Attention catching

8 Mar

Some things that have caught my attention lately…

-This bizarre looking citrus plant that I came across at the local garden shop.  It scares me.

-How much 7 year old boys are impressed with swear words.  And considering the particular one that I know speaks 4 languages (more or less) the list of swear words is pretty long.  And his favourite thing to tell people now is the word for seal in French.  Go figure.

-My daughter telling me she can feel her heart beat in her knees sometimes.  Which reminds me that I have to google “is it normal to feel your heart beating in your knees?”.

-These old fridges in a mercatino usato.

-A man peeing on my front gate (right below my mailbox).  And not for the first time.  Let’s just say he got an earfull and the word “cretino” might have been uttered.

-M&M’s have come out with new designer coloured peanut m&m’s in dark chocolate.  Nice colours but not so tasty for this Belgian chocolate loving gal.

-This sign that I came across in Chinatown in Milan.  What in the world is a “cock fish ball”?

-My itchy watery eyes, sore throat and runny nose.  Yep…spring has arrived.  Crack open the box of antihistamines.

-My son’s new hip hop dance choreography.  While watching his class yesterday I noticed the dance starts out with all the kids pretending to light a cigarette, take a few deep drags and then throw it on the ground.  I think not.  The crotch grabbing I can (almost) handle but the fake smoking doesn’t stand a chance.

-The fact our neutered male cat has suddenly taken a liking to one of our beautiful knit blankets.  And by liking I mean loving.  And by loving I mean….well you get it.  Is this normal?

-And most importantly this video has caught my attention.  An amazing initiative that involves helping children.  Let’s all get involved.

Folkabilly Apron

7 Mar

A few weeks ago my mother gave me some old vintage apron patterns that used to belong to my grandmother.  I finally chose a model I wanted to sew and this is the result.

I was going for a little folkabilly look (cross between happy homemaker from the 50’s, a folksy peasant lady and rockabilly).

The pattern was really easy to follow and I love the fact that all the pieces were already cut out and ready to use.  Which means my grandmother probably made this exact same apron about 50 years ago.

I’m going through an apron phase at the moment and I’m really looking forward to going apron shopping in Japan next month.  Maybe I’ll even find an easy to follow pattern such as this.

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Moleto

4 Mar

This week-end we discovered an amazingly beautiful place that is only 1 hour and 15 minutes from our house.  Some good friends invited us to join them for a day of walks in the vineyards and lunch in the small antique town of Moleto (near Monferrato in Piemonte).  This area is referred to as the Tuscany of Piedmont due to it’s rolling hills, old farmhouses and wonderful landscapes.

After driving through fog as thick as pea soup for about an hour (on the autostrada) we made our way up the hill on narrow curvy roads.  As we approached the little borgo the sun broke through the haze and clouds and we enjoyed a day in the warm sun.

Moleto has a population of 18 and is in the process of being renovated and restored to it’s previous glory.  We visited some of the old houses and the stone floors and ceiling frescoes are absolutey stunning.  All of the houses have a maze of underground caves and grotte which were (and still are) used to age and store the wine produced in the area.

They have opened a great restaurant in Moleto which serves delicious local fare.  We lunched in their outdoor courtyard under a surprisingly hot sun for the 3rd of March (sun umbrellas were needed).  My mother, who is visiting from Canada, kept saying she felt like she was in the middle of a film set because everything was just so idealic.  The food, the weather, the surroundings – the perfect Italian dream image.

The kids loved running around exploring the area on their own.  The grownups loved the 3 hour lunch with delicious food and wine and great company.

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Vintage Aprons

2 Mar

I had to pass by the mercatino usato to pick up my prized table that I purchased the other day and it just so happened that there was a pile of never-used, linen grembiule (aprons) from the 60’s.  They are so beautiful and so well made.  And the patterns and colours are so gorgeous. I fell in love with all of them so I ended up buying….all of them.  They will make perfect aprons for all my baking (and my new goal to look prettier in the kitchen) and I’m sure more than a few will be gifted to fellow bakers who I know will appreciate them.

I’d like some of these as pretty little dresses for the summer.  Hmmm…is it possible to turn an apron into a dress?  Maybe with a few material insert pieces in the back?  Or maybe I can sew two together?  Ideas ideas…

The cut of the aprons is so flattering and the palette of colours so reminiscent of the 60’s and 70’s.

Flowers and apples!  Is there anything cheery-er?

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Cookies from Cannes

29 Feb

I have a good friend who goes to France on a regular basis and she often brings back delicious little French food items.  She’s brought us wines, cheeses, oils, patés, duck gizzards (for the husband) and once even a paper bag full of purple potatoes to plant in my garden.  Last week she knew my mom was in town so she brought her a box of macarons from a special shop in Cannes.  And they were what you’d expect them to be.  Absolutely delicious.  Some of the flavours were pistachio, apricot, blueberry, lavender and mocha.  Such delicate hints of flavours in some (lavender) and bursting flavours in others (apricot). 

I took a macaron making course once and came to the conclusion that I’m happy to enjoy them when they’re made by someone else or bought.  A little too fussy and labour intensive for my liking (a bit like the petit fours I attempted not long ago).

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Tavolo

28 Feb

Another trip to a local mercatino usato (2nd hand shop).  I wanted to show my mom what they’re like here in Italy and she was amazed at all the great finds.  The shop was full of  antique dressers with marble tops and carved wood detailing (30euros), little matching wooden bedside cupboards (20euros), antique desks(70euros), pianos(500euros), tables, beds, closets and more.  So many great finds for such amazing prices. Most of these items would be found in high end Antique Shops in Canada with high price tags on them.  And strangely enough the high priced items are the exact ones I absolutely would never purchase (used IKEA furniture, horrible “bedroom sets”, pressed wood cupboards etc).

This time I came home with an amazing old solid wooden table with no woodworm in sight.  It’s perfect for my front entryway – a place to dump keys and cameras and papers. The underside of the table is full of old rusty hooks which I assume were used to hang pots and pans or tools.  Maybe even to dry fresh pasta dough? A good scrubbing and a fresh coat of paint was all that was needed.

Here it is in it’s new home. Not a bad table for 25 euro.

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La Gallina Brutta

27 Feb

I have a theory about chickens that I’ve come up with over the past years being a chicken owner.  Here it is.  The uglier the chicken is, the more beautiful it’s eggs are.  The photo above is of Poppy.  Poppy is a Marans chicken and has been with us for over a year and she lays the most beautiful bordeaux red eggs.  But let’s be honest, she is…..ugly.  Many people don’t realise that it’s possible to have a chicken with a nice looking face but it indeed is.  We once had a chicken named Delphinium and she had a very sweet face and a lovely disposition (I can hear you laughing).

Poppy is a wide chicken as well (read obese).  She can’t fly.  She’s missing quite a few feathers on her neck (thanks to her roommates). And she spends her days pecking at my kitchen window trying to get at the bowl of cat food inside.  But we don’t mind.  We love her just the same and appreciate her beautiful eggs every single day.

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Pizzone di Laveno

25 Feb

Today we went on a hike in the local mountains.  It was a beautiful clear day and actually very hot (the season to complain about it being too cold has officially closed and we’re heading into the season to complain about the heat).  It was actually above 30 degrees at the top of the mountain!  Wasn’t it just last week that I was obsessed with the coldest temps I’ve ever felt in Italy?  In any case it was wonderfully perfect day for a hike.  The kids practically ran the entire 4 hour up and down hike.  The part of the hike that goes across a seriously vertigo-inducing knife edge was quite scary for this mama of 3 energetic little hikers though.  And the views were unbelievable.  You could see all of the local lakes, Milano in the far distance and the Swiss border and Alps in the near distance.  And all this was a 45 minute drive from my front door!  Love where you live.  And I do.

Looking down Lago Maggiore towards Intra/Verbania.

Looking up Lago Maggiore towards Switzerland.

The traditional “cross at the top” shot and our picnic spot.  Notice little box where there is a log book for everyone to sign.

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Coffee Cake (senza caffe)

23 Feb

It’s a little overcast today.  The kids are home on vacation for the settimana bianca.  My mom is visiting.  My friend brought me buttermilk from France. I had a craving for chocolate.  All of these are perfect excuses to make a good cake.  I found this recipe on the joy of baking website and I tweaked it ever so slightly (adding half sour cream and half buttermilk).  As always it’s really simple and the result so yummy.  I made the mistake of asking the kids if they want a piece of coffee cake and they all bolted while making gagging noises.  I guess they don’t understand that there’s no coffee in it.  Oh well.  All the more for us.

 And can I just talk for a second about the combination of cinnamon with chocolate?  It’s just so…harmonious together.  The cinnamon really deepens the richness of the dark chocolate I used.  It gives it a little umph if you know what I mean.  I had to google the spelling of umph. Get recipe here.

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Alessi Factory

21 Feb

The other day we decided a trip up the lake to the Alessi Factory Shop in Omegna was in order.  I was thinking that Alessi products would be the ideal gift to take to friends in Japan.  Italian-made funky design…how can you go wrong? Personally, I’d be happy to never see another round metal Alessi tray with the traditional little man cutouts though…

You can see that you’re approaching the outlet by the oversized sculptures of random kitchen appliances that you can find on the side of the roads.

Look…a 6 foot coffee pot just hanging out on a building ledge.

And a maxi-sized teapot at the factory entrance.

And I’m pretty sure this an over-sized version of the Alessi toilet plunger.  But I could be wrong.

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