Un pranzo con vol au vent alla marmellata di zucca, cosiddetti tartufini al caprino e frutta secca, casarecce alla zucca e broccoli, insalata d’autunno, caramelle con gamberi e frutta secca e torta di mele, albicocche e noci. Pasta all’arrabbiata e passatelli in brodo. Bavarese – definiamola così – a modo suo, all’albicocca, al cocco e more e mirtilli. Infuso con i semi di finocchio ed una focaccia.

Riso ai petti di pollo. Per la pizza del camionista, vedere qui e… sapevate che c’è stato un Matera Pizza Festival? A proposito di questa città, vedere per il turismo , invece, qui e per un “voto turistico” più sotto.

09.11.09 Pesce azzurro e pane e polenta su Odeon oggi, lunedì nove novembre, dalle otto e mezza. A Con i piedi per terra con una cert Gabriella Pirazzini. Martedì dieci, nella mattinata di Raiuno, toccherà alla zucca ed ai cuochi Stefano Ciotti, Kotaro Noda, Laura e Margherita Landra, Morgan Pasqual e Roy Caceres. Questi ultimi due cucinerebbero ad una certa «5 sensi» di Malo ed alla locanda Solarola di Castel Guelfo (rispettivamente province di Vicenza e Bologna?). Infine, vi piacciono la cacciagione e le nocciole (vedere sotto), già al centro di Eat Parade di Raidue? Questo programma torna martedì alle sei del mattino.

- La carbonara di zucchine e la pasta con verza e patate

I totani ripieni, il fegato alla veneta in agrodolce, la piadina romagnola e la salsa rossa

- Il castagnaccio, la torta di fecola di patate, farcita al cioccolato o al cioccolato fondente, la bavarese al caffè e le tisane dimagranti.

- Crema al cacao con nocciole ed anacardi, cioccolato fondente con nocciole o gianduia con nocciole intere oppure al latte con nocciole e nocciole intere

03.11.09 Sono di Johann Sebastian Bach i Brandenburgh Concerti n. 4, 5 e 6? Li potete seguire su Tv2000 (ex Sat2000) dopo le nove del mattino di martedì tre novembre. Insieme ad un buongiorno con Massimo Dapporto dopo le otto e a un documentario sui pastori del Caucaso alle dieci. Quel benedetto Canto notturno di un pastore errante dell’Asia di Giacomo Leopardi…

25.09.09 Wow, il jazzista Stefano Bollani al Prix Italia… Con lui ci sarebbe l’Orchestra sinfonica della Rai ed un direttore  che dovrebbe chiamarsi Kristjan Jaervi per l’interpretazione di musiche di Gioachino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi e Giacomo Puccini. Su Raidue alle 23.35.

- Giacomo Puccini. Messa di gloria?

Tutto ciò oltre al consueto X Factor (1.40 della notte fra giovedì e venerdì e 6.25 di venerdì 25) e La musica di Raitre all’1.50 (Johann Sebastian Bach e Webern con la Fuga a sei voci, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart con il Concerto in la maggiore KV 622 per clarinetto e orchestra); su All Music Loves Indie (22), Night Rmx (23) ed All Night (mezzanotte).

Venerdì 25 ci sarà Sì viaggiare (Raidue, dopo le dieci) e, prima, ed  un po’ tarduccio, un film che – se non sbaglio – ha fatto parlare di sé in Germania, Zucker! … Come diventare ebreo in sette giorni (Raiuno, 3.15 della notte fra giovedì 24 settembre e venerdì 25). Da non dimenticare anche Eat Parade (13.50 di venerdì 25).

Il teatro. Ma sarà teatro Il cartellone di Palco e retropalco, no?! Raidue quarantacinque minuti dopo la mezzanotte fra giovedì e venerdì.

Raiuno trasmette la fiction Don Matteo 7 (21.10) con Terence Hill – e c’è Don Matteo 6 su Sat2000 venerdì 25 alle 9.10 e 16.55; Raidue Annozero (21.05) con Michele Santoro; Raitre il telefilm Flashpoint; una televisione nazionale Robin Hood principe dei ladri con Kevin Costner (21.10); Rai4 il film Bobby Z – Il signore della droga; Sat2000 Ad est di dove? (21.05) ed Emporio 42.12 (22.08); All Music una puntata di Mono che dovrebbe essere tutta dedicata a Beyoncé. Ci sono anche Rai Storia; Rainews24; Rai Gulp; Qoob; Rtl; Radio Fantastica, Radio cuore, Radio Italia, Radio Margherita, Radiouno, Radiodue, Radiotre ed Rds.

Doc3 su Raitre da Gaza (un quarto d’ora dopo la mezzanotte fra giovedì 24 e venerdì 25). Ci sono anche Rainews24 (anche alle sei del mattino), Usa 24h ed America today dopo le 2.35. Venerdì 25 non dimenticate La nuova famiglia Addams (Raiuno, 6.10 del mattino) con Morticia, Mercoledì e Gomez. Poi ci saranno, sempre per la mattinata di Raiuno, il pesce spada ed il palombo, il gelato o Caldarola, che dovrebbe essere in provincia di Macerata. Cosa ve ne sembra, inoltre, del carpaccio di pesce spada?

La mattinata di Raidue comprende, invece, Medicina33 (6.10 e dopo le dieci) e quella di Raitre La storia siamo noi (8.05) e la telenovela Terra nostra (13.05). Nel pomeriggio, invece, la Melevisione di Raitre (15.25) ed il blog satirico di Rai4 (15.45).

Su Sat2000 il meglio di Formato famiglia (0.26 e 13.05); Detto tra noi, Buongiorno con… Paola Quattrini e Storie tra le righe (dalle otto); Flying Doctors (alle 10.05), Lassie (alle 11), Madri e figli a cura dello psichiatra Vittorino Andreoli (alle 11.30); un documentario (alle 12.05); La grande musica di tale Itzhak Perman (alle 14.05); il meglio di 1×1 (alle 15.05).

