We spent today seeking out the beautiful villas of the area and we were spoilt for choice. This is Adriano’s stamping ground from when he was a child and came here on holiday to stay with his grandmother who ran what was called a Colonia, a holiday home for children during the summer school break. These homes originated from before the war and continued until the early seventies, when society had changed enough for there to be no more need for these, the families now affluent enough to take their children away on holiday with them. The Adriatic coast was teeming with these massive buildings and now most of them lie abandoned in all their splendid glory, forty years later. Most sit on spacious grounds and one wonders why no one has ever restored them. It’s so easy to dream of what one would do with them but the amount of money required to restore them would be outside the pocket of the ordinary citizen. In a couple of days, I will show you the well-kept villas but today I want to show … [Read more...] about The Beauty of Derelict Buildings
A beautiful home and a crazy dog
Today we visited Adriano's cousin, Tiziana, at her lovely home in Rimini. It was 11am but quickly out came the wine - a pink dry wine with a slight fizz - and nibbles. But Dario and Alex didn't want wine at such an unrespectable hour so coffee was made with the accompanying sweet goodies. Dario and Alex sat on this lovely antique sofa with a very ancient Venetian chandelier hanging overhead and tried to understand Adriano, Tiziana and me rabbiting on in Italian. They must have understood something because they seemed amused in this photo. Or it could have been the antics of this very peculiar dog, Orazio (Horatio in English). This is our second strange dog encounter since arriving in Italy. Fortunately, this one didn't growl but he was quite unreadable because of the dark face with crevice-deep wrinkles which hid all emotion. He lay still while I photographed him but then suddenly leaped up and marched over to another doggie-bed and collapsed into it. I … [Read more...] about A beautiful home and a crazy dog
Ricotta & Cherry Cake plus our Italian Trip so far
I can hardly believe we are already a week into our Italian holiday. We spent a day in Rome which destroyed my feet but gave a chance for Dario’s girlfriend, Alex, to see the Vatican for the first time. This is my umpteenth visit here but I still love it despite the ridiculous heat for this time of the year. We then drove down to Sorrento where we stayed two nights at a wonderful Bed & Breakfast called Villa Maresca. This was run by the delightful owner, Maria and her lovely daughter, Federica. The enormous villa is set on a large piece of land which is cultivated with all sorts of vegetables and covered in multiple fruit and nut trees. Maria is passionate about cooking, in particular cooking organically with her own produce from her garden. She produced delectable breakfasts made by herself. On the first morning the hero of the meal was the ricotta and amarena (cherries steeped in syrup) cake, which I couldn’t get enough of, while on the second … [Read more...] about Ricotta & Cherry Cake plus our Italian Trip so far
Asian-Style Skirt Steak – Low Fodmap
I have never used skirt steak before but got curious about it and ventured into an unknown realm. Adriano's butcher had some secreted out the back and was surprised at the request because it is not a popular cut here. It is very flavorful but can be tough. The secret is to let it marinate for a while with a wet rub on it and the steak will tenderize nicely. It also must be grilled hot and fast and mustn't be overcooked. Why the butcher had some out the back if he thought no one would buy it was never revealed. But maybe he buys entire cows at a time and there is a skirt steak in each beast and he can't send it back. That's right - only one skirt steak per cow, but it's big. You would think this would make it rare and expensive but that was not the case. Maybe he was happy to see the back of it. Make up a strong marinade with heaps of flavour and leave it for between four and six hours. Shorter and it will remain too tough but longer and it will break down too far and turn to mush. … [Read more...] about Asian-Style Skirt Steak – Low Fodmap
Pasta, Mushroom and Walnut Salad
This is a quick, easy, tasty and nutritious meal when you are short on time. On Saturday we are off to Italy - I might have mentioned that half a hundred times - and there's lots to do and the evenings (after work) are not long enough to get it all done. And on that note, I'd better get this recipe in and then move on to other things. Sorry about the short post. This is not a low Fodmap recipe. Pasta, Mushroom and Walnut Salad Print Author: Suzanne Perazzini Serves: 4 Ingredients 1 cup pasta 3 tbsp olive oil 150g button mushrooms 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar ¾ cup walnut pieces, lightly toasted 2 cups baby spinach ½ cup grated Parmesan Salt and pepper Method Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions. Drain and toss with a little olive oil. Rinse and wipe the mushrooms and slice them in thirds if large or keep whole if they are small. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a saucepan and cook the mushrooms until tender. Just before … [Read more...] about Pasta, Mushroom and Walnut Salad
Chocolate Chip, Raisin Cookies – Morning Tea Baking
I have done the morning tea baking on a Saturday this week. I found the recipe with a few changes at Chocolate Covered Katie's blog. (This is not a low Fodmap recipe.) I added raisins because I love them and I also doubled the recipe because the quantities of the ingredients looked a bit small. In fact, I should have quadrupled it because I ended up with only 12 cookies and that won't last us the week. Katie made them smaller and sandwiched them together with a slice of banana in between. If you have counted the cookies in the photo, yes, there are only eleven. Guess where the twelfth is. They taste good, by the way, but don't overcook them. I also baked a carrot cake this afternoon and it tasted superb, as do most carrot cakes. Unfortunately I can't show you it because it is a recipe I produced for a french company I supply recipes and photographs to. Fortunately I made two smaller cakes because I messed up on my first attempt to ice it. It was a layer cake so I sliced it in half … [Read more...] about Chocolate Chip, Raisin Cookies – Morning Tea Baking
