Spring is coming!

Como has been my home for the last two and a half years now. I've experienced the change of the seasons quiet a few times now, but every time spring comes it surprises me. It just pops up one day, smelling delicious and making the birds sing out loud again!
I smelled it for the first time this year on the 14th of February, Valentine's day. I don't do Valentine's day, to me it's just a commercial feats, I celebrate being with my Love every single day. And I don't need to buy him presents to show him that I care.
But still it made the start of Spring a little more romantic.

Immediately I started to work on my garden, we planted some roses in pots and I cleaned out the little patch of ground in front of our house. Ready to be filled with some white and blue Hortensia and maybe some vegetables. I will have to find out how they will grow here in my new garden.

But first we have make the most of the winter and try to go for 1 or two more skiing trips! We often go to Livigno where they have beautiful slopes and stunning views. But last week we went to Andalo, to meet our family. We took al long weekend to enjoy the bright sun on our noses and the sauna and outside pool in the Spa of the hotel. It seemed that we had been away for a week!

As spring is still trying to make it's way through, I will now jump on my bike to say good morning to the sun!

Beautiful grappa bottles in Livigno, where we often ski.

Andalo Dolimites.

Garden in wintertime.

Just got out of work!

Lago di Como

Spring, 18 degrees!

Pots and plants

Café, Caffè, Coffee, Koffie.

Coffee-break, I need a coffee, Let's have a coffee.

How many times a day do you think this word is said? How many cups of it do people drink a day?
Is it healthy or not at all? How many kinds are there? How do you drink it best? With what..?

So many questions I can think of when I think about this beverage which was introduced in the 15th Century. Originally from Ethiopia.

The English word 'Coffee' derived from the Ottoman Turkish 'Kahve' through the Italian 'Caffè'. The Turkish word came from the Arabic qaha, meaning 'to have no appetite' as it was supposed to stop you from feeling hungry.

There are so many ways of preparing this drink. The Turkish coffee, which is boiled ground coffee. The sediment needs to rest and sit at the bottom of the cup before you can drink it.
I always wonder how long this takes, and is the coffee not cold by the time the coffee sank down..?

Then their are all these cool looking machines and devices like the Moka pot, the French Cafetière, the perculator. And of course the Italian espresso machine, my favourite I must say.
The water is pressed through the freshly ground coffee with high pressure and creates a lovely creamy layer on top of your espresso, called 'crema'.

At work I drink a caffè latte every morning with a freshly made brioche filled with marmalade. Our barman Fiorello, yes that's his real name but everyone calls him Fiore meaning 'flower', makes the best coffees.
Sometimes when he's in a happy mood and I feel like a cappuccino, he makes me a flower or a heart in the velvety foamy layer.

This fall I discovered a new coffee type, the Marocchino. I had never had it before in my life and I love it!
They say every Barista (coffee maker) has it's own way of making their marocchino. I had one in Como which was made with a layer of chocolate creamyness, then espresso, then milk and milk foam and topped off with a dusting of cacao.
Then I had my next one in Milano, in a very crowded coffee bar. It was cold and I needed something warm and soothing. This one was made with a dusting of coco powder in the small cup, the espresso, then milk foam and again a dusting of coco....MMMmmm! Delicious. I added some cane sugar, cause this version was not sweet at all. I think it's my favorite new winter drink!

Marocchino in Milano

Breakfast at work, with cappuccino

Update..

Dear Reader,

I have to give you my sincere apologies... For not writing, for not uploading pictures of at least some nice food..For totally abandoning my blog for the last couple of months.

...Please forgive me, let me make it up to you, again...

Ok, that said, I would like to spent some of my energy, I have left over after a day of work or my spinning class on Tuesday and Thursday, on getting back to writing.
Pictures I have, enough to fill my phone completely so I had to delete half of my Itunes library...
If I upload them on my blog and actually write about them, so I digest and relive the experience, I can delete them from my phone and make some room for new stuff!

The big news is that we moved to a wonderful new place in Como! We're not anymore in the city centre. We left the noise of the hospital across from us, the cars and the smell of that always empty restaurant around the corner.
We moved to a more quiet place on the hillside along the lake...YES, with lake view!
The house was built in 1600, imagine haw that must have been! But is totally renovated by the landlord and we're the first to live in it!
We have our own little garden, a bath tub (to me amazingly luxurious as I only had a bath when living with my parents, which is a while ago) and a jaw dropping 5,5 Meter long (!!!) kitchen.
Can you imagine how my brain is going wild with thoughts of fragrant cakes from my oven on eye height. Or steamy risotto's on the hub! We even have a dishwasher so I can be lazy and my love too. As he will not have to clean up behind me so much.

I just wanted to show you some pics of one of our first meals here in the new house.
Risotto alla zucca with some flat fish I don't remember the name of. And our little aperativo plate with onions in vinegar, fresh goats cheese and date tomatoes.