- Località turistiche straniere (Vota)

- Quale di questi monumenti italiani vi piace di più? (Vota)

- La musica. Quale il vostro brano preferito? (Vota)

Un browser europeo – Opera – e Mozilla o i sistemi operativi di Linux ed Apple. Neomedia.it

Spreadthesign, dizionario e linguaggio dei segni. Commissione europea – Istruzione e formazione

24 settembre 2009 – aggiornato 24 dicembre ‘09

calogeromira.wordpress.com – e-mail

Risparmio energetico (forse)?

Vorgestern Abend habe ich die kleine Becca mit folgendem bekocht:

Als Starter gab es Toast mit Zitronen-Koriander Hummus und Käse überbacken und mit karamelisierten Frühlingszwiebeln bestreut, als Hauptgang gab es diese netten Nüdelchen:

Zutaten:
- 1 Brokkoli

- 2 Hand voll Linsen

- ca. 0.5l Gemüsebrühe

- 1/2 rote Zwiebel

- 1 Knoblauchzehe

- 3 Eier

- Nudeln

- Butter, viel, viel Butter!

- Zucker

- Crème Fraîche

- Milch

Preis pro Nase ca: 1,80 Euro

Zubereitung:

1) Zwiebel und Knoblauch winzig klein hacken

2) Zwiebeln und Knoblauch in viel Butter mit Curry, Cayennepfeffer und einer großen Prise Zucker anbraten.

3) Brokkoliröschen und Linsen hinzugeben und kurz rösten.

4) Mit Gemüsebrühe ablöschen und köcheln lassen

5) Währenddessen langsam mal daran denken, die Nudeln abzukochen

6) Wenn die Gemüsebrühe verkocht ist, mit Milch ablöschen

7) Wenn die Milch verkocht ist, die Crème Fraîche einrühren, und Hitze runter

Die Eier mit Gewürzen nach Wahl verquirlen

9) In einer mit kochend heißem Wasser ausgespülten Schüssel die Nudeln mit den verquirlten Eiern verrühren

10) Alles zusammen auf einen Teller “hauen” und fertig

(Entschuldigt die nicht sehr abwechslungsreiche Sprache, aber das hier war sooooo lecker, dass ich es schnell runterschreiben wollte, bevor ich es vergesse )

L’iniziativa di sostenere la candidatura di L’Aquila Capitale Europea della Cultura 2019 è stato stimolato dalla proposta dell’On. Pierluigi Mantini e Roberto Daneo, che includiamo sotto.

Da lì ho avviato un gruppo su Facebook 1l 18 novembre che in tre giorni ha accolto oltre 1500 aderenti entusiasti.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&gid=183317549268

Se L’Aquila diventassse Capitale della Cultura 2019 non sarebbe solo un riconoscimento del patrimonio attivo e ambientale della città, serverebbe anche come garanzia per la rinascità della città e fungerà da “parafulmine” per chi opera e sostiene la cultura sul luogo.

Grazie per lo sostegno. In seguito ripubblichiamo l’appello.

il Centro – Mercoledì 18 novembre 2009

L’AQUILA CAPITALE EUROPEA DELLA CULTURA 2019

di PIERLUIGI MANTINI e ROBERTO DANEO

Abbiamo avviato uno splendido progetto per il futuro dell’Aquila e la rinascita del suo territorio: la candidatura di L’Aquila a Capitale Europea della Cultura per il 2019.

Concepito come un mezzo per avvicinare i cittadini europei, la Città Europea della Cultura venne lanciata nel 1985 dal Consiglio dei Ministri greco su iniziativa del Ministro della cultura Melina Mercouri. Da allora l’iniziativa ha avuto sempre più successo tra i cittadini europei e un crescente impatto culturale e socio-economico sui numerosi visitatori che ha attratto.

Le città europee della cultura sono state designate su basi intergovernative fino al 2004; gli stati membri selezionavano unanimemente le città più adatte ad ospitare l’evento e la
Commissione Europea garantiva un sussidio per le città selezionate ogni anno. Dal 2005 le istituzioni europee prendono parte alla procedura di selezione delle città che ospiteranno l’evento.

Nel 1999, la Città europea della cultura è stata ribattezzata Capitale Europea della Cultura ed è ora finanziata attraverso il programma Cultura 2000. Tre sono le città italiane che sinora hanno beneficiato della selezione: Firenze nel 1986, Bologna nel 2000 (per un’edizione straordinaria che prevedeva numerose città contemporaneamente capitali) e infine Genova nel 2004.

Con la Decisione 1622/2006 del Parlamento Europeo e del Consiglio, è stato istituito un calendario, che assegna a rotazione a due Stati membri dell’UE per ogni anno il titolo di Capitale Europea della cultura. L’Italia, insieme alla Bulgaria, avrà nuovamente diritto ad ospitare la Capitale Europea della Cultura nel 2019.

Dunque, possiamo farcela!

Il patrimonio architettonico, culturale ed artistico dell’Aquila ha paradossalmente suscitato l’interesse dei media e dell’opinione pubblica solo a seguito del sisma che ha colpito l’Abruzzo il 6 aprile 2009.

La designazione di L’Aquila 2019 a Capitale Europea della Cultura è una scelta di grande profilo per diverse ragioni.

