Radicchio Salad with Mungbean Sprouts

If you don't know this site, visit it asap, because it will inspire you. When I saw Juliet's entry on Tastespotting I decided to try sprouting my own seeds. The first attempt was a sad story because I added too many flax seeds to the mixture, which are mucilagenous (i.e. slimy), so the seeds were always too wet and eventually fermented. This property of the flax seeds works well if you are constipated but not if you want to sprout them. The second time I used only mungbeans and kept rinsing them twice a day and draining them well. Within 5 days I had lots of sprouts, and now they are in the fridge to keep them fresh.

Today I added them to a salad and the crunchiness of the sprouts was incredible. I am hooked!

The radicchio I used in the salad is called Radicchio di Castelfranco and it was given to me by the incredibly knowledgeable Annabelle Lenderink of the Star Route Farms at the farmers' market in San Rafael. After we talked about a squash that has only recently been cultivated in California, the Marina di Chioggia aka Zucca Barucca in Venetian, she generously gave me a head of this wonderful radicchio. This chicory variety gets the name from Castelfranco, a town 30 minutes from my home town Venice, has a mild flavor, is really buttery with a slight bitterness, and it paired well with the Meyer lemon zet flavor (the aroma of the zest still lingers on my fingers as I am typing, YUM!).

Radicchio Salad with Mungbean sprouts

Cut the radicchio in strips, and the avocado in cubes. Sprinkle with extravergin olive oil, aceto balsamico, meyer lemon juice and zest. Add a handful of sprout and toss the salad.

Buon Appetito!

Golden Loot

As I was driving home I saw a box full of beautiful lemons in front of a house, but not just any lemons, Meyer lemons! I couldn't believe my eyes, slammed on the brakes, and got out. I controlled the urge to get the whole box in the car, left some for other lucky fellow passerbies, and drove home. Tomorrow I am going to leave a thank you note with my name at the house in case the generous soul has more in the future.


What a loot! What should I make?

Paper Chef 38-Anchovy Paté on Multigrain Crackers

Paper Chef is a fun monthly challenge where you get to create a dish with randomly selected ingredients and then post the recipe on your blog.

Mike was the winner of last month's Paper Chef so he randomly selected the ingredients of this month's challenge: anchovies, figs, mint, and then threw in polenta for fun. It took me a while to decide how to put these seemingly unrelated ingredients together, and I am not sure the mint really works in this dish, it gets masked by the strong anchovy's taste.

I adapted a whole grain cracker recipe by adding dry figs and stone ground polenta, and topped them with an anchovy paté my mom used to make. I then sprinkled fresh peppermint on the paté, thinking that the peppery taste would stand up to the anchovies. The combination of the crackers and the paté worked well, the mint flavor got lost, maybe infusing the butter with the mint ahead of time would have worked better. The challenge was fun, can't wait to see what the other bloggers concocted.

Whole grain crackers

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup stone ground polenta/cornmeal
1 cup dry figs, chopped
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/8 cup flax seeds
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup agave nectar

Mix all the dry ingredients together. Mix the buttermilk with the agave nectar and add to the dry ingredients. Pour into two loaf pans and bake at 350F until dry in the center. Let cool and slice thin. Toast in a 325F oven until crispy.


Anchovy Paté

4 oz. butter, softened
2 oz. anchovy fillets, drained

Mix the two ingredients until smooth.

Tennessee Valley Trailhead

This easy and accessible trail is part of the Golden Gate National Recreational Area, located in the Marin Headlands. The trail is 1.8 mile long, it starts at the trail head parking lot and ends at Tennessee Cove, a small sandy beach on the Pacific Ocean. The Valley you walk through was known as Elk Valley, once popular for hunting deer, bears, elk, coyotes and wild turkeys. Two years ago we run into a bobcat, just few feet away from us. This amazing animal was hunting a rodent and as we stopped to look at it and take pictures it slowly turned toward us and gave us a look as to say: Can't you see I am busy here? It then slowly walked away, very annoyed by our interruption.As I drove toward the parking lot I stumbled in a group of 12-16 wild turkeys, and the males were busy showing off their beautiful feathers, what a sight.

It was pretty cold at 9am and some plants were still covered in frost.

The trail is spectacular, the Miwok Indians must have been thriving in this area.

On the side of the trail there is a eucalyptus grove which makes the trail even more beautiful, but somewhat unