Tags: love, photography, week-end
Cherry Rhubarb Lavender Jam (the jam that almost killed me)
7 Jun
Yesterday I picked up some ripe, beautiful cherries at the supermarket and decided I needed to continue my successful jam-making run that started a few months back (Blood Orange Marmalade, Strawberry Lime Vanilla Jam).
Many years ago I loved to sit down with a paper bag filled to the brim with fresh cherries and polish off the whole thing. Unfortunately things have changed since then. Since my last pregnancy I’ve acquired a fruit allergy and am unable to eat most fruits raw. It was a hard adjustment for this fruit-lover but the little boy I got in return was well worth it.
So now I have to enjoy apples, peaches, pears, plums, strawberries and cherries (to name a few) cooked. Usually the thought of cooked fruit brings images of old people in hospital beds but I’ve found some great ways to enjoy my favorite fruits over the years.
So how did this jam almost kill me? Well, I pitted all the cherries, washed my hands with hot water and soap 5 times and an hour later touched my eyes. And this my friends turned me into a swollen-faced mess. My face puffed up to double it’s normal size, my eyes were swollen shut and welts appeared. My kids ran away screaming in terror. I actually heard my son ask my husband in a traumatised voice “will mama ever go back to normal?”. Luckily I had some antihistimines close by. The jam ended up turning out so delicious that it was almost worth it. Almost.
I browsed through the internet for a good cherry rhubarb recipe and came across this one on the apt 2b site (amazing recipes on this blog). In the end I couldn’t really manage all the steps that the recipe calls for (due to suddenly being blind!) so I literally dumped approximately 300g of chopped rhubarb with 200g sugar into a large pot and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. I then added about 600g chopped pitted cherries, another 2500g sugar, a few tablespoons of lemon juice and a few apple quarters. I let it simmer for another 15-20 minutes before adding some fresh lavender tied in cheesecloth (the recipe didn’t call for it but I thought it would be a nice addition) and a few tablespoons of powdered pectin. I let it simmer a further 5-10 minutes and then removed the apple pieces and lavender bundle.
Then I went and soaked my head in cold water for half an hour to try and get the swelling down while the jam cooled. The jam cooled but the swelling didn’t go down.
I think I lucked out because the jam turned out perfectly. It’s sweet with a slight tart and perfumey aftertaste. My family loves it and after breakfast one jar was almost finished. I take that as a compliment.
Shopper
6 Jun
Yesterday in our sewing group we made a really simple, beautiful and usable shopping bag. This quick and easy project was very welcome after our previous projects filled with pleats, zippers, piping, hems and darts. For the outside material I used Ripple by Brandon Mably (for Rowan). The inside material is just a simple floral that I bought decades ago and has been taking up space in the material cupboard.
It’s a semi-lined (only the handles and about a 1/4 of the way into the bag) and big enough to fit lots of spesa (groceries).
Off to the market I go!
I was thinking of trying to transform this shopper into a flowy summery shirt (I’ll call it the Shopper Shirt….everyone will want one!). Wish me luck and let me know if you have any advice to actually make it work!
FumoTre
5 Jun
This is FumoTre. She spends all her time sitting at our kitchen window watching us with intent eyes. She loves posing for photos.
She doesn’t seem too upset about the mysterious disappearance of FumoUno (our #1 cat) and FumoDue. I’d almost put money on it that she has something to do with said disappearance.
She brought me a gift today. A rat. She was throwing it around like it was a ball. I gagged.
I guess since her owners moved away and left her she has officially joined our family (which 4 of the 5 members are happy about). Now all we have to do is teach her not to bring any more of those rat gifts.
Signs of Summer
3 JunThe warm weather has officially arrived over here in Northern Italy and we’ve been very busy enjoying all the the activities and things that come with it. Seeds have been sown, the treehouse has been installed, stone pathways amongst the vegetable patches laid, the citronella candles and torches dug out and my beloved tuquoise weber dusted off and placed in it’s home for the summer (outside my kitchen door). Spirits are high around here.
My 50 year old rose plants that are found all over my garden are in full bloom and absolutely lovely. This vase is actually a peach juice can that I (insisted) on bringing back from a vending machine in Japan. The colours are so soft and romantic – perfect to display a rose or two.
The weather is finally nice enough to sit in the garden with a glass of iced tea and a favorite cookbook. This is one of my favorite things about summer. 
My first batch of lettuce is ready to be eaten. Five different kinds and enough to feed the entire town where I live. And the plants that the escaped chickens enjoyed a few weeks ago have miraculously grown back.
Time of year to invite friends over to hang out and eat in the garden surrounded by millions of our mosquito friends. There is a lot of laughing, chatting and slapping (mosquitos) done on these occasions. Get recipe for these most delicious mini brownies here.
It is the season to make many beverages. Limeade, lemonade, homemade orangina and raspberry squash.
Kids had their first lemonade stand this week. The locals still don’t really know how to deal with the whole thing. They stop and say “che bello”, give some money then head off without any lemonade. One guy even told them they should be selling wine instead. Nico thought it was a really good idea.
