter market season. Yeah!!

Panna Cotta with Strawberries

Last summer I taught cooking classes and offered 5 course Italian meals to many people in Mississippi. It was an incredibly fun time for me to get to share part of Italy's cuisine and culture with so many people along with sharing about my ministry here in Italy. Everyone loved this dessert that I made part of the 5 course meal. The beauty of it is its simplicity despite it fabulous presentation. It's rich in flavor but still ight after a big dinner.  People will think you spent hours working on this and that it must be something difficult. Not so! So here's the recipe. Enjoy and let me know how you like it. I usually make it the day before I want to serve it but after it's made it will last in the fridge for several days in the mold.

1 cup whole milk
scant Tb of powdered unflavored gelatin
3 cups heavy whipping cream
2 cups powdered sugar
1 vanilla bean split open- since these are costly in the US i only use half a bean per recipe
1 lb. fresh strawberries
4Tb sugar
4 tsp. balsamic vinegar


Place the milk in a small bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over it. Let stand for 3 to 5 minutes to soften the gelatin. Pour milk mixture into a heavy saucepan and stir over medium heat just until the gelatin dissolves and the milk doesn't boil yet.- make sure not to burn the milk on your saucepan bottom, about 5 minutes. Add the cream, vanilla bean, and powdered sugar and bring just to the start of a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer about 3-5 mins. Remove pot from fire and pour into molds- you can use the metal condiment bowls, individual muffin molds, wine glasses, dessert bowls, whatever you have handy. Refridgerate the desserts a minimum of 2 hours to allow it to set. I always make it in the morning or day before I serve it. Depending on the size of your mold it should make around 6 desserts. Cut the strawberries lengthwise and mix with the sugar and balsamic. let sit 30 mins. Turn out your molds by running a knife around the inside of the mold or if using glass dessert bowls/wine glasses you can serve the dessert right in those. Top each dessert with a spoonful of strawberries and a little of the juice. Serve straight out of the fridge.

Strawberries and Ricotta

So I was looking for a somewhat healthier dessert that was easy and lighter for the spring warmer weather. I stumbled upon a rachel ray recipe that I altered just a bit because not everyone likes almond extract and almonds are expensive here hence these two items both got ommited. I took about 1,000 g or 4 of the smallest containers of Ricotta cheese(it seems to be much creamier here) and mixed it with about 1/8 cup of sugar- can use splenda, natural sugar,whatever. I place a big spoonful in each cup and topped with fresh sliced strawberries(if they are really sweet throw them on top as is- if not toss them with a bit of water and a dash of sugar nad let them sit for a bit). You can top this with some slivered almonds to make it prettier but I didn't. The students loved this and it was super time sensitive for me. The ricotta is actually nutritionally better for you than say topping them with fresh whipped cream or mascarpone cheese. Enjoy.

what does my spare time say about me??

At this point in my life..approaching 30. I find myself really enjoying some different things than I did several years ago. One of which is cooking. I always cooked growing up, a lot. But since moving back to Italy 6 years ago it has become a sort of passion for me. I have done a few cooking schools in south italy and loved every minute. It was also a joy because I got to basically live with the same italian family that runs the school each time. These days I find myself constantly thinking about what I want to cook next or learn to make. I spend me nights sitting in my bed with piles of recipe books and recipes torn from magazines. I can't get enough. Honestly, if I could just cook all day and host events I so would. The up side is with agape I get to use this passion a good bit. Each thursday we have our student Bible study that comminces with some great community time and eating dinner all together. I love the challenge of cooking for numerous people and coming up with something new and exciting each week. A dream I've had for a while now is to open a sort of cafe here in Italy that really serves as an evangelistic point for young people. It would be awesome to have some christian students working there and learnign to share their faith and then being able to put into action what they have learned by making friendships with the students that come by. There would be almost nightly events- some music nights, art shows, discussion groups, cooking lessons, some counseling, and much more...all with the scope of serving the students in Italy and seeking to get to know them thus they get to know us and doors begin to open for the gospel to enter in. Mostly right now it's a dream. I mean financially it's kind of an insane dream in Italy but we shall see. Recently some friends have started having similar ideas and desires so maybe we can all unite to start something that would be a point of spiritual transformation here in Florence, a place where students could come and experience Christ in community. I often think about what if I won the lottery and how this would be so much of an easier dream/desire. I actually had a dream I won the Italian lottery not too long ago but in the dream I was scared to tell some co-workeers,etc. because I thought they would judge me for gambling. haha! Don't worry that's not a reality yet.  Anyway, those are just some thoughts on cooking and how much I enjoy it. Nothing too exciting.

