Welcome home!

Yesterday I arrived at the airport of Amsterdam back in Holland. I was warmly welcomed…rain, storm, the watery cold that is so typical for this small country.

We did some shopping at the H&M and the HEMA, which is still one of my favourite stores in Holland, they have everything from bra’s to baby socks to paperclips or Dutch pastry. I always buy my tights there, they are cheap and of a good quality.

Of course the airport is the place where you should be selling tights as the stewardesses need about a pair a day of the skin-coloured ones. I flew with KLM and I still find their hostesses quite charming and elegant. They wear straight forward blue suits with black heels, have mostly blond hair and long legs. You are always welcomed with a Dutch “Goedemiddag” on the plain, which makes you feel at home, the Dutch sandwiches they serve emphasize  that feeling. And the good thing about KLM is that you can fly as cheap as 'Easy'jet but there is no comparison in the comfort or the service you get. You can take more luggage, pick your own seat and you get lunch on the plane! I am converted!

Back at home I found so many beautiful things on the table as my mom likes to make little altars, as I call them, of pretty things. Vases of flowers in the hallway, a blouse made of violets in the kitchen, lavender next to the teapot and books with beautiful covers are spread all over the house.

My mom cooked me an old fashioned Dutch meal;  meat that had been slowcooking in a casserole for hours with oven potatoes and Brussels sprouts. Delicious! And appletart with cream for dessert.  Now that was a real warm welcome!

Dutch raisin rolls made in Como

The amazing view from the plane

Dutch dinner by my mom

altar one

altar two

altar three

My favourite food..

1. Pumpkin( and I'm so happy it's finally in season again!)
2. Lemon, in everything.
3. Red chillies( and since I live Italy I also use a lot of peperoncino)
4. Butter!
5. Almonds, ground almonds in cakes, shavings on top.
6. Caramel( home made fudge, sticky fuzzy fudge cake, caramel sauce...you name it)
7. Ginger( in my tea, in my chinese or thai food)
8. Salmon( grilled or in a risotto with fennel and dille)
9. Risotto( any kind as long as it it hot and moist)
10. Soy sauce ( for sushi and thai food)
11. Sushi( especially making very difficult looking arty sushi)
12. Good olive oil( for a drizzle on my risotto or pasta or soup)
13. Uhm...cakes( all kinds: clafoutis, puddings, dutch cakes, layery cakes, fruity pies, complicated and easy cakes)
14. raspberries, I eat them off my fingers like little hats.
15. Blueberries( super healthy!)
16. Pastry, to make to eat and see it rise or bake in the oven.
17. Figs! The colour, the softness and all you can do with them.
18. Macerons, which I really feel like making now..!
19. Cream, just wonderful.
20. Soup, fresh tomato soup or pumpkin soup or sweet potato soup..
21. Thai curry, best in Thailand but I can't resist making it myself from time to time.
22. GARLIC, not to forget!
23. Bread, warm crunchy bread with butter, salt and pepper, Mmmm!
24. Goat cheese, both young and older. I always buy loads when I'm in France.
25. So many more things I will write about later. I just have to eat something, I just got back from a sunny ride on my bike and this list just makes me so hungry!
    
    

    

    my sushi

    
    

    

    Sweets in Bergamo

    

    Beautiful garlic

    

    summer 2010, France

    
    
    
    
    
    

Party...!

I'm sorry I didn't post for a few days, I had to prepare myself..and recover from a party weekend.

As you know I was working on our 'FlowerPower' outfits for the big party on saturday night, which I only finished a few ours before it started. It felt a bit like the deadlines for the fashion shows I used to face when I was still studying..I always finished at least one day before. I suppose I was afraid not to make it in time and then worked like crazy and actually have time to have dinner, dye my hair and buy an outfit for the show.

I dyed the tips of my hair hot pink with lipstick and did my make-up in real seventies style with lots of eyeshadow in a copper shade, high red cheeks and faded red lips. I rolled my hair up on the sides and wore a braided headband with it. I must say it looked quite convincing. Preparing for the party was half the fun.

Everyone dressed up surprisingly well, there were lots of afro wigs, disco suits, high block heels and short glittery dresses. Men dressed like women... Our friend Ale put his green Volkwagen van up at the event, which became a popular hang out spot to take groovy pictures.