San Pietro a Coppito

L’Aquila ha una storia rilevante e originale nel panorama europeo. È città di grandi tradizioni culturali, in primis sotto il profilo architettonico: circuito delle Basiliche di Collemaggio, S. Maria del Suffragio e S. Bernardino, le chiese, la famosa fontana delle 99 cannelle, i numerosi castelli e palazzi disseminati sul territorio. Tuttavia L’Aquila è anche sede di uno dei 18 Teatri Stabili in Italia, vanta una tradizione musicale e operistica ragguardevole, ed è attiva anche nel campo cinematografico internazionale.Il 2019 rappresenta un orizzonte temporale congruo per procedere alla riqualificazione del patrimonio architettonico, capace di offrire alla popolazione una prospettiva certa sui tempi della ricostruzione complessiva della città.

Le risorse già stanziate per la ricostruzione si trasformerebbero da un mero “contributo alla ricostruzione”, in un effettivo investimento di sviluppo, grazie all’effetto promozionale che un Grande Evento come la Capitale Europea della Cultura potrebbe generare. Non solo “il più grande cantiere edilizio di Europa” ma un cantiere skill intensive labour, ricco di idee e di valori.

Come solitamente accade in occasione dei grandi eventi, la Capitale Europea della cultura costituirebbe un potente “driver” di cambiamento, capace di riorientare la vocazione del territorio verso nuove forme di specializzazione (cultura, turismo, ecc.), con effetti assai positivi anche sul tessuto imprenditoriale.

L’impegno di numerose istituzioni internazionali e paesi stranieri (Germania, Spagna, Francia, USA) nella ricostruzione, fanno dell’Aquila un prototipo di collaborazione internazionale in ambito culturale, affermando la dimensione europea della città.

La riflessione recentemente avviata finalizzata alla candidatura della città dell’Aquila a Patrimonio mondiale dell’UNESCO ne risulterebbe ulteriormente rafforzata.

L’Aquila verrebbe rivitalizzata anche come città universitaria, centro di eccellenze, secondo le proposte O.C.S.E., sede di saperi e conoscenze diffusi, capaci nuovamente di attirare studenti dal resto dell’Italia e, potenzialmente, da tutto il bacino del Mediterraneo.

In sintesi, la ricostruzione dell’Aquila diventerebbe un paradigma della capacità di progettare il futuro attraverso un’attenta rilettura del proprio passato, individuando un equilibrio urbanistico, antropico e culturale capace di coniugare storia e modernità, rigore costruttivo e rispetto di un territorio a forte rischio naturale, trasformando un elemento potenzialmente distruttivo per la collettività locale in un’opportunità di cambiamento per tutto il territorio, una sfida esemplare per l’Europa e il mondo.

Abbiamo promosso la costituzione di un Comitato d’Onore con alte personalità abruzzesi nel campo delle istituzioni, della cultura, dell’economia, del giornalismo. Abbiamo già formalmente interessato il Governo italiano nella persona del Ministro per il beni e le attività culturali.

Collaborano con noi i giovani professionisti che hanno preparato il dossier vincente di Milano per l’EXPO 2015.

Nel mese di dicembre presenteremo a L’Aquila l’iniziativa, con le autorità locali e le personalità che vorranno aderire al Comitato Promotore e alla istituenda Fondazione.

Ma nulla si potrà senza il concorso e la passione dei cittadini. Vogliamo un sogno per L’Aquila, ne abbiamo diritto, si può fare.

Over 7000 people the world over have already expressed the L’Aquila’s candidacy to become European Capital of Culture in 2019.
Where? On Facebook.
This is in addition to the people who have signed on here or on the Italian language blog. This is also in addition to the official letters and faxes of support from local and national cultural, civic, business and institutional leaders who have signed on. 
We hope to be able to give you all more concrete information soon. All I can say is that institutional support is bipartisan (or rather, multi-partisan) and comes from both the private and public sectors.
We hope to be able to give you more concrete news soon.
For now, please keep supporting L’Aquila’s candidacy and spreading the word. Ask your friends who you think might support this Earthquake devastated city to comment and sign up for updates here or send them to the group on Facebook. Part of the page on Facebook is in English (please sift through the “info” page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=183317549268&ref=ts)
Cities are made of more than just houses. L’Aquila was one of Italy’s and Europe’s lesser known but still amazing jewels. Even with the damage and the rubble and the scaffolding it is still beautiful. And most of the historical center is still off-limits without a firefighter escort.
We believe that if L’Aquila becomes European Capital of Culture in 2019, in 9 years it will be a cultural center of Europe.
Grazie!

carbonara supreme

I’m hunger… a common expression among my college friends every time we feel very hungry.

Today, it does not help that I am thinking of Chocolate Kiss and their delectable food and pastries.  Just two weeks ago, I got the chance to visit this quaint little shop.  The original café is located at the 2^nd floor of Bahay ng Alumni, inside UP Diliman Campus. 

To date, there are two other branches.  One is located at the ground floor of Bahay ng Alumni while the other one is along Roces Avenue, Quezon City.

Back to the food.  My favorite staples at Kiss are Carbonara Supreme, Puttanesca,  Devil’s Food Cake, Date Walnut Cake and bars and their homemade iced tea. Yum! Yum!

The carbonara is so creamy with lots of bacon! And so affordable too.  Their version of puttanesca is just mouth-watering with lots of olives and fresh tomatoes.

No matter how filling the pasta is, there is always room for the cakes.  After all, these sinful pastries are their signature products. So I cannot allow myself to leave the premises without trying either Devil’s Food Cake or Date Walnut.  For this particular trip, Ate Joey and I both had Date Walnut Cake.  Yum! Yum! Yum! Yum!

The cake is moist and it gives you a feeling that  each bite will melt in your mouth.  But the chopped dates and walnuts add texture, gives a twist. I just love it!

To complete this food fest, Kiss’s Iced Tea is the perfect drink.  It’s homemade.  It makes you think of summers spent in your mom’s kitchen. Hahahaha

Every Chocolate Kiss experience is memorable. When will be my next visit?

devil's food cake

Are you like me who believe that the family who eats and prays together, stays together?