art, art, o where have you gone

ART.... one word that defined so many years of my  life has now become but a longing. It seems so far from who I am now and what I am doing not because I don't love it anymore but because it has proven so hard to stay engaged in that part of me. The lack of time, space, affordable supplies, and connection to my job in ministry has made it tough. I've really only done 2 childrens paintings, 2 partial full size paintings and one watercolor since being here. I have spent many long evenings since being here in Florence sitting at the gelato cafe by my house working on drawings. These have become my sole staple and connection to what was once an all consuming passion. I miss it so much and it feels like a part of me is missing or dying. I believe that it's a gift the Lord has given me and it's amazing to create beauty but I feel sad that it's not being utilized. I need ideas and help on trying to figure out how to put it back into my life and also how to use it in ministry. Any suggestions would be a huge help. So send em' my way asap. I feel like a majority of the people around me aren't inclined in this area and that can make me feel alone in this like people don't fully understand how it's a part of me ok not just a part but it's who I am, how God made me and without it being expressed I feel in many ways un-whole. I throw around the idea of going back to school but really I don't want the whole assignment, critique,etc. side of it but rather just to make art and use it to engage people in the Gospel with their spiritual/creative side. My current goal is to figure out and carve out time to make art in whatever sense that may be. Below are just a couple of the drawings I've done in Florence.

Bar Roma Memories...the arrival

It's sad that I'm just now writing most of this down. I've never really been able to stop myself physically nad mentally enough to be much of a journaler or writer. I've always played with the idea of doing video journals since I'm more of a talker and story teller. But alas to keep from losing these memories I wanted to go back about 6 years to when I first arrived in Italy and tell some stories about my time getting to know the Via Roma people and working in the cafe/restaurant/bar there. Those were wonderful adventurous days that I will never forget and I thank the Lord for that blessing of being adopted into such a loving Italian family...an experience not many foreigners get.

It was August 2006, a hot and sunny day, when Amanda and I landed in Pisa. This big move had been a long time coming for both of us and we were more than excited to settle into our new apartment and get to know some locals. Our first couple days were spent cracking up at the furniture choices the Italians had made for the place and then stalking the comings and goings of all the neighborhood people. We had a balcony that ran the length of the front of our apartment on the first floor. This gave us an up close and somewhat personal view of all the people, stores, etc. etc. I loved to sit out there in the afternoons sometimes talking in English with Amanda just to create curiosity on the part of the Italians. You see not too many americans can be found living in Pisa, visiting the leaning tower yes, but not living there. During our first week we had gone to the local catch all store(mesticheria) and picked out paint colors for our new apartment. To our umm surprise the kitchen had been painted top to bottom in neon hunter orange. We came up with some choices we felt were more normal but the old gentleman who we later found out was named Fabrizio, was still shocked. We quickly learned that to Italians white is the best color all the time. Almost all of their apartments are white devoid of any wall colorings. Sad. I like to think white isn't even a color! It took just over 4 coats of paint to cover the orange.  One of our painting nights we got a little hungry after many hours of work so we decided to make a late night pizza run across the street. We, however, decided it was a good idea to go in our super american grungy paint wear. We made quite the scene at Bar Roma. From that night on we had a sort of staring back and forth relationship from our balcony with the workers there one in particulare was the pizza guy. We saw him wear cargo shorts flip flops and a baseball cap one day. Amanda and I were like whattt whose the americano working over there. A couple weeks later we'd find out he was really Albania. ha!!....really late now so more to come soon

Caty's Summer Pasta

My dear Italian friend Caty has also been a huge part of me learning to cook authentic Italian food. Her family lives just outside Florence and has an open door policy so meals there range from 5 to 35 people every day. This pasta is one of Caty's go to easy meals. It's more of a summer pasta, however. Food in Italy is very dipendent on the seasons. There are things you just can't get in the fall or things you just can't get in summer. I actually enjoy this little Italian quirk as it helps me to appreciate and indulge in the foods each season. As I've learned to cook quantities have kinda gone out the window so I'll do my best to help you all out. You want the sauce to have some juice to it but a good even ration between the tomatoes and cheese

diced tomatoes
diced smoked or regular mozzarella (not the shredded stuff) kroger, fresh market,etc. sells this and it comes in a big soft block or in a plastic tub floating in water. either one is fine.lots of chopped fresh basil
olive oil
salt to taste
any short type pasta- usually penne.