We danced until the lights went on, always a very nice hint that you are actually supposed to leave the place, and until my feet hurt despite the gel pads I wore in my shoes...

For the culinary part of this post I will tell you about the crème de marron I made. I picked these chestnuts on a bike ride last week and thought I could use them perfectly for the crème. But as someone told me they were probably wild and would taste like nothing, I bought some at the supermarket just to be sure.

I got the recipe for the cream from the River Cottage Cookbook by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and it turned out to be surprisingly simple.

I cut the skin of the chestnuts from top to bottom and cooked them for about 15 minutes, then I peeled them, outer and inner skin. Then I made a brown sugar caramel in which I cooked the peeled nuts until very soft. Then ground them in a processor with some of the syrup to get a creamy substance. You can use it in tarts, with cream or as a filling for meringues, Mmmm!

Mmm, I got hungry from writing about food, I'm gonna fix me some lunch.

Buon appetito!

wild chestnuts

party outfits

it seems we have another 'chef' in the house...

seventies make-up!

The secret to an easy and successful dinner...

Wow, that sounds so fifties, straight from a one of those great cooking books for housewives.

But it's true, I cooked a very successful dinner while feeling like the head of a broom or a wet teacloth, whichever you prefer.

- Bruscette alla Lisa

- Branzino al Forno con papate

- Insalata di Finocchio e arance

- Tarte-Tatin con panna montata e canella

First I'll give you the recipe for my special bruscette, I've fed them to quite a few Italian friends now and they all seem to love them.

You'll need: 1 ciabatta, 1 clove of garlic, 1 ripe avocado, 2 ripe tomatoes, 1 golden apple, a handful of basil, about three tablespoons of eco apple vinegar, a good slosh of delicious olive oil and salt and pepper. Maybe some very good balsamic vinegar to finish them off.

I always start by cutting the avocado, tomatoes and apple in cubes and mixing them with the vinegar, oil, salt and pepper. Leave that for about 20 minutes. In the meantime you can slice the bread about 1,5 cm thick and bake them in a good amount of baking olive oil on both sides. Make sure they are nice and golden. When they're cooled down a bit, rub them lightly with the garlic.

Then cut the basil in strips and mix in the bowl of avocado, apple and tomatoes. Taste it and season it as you like.

Fill the bruscette with the topping and drizzle a tiny thread of balsamic vinegar on top!

Then I had a Branzino each which I filled with some lemon slices, a bay-leaf and salt and pepper. I closed their bellies with a butchers thread and covered their skin with butter and sea salt. Put them in the oven on 200ºC for 30 minutes.

I served them with boiled potatoes in butter and parsley.

As a fresh 'contorno' I made a salad of finely sliced fennel, orange and dill, seasoned with olive oil and apple vinegar, salt and pepper.

And finally I made my first perfect Tarte-Tatin! I used more apples then the last time and let the caramel get slightly darker. Also I used only golden apples, they work fine for me.

I served a whipped cream with some sugar and cinnamon mixed in, Mmmm! What a great combination, apples, caramel, cream and cinnamon...

Bruscette alla Lisa

Branzini

Tarte-Tatin

Mmmm!

Earth

Since I've been  living in Como I have been to 4 trend forecast presentations by Li Edelkoort. I must say that I have been lucky, as you may know it costs a fortune to see Li speak about the future of fashion, textile and design.

Her presentations always give me such a boost of happiness, of inspiration. Besides a head full of beautiful images this presentation left me with a somewhat worried mind...

'Earth matters' was the theme for the summer of 2012. Earth and her beauty, earth and her pain. Earth and how her citizens treat her.

It started with a poem by Michael Jackson:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VWXsFM1nIo


Li talked about how we are mistreating our planet earth and how we are more and more able to change our ways. How we can better our ways of production, of eating, of traveling of using our waste.

Her presentations are always based on different themes that each have their own atmosphere to explain the new colours, textures and use of fabrics. She communicates them through the most beautiful images she takes from everywhere. They may come from the newest Vogue or the National Geographic or from their own studio in Paris. I even recognized a leather suit by a young Dutch designer!

I was again amazed by the beauty the earth has in her. All inspiration eventually comes from nature as there is where it all started.

