Jun 24
When Summer arrives, my husband asks me to cook spaghetti con la crema di peperoni arrostiti – spaghetti with roasted pepper sauce, one of his favorites dishes. Even though it is a simple pasta recipe, results vary depending on the quality of ingredients one chooses.
It is getting hot in Rome!!!!!!!! As temperatures rise, I do not feel like drinking cappuccinos anymore. In Roman cafés, baristas are beginning to offer caffè freddo (cold coffee), which is just plain cold espresso with sugar. Since I like black coffee hot, I am not really fond of this kind of drink. I prefer iced coffee with milk – a.k.a frappuccino – which I find much more refreshing during hot summer days.
Is there a definitive recipe for a traditional dish? Is it ok to claim that there is only one way to cook some classics? When it comes to Eggplant Parmesan in Italy, it is a tough call. There are three Italian Regions bragging rights to the real Parmigiana di Melanzane: Campania, Emilia Romagna, and Sicily.
While living in Honduras, I often traveled by car from my hometown city San Pedro Sula to the capital city Tegucigalpa. Since the trip was exhausting, we used to stop for breakfast in Siguatepeque, a city along the highway about halfway between Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula.
Have you ever gone back to basics in the kitchen to see if you can still cook a traditional, simple recipe? In our global and multicultural society, we are so into cooking new recipes to experiment on exotic food pairings (mango with tuna steak or potatoes, capers and coffee ), or just trying to impress our friends with recipes from Michelin-starred chefs. This is fine (and so much fun!!), as long as we do not forget that simple recipes with few, high quality ingredients, often means more.
Since Spring will officially end on June 20 and we are beginning to find in markets early Summer produce, I want to still profit from Spring veggies before they are no longer available!!!
As Spring arrives and brings us the warmth of the first rays of sunshine to the streets of Rome, we embrace mother nature’s gift during this season: the freshness of the air, the smell and brightness of flowers (in Rome you particularly feel the smell of jasmines!!), the green grass, the extended daylight, crisp blue skies, and beautiful weather.
Last week I was craving for lamb (I absolutely love lamb!!). As a result, I went to my trusted butcher and asked him for some lamb chops. To my disappointment, he only had baby lamb chops available but since my craving was so strong, I decided to buy them. (Look forward for my post about my one and only butcher on my Shopping section).
It’s Springtime in Rome! This is the season to taste asparagus, fava beans, zucchini flowers, artichokes, mint, and strawberries (yummy!). Unfortunately, Spring produce does not last long so you have to make the most out of Spring harvest products before Summer’s produce arrives into markets!
I usually go to the market at lunch break since I don’t have time to shop for fresh vegetables and fruit in the morning (I am also too lazy to get up early!!!). Looking for some interesting ingredients for tonight’s dinner, I found some beautiful round zucchinis, my main ingredient for my appetizer. I also bought some yellow peppers and cherry tomatoes.
Let’s see what I came up with…
Today I was planning to cook a chicken entrée. I then popped into the organic food store near home, and stood in front the vegetable shelves for a while, thinking about which ingredients would be best for my dish.
There were fennels, chicory, different type of tomatoes, potatoes, leeks, fava beans, radicchio, etc. I saw some beautiful green onions, and I thought these were excellent for my chicken course. I love grilled or sautéed green onions since they have a sweet taste. However, I needed another ingredient and carrots seemed a perfect pair.
Tales of Ambrosia 