No it isn’t Noche Buena yet but thankfully, my wife, Tina found time exactly a week ago to prepare a meal that Gabby and I love eating! Pasta!    She made a little twist on the usual ingredients of carbonara.  Instead of using the usual spaghetti or fettuccini, penne or linguini, she personally hand-picked a pack of pasta-shapes with spinach from the grocery shelf to make the dish more enticing for our kid; and unlike other version with  bacon bits, she opted to incorporate Purefoods Fiesta ham.   OK, I must admit; I made her used it, LOL.  I like it and another brand of ham which I’ll try to feature before the holidays. 

Should you be interested in trying Tina’s recipe, here are the ingredients : San Remo Vegeroni Pasta Shapes, Sabroso Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Alaska All Purpose Cream,  Jolly Button Mushroom, Carnation Evaporated Milk, Gold Medal All Purpose Flour, Kraft Eden Melt-Sarap Cheese, Anchor Family Spread Butter (our favorite!), carrots, bell peppers, salt and pepper to taste and the so-called star of Noche Buena – Purefoods Fiesta Ham!

Look at those pasta! 

STEPS :

1. Boil pasta to al dente; within 9 – 10 minutes; add a few drops of olive oil, a pinch of salt, and a teaspoon of butter.  Drain the pasta and set aside.

2. Cut the carrots and bell peppers into small cubes; do the same with the button mushrooms; set aside.

3. Slice Purefoods Fiesta Ham and cut into cubes. Fry until golden brown; set aside.

4.  For the carbonara sauce :   Melt 2/3 Anchor butter. Add and mix 2 – 3 tetra packs of Alaska All-Purpose Cream with 2 cans of Carnation Evaporated Milk in a sauce pan.   Grate Kraft Eden Melt Sarap Cheese and add it to the mixture.  Save some grated cheese for toppings.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring into a boil with constant stirring.  Add remaining ingredients (mushroom, carrots, bell peppers) and simmer for 2 — 3 minutes.  

5.  Pour a fraction of the sauce over cooked pasta on a plate and top it with ham and grated cheese. 

6.  Serve with a smile and with all your heart, naks!

Actually, Tina’s secret ingredient was the fun bonding moments she had with Gabby while cooking.  And my participation?  I’m their food tester  taster, LOL  

  What’s your favorite home-cooked meal ?

so i’d never had white asparagus before, and i saw that it was on sale at work for less than regular so i decided to try it. i also made a quick pasta carbonara with it.

the asparagus i just planned to steam, plain, like i normally do. however, i saw on the package that it needs to be peeled first, which was a little odd, so i did. so basically just peeled it, threw it in a pot with a steamer basket, and steamed for maybe 5 minutes. it was really good, fresh and crispy tasting. we even tasted a little bit raw and i think it could definitely be eaten raw, but it was nice to have it warm.

the pasta was also pretty easy. i got some slab bacon and cut it into chunks, fried that up in a pan while i boiled the pasta. i threw some frozen peas into the pasta water for the last few minutes of the boil. when the pasta was done and drained, i poured a mixture of whisked eggs, some milk, parmesan, garlic powder, salt, and lots of black pepper over the hot noodles and stirred quickly to create a creamy light sauce. then i added the bacon and voila!

a little terse on the details this time, i’ve been sick and don’t have the energy to try very hard on this post, but i wanted to get it up anyway before i forgot…

The holiday season is upon us, but a few days ago, I decided to kick it off with a holiday party that could take my friends’ minds off studying for a bit and bring in some holiday cheer.  Instead of trying to tie together all the winter holidays, I created my own holiday, Shainamas, to put my winter holiday preferences into one big package!  If you want to start celebrating Shainamas, here are the stipulations:

1.  It falls on the first Sunday of every December.  It was the first day I was available; there is no real significance to the date, but that is when I will annually celebrate it.

2.  Holiday music is welcome, but classic rock should hold the majority of the playlist.  Led Zeppelin and AC/DC are good choices.

3.  Just make good food!  I incorporated holiday foods to get in the spirit, but as long as you eat some good winter-y/cozy food, you’ve got my OK.

4.  There must be a wintery beverage.

5.  Everyone must enjoy this break from the stress of the outside world.

6.  You must enjoy cooking the meal and love the food you are cooking, but you must do all you can to make the best of your cooking quarters.  This applies to all who have a crappy kitchen and lack kitchenware.  I prepared Shainamas dinner in my dorm kitchen with limited utensils, two hours, and two bowls.

7.  Flatware, plates, and bowls are BYO, or at least should not be from a complete set.  Eating with alternative utensils is welcome/encouraged, especially if the utensils are cultural.  

Those are the guidelines to Shainamas.  For my Shainamas dinner, I invited a bunch of friends from my dorm up to our lounge to sit around, take a study break, eat, and talk.  I made an unbalanced dinner that satisfied my cravings and could feed a bunch of people:

• Latkes–just potato, onion, egg, a pinch of flour, salt, and pepper, fried generously in oil SERVE WITH APPLESAUCE (and sour cream, which  I didn’t have).  The condiments are important.
• Pasta “carbonara.”  I tossed spaghetti with eggs, bacon fat, crispy lardons, and parmigiano reggiano, which was fabulous if a bit fatty.  I wanted it to be a messy “fun” dish.
• Salad of romaine, orange supremes, orange vinaigrette-marinated tofu, and dried cranberries with a red wine vinaigrette.
• Gingerbread and pumpkin custard trifle
• Eggnog

Clearly, the dinner was heavy, but everyone enjoyed it and had a great time.