To me there is nothing more beautiful then the colours of birds, butterflies and fish.
The shapes of thick white accumulating clouds in a crisp blue sky.
The incredible shapes, smells and patterns of flowers.
Or how everything in wildlife collaborates, everything functions so perfect. Have you ever seen how a bee gets his nectar from a flower while his belly rubs the stamen to fertilize the next flower he visits.
(see the movie Adaptation with Meryl Streep and Nicolas Cage)
The golden shimmering of the autumn evening sun in a lake.
The elegance of the legs of an antelope or the way a cat washes her ears.

Or....I can go on and on for hours as you can see..but I have my next dinner to plan and cook so, see you tomorrow!

Bird by Lisa Weinberg

clouds above the lake

eco beans

My favourite restaurant!

 Saturday night we had dinner at La piazzetta in Argegno, a village by the lake just a 25 minute drive from Como. La piazzetta is, I must admit, my all-time-favourite-restaurant. It's located on a very cute piazza, which explains the name, piazzetta, small square. The interior is modern but very warm and cosy with candles on the tables, which many restaurants seem to forget these days. I love candlelight, it makes your dinner so much more romantic and warm. There is a Dutch word which cannot be translated 'gezellig' the word that comes closest is 'cosy'.
The restaurant is on the first floor and has lake view! Big tables with comfortable chairs and a surprising taste of music, never a dull moment.
I went there for the first time with my Love who took me there for lunch the first day I arrived back in Como. I had the most delicious pizza of my whole life and I wasn't even a pizza fan, it was a pizza primavera with mozzarella di buffala, pomodorini freschi e basilico. Amazingly good!

Since then I've been coming there for my coffee on my bike ride. Or when I do a long ride and can't make it all the way back without something in my belly, I go to Cafe Colombo next door for a great panino and a coke.
But the best thing about La Piazzetta is the food, which I call real haute-cuisine sometimes as it's made and served with love and class. They have great people working there, a very funny waiter with great timing and a talented shy sommelier who knows his part about wine.

When we arrived I looked into the kitchen where the pizza dough was being formed and got to shoot some pictures, the owner even said I could help if I wanted....well I wouldn't mind having some pizza making lessons at all actually. Maybe I'll wear an apron next time.

Our dinner started with a prosecco and their homemade focaccia bread, which is served hot and is delicious. They make all their bread and pasty in their own kitchen and it always tastes wonderful.

Then we shared an insalata di polipo, which is warm octopus served with patatoes, salad and a dressing, and a tuna-steak salad marinated in soy-sauce with a red onion chutney. Mmmm, super soft fish meat with a sweet twist.

Then I had a risotto with funghi e castagne, which was perfect for the cold autumn day it was. It could have had a little less salt in it. Sometimes restaurants use just al little too much salt as they might be afraid of serving a bland dish.

We shared two deserts, or I should say two works of art! Wow! One was a warm apple tartelette with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice-cream and the other was a white chocolate and strawberry mousse with a crunchy pastry to hold it and a pistachio caramel hat on top. Well, you can see for yourself, it's kind of hard to describe the beauty of it.

With the bill we got some delicious Lindt chocolates to slow our taste buds down after this great culinary ride.

http://www.piazzettargegno.it

the pizzamaker

home made bread

tuna with red onion chutney

risotto con funghi e castagne

apple tart

white chocolate mousse

FLOWERPOWER!

Two days ago I went to my friend's company where they produce fabrics. He invited me to come to the stockroom to pick some fabrics I needed for my party outfit; my flower power dress for the Com'on party on the 23^rd of October. I knew exactly what I wanted for this dress and doubted that he had that in his stockroom as they make ties mostly...

It was a true fabric heaven!! Flower jacquards everywhere and I could pick what I wanted. I chose four different types, two for my own dress and two for the shirt I'm going to make for my Love, who I'm dressing in something quiet ugly for this event, but thats the seventies right?

So as soon as I got home I started to make the pattern according to one of his regular shirts, that worked all right. Next I cut the fabric and now I'm at the stage of ironing on all the vliseline, the stuff thats inside the cuffs and collar to make them more firm. I just couldn't stop working on it, it's addictive!

But I still managed to squeeze in a ride on my bike and fixing a cornbread with my new organic cornflower, very curious how thats gonna turn out.

The dress I want to make for myself is going to be in pink and red flowery patters with lots of ruffles. I want it to be cute, seventies and a tad over the top! And my hair is going to be curly with hot pink ends. I can still do that as my hair is nearly white. But I'm growing my own colour now which is slightly darker.