Madeleines
31 May
The other day I decided to make some of the husband’s favorite sweets, the famous Madeleine Cakes from France. I know he is capable of sitting down with a platter of over 20 of these and devouring every single one within minutes. It’s definitely his weakness. That and orange flavoured Pimms. And since I’m pretty sure I’d lose my mind trying to make those Pimms cookies I try and make these every so often for a guy that is seriously a saint. He’s just so happy all the time and seems to make those around him happy as well.
The love of Madeleines has definitely been passed on to the next generation!
Recipe:
French Madeleine Cakes
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
3 large eggs
2/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1. Melt butter in microwave and set aside to cool.
2. In a bowl sift together all the dry ingredients.
3. With the electric mixer beat eggs and sugar together on medium speed until mixture has tripled in volume (about 5 minutes). Then add vanilla and beat to combine.
4. Gently fold flour mixture into sugar/egg mixture with a spatula. Be sure not to overmix!
5. Mix a small amount of egg mixture into melted butter to lighten it. Then fold into the sugar/egg batter in 3 additions. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
6. Spoon one tablespoon of mixture into buttered and floured madeleine pans (or even mini muffin pans).
7. Bake in 375 F (190 C) degree oven for 11-13 minutes (or until edges begin to brown).
8. Remove from pan and let cool. Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar. Enjoy!
(Recipe found here on the Joy of Baking site)
Monte Generoso Switzerland
30 May
This past week-end we went on a little hike in the mountains of Switzerland. We reached the 1704m summit of Monte Generoso by a little cogwheel train that we caught in Capolago on Lake Lugano. 
The views from the top of Monte Generoso are absolutely spetacular. On a clear day you can see all the local lakes (Lugano, Maggiore, Como and Varese), mountain ranges and even Milan in the distance.
There are beautiful trails for every kind of hiker (15 minute walks to 4 hour hikes) . Some take you through Swiss cow pastures where you’ll hear the lovely sound of cowbells and see the dairy cows chewing their cud and minding their own business. A great hike to take kids on is the trail that leads you to some ancient bear caves where you can have a guided tour of the cavern and all its 20 000 year old bones and remains. My kids absolutely loved it.
View down to a little Swiss town from our picnic spot.
Dancing amongst the Swiss Dairy cows. I could only think of chocolate when I saw them. Delicious Swiss milk chocolate.
Looking for fossils along trail. And there are many to be found!
This is enough to give a mama a heart attack (until she realises there is a little landing below and not a cliff).
For more information check out the Monte Generoso official site for timetables, activities and any other information you might need to organise a trip there with friends or family.
Hiving Fun in Berlin
27 May
Last week-end I had the pleasure of attending the first ever The Hive European Blogging Conference in Berlin, Germany. I had a wonderful week-end full of meeting new friends, learning the ins and outs of the blogging world and listening to some very inspiring women talk about their blogging experiences. Unfortunately I didn’t take too many photos during the week-end because I was so concentrated on getting around to all the presentations and workshops and chatting with new friends but here are a few.
Presentation by Sister Mag. These two women are so well spoken and inspiring.
I was also lucky enough to participe in a really fun food photography workshop by Anne from Anne’s Kitchen (who is the human equivalent to a cupcake…extremely sweet!).
We had a great selection of props, materials and food to work with. 
One of my favorite items from The Hive goody bag was this wooden USB stick from dawanda.com.
Jillian in Italy name cards.
Thanks to all The Hive organisers for such a great week-end. I’ll hopefully see you in Berlin again in 2013!
Trentotto
25 MayYesterday I was….
Gently settling into my new role as a 38 year old.
Appreciating the beautiful sunny warm day after what seemed like months of rain and cloud.
Knowing this is going to be a beautiful year for me and my family and friends.
Appreciating and being grateful for all the wonderful people in my life, near and far.
Trying not to think how close I am to….40. How is that possible?
Eating lots and lots of cake. Seriously a lot.
I whipped up this cake yesterday and it was really tasty. I used sugar cookie dough for the crust and baked it with a cheesecake filling. Then I poured melted dark Belgian chocolate on top and sprinkled shaved white chocolate on top of that. A serious calorie bomb. Inspired by this recipe from the wonderful Delicious Stories blog.
Zero the One
23 May
A few months ago I stumbled across some absolutely stunning photos of the streets of Torino on the blog Poppytalk (see post here). After clicking away I found the blog and the artist behind these amazing shots. The blog is called Zero the One and the artist Kat. I was immediatly smitten with all her work and became an instant admirer.
Zero the One is an inspiring, original and captivating blog where you can browse through photos, videos, thoughts, tutorials, recipes and so much more. Kat isn’t your run-of-the-mill blogger but more of an artist who blogs (big difference). And she does such a good job at it. Kat is a cheerful, enthusiastic and extremely generous soul and it definitely shines through all her work. And to top off her many attributes she has a board on Pinterest called “Yummlings”. I love that so much.
Kat can transform any photo into something absolutely enchanting. And to make it even better she generously posts photoshop tutorials that are so well explained and easy to follow. Check out this one about adding pink splash to your photos. I tried it and it worked out beautifully (this says a lot coming from a non photoshop user).
Pop over to Zero the One and spend some time browsing through Kat’s beautiful blog.
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