Here’s where my Shainamas sermon comes in:

I love throwing dinner parties.  No matter where, no matter what.  I have thrown dinner parties in my home, in a strange and broken-down kitchen in a small Hungarian village, and now in my dorm room.  I have thrown them for friends, for my parents’ friends, and for strangers.  No matter what, I love giving people a time to come together, relax, and enjoy some great food without worrying about preparing it.

Sometimes people really need a dinner party.  If they haven’t had the time to stop and enjoy themselves; if they need to get away from the stress of work or school or even other problems; if they are hungry for some good food–then they need the dinner party.  And I love watching people eat and get better in doing so.  It’s like a form of alternative medicine.  One can enjoy a dinner party if he or she doesn’t need it, but if the person needs it–then it’s all the more worth it.

Face it: it’s therapy for the guests as well as the host.  Enjoying a dinner party is like defrosting and getting back in touch with what’s important.  Whether we’ve been neglecting family, neglecting to cook real food, or neglecting our own well-being, we can turn it around with one good meal and a bunch of good people.

I myself enjoy the feeling of cooking and cooking and cooking, preparing something satisfying and delicious for others.  Even if I am not a guest at the party, I love watching everyone eat and enjoy when I am exhausted from putting effort into every element of the meal.  A particularly good dinner party was my “last supper,” which I made for my family before I went to college.

I spent all day rolling out hand-made pasta, curing fish, shaving vegetables, cleaning mushrooms, and making hand-shaken butter (a method I learned in kindergarten that I regard highly).  I beat zabaglione, I shaved cheese, and I kneaded bread dough and made crostini.  I pickled onions, and I hand cut fries.  Even though I was so tired and grimy by the end, I felt amazing, and my family really enjoyed the meal.  I couldn’t have asked for more than seeing the satisfaction they got from the meal; from seeing my brother even try new things and enjoy them.

So, with that, I hope to make more dinners for whoever will eat them in the future.  I sometimes feel like a dancer with no audience.  I could practice in studio all day, but my production is not as fulfilling without people there to enjoy.  I could cook for anyone, provided that it made them happy.

So today was day one and I while I didn’t exactly nail it, I think I showed it I could take a beating just as much as the next out of shape, old gal. Tomorrow should be easier because I’m eager to go already. Then again that could just be because I spent the evening making double cream carbonara (not as good as my sisters, unfortunately, but still great) and then, wait for it, I coerced my man-thing into helping me make about 100 oreo truffles.

I love, love, LOVE oreo truffles so today I made a big batch of about 50 with two half batches of both plain bourbon cookies and ginger creams. The white chocolate on the ginger creams is taking f-o-r-e-v-e-r to set but I digress. The point is, as I was licking the spoon I was thinking, ‘God, I can’t wait to go for a run tomorrow.’ Which is all well and good until I realise that I actually have quite a bit to do tomorrow (luckily I hit the bank between grocery shopping and my crazy cycle-run-SWIM this afternoon). I’ll be less motivated to stop doing what I’m doing and go spend an hour on the road when I’m smack in the middle of writing at 2 o’ clock in the afternoon. Right now I’m thinking, “Fuck it, you eat lunch at your computer and don’t take any breaks. You can afford to go out and run.” Although I think I’ll have to leave showering until I’m finished work. A nice compromise and one of the perks of working from home!

I did it. I finally ran and it was amazing. Without sounding all day-time TV, it felt so great to be able to move! I didn’t run for long because I was so busy today. I actually had to combine running, going to the shop for groceries, and collecting my old roommate’s bike. I ran down to the village, collected the bike, cycled to the shop and cycled home again. Not to mention the cycle to the shop I did this morning. While I may only have run for 20 minutes, it totally counts and I am fully cashing in on all that cycling as part of my exercise.

For extra motivation, I wore my Dublin City Marathon Finisher tshirt. It poured rain, and then started to hailstone half way to the village. On the way home I had to get off the bike and walk because I couldn’t see for the rain and pelting stones. I quickly decided not being able to see is WAAAAY better than being FREEZING cold, soaked and under attack.

Time to do some more writing (for work this time) and then shower and cook. Making dinner should be fun. My first time trying my sister’s eggless carbonara recipe. It’s only eggless because the lady she learned from has a son who’s allergic to eggs and so has a ton of amazing recipes for eggless dishes, like pancakes etc. Anyway, this was the first carbonara I ever tried and now when I eat carbonara in restaurants, I always think, “This isn’t carbonara!”

Here’s to day one, only three hundred and sixty four to go!

Carbonara con asparagi, vellutata di zucca speziata, barchette di zucchina spinosa. Frittata di asparagi e cucchiaini alle nocciole. Per la gastronomia guardare anche molto più sotto e… a proposito di frittate, vi piace «La frittata è fatta» di Edoardo Bennato?

- Crema al cacao con nocciole ed anacardi, cioccolato fondente con nocciole o gianduia con nocciole intere oppure al latte con nocciole e nocciole intere

10.08.09 Saranno già arrivati a Galati Mamertino, in provincia di Messina? Arriveranno in giornata giovedì 13 agosto? E, secondo voi, come è andato il pellegrinaggio a piedi per Gratteri (provincia di Palermo) ed altre città dell’«Itinerario jacopeo»? E quale città vi piace di più fra quelle toccate dai fedeli di San Giacomo? Geraci Siculo, Gangi e Capizzi (rispettivamente province di Palermo – i primi due – e Messina)? Sperlinga, Villarosa e Nicosia (provincia di Enna)? E cosa ne pensate della festa di San Giacomo che si festeggia il dieci agosto a Villarosa? E del santuario dello Spirito Santo di Gangi o della «Battaglia di Cerami», il conte Ruggero ed i Saraceni?

- – -

Gita sabato 27 giugno e domenica 28 giugno del Cai di Cefalù a Castelbuono, Geraci e Gangi ed all’area attrezzata Savochella di Petralia – tutte le località in provincia di Palermo – in auto e moto e con tenda.

