Cocomero Days

Cocomero (watermelon) is served in slices along the Lungo Mare

July in Marina di Massa, Italy...I have yet to experience such until now.  I have caught a glimpse into my husband's extremely fortunate childhood days.  Those times included waking up, walking to the beach, stopping to purchase a rosetta con la coppa (roll with a kind of salami) then onto get the pink paper (which is the Italian sports paper called Gazzetta dello Sport, which he now despises but that is a a totally different post) and finally onto Bagno Fifi.  (In Italy different bagni line the beach, this is a business that sets up chairs everyday for clients.  Some have bars as well, but most of the beach is "owned" with only a small area that is public.)  Marina is much more lively in the summer with most of Italy's inland residents and tourists flocking to the coastal areas.  A true getaway from the non-existent summer that is the midlands of England.

One cocomero stand that started as a side of the road stop that blossomed into a full blown bar 

The cabina (where you change into your swimsuit) at Bagno Fifi

Every inch is dotted with chairs

This coastline to the Cinque Terre has been dubbed the "Tuscan Riveria"

My sister-in-law has kept the reserved chairs in the family for many years, therefore her chairs are very close to the water, not toward the back

A post about Italy with no food, nonsense!  Here are fresh mussels my mother in law prepared for lunch one day

Basil growing in her terrace garden, she has so much of it that with a breeze you catch a scent of it

After eating one of these cherry tomatoes off the vine, I know what the sun tastes like

Focaccia from Paula's http://www.americanina.com/2011/11/pane-di-paola.html (even in the summer fresh bread abounds)

A sunset at Bagno Fifi, where most beachgoers are home to clean up before going out for dinner around 9

Summertime snack

Summer.....well what I generally grew up knowing as summer, warm days and nights, sunburns, pools, Hawaiian Punch, ice cream....I could go on.  Another food that I typically associate with summer and  backyard bar-b-ques is deviled eggs.  Now this might be a very southern association, but this snack with other foods like sweet tea and fried chicken help make summertime.  Alas living now in England the weather is not really what I am used to, as it rains everyday and if the sun comes out, it comes out in bits and basically I am still wearing jeans and a jacket to go out.  Sad I know....but I have been told this is quite unusual as it is now July....I keep hoping, but even if the weather changes it will never be the same as typical summer weather in the American south.

I know, I  know my eggs were probably too fresh, thus I didn't get the shell to peel away and leave a clean egg

I don't use all my egg yolks, I generally leave at least two of them out

I use only a teaspoon of mustard, but note to self don't use dijon as the flavor is too strong

I have yet to find prepared relish here in England, so I tried to chop up some sweet pickles in place.  Note to self, buy relish when next in the US

Add mayo and if not using store prepared relish add generous salt and pepper

Put your filling into a plastic bag and snip the corner to pipe the filling into the egg whites

For a southern touch garnish with paprika and a slice of pimento stuffed green olive (which I did not have on hand!)

Pound Cake Perfect

I saw these beautiful berries at the grocery yesterday and knew I would make this pound cake with them.  This pound cake truly lives up to its name as it requires four eggs and the final result is quite dense.  Serve with fresh whipped cream with a nip of vin santo or Grand Marnier or just a shot of either liquor.

Adding a bit of orange zest brightens the flavor

Mix and mash about three tablespoons of the flour mixture with the raspberries

Just fold in the mashed raspberries gently or you might end up with a pinky-purple cake

Bake for one hour

The Baraset Barn

Last weekend, it was slightly sunny, but windy.  Nonetheless, we decided to try and make the most of the peekaboo sun and took the convertible out with the top down.  We wanted to eat outside, so we went to a pub near Stratford Upon Avon that offers good food and outside dining, The Baraset.  (Now, in my opinion The Baraset sets the standard high for the definition of pub as the interior is bright, clean and lovely.  It is a converted barn property, which are quite popular in this area.)  Although towards the end of our lunch the rain clouds were rolling in, we still had a lovely time, (but less wind would have been better, but I suppose being spoiled in California for all those years with perfect weather I have to take what I can get here in the Midlands.)  If you want to know more about The Baraset check it out here http://www.lovelypubs.co.uk/venues/the-baraset-barn

The outside deck where we had lunch

The lounge area...notice the cute pillows with the Beatles on them

My husbands app, scallops....very tasty

Details like the dishes are great

Luna waiting patiently for table scraps

My lunch, seared halibut with salmon and pepperoncino risotto

Summer squash risotto, satisfying but not overly filling

Italian to Indian

So living here in England I feel I should be taking advantage of Indian cuisine as it seems to be very popular.  I must admit my exposure to Indian food has been limited, but I have always been interested to try those seemingly exotic flavors.  Well, I happened to receive a quick curry base recipe from Pam, my Indian friend. I tried it and I love it.  (Even my food snob Italian husband likes it.)  I think the perception of curry is that is always has the curry spice in it....well according to Pam not so!  This dish has ingredients I am familiar with and believe it or not are all used in Italian cooking too, so no wonder an Italian would eat it. 

The secret to rice is to find a good quality brand and to rinse the grains well before cooking.  I find Tilda to be great.

I usually add salt to my rice but if you want to up the flavor try adding a cube of bouillon of your choice or half if you are worried about the salt.

For the base chop up two onions

Now you can use fresh ginger and chili if you have them or to speed things up I love these frozen cubes

I like a lot of flavor so I use 3-4 cubes of ginger and 3 cubes of chili...I know Trader Joes sells these in the US

Cook the onions down, after a bit you should add chopped garlic, but today I was out of garlic!  I know my mother in law was shocked and told my husband that we should always have like 10 heads of garlic on hand...because what can you cook WITHOUT garlic?!  So I used a cube of alio and prezzemelo, if you don't know this, check out my previous post http://www.americanina.com/2011/04/zuppa-de-pesce.html

Add your fresh or frozen cubes of garlic and chili, cook down about 2 minutes

Here is where the recipe gets interesting, just throw in on hand beans, veg or protein...here I am using chickpeas, but you could put in chicken or bell peppers, whatever you like!

After cooking your beans, veg or protein almost to the level of "doneness" you like (is that even a word?) Add a tin of chopped tomatoes and keep cooking a bit...here I like to add one more cube of ginger.

The best part is the chili, garlic and ginger give so much flavor you really don't need much salt or just a bit of finishing salt....serve over rice....probably this took me 15-20 minutes...Pam recommends to serve with fresh coriander on top, but that might be pushing my luck with my picky half