EvainSicily

  During my time away from working waiting to walk again  I had more spare time for me among other things, I tried to do new experiments in cooking at least new to me. Strawberry time is almost gone in Sicily why not to try to make strawberry jam? My mother had ALWAYS made ONLY Queens apple jam for years! I  used rigorously organic strawberries brown sugar and lemons from my beloved lemon tree!   it was quite simple! you need : 500gr of strawberries 400 gr of brown sugar the juice of one lemon the grated peel of the  lemon  cook together the all ingredients till they reach the right consistency   then pour the hot jam into hot glass jars previously heated in the hoven to sterilize them then keep  the jars upside down for a while and then if you want to preserve your jam for a longer time keep the jars  in boiling water for about 30 minutes Try also...

 The best souvenir from Bronte, or at least this is mine: little tagliatelle  made with pistachios flour ! don't miss The  pastificio ( pastamaker shop) IL Mattarello - Bronte -  Pistachios have no secrets to them! the best recipe to appreciate my souvenir? While cooking the tagliatelle  on boiling water, prepare the sauce as follows: ingredients:(quantity " ad occhio" !!!! ) olive oil chopped fresh garlic red pepper crumbs of pistachios from Bronte heavy cream salt  Heat olive oil in a medium pan, add chopped onion and cook it but not browned. Add pistachios and cook for about 1 minute ,stirring and then adding cream untill heated through. Remove from the heat and add a pinch of salt and red pepper When pasta is AL DENTE drain it well .Toss well and serve immediately with crumbs of pistachios and a lot of fresh Parmigiano Reggiano! Buon appetito!*  *Sorry! I was looking forward to eating them that I forgot to take a pho...

wild capers at the Greek Theatre in Siracusa What can you  do with capers? for example a delightful patè..... here it is: Put anchoves, garlic, olive oil, vinegard and capers in a mixer till having a soft cream, ideal to put in  a bruschetta  as a delicious finger food.   Here the ingredients:salted  capers (250 gr),olive oil (100 gr),1 glove of garlic,anchoves(40 gr),a little cup of vinegard...

  put a layer of Savoiardi biscuits in a bowl, after pouring them in a solution of 3/4 water and 1/4 of coffee(espresso). In the meantime, using the BIMBI(great invention!!) prepare a ricotta cheese cream mixing excatly for each kg of ricotta 300gr of sugar and some liquid pure coffe till it become almost like a mousse. Cover the layer of biscuits with that cream Then put another layer of buscuits poured in the coffe like you did above and make another ricotta &coffee cream layer cover with other buscuits  put in the fridge .It would be better to make the cake the day before eating  so keeping it in the fridge for the whole day just before eating UPSIDE DOWN and decorate as you wish here we cover with some ricotta cream and candies.... very simple very good very genuine   recipe courtesly by Mrs Nora Chimirri , a wonderful lady , owner of CASE DAMMA , a won...

BBC Sicily Unpacked, Modica This is my way to say: BUONA PASQUA!!!!

grandma Ninetta's recipe Olives harvest is over...and then what to do?? For example here we make as follows: After washing and drying olives, prick them with a fork sun dry for a few days fry just for a few seconds on olive oil and then dress, if you like, with seeds of fennel and put under extra virgin olive oil.. tha's it.. more than delicious!!!! (this spot is for a dear friend of mine who likes eating olives...)

In Agira in the province of Enna people still do traditional biscuits called Infasciatelli ... Their name comes from the strips they make to shape the biscuits. One year ago I was there..in the middle of Sicily together with a very nice Couple from USA looking for information about their relatives moving in the States in the beginning of last century. She is a very good journalist and writer and we met before during an Educational tour for American tour operators arranged by Sicily. She came back to Sicily again with her family after writing an article about Siracusa and I still thanks her for the nice words she had for me...(look for in DREAMOFITALY -volume 8 , Issue 7 -spt 2009 -www.dreamofitaly.com ) During our time  it was a pleasure to offer the Infasciatelli without knowing that she had a memory of them as her granny's biscuits. She was very happy, I was very happy too..... Yesterday she wrote to me asking the recipe of the Infascitelli she needs...