Now I need to get up and going. I need to prepare a sofa bed for my first guest!

Ciao!

It's been a while...

Dear reader,

It seems that combining work with blogging is harder than I thought...

Since I started my work last may in Switzerland I have been mostly busy working and getting things back on track.
But also with enjoying the weekends and the great weather in Como...even though it has been raining for the last week and a half.

I have to say that my performance on the cooking front isn't what it's supposed to be. The kitchen at my work is so great! They make their own fresh pasta, fresh bread and all the vegetables are organic.
You can even take home dinner which they prepare for you in nice bags. And I must admit that last week I couldn't resist to bring home the Fajita, which I already had at lunch. My excuse was that my man at home had to try it as well. And yes, he loved it too.

So it's not that I haven't been experiencing any fun stuff lately. It's just the same old lame excuse that everybody uses when they don't do something they should do...too busy. (at least, I do)

From now on I will try to do better and pick up my cooking and writing again.

Here are some pics to make it up to you...

Wistaria wonder!

I think, well I know it's the biggest Wistaria I've ever seen. And I've caught it in the act! I'm house sitting at the moment, or let's say plant sitting at a friend of mine and that's where the blue wonder is happening.
Every day I return it's become bigger, bluer and more fragrant. And I can't stop making pictures of it.

I'm very happy to be there as I can sit outside, do some light gardening and have lunch on the balcony, in the sun. Today it's about 30 degrees Celsius in Como, you can feel that summer vibe hanging in the air....Mmm!

lunch on the balcony

oldy at our favourite tea place

flowerpots in Bellagio

It's starting to feel like summer here in Como and I'm so happy to be able to ride my bike without frozen hands and feet. Last weekend, after my Love came home from a 80 km ride, we cycled up to Bellagio together (another 60 km).
As soon as the sun shows it's face in this pretty little village the tourists start flying in. We sat down for a lemon soda and a piece of pie, as that's always much needed if you've only had breakfast before getting on your bike. I felt like a lucky girl sitting there next to my Love, overlooking the beautiful lake, wearing my new fancy cycling shoes...what else could you want?!
I spotted these nice flowerpots in the centre. They seem to put a lot of effort in keeping Bellagio look attractive, almost unreal pretty.
The next day my Love rode another 110 km while I did the housekeeping and prepared lunch. Which was a good thing, because as soon as he opened the door (when he usually says, 'Hi honey, I'm home..) he said without breath 'FOOD AND WATER'! It's obvious he's training hard for a race he's riding in two weeks.
He said it would be something I could also participate in but I think it's a bit too early for that. I've just started to become fascinated about cycling and I still have to train a lot to be able to ride a race... I'll be at the sideline cheering, Whoohoo!!!

almond cake and capuccio

bar San Remo, Bellagio

Friends & Food

Dear all,

I just have to apologize for not having posted anything for so long. Lets say I've been busy.

A while ago I met some great new people in Amsterdam, good friends of my love. He told me we had to meet and I would totally fall in love with them...and I did!
One of the main reasons for this is the passion we share for good food and cooking...
I think he is the best risotto-maker I know! We had a risotto with fresh tomatoes, basil and mozzarella. Super creamy and fresh! Then he made a raspberry bavarois which didn't set completely but that just made it much more creamy and delicious. YUM!
Last week, when we visited Holland, they invited us over again. Again, a stunningly delicious risotto with saffron and orange and a scallop on top. for dessert we had a rosemary cake with olive oil! I just made it myself and it's just as wonderful as it was there! Super moist and full of flavor.
I'll give you the recipe next time.

A few weeks ago they came to visit us in Como and it was our turn to invite them for dinner. It was a rainy sunday and there wasn't much in the fridge. I made my famous bruscette with tomato and apple , then a pumpkin soup with home made bread and lovely pecorino and gorgonzola with a Williams pear for sweetness.
As you might know I'm a bit of a dessert person so almost all the effort went into that. I made mini pavlova's with strawberries and mint.

Here's how:

you'll need for 4 pavlova's:
3 egg whites
180 gr of white sugar
250 ml of cream
500 gr of strawberries (ripe and red)
juice of half a lemon
2 tbls of cane sugar
a hand ful of fresh mint

For the meringues: preheat the oven on 100 degrees Celcius. beat the egg whites almost stiff, then add the sugar in three times and beat until stiff.
Put baking paper on a baking tin and shape 4 'baskets' of the egg white with a diameter of ca. 15cm. about 3 to 4 cm high. bake them for 1-2 hours until very lightly colored and crisp on the outside. They still have to be a bit gewy on the inside. Leave to cool.

Cit the strawberries in small cubes and mix with the sugar and the lemon juice and the finely chopped mint, leave to marinate.

Beat the cream until almost stiff.

Now build them up! Put a meringue on a dessert plate, put a good amount of cream on top. Then top it off with the strawberries, Don't take too much of the fluid on your spoon while doing this.

E voila! Don't they look pretty?!