mix all together except the pasta at room temp.  It's best to buy an actual good brand of pasta like barilla- something made with grano duro. When cooking the pasta we always use coarse salt to salt the water. No oil is added in Italian cookoing just salt. We usually say 100g. pasta for an average woman and about 150-200 for an average man. You want a good sized pot of boiling water so the pasta can dance around in it. The salt amount is roughly about 1 TB for a medium sized pot. As the pasta cooks give it a taste to see if more salt is needed. The pasta should have a hint of saltiness to it. An Italian gradma told me once if you don't get hte saltiness of the pasta right you can never make up for it by making hte pasta sauce saltier. So I guess this would be an integral part of pasta cooking. We also like our pasta al dente with a smidge of bite to it- not rubber slimy.

 Italian Mozzarella Balls... oh so good.

Ragu' and more...

Tonight I find myself relaxing in my brightly colored kitchen after what by my accounts has been a great day. Beautiful sun, intriguing conversations on campus, a long ride on the bike down the river, and some fun grocery shopping time. I could spend hours in the grocery just browsing nad dreaming of all the things I'd like to buy and make. It feels like an old friend when I'm in the grocery. One of my other favorite pasttimes is mingling in the fruit and veggie section striking up conversation with all of the Italian nonne (grandmas). The wealth of knowledge, history, beauty and recipes I've learned there is endless. I count it a privilege that God gives me little glimpses into these women's lives and history. Even after a long or hard day just a few moments with one of these women can bring a smile to my face and an immense joy in just partaking in a small part of who they are. So tonight after trying to restrain myself from buying the whole store I sit here watching my huge pot of Ragu' simmer. Ragu' is what the americans would call spaghetti meat sauce but it's oh so much more than that. I also don't mean the stuff you grab off Aisle 3 at the sunflower or kroger store. Ragu' is fabulous with any pasta, on top of cooked polenta(think italian grits), inside homemade lasagna, etc.etc. The trick to making a great ragu' is time...lots of it. When I lived in Pisa before my apt. was just above a couple of small local minimarkets- they have some premade foods you can buy, your basic grocery needs, deli meats, fresh breads,etc. Anyway... over time I developed a dear relationsip with one of these shop owners, Roberto. Roberto was my go to guy. Anytime I wanted to learn something new or had an Italian recipe go awry he was there to help. He taught me that time is key in so many things here in Italy, ragu' being one of them. So thanks to Roberto here's the ragu' recipe. I am making this ragu' a day ahead so that tomorrow I can make a huge delicious pan of Italian lasagna. You can also freeze this sauce for later use.

Ragu- Meat Sauce
2 carrots
1 onion,
3 cloves garlic
2 celery stalks
parsley chopped finely
olive oil
3 cans of tomato chunks or cubes in juice
1 c. red wine
Salt
Pepper
Oregano
Basil
water or broth
1-2  jars of plain tomato puree or sauce
2 lb. sausage- plain
2lbs. hamburger meat
yields: 1 super big pot of sauce. can feed about 30 with simple pasta. I freeze smaller portions for later use in other recipes or quick dinners.

Chop all the vegetables finely or I like to cut big chunks and food process them just a bit but not too fine.  Sautee the vegetable mix in a skillet with enough olive oil to coat the bottom, be sure not to get them too brown just softened.

In a large stock pot add 3 cans tomato chunks or cubes in juice, 2 cans of water or broth, 1 cup wine. Add salt to taste then mix in the seasonings to taste- I start with about 1 TB each then go from there. Unless increasing the recipe then I just add to taste. Add in the sauteed vegetables.

Brown the hamburger meat and sausage in a skillet. You can drain it or if it's not too much grease leave it. Add it to the tomato mix. Simmer for a minimum of 2 hrs. I usually do 6, the longer the better the flavors blend. I add more seasoning, water, broth, or basic tomatoe sauce during this time depending on the consistency, flavor and amount of people I'm feeding. If it still tastes just like a pot of tomatoe sauce with meat then cook it longer and add more stuff. You want the flavors to come together.

Serve over spaghetti noodles, penne pasta, tortellini, in lasagna, over polenta, or mixed with some heavy cream to make a rose sauce-you may need more salt if you do this. A very versatile sauce!

I often increase the amt. and freeze it for later use. Freezes great. Also you can puree/chop larger amounts of the vegetables and store them in plastic bags in the freezer to save time in many other recipes. This combination of vegetables in Italy is found already packaged together at the grocery and called Odori (odors). They are a staple in Italian cooking.