Our food and travel journal
Well, I’ve finally started cooking again. I think having days off from work and being able to stay indoors due to the snow helped push me in the right direction. Yesterday I made chili and cornbread and today I made arancini di riso. I’m including a photo of the vegan chocolate raspberry brownies I made the other day with my friend, Amie. I would write more about the whole process, but honestly, at the moment…all I want to do is hibernate.
After living in Italy, my pizza experience in the States has been forever ruined. I complain about the dough used for the pizza crust. I cry over how loosely people use the term “mozzarella”. I whine about the quality (and lack of) ingredients. Everything from the sauce to the toppings brings feelings ranging from complete joy and elation to those of utter despair, disbelief, and finally depression. Even the type of oven and wood used bring me stress. Have I turned into a complete pizza snob? What happened to the happy days of my childhood personal-pan-size pizzas with black olives? Now I want things like artichoke hearts and San Marzano tomatoes!
Today… my mom and I decided to try a new pizza place in town. As usual, we turned into Picky Pizza People and vowed never to return their again. It looks like it’s time for a trip back to Italy so my mom can have her lemon and arugula pizza and I can have my “heart-attack-waiting-to-happen” pizza completely covered with French fries. Soooo good, but you can almost feel your arteries hardening. So much for becoming vegan, eh?
Pizza in Copenhagen - With potatoes and pesto...nom, nom, nom ^^
The new year started off with making a list of resolutions. One of my new year resolutions was to try to eat healthier. I’ve been vegetarian since 1988, but recently have been thinking about becoming vegan. One of my best friends became vegan in April of last year and keeps telling me about how great she feels. I watched the movie “Forks Over Knives” and then attended the vegan cooking school after that. However, they not only wanted me to give up cheese (I already gave up eggs and milk.)….they also wanted me to give up avocados and olive oil. I understand the reasoning, but having lived in Italy and California…. All I can say is….NOT HAPPENING. EVER. The only time I eat cheese is if I have pizza, but olive oil and avocados….a whole other story. There’s something about cutting an avocado in half, sprinkling a tiny bit of salt on it, and eating it with a spoon. nom nom nom OH well….I will have to find other ways to improve my eating habits and find a way to get motivated with exercising. By the way, I found a recipe for vegan chocolate raspberry brownies. I’ll let you know how they turn out!
We have finally decided to post something again. This summer has been quite busy with work, studies, and travels–England, Denmark, Italy, Ukraine, and soon…California! This morning my mom and I decided we’d have what we call, “A Ukrainian Breakfast.” We would often eat fried potatoes with dill pickles while living in Kyiv, so this morning we decided to do that again. After breakfast we had our herbal tea (mmm…Creamy Rooibos) with Lindt chocolate too… while watching interviews of the Beatles on YouTube. (Yes, we ate chocolate for breakfast. It’s allowed! I’ve even had ice cream for breakfast, but that’s another story.) We’ll post some recipes from the summer with photos soon. Keep in touch!
I must confess that I do not like pesto. There is something about green sauce and the consistency that seems to make me dislike it. Only once, in Levanto, did I actually enjoy eating pesto. However, this past Friday, I came across a recipe that claimed it was level “easy” and looked promising as it was on Food Network and claimed to be “courtesy of Mario Batali.” (I <3 Mario Batali.) I did wonder why the recipe didn’t call for any cheese though. I was always under the impression there should be some parmesan cheese in pesto. In any case, I attempted to make trenette with pesto, beans, and potatoes.
It didn’t turn out at all like I had imagined, which is why I will spare you the photos. I’m not quite sure if it was that the pine nuts seemed to lack flavor or that I used hydroponic basil. SAD!
However, everyone that ate the dish claimed they enjoyed it and were pleasantly surprised, despite its appearance. In case you would like to have a go at it, here is the recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/trenette-with-pesto-beans-and-potatoes-pesto-genovese-recipe/index.html. Buon appetito!
artwork by JR
One of our most favorite pastimes is drinking tea, especially in the evenings after a stressful day. If you are in a hurry for hot water, you can use an electric tea kettle and then tea bags.
We usually drink tea from Celestial Seasonings since we were lucky enough to once go on a tour there and experience the Mint Room. Probably our most favorite Celestial Seasonings flavors would be Sleepytime or Lemon Zinger. Other favorite flavors include vanilla rooibos, chai tea, and orange pekoe.
If you do a bit of gardening, you can even grow your own tea or herbal infusions using ingredients such as chamomile, mint, or thyme. I remember when I lived in Ukraine, spending long winter evenings talking with friends over cups of tea that included mint from a friend’s garden or berries from friends’ travels to the Carpathian Mountains. While living in Denmark, I remember drinking steaming hot cups of tea while eating chocolates and watching episodes of Reba (long story!).
For us, tea is a wonderful way to start the day… take a break… or relax after work… Really, anytime can be tea time.
(Please write and let us know which kinds of tea you like or recommend?)
We’ve moved from Blogspot to here at WordPress. Thank you for following us to our new location.
I’m not sure how this is going to work. One post each day is proving to be a difficult task………………….
Yesterday marked the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