I still have to figure out the shoes, maybe I'll find something at the second hand shop.

I'll keep you posted on the results!

Ps. I had a very interesting heavy desert yesterday at our dinner in Novara. It's called Pastiera and it's made with ricotta, eggs, boiled grains, sugared fruit, fior di arance, milk, cinnamon with a base of pasticcia frolla( regular pie dough)

It was heavy and light at the same time because of the creamy fluffy filling. It's a typical easter pie from Napoli. I found the recipe on this site..http://www.pastiera.it/ricetta.htm

Pastiera

Cornbread, I'll serve with pumpkin soup and gorgonzola

fabrics for my dress

Simple tarte-Tatin

Yesterday I had the urge to bake a tarte-Tatin but I had only 3 apples left, two golden and one Granny Smith. Can you bake a tarte-Tatin out of two kinds of apples without noticing it in the end result?

I used a standard sweet pie dough made out of flour, sugar, butter and eggs. Three apples and some sugar and butter for the caramel. And preheated the oven on 190ºC.

I started with peeling the apples, cutting them into quarters and drizzling them with some lemon juice. Then I made the caramel in my non-stick frying pan by heating some sugar, about 100 grams with a little water. When it becomes that beautiful marron-red colour you can stir in a knob of butter to make it creamy. Then put in the apples and turn them every couple of minutes so they get nice and soft and they take over the caramel colour.

While you're baking the apples you can roll out the dough to the size of your baking tin, I use the small low ones, or just a bit bigger.

When the apples are done, after about 20 to 30 minutes of low simmering, you put them into the baking tin with the pretty side down, the cheeks of the apples. Then role over the dough with your rolling pin and make sure the apples are feeling warm and snug in their coat. Cut away the excess dough and put the tart in the hot oven. I baked it for about 30 to 40 minutes until the dough looks a dark golden-brown.

When it's done you leave it to rest for about 10 minutes and then you flip it onto a plate or a nice platter, anything that looks nice!

It's best eaten hot, with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream, Mmmm!

Bon appetit!

...Ah! The end result..No, you can't bake a tarte-Tatin with Granny Smith apples, they keep their greenish colour, which is so beautiful when you eat them fresh but looks a bit strange when they're baked. And more important, the go all mushy in the oven, not very nice. You want a soft but firm apple-tart right!?

My Amsterdam

I was born in Amsterdam on the 1^st of october 1983, I lived there for six years as a little girl.

I made my first friends there, went to my first school and made my first memories in Amsterdam.

One that I will always remember is my teachers sweater catching fire, I think it was because of the candles on a birthday cake. ( must have been something with a cake, or I would not have remembered it.) Another thing I will never forget is when I got a hole in my tights and my brother had the biggest laugh with his friend about it!

I've always loved Amsterdam and I still see it as my hometown, It feels like home every time I go there. More than the other places I've lived.

Since I live in Italy it's even become more attractive to me, I wonder through the streets as if I were a tourist. Things change so quickly in a big city that I can discover new shops/buildings/clubs/restaurants/bakeries and off course people every few months I visit.

There are some typical Dutch delicious things I like to eat whenever I go. For example fries, the thick ones which originally come from Belgium, with a sour mayonnaise. Or brown thick sliced bread( preferably Allinson) with aged cheese, like Old Amsterdam, and Dijon mustard. Even the 'Kroketten' I can't really resist in the wintertime.

And last but not at all least...the Dutch Apple-pie at 'Winkel' on the corner of the Noordermarkt and the Westerstraat, simply divine!

I know it doesn't sound all that healthy but these are the things you shouldn’t leave out if you ever go there. Or if you live there, have them every once in a while and you'll appreciate Dutch food more than ever.  

Van Dobben kroketten

Nieuwmarkt

singel

Prada on the go...

Last Saturday we went out to dinner in Milan with our american friends who were over for just a week. We booked a table at Obika, a restaurant where the menu is all about Mozzarella.

Every dish is based on the creamy, soft, salty, rich cheese made from buffalo milk. We had e few starters to begin with; Grilled pumpkin with supersoft mozzarella, a roll of mozzarella filled with three different fillings and a mix of deep-fried appetizers like rice balls and sage leafs. Mmmm!

Then we all had our main, I had a ravioli filled with ricotta and spinach, about 5 big ravioli cooked al dente, just perfect. We drank a Tuscan red wine with it with 14,5 percent. Heavy, but very very good!