One of the specialities in Siracusa, but also in the rest of Sicily by the sea, is linguine or spaghetti with sea urchins and pasta with black sauce! Spaghetti with sea urchins : It's very easy and fast to do. You simply need a portion of sea urchins'eggs. In Ortigia at the market you can buy a little glass of sea urchin to make two (according to the Sicilian portion for pasta!!) or three dishes. Just fry some garlic on extra vergin olive oil (I prefer to remove garlic, then) pour the sea urchins eggs and some drops of white wine for a few second and switch the fire off. When spaghetti are ready mix together, adding some fresh leaves of presley!   Spaghetti with black sauce. Fry some garlic and a little spoon of  tomato concentrate. Add squids in slices and the black ink (you have to ask for to the fisherman!) Then pour tomato sauce and cook for a while. When the sauce is ready , dress your tagliatelle or spaghetti! My advice? I like to put some fre...

Cava del Paradiso, vicino Rosolini direzione Ispica Nonostante la stanchezza...era impossibile con tali colori e tali profumi non fermarsi e.... andare a caccia di asparagi al tramonto! ---------------------------- Paradise Cave, near Rosolini, direction Ispica Notwithstandig the tireness..it was impossible not to stop with those colors and flavours and.. look for asparagi at the sunset! Stasera frittata di asparagi come la prepara la mia mamma: uova sbattute con sale, formaggio, un pò di pepe e le punte di asparagi dopo averle rosolate un pò con olio d'oliva ed aglio... il profumo degli asparagi selvatici è fantastico... ---------------------- tonight frittata with asparagi as mammy's recepy : mix  eggs with  salt, some cheese, pepper and the top of wild asparagi after frying them a little with garlic and olive oil then fry in a pan.. that's it: the smell of wild asparagi is on the air anche questi stupendi cavalli credo stiano già assaporando l'i...

In genere quando vedo delle bellissime arance tarocco non resisto....e così con le arance del mio generosissimo collega Giovanni, stasera una semplice, genuina e ricca insalata di arance.. basta poco : cipolla fresca, sale, olio d'oliva e se volete anche delle olive verdi oppure delle acciughe. Da non dimenticare un pizzìco di peperoncino rosso! ----------- When I see such beautiful Tarocco oranges I can't resist.. So, the wonderful oranges of my dear collegue Giovanni become a delicious  and genuine salad It's very easy you need just fresh onion, salt and olive oil if you like you can add some anchovies or green olives. Don't forget chili pepper, of course

It's still time for artichokes! There are innumerable recepies to cook artichokes , here in Sicily. Mammy today has called me and told me she has prepared artichokes as usual. As usual? Yes, my Mom's favourite recipy is cooking artichokes in a pan after having stuffed each with: toasted minced bread, piece of garlic, local cheese, presley, black pepper and olive oil and salt. Please don't forget on the fire as I did once!!!!Mamma mia..........overburnt!!!!!!! a disaster!

 Although the climate  here tell us that is still summer (over 26° celcius),there are other signs that tell us Autumn is coming..... chestnuts....smoking...  .  grapes harvested  ..ready to make  mosto for good red wine ... and mosto  to make a good mostarda at home here my manmmy's neighbour: recepy: it's important to ferment the mosto putting  it together with wood's ashes for about 4 or 5 hours in a pan . and then make a pudding in the traditional way. here my mammy has used some special old moulds to shape the mostarda...but she forgot to put a layer of minced almonds to decorate the top...Next time!!!!

è proprio vero : la mamma è sempre la mamma! ecco cosa mi ha portato la mia mamma :ciambella alle carote e mandorle!Una vera delizia. La ricetta l'ho trovata io, però, sul BimBi. Lo so, lo so..penserete "e le tradizioni?" beh anche le donne sicule devono modernizzarsi ed io e mia sorella proviamo a rendere tecnologica la nostra mamma, tradizionalista e dalla testa dura. E comunque questa ciambella la considero sicula perchè fatta con due ingredienti siculi doc: la carota di Ispica e le mandorle di Avola! eccovi la ricetta: It's always true: La mamma is always La mamma! here it is what she gave me: almond and carrot cake for breakfast! Sweety! I found the recipy, anyway, on the Bimbi book. I know, I know what you're thinking.. "and traditions?" Sicule women have to become modern as well, and me and my sister  are desperately tryimg to make oru mammy, so traditionalist and dalla testa dura, very technological. I consider this cake a siculo caje ...