Green, not the leprechaun kind

Happy St. Patrick's Day! This weekend, I did not indulge in any green beer festivities. I had the same feeling I had last year about the holiday. While today is the official holiday, the only greens that seem to speak to me are in my salad.

Below is a recipe I created over the weekend called Easy Greens. It features a few simple ingredients for a bitter, tart salad with goat cheese adding some indulgence. Also to note, when I tried to write broccolini on my phone, autocorrect changed it to neocolonialism. Enjoy!

Easy Greens

• half a bunch of broccolini (little broccoli) 
• half a bunch of Tuscan/dinosaur kale (important to choose this type) 
• one clove of garlic
• extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt
• spoon of goat cheese
  
• Note: expand recipe based on what kind of dish you are making. A side dish, or a larger salad. 

1. Heat oil and one smashed clove of garlic on a frying pan. (I use coconut oil for this part)
2. Coarsely chop broccolini and add to frying pan on low to medium heat
3. Remove ribs from the kale (ribs are the tough green middles/stem) and break or cut into small pieces
4. Add olive oil to kale pieces and massage with hands until fully coated (this massage helps to soften and break down the kale's bitterness)
5. Remove broccolini from heat after 5-6 minutes, add to kale
6. Add an additional glug of olive oil, sea salt, and one (or more) spoons of goat cheese
7. Enjoy!

How to make Zoodles (and still love gluten...)

I grew up loving gluten.

Pasta was a staple in my Italian-Canadian family's diet. At my grandmother's house, I was the grandchild who loved pasta the most. I requested seconds. I wanted to twirl and twirl and twirl until my hand got tired.

Confession: I still love gluten.

These days, it seems the latest health messaging is very anti-gluten. I know that for some people this is not just a superficial choice, but a serious health concern. The woman who taught me how to twirl my pasta, my mother, is now extremely sensitive to gluten and has cut back her twirling habits drastically. While I try my best to eat healthy grains (whole, unprocessed, spelt etc.) I will never turn down my grandmother's homemade pasta. I even tried to make my own tagliatelle in Italy this summer.

However, day to day, on my own, I rarely touch the white stuff. Last night, when wondering what to pair with a jar of tomato sauce, I experimented with Zoodles. Zoodles, or zucchini noodles are made by shredding the zucchini into ribbons using either a mandolin (which I don't have) or a julienne vegetable peeler (which I do have). Once shredded, lightly sauté the ribbons in a pan with olive oil and dress the way you would pasta. I added some homemade tomato sauce and parmesan cheese to mine. 

Once complete, twirl to your healthy heart's desire. 

Recipe here! 

On Making Mushroom Risotto

This past weekend I finally had the chance to make dinner for a few of my closest friends.

With opposite work schedules, summer commitments, wedding weekends and a general tendency to want to be outdoors during the summer, it was near impossible. 

But then the clouds opened, the temperature dropped and we all had one Sunday free. 

Dinner was Mushroom Risotto as taken from Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course cookbook's recipe for Easy Arancini. The recipe was confusing because I had three people to feed, and the measurements were enough for rice balls, not risotto. I ended up doubling the ingredients, which led to Amanda's confused cooking face.

Cooking for me is an escape from myself. It's a form of creativity. I like watching ingredients change colour. I enjoy when my apartment is filled with strange aromas.  

Lately, whether it's writing something, or making the worst meal ever, I want to be active in the process of creation. 

I've been talking about more on the blog about confidence and how it is something that I struggle with. Cooking is another area where I become self-conscious. It usually comes in the form of me saying, "You don't have to eat that," or "If you hate it, don't feel bad."

However, after what felt like years of stirring, the risotto actually turned out pretty well. My guests then exaggerated their love for the meal, because, well, they are the best.

Below are some photos, including the debut of my personalized apron from Florence. Enjoy! x 

Italian Cooking Class - Homemade Tagliatelle

It's been a sweltering week here in Florence (35 degrees everyday) and while I've nearly melted, the highlight of my week was making homemade tagliatelle in cooking class.

We had a new chef in this week, since our original teacher was sick, and chef Dado meant business. While I've documented making homemade pasta on the blog before, this time felt more grueling than usual, as we were without air conditioning in a classroom with one fan.

And yet, while kneading the dough and cutting the ribbons of pasta, I couldn't help but wonder, why go through all this trouble if you can just buy it?

The moment I tasted the results: fresh, light, shiny egg noodles, my opinion changed. You go through all this "trouble" because it tastes a hundred times better than anything you can buy in a bag.

I also feel like I've been putting on some pounds, (more on this preoccupation with weight that I've concluded seems to be very North American) but there is no real way around it. When you're in a cooking class, you eat everything that is prepared. When you're in Italy, you taste everything in sight.

Below are photos from my class! Hope you enjoy them & have a safe and happy weekend! x 

                                 ^^ Apparently this is my pained expression while making pasta

Cooking with Didi - Homemade Ravioli

This year, I skipped St. Patrick’s Day festivities for the first time in five years to make homemade pasta. On Sunday, I walked to Diane (my cousin, fondly known as Didi) and her husband Chris’ (remember them?) apartment while people swarmed around me in mini-golf grass green attire on the streets.

We got to cooking.

Their loft kitchen is a dream. They have a stainless steel island the size of a twin bed, natural light streaming in from floor-to-ceiling windows and plates and bowls and cutlery that match!! This was an apartment for two, not the mismatched twenty-something kind.

I said I'd get married just to register for the stuff. (*Clearly indicates that I'm nowhere near ready for marriage).

Didi indicated that skipping a day-drinking event is the first sign of “getting old.” I rambled all of my life updates and she deduced, as my wiser, older cousin that I’m torn between two worlds: one of settling down and one of setting off.

“You’re going to confuse the universe,” she said.

After all of our hard work, we realized that we didn’t even have enough food for leftovers, so we started again. We commented how our grandmothers could have made triple the amount in the same time it took us to make a dozen. I introduced her to Girls, and she let me wear her apron even though we both agreed it was too girly for me. At the end of the afternoon we were both exhausted, but the results were worth it.

Below is our cooking adventure making homemade ravioli with ricotta cheese & parsley stuffing. Similar recipe version here. Enjoy! x

^^Someone is in need of a TAN^^