For a desert we had a grand-dessert with torta di pinoli( pine nuts and chocolate cake), tiramisu and greek yoghurt with honey. It was a delicious modern Italian dinner!

Obika has two restaurants in Milan, one in Brera and the other one on the top floor of the rinascente, the biggest shopping-center in Milan, somewhat like Lafayette in Paris.

www.obika.it

On our way to the restaurant we walked through the Galleria which is located next to the Duomo of Milano, a very impressive building!! In the Galleria there are a few of the most beautiful shops in Milan, my favourite...Prada. The winter 2010 collection was displayed in the window and filled up the rest of the boutique. The entourage of such an old/classic Italian shop gives a very rich and chic twist to Prada's modern collections. I think the combinations works great!

I shot some pictures with my Iphone so you can see for yourself...

wine at Obika

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Prada

Prada

Prada

Prada

Prada

la Galleria

Lisa Loves...

many more things than just cakes..

I love cats, I used to have two when I was little, Karel&Miep, they were brother and sister. And one when I was older, her name was Snoes. She now lives with my dear friend in the heart of Amsterdam and she is very happy there. I'm giong to visit her in a couple of weeks! I do miss her often so whenever I get the chance to see, hear or pet a cat I'm right there. I have a whole collection of photos of myself with stranger-cats! Hopefully one day, I'll have one again.

I love bakeries, most of all French bakeries as the French are really the only ones who have mastered the art of making bread...croissants, baguette, pain de campagne, brioches and so many other delightful things that come out of the oven. If I would live in France I would certainly gain an extreme amount of weight as I can never resist to buy something delicious at almost every bakery when I'm there on holidays. And there is a bakery on every corner I can tell you.

I love tea, the warm fuzzy feeling it gives you when it's cold outside. The smell of freshly made tea, especially the Lemon&Ginger tea of Twinings and I just discovered a new taste called Orange&Cinnamon, they are both wintery teas and make you feel warm to the bones. During the day I drink about five or six big glasses of tea, green tea in the morning with lemon, ginger during the day and some fennel and camomile just before bedtime. Actually it's all I drink! And some wine with dinner off course, another thing I love.

I made a list of the 100 things I love a few months ago, a very fun thing to do! So I'll tell you a little more about my other favourite things later...

La tarte Tropezienne, St. Tropez

Me and a strange cat

raisin bun

I LOVE PUMPKIN!

Just to inform you on what I cooked for dinner last night..

Fresh papardelle with roasted pumpkin, basil and parmigiano.

First I roasted the pumpkin, cut in cubes, in a very hot over with some finely sliced garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil until soft. And while I cooked the papardelle I mixed the pumpkin in a bowl with fresh basil and some cream quashing the cubes lightly to get a thick textured sauce.
Then I put the pasta on a plate with the sauce on top and dressed it with some parmigiano shavings and a drizzle of very good olive oil. The Italians say ' un filo d'olio', a thread of oil.

Ecco, un piatto pronto!

Bar Fresco

I just have to let you know about one of my favourite bars in Como, I actually discovered it myself!

The name is Bar Fresco and it's located on the viale Lecco, may you ever come to this beautiful town and feel like a heavenly cocktail...

Before I found bar Fresco I wasn't particularly fond of cocktails, usually they are too sweet, with too much artificial flavouring. But at bar Fresco they make theirs with freshly squeezed apple/orange/lemon/grape/berry-juice, or whatever fruit may be in season. They think up these wonderful exotic combinations with ingredients like lemongrass, elderflower, chilli peppers, cinnamon, honey and lime. My all time favourite( I seem to use that term quiet often) cocktail is the apple martini which you can see in the first photo, It's with freshly centrifuged apple juice, gin and lime..Mmmm, so good! They also make fantastic non-alcoholic ones.

Off course it's all about cocktails in a cocktail bar but for a foody it is just a interesting to go there. They serve the most wonderful aperativi with these haute cuisine hors d’oeuvre...how fancy does that sound, huh...? The chef is not afraid to experiment with lovely fresh ingredients and serves these little snacks as if you find yourself in a 5 star restaurant.

See for yourself...

Ps. the third reason why I'm such a fan of this place is because they have a shelf full of books about cooking and restaurants. I always take a peek and sometime photograph new interesting recipes so I can make them at home.