spring gathering

how much i love spring! scent of strawberries and flowers, outdoor dining, longer days.

have you ever tried flower tempura? 

pinza and blackbirds

in italy, the last three days of january (29, 30 and 31) are called the days of the blackbird {i giorni della merla}, and they are traditionally considered the coldest days of the year. and i hope they will be freezing cold, because it is also said that if the days of the blackbird are as cold as they should be, then a fine spring is around the corner, but if they are warm, it means that spring will arrive later than usual. 

with such a weather, staying indoors and baking are the best thing. a typical winter cake in veneto, friuli and some trentino's valleys is called pinza. there is no recipe of the pinza. it  varies from location to location, from family to family, with some basic general features. the ingredients are simple, typical of the rural tradition: white flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, eggs, pumpkin, candied fruit, dried figs, raisins and fennel seeds.

the very special occasion to eat pinza is usually the panevin, when families gather togheter, and you can taste all the different pinza recipes they made! 

this is how i do it. 

ingredients
200 g cornmeal
200 g wheat flour
120 g softned butter
1 egg
130 g sugar
raisins* 
dried figs*
almond*
250 ml milk
a coffee cup** of grappa {grape spirit}
a coffee cup** of sweet wine
baking powder 
1 orange
salt to taste

* quantity as you like
** i mean espresso

method
put the raisins to soak in the grappa. knead the flours, butter, baking powder, egg, zest and juice from the orange, salt. add raisins with grappa, sweet wine, figs and almonds. add warm milk. the dough will have a quite liquid consistency. pur on a cake pan, bake for 1 hour at 170°. 

better served with hot wine, friends and the best stories from last year. 

elderflower syrup, pt.II

summer is here. golden light in the dusk, smell of hay, cold drinks in the porch, flower's brightest colors, reading books outdoors, long walks with the wagging dog.

the sweetest image of my summer so far

in case you're wondering how i use the elderflower syrup i've made with grandma (elderflower syrup, pt.I here), you should know that it is a perfect refreshment for these hot & wet days.

we carefully filtered and bottled the syrup, (in the end we had 16 liters!) and then stocked it in our cellar.

now it's time to drink it! how?
there is the classic way, diluted in cool water. we prepare a couple of bottle to keep in the fridge, to refresh our afternoons. i love to drink it while eating cherries. (tons of cherries)

then, there is the relaxing way: just perfect for a sunset drink after work, before lunch on sunday, or at the end of a long lambretta ride!
it's called hugo, a cocktail invented in Trentino Alto Adige region and made with elderflower syrup, prosecco, mint leaves and seltz or sparkling water (that i usually do not use).

if you use eledrflower syrup in another way, please tell us! i'd love to give it a try.

easter monday. April, Monday 1st

how do you like to spend easter monday?
we usually love to gather with our friends, outdoor if the weather makes it possible (this year, it does not), and have a hours-long lunch.

love angelina's cozy home & bunny pin and bobi's mini burgers!


{nikon em + ilford 125}

le déjeuner sur l'herbe. April, Saturday 13th

blue sky and shining, warm sun. this is how spring should be! i've been waiting weeks for this, but it has finally come.

to enjoy the wonderful morning, we packed a towel and some apricot jam made by grandma, and  stopped by the bakery to get some fresh bread, then we drove toward Susegana.
there, we went to Borgoluce's farm shop, for some buffalo yogurt and panna cotta. 
Borgoluce is located inside the beautiful Collalto estate, that includes two castles. the first one is the castello di San Salvatore, and the other one is Collalto Castle, in ruins. between these two, there is a dirt road called strada di Collalto, that winds through the hill across woods and vineyards. a perfect countryside road, beautiful for a walk or a ride. (there were bicycles and horses, too)
green, yellow, and blue all around. 

we decided to stop in a vineyard, although i'd have loved to find and set under a cherry tree in bloom to have a sort of hanami  {the japanese tradition of sitting under blooming trees -especially cherry- to contemplate them or have a picnic}. but there were flowers anyway. the bright yellow dandelions.

despite the quick preparation, we were very pleased with our breakfast picnic. it was delicious: handmade jam, freshly baked bread, yogurt and panna cotta made in that very estate, with buffalo milk.

i took two readings i had carefully saved for a moment like this. my kinfolk spring issue, and a literaly magazine called nuovi argomenti.
our dear friend ginevra, blogger, anectodes queen and talented writer, published a short story inside this nuovi argomenti issue, and we are sooooo proud! her written words are always a flawless mixture of laugh and melancholic irony.


besides the stunning pictures, i particularly love two essays on this kinfolk issue. the *spring traditions* described by danica van de velde and illustrated by sarah burwash {among others: early morning breakfast dates, impromptu bicycle rides, afternoon tea, picnics in the park...} encounter the concept of perfect spring i have on my mind. 

then, i was impressed by a fictional story of austin sailsbury, who describes a journey in italy with inspiring, warm words. 
here, in this blog, i'm trying to talk about the place i live in, or the places i visit, and i write in english cause i don't want to exclude anyone for this conversation. but sometimes i don't know how to calibrate my descriptions of things which are so peculiarly italian, not knowing how much foreigners know about them. so, essays like the sailsbury's one really help me write better. 
i want to mention the words that he uses to describe the italian concept of agriturismo:

"an agriturismo, in very general terms, is a working farm that takes in travelers as guests. no two are the same. each has its own charming idiosyncrasies: rustic architecture, livestock roaming freely about, and always the smell of something fresh being baked. mix in the uncertinty that your hosts will speak english, treacherous mountain roads to get there, and the relative lack of other tourists in sight, and an agriturismo becomes about as real of an italian experience as a traveler could hope for"

i could not said it better myself. 

happy sunday, happy spring, happy readings.

time for spring buds. bruscandoli risotto.

 many species of our wild herbs are edible. this is the best season to harvest some spring buds to prepare traditional tasty dishes.
my grandma taught me to recognize, clean and cook some of the most common wild herbs. among them, bruscandoli {or bruscandoi} are my favorites. it's a veneto dialect word , and it identifies the humulus lupulus wild buds {wild hop}.

in northen italy, they grow spontaneously in the countryside: among thorns, under the hedges and along ditches. you have to harvest the last 15 cm, the softest, green-reddish part. 

used to cook a  risotto or an omelette {frittata}, they give their best. 

this time, me and Marco used them for risotto. after cleaning and chopping (not too short), cook over a low heat in a saucepan, with a finely chopped white onion. add the rice after about ten minutes, then cook it like a regular risotto, with broth. 

campfire. March, Saturday 17th

the air is still chilly, but we're back outdoors.
we went to a place not far from where we had the fall picnic. i used to come here a lot with the Scouts years ago, cause it's a good spot for campfires.

we had a little picnic, and cooked on the firewood. i've missed the smell of the crackling fire's smoke! i've missed breaking the dry wood with the knees, and making the tip to green sticks. 
in the Scouts we called this direct-heating method trapper cooking, which i think is in the name of north americans explorers, but i'm not sure.

sausages give their best, but potatoes, onions and eggs, too are delicious cooked this way!
special thanks to the firewood for keeping us warm while we ate and played cards. 

{olympus om10 + fuji superia 200}