italy on my mind

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About me
- Press
Recipes
Classes, tours & workshops
Cookbooks & Italian Travel
- Travel in Italy
- My cookbooks
Blog
Contact me

Contact me

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Recent posts

Tiella cozze e riso – rice and mussel bake – a Pugliese classic
Intorchiate – lemon and almond twists
Chicken Cacciatora
Crema della nonna in Bassano del Grappa
Crostata di crema di Viviana

Instagram

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I am having wonderfully productive days making food for my next cookbook though it means that @commissario and I have been eating so much. Yesterday it was this cake plus a vegetarian main (and expect quite a vegetarian slant in my next book). We still have a lot of the cake left though we put a huge dint in it last night as we chatted about the news - yes these crazy times we live in dominate my daily thoughts, I can talk or think of little else. And I did just have a tiny piece with my coffee for breakfast! Early start today
PS loving the light in your house and the props @benkeith @apr1307

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The most beautiful place to be house sitting for dear friends for a few weeks - complete with 2 dogs, 2 horses, 4 chickens, one peacock, a vegetable garden with strawberries and zucchini flowers, at least a dozen flowering rose bushes and a delightful bluestone house. I plan to get a lot of cooking done/recipe testing and take photos for book no.3. This is happiness

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PICKLED CELERY - what a discovery! Thank you to every one for your suggestions of what to do with celery and cabbage during a fridge clean out from my stories the other day. The recipe I made is based on one by @freshhunger which I only tweaked slightly (you can find the original recipe via the photo on her Instagram feed). Pickled celery is fabulous with a piece of cheese as part of an aperitivo. It sort of reminds me of “giardiniera” - which reminds me of card games from when I was little. I remember platters of giardiniera being laid out with cheese and salumi for the men when they went into the lounge room to play Briscola or Tresette (the ladies would stay in the kitchen to chat or play their own card games).The celery is not boiled (unlike the giardiniera which was softer) so it remains crisp. Here is the recipe I used to make a 500ml jar and a half:

1 and 1/4 cups sugar
1 and 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 tblsp whole black peppercorns
1 scant tblsp brown mustard seeds
1 tsp chilli flakes
Celery cut into sticks (6-8 stalks)

Place the sugar, vinegar and water in a saucepan; bring to the boil and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the rest of the ingredients (except the celery) and boil for 2 minutes. Turn off and allow to stand for 20 mins.
In the meantime wash a few jars with hot soapy water, rinse and place in the oven at 110C for about 10 minutes to dry off. Wash the celery free of dirt - mine was organic and had lots of soil and little worms too :) and pat dry with a clean teatowel. Place the celery pieces in the jar and cover with the hot liquid. I waited until the jars had cooled down then popped them in the fridge. I imagine they could last for a month or two but I think ours will be gone much sooner

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Dear @domenicacooks has just posted the recipe for Gulasch alla Triestina on her blog - and there is a delicious photo of it on her feed. So of course that got me thinking back and looking at photos...
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When I am in Trieste at the aperitivo hour you will find me at wonderful wine bar that is Gran Malabar though on occasions I trek up the hill to Piazza Barbacan. Have you been to Trieste? Is it on your list of places to visit in Italy?

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It has been a while since I posted one of my lunches with mamma from when she was living in her home in Vermont South. At this one we ate a zucchini frittata, home made thick cut potato chips and salad. .
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I think I will take her lunch today - some of my “everything that is in the fridge” vegetable soup, some bread (which she misses sorely), a bit of salad and some stone fruit.

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Wheat has grown abundantly on our earth for many many thousands of years. It is a hardy crop and has fed countless people through the ages in the relatively stable climate we have enjoyed. But it is being challenged now and will be more so in years to come as our earth warms up. I would like my children’s children to be able to make pasta the same way my mother and nonna did. I would like our food supply to be safe. .
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A lot of change and adaptation is required by individuals and families as well as by businesses and governments; it is not business as usual once we recover from the current bushfire crisis. We must change and adapt and inspire/encourage others - together we can do it!
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I will continue to post stories on my feed that focus on being sustainable in the kitchen (in my highlights under “Green kitchen”) eg. minimising food waste, making foods from scratch, eating seasonally, avoiding single use plastics and eating mostly plant-based, with a bit of dairy, sometimes fish and meat reserved only for special occasions. .
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And I would love to hear your sustainable kitchen stories. This dish is an egg based pasta with mixed greens in the filling, served with melted butter and will be in my 3rd “yet to be named” cookbook

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As Melbournians are waking up and finding the city swathed in bushfire smoke yet again (and the air quality very poor according the the EPA site), I wonder if this will be the new norm. My dear @commissario brings me a cup of coffee on bed (as he always does) and I think of THIS CAKE - pear and chocolate cake from Emiko’s wonderful first book Florentine @emikodavies

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After these difficult few weeks I feel ready for some Sunday morning day-dreaming. This photo was taken on a hot day in the middle of summer 2006 when I first did the long coastal walk from Monterosso to Riomaggiore along the coast of Liguria. I also want to say a huge THANK YOU to the 12 people who are coming to CROSTATA e CAFFÈ in ITALIANO on 23 February with me and Monica @sumisuraitaly . You raised $1,370 for organisations that will assist in bushfire recovery. A special shout out to the 13th person - who will be with us in spirit, Judy @ciaoaiello who donated the cost of the class anyway though she lives on the other side of the world

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CROSTATA, COFFEE in ITALIAN - join me and Monica @sumisuraitaly for an Italian afternoon of cakes and coffee to raise money for BUSHFIRE RECOVERY on Sunday 23 February at my home in North Fitzroy. (UPDATE: S O L D - O U T 🙌🏻 💛)
We will be making several free form crostate with my favorite short crust pastry using the apricot jam that Monica and I made earlier this week and speaking Italian while we do it! We’ll have a relaxed afternoon tea eating apricot jam crostata (as well as at least two other homemade cakes that I will make) drinking coffee or tea (maybe a bit of my home made limoncello if anyone is keen to!). And all in Italian.
If you would like to come along (there will be a maximum of 12 people), all we ask is that you donate $100 or more to one of the following organisations today (because of this post) or over the next few days (until the event sells out) @redcrossau @vinniesvictoria @salvosau @foodbankaus @rspca_vic @wildlifevictoria @wireswildliferescue @cfavic - then email me with the receipt italyonmymind@gmail.com and I will reply to confirm you have been booked in.
Please join us and help the recovery 🇦🇺 🇮🇹 PS. You do not need to be fluent in Italian to join in, but it will be a good opportunity to learn a few new Italian words - CROSTATA e CAFFÈ in ITALIANO con PAOLA e MONICA

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