- – -

Questa volta i confini sono più ampi perché – a quanto pare – avrebbero partecipato all’ultima escursione non soltanto il Club alpino di Cefalù, ma anche altri Cai siciliani (chissà quali sono e se qualcuno di voi ha partecipato, batta un colpo…).L’escursione dove si è tenuta? Semplice, alla Rocca di Cefalù…

Mancavano forse da un po’ di tempo le foto del Cai di Cefalù. Del resto è primavera ed oggi qualche socio del Club alpino italiano cefaludese ha “rimediato”. Sono, infatti, ritornate le foto di un’altra escursione, questa volta alle gole di Tiberio insieme ai soci di San Mauro Castelverde, altra cittadina in provincia di Palermo.

Ecco una foto del Cai di Cefalù i cui soci sono stati in escursione – almeno così ha comunicato lo stesso Club alpino – sui monti Jato e Kumeta. Ecco altre foto di quest’escursione e quelle di una passeggiata a Gratteri.

Ciclovia? Si può conoscere la «Ciclovia dei Laghi» il 3 luglio ad Anguillara Sabazia (in provincia di Roma) dalle 16, da piazza del Molo. Organizza la Legambiente laziale.

Camminare in Liguria… Passeggiando sulla costa ligure della riserva di Bergeggi, in provincia di Savona. Con una visita alla cosiddetta Punta Prodani. Incontro nella cosiddetta via Aurelia all’edicola di Torre del Mare, alle 17. Poi due ore circa di camminata…

… Friuli… Conoscete il cosiddetto «Nordic walking explorer»? Sapreste dirmi qualcosa in più su questo sport? Ed avete prenotato entro la mattina di giovedì venti agosto per le sei ore di al parco delle Dolomiti friulane? Quando e dove? Alla piana di Pinedo, a quanto pare (non so dove sia) con ritrovo alle dieci a Cimolais, in provincia di Pordenone, al centro visite del parco. Dopo il quando anche il quanto… La mattinata ed il primo pomeriggio costeranno da sei a quattordici euro.

Potete prenotare entro le 17 di venerdì 26 giugno la partecipazione ad una gita domenica 28 giugno al parco delle Prealpi Giulie in Friuli. Ci sarebbero – non vivo lì – scivoli scavati nella roccia e cascate. Incontro alla mostra-miniera del Resartico a Resiutta (in provincia di Udine) alle nove e si continua più o meno fino alle 15. Costo trenta euro.

… ed i Castelli romani… Scendendo lungo lo Stivale dei parchi, c’è anche una passeggiata serale, sabato 27 giugno, al parco dei Castelli Romani, nel Lazio, al borgo – spero di non sbagliarmi – di Monte Porzio Catone. Vicoli, cantine, due chilometri e… partenza alle 21.30 per concludere intorno alle 22.30. Costo, in questo caso, di cinque euro e prenotazione fino alle 17.30 di venerdì 26 giugno.

Gastronomia. «Festa dell’intercultura» nella città di Bracciano (provincia di Roma) del parco di Bracciano-Martignano venerdì 26 giugno e sabato 27. Stand gastronomici e non sabato, dalle 15.30 e musica, giochi, balli e mostre fotografiche. Alle 18.30 una tavola rotonda.

Poggio Moiano. Visiterete sabato 29 agosto le piazzette di Poggio Moiano? Dalle venti in questa cittadina con il parco dei monti Lucretili. Mi chiedo, peraltro, che gusto abbia e se abbia un sapore piacevole la ciambella con l’anice, che si assaggerà sabato a Civitella di Licenza in occasione dei canti e dei balli di gruppi folcloristici.

- La musica. Quale il vostro brano preferito? (Vota)

- Quale di questi monumenti italiani vi piace di più? (Vota)

- Località turistiche straniere (Vota)

- Luoghi turistici siciliani (Vota)

Spreadthesign, dizionario e linguaggio dei segni. Commissione europea – Istruzione e formazione

Un browser europeo – Opera – e Mozilla o i sistemi operativi di Linux ed Apple. Neomedia.it

22 aprile 2009 – aggiornato 24 novembre ‘09

calogeromira.wordpress.com – e-mail

Risparmio energetico (forse)?

Hello Everyone! We hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. After eating turkey and side dishes for 2 weeks straight, we decided we needed a change. I was craving for some pasta, so K decided to make carbonara pasta. This is a simple and very delicious meal to make that does not take that many ingredients. It is cheesy and creamy…and we go overboard on bacon. Did we ever mention that we LOVE bacon? haha. Anyways, we enjoy  this dish often at home, and we hope that you enjoy it as well.

What You Need

1. spaghetti
2. 1 cup grated/shredded parmesan
3. bacon/ham/pancetta–we used bacon
4. two eggs
5. 1/2 cup-3/4 cup heavy cream
6. 1 teaspoon nutmeg
7. 1 clove garlic diced
8. 1/4 cup chopped onion

What to Do:

First, begin by boiling some pasta in salted water. This recipe makes about 2 servings of carbonara sauce. We used about a little less than 1/2 the spaghetti bag. Next, separate to egg yolks into a bowl.

Add in the cream. Depending on how much cream you put in, you will get a creamy or noncreamy pasta. If you like your carbonara kind of dry, do not put all the cream in…maybe about 1/2 cup will do. If you want creamy, put in 3/4. Stir with a fork and break up the eggs. Add in the cheese into the mixture.

Next, chop and dice the onions and garlic.

Next, get your meat and chop into small pieces. We used about 5 slices of bacon. This was a little excessive, but hey, we love bacon.

Now, heat the pan and begin to saute the meat. Once the meat is half way crispy, put the onions and garlic in. Saute until the onions are translucent the meat is crispy. There was a lot of bacon fat when we fried the bacon up.  Drain away the excess bacon fat. Add in the nutmeg.  Turn off the heat and set aside.

Next, when the pasta is done, using a slotted spoon, add the pasta into the bacon pan and stir.

Add in the cheese mixture and mix. You can do this over very low heat. Avoid overheating, because this will cause curdling of the sauce.

Now transfer over to a plate, and you are done! Black pepper to taste.

ENJOY!

so i had half of my already-baked spaghetti squash from the other night sitting in the fridge and i was thinking about what i could do with it.

something (probably the fact that spaghetti squash looks like spaghetti) reminded me of one of my favorite ways to prepare pasta: alla carbonara. according to wikipedia, alla carbonara typically refers to pasta prepared with a sauce of raw eggs, some sort of cheese, black pepper, and some sort of ham. the sauce is poured over the hot pasta and stirred quickly to cook the eggs. it makes a really nice creamy, light sauce that sticks to the noodles.

my version tends to also include garlic powder, and i usually don’t have any ham or bacon on hand. usually, the sauce should be poured over the hot noodles right after draining. since i was using refrigerated spaghetti squash instead, i had to reheat it, so i just threw it in a pan with some olive oil and cooked it over medium heat until it was heated all the way through. actually, i used some chive olive oil i made a while back… i had a bunch of fresh chives in my garden that were going to die when the first freeze came, so i pureed them with olive oil and salt. it lends a nice mild garlic flavor.

while the squash was heating, i whisked together two eggs, salt, garlic powder, plenty of black pepper, and plenty of powdered parmesan cheese. as soon as the spaghetti squash was hot, i turned off the heat, poured over the egg mixture, and quickly stirred until the “sauce” thickened, signaling the eggs had cooked. i sprinkled some extra parmesan on top and that was it!

that’s part of why i love pasta alla carbonrara… it’s really easy, fast, and really good! even on “fake” spaghetti, like spaghetti squash

I had some orange zest and two egg yolks left over from my orange clove cake and knew that I had to take this rare opportunity to make pasta carbonara without having to contend with egg whites glaring malevolently at me every time I opened the fridge door. There was also some chorizo Mum brought back from (of all places) London, so the orange and smoked sausage turned the pasta into something decidedly un-Italian.

To make things slightly less sinful, I seared thick slices of zucchini on the grill and dressed it with a simple vinaigrette. The vinaigrette was something Mum took back from London (yes mums can be slightly eccentric too). If not, I’d just sprinkle a touch of balsamic or wine vinegar over and top with some crumbled sea salt and ground pepper.

Ingredients:
5 slices of skinny chorizo, cut into thin strips
linguine
2 egg yolks
3 tbsp + extra parmesan cheese, grated
1 tbsp yogurt
zest of ½ orange
1 tbsp orange juice

Method:

1. Fry the chorizo in a dry pan over low heat till fat is rendered and chorizo is crisp. Set aside. Also set oily pan aside.
2. Boil the linguine in salted water till al dente.
3. In a large bowl, combine the egg yolks, cheese, yogurt and orange zest. Stir in the orange juice.
4. When the pasta is just about ready, warm the rendered chorizo oil. Drain the noodles and toss them in the hot oil. Immediately transfer to the eggy mixture and stir, stir, stir till the cheese melts and the sauce thickens and clings to the noodles.
5. Sprinkle over the chorizo bits and extra grated parmesan cheese.
6. Eat immediately.

Serves 1 or 2.

Recipe 119: This is so much a classic, that it’s a dish we cook often when we want to eat a good and quick plate of pasta. In fact in my recent trip to Holland, on my last day we ate at home and we cooked spaghetti alla Carbonara.

Of course i first tried all the Dutch specialties , but a nice plate of pasta is very difficult to beat!

However if you pass for Holland you will need to try the fresh made dutch waffles, the Gouda cheese, you need to eat out and try one of their mix-asiatic dishes (their colonies in Asia have created a nice mix food culture), the special queen Wilhelmina’s peppermints (but i can suggest you these very good gums too, also if the name is not really inviting) and finally you need to try one of the FEBO’s specialties and you can’t avoid that considering there are so many FEBO and in the weekend everyone goes around with french fries and junk food.

But let’s comeback to the recipe of the pasta. The ingredients for 2 people are: 250 gr spaghetti – 2 fresh eggs – 1 onion – 75 gr pancetta – Parmesan (better if you can find Pecorino cheese) – salt – pepper. Very easy!!!

Cut the onion in little pieces and put it in a pan with a bit of oil. If you want you can also give more taste to the oil adding a little piece of garlic that you can cook and then remove (Consider that the real Carbonara is just with oil and garlic, but if you put onion too, the taste will be even better).

Then add the pancetta and in the meantime put the Spaghetti in hot salty water. Wait a bit for the pancetta to cook and in the meantime you can grate the Parmesan or  Pecorino cheese (depending if you like a stronger flavor). Put the 2 eggs in a little container and mix a bit until you reach a worm yellow color. No comments about his portable colander!

At this point when the pasta is ready (and still just a bit hard) drain it and place it back in the sauce pan with the pancetta and onion, Parmesan or Pecorino, mix all and then add also the 2 eggs, without put anything on the gas. This is the secret of this pasta. You don’t need any cream, but just the eggs will give the necessary creamy consistence to the dish.

When ready just serve with some more Parmesan and black pepper.

Buon appetito!!!

PS. Mamy questa e’ la carbonara che abbiamo fatto con Carlo prima che prendessi il volo. Avevamo una fame e devo dire che lui e’ stato bravissimo. La cottura era perfetta ed immagina che c’aveva anche il pecorino! Che buono!Chi la batte la carbonara? Invece prima ho parlato di alcuni prodotti tipici danesi, che a dire la verita’ non sono moltissimi, ma buoni, specialmente i waffles.

Alright, it’s a posh Italian title, but it’s basically pasta, prawns and a silky carbonara-type lemon sauce. More importantly, it’s super quick and easy to make, and it’s really really tasty!

I reckon it took me about 15 minutes to throw together. If you’ve got prawns that are  pre-cooked, that’s OK, and if you wanted to you could happily substitute them for chicken or pork, or leave them out altogether for an even quicker meal.

I added courgette strips and experimented a bit with how to cut them. In the end it comes down to time. You can use coarsely  a speed peeler and get strips which you then slice into linguini sized lines. Alternatively, to save a few minutes, you can simply grate the courgette, trying to get the longest strips you can. I think it’s worth just squeezing a bit of the water out of these strips though, otherwise they tend to stick together a bit. Perhaps coating them in a tiny bit of olive oil might help this also? Ideas?

The egg yolk gives a richness to the sauce and cooks with the heat from the pan (a la carbonara) but isn’t essential.

So go on, crack a nice bottle of white, stick a candle on the table and impress the other half. Then get them to do the washing up….

Linguini Gamberi al Limone Cremoso

Serves 2

You’ll need

• 200g linguini (spaghetti’s OK too, of course!)
• 3 1/2 tbs creme fraiche (I used half fat, as I’m healthy – yeah)
• 1 courgette, cut/grated into strips (see above)
• Juice and zest of 1 lemon
• 200g raw king prawns
• 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 1 egg yolk
• A handful of grated Italian cheese, such as parmesan, pecorino or gran padano
• Salt & freshly ground pepper
• Olive oil

Do it!

1. Get a large pan of water on the boil and season heavily with salt.
2. Check the timing instructions on the pasta and get it cooking in the water.
3. Place the egg yolk, creme fraiche, cheese,  and plenty of black pepper into a bowl and combine. Then mix in half of the lemon juice and half of the zest.
4. When the pasta has only 5 minutes to go, heat a glug of olive oil in a hot frying ban and saute the prawns. They should only take a minute or so on each side. Season them with salt and pepper and the chilli flakes as you go, and watch for them to turn pink.
5. Add the courgette strips and the rest of the lemon zest to the pan and cook for a further 30 seconds.
6. Using tongs or a spaghetti spoon, remove the pasta from the water (it should still have a little bit of bite to it) and add straight to the pan. Add a little bit of the salty water and the remaining lemon juice to loosen up the pasta and mix well with the contents of the pan.
7. Take the pan off the heat. As soon as the sizzling has stopped add the creme fraiche mixture and shake it into the pasta and prawns. There should be no lumps, so stir very gently if necessary.
8. Serve immediately – yum!

Tot ongenoegen van mijn stiefzoon komt er hier heel vaak pasta op tafel. Hij is meer het type dat houdt van bloemkool met worst en een ferme berg aardappelen, overgoten met véél saus. Mijn favoriet is momenteel pasta carbonara. Simpel, goedkoop en lekker vullend. Wat heeft een mens meer nodig?

Je neemt hiervoor volgende ingrediënten bij de hand (voor met z’n vieren):

- 500 gram pasta

- 275 gram pancetta (of blokjes ham als je dat niet vindt)

- olijfolie

- 0,6 dl droge witte wijn

- 4 eieren

- 50 gram versgeraspte parmezaanse kaas

- 0,6 dl slagroom

- een handvol gehakte verse peterselie

Bak de ham in de olijfolie tot die een beetje bruin is. Zet ondertussen water op voor de pasta. Klop in een kom de eieren los en roer er de kaas, room en wat peper door. Kook nu de pasta en giet af.

Meng de gebakken ham met de pasta, zet de pan van het vuur en doe er het eiermengsel bij.  Doe er nu de peterselie bij en roer snel en goed. Meteen op tafel zetten zodat de eieren geen omelet-allures krijgen. Dien op met nog wat peper en parmezaanse kaas voor de liefhebbers.

Until April 6th of this year L’Aquila was my home, the city I slept and lived in, an inspiration for my writing and my palate.

I believe that L’Aquila should be the European Capital of Culture for many reasons. It’s unique and rich cultural, architectural, artistic and musical heritage made the city one of Europe’s most overlooked city’s of art.

The choice of L’Aquila as European Capital of Culture will not only highlight what L’Aquila was, but it will show what it can once again become by 2019 and beyond. Reconstruction will have more than a goal, but a reachable dream.

And the city will become a showcase of what European, if not worldwide, cultural co-operation.
Grazie!
Please support us by joining our group on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=183317549268&ref=mf) or by subscribing to this blog. We will be able to keep you informed on our progress and how to help, and you will demonstrating your support.

We believe that L’Aquila should be the European Capital of Culture for many reasons. It’s unique and rich cultural, architectural, artistic and musical heritage made the city one of Europe’s most overlooked city’s of art.
Unfortunately it took a disastrous earthquake to let the world know about L’Aquila.
The choice of L’Aquila as Capital of Culture will not only highlight what L’Aquila was, but it will show what it can once again become by 2019 and beyond. Reconstruction will have more than a goal, but a reachable dream.
And the city will become a showcase of what European, if not worldwide, cultural co-operation.

Please support us by joining our group on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=183317549268&ref=mf) or by subscribing to this blog. We will be able to keep you informed on our progress and how to help, and you will demonstrating your support.

This is the translation of the article by Peirluigi Mantini e Roberto Danea that pushed us to work to support L’Aquila’s Candidacy

L’AQUILA EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE 2019

By  Pierluigi Mantini and Roberto Daneo
Published in  Il Centro, 16 November 16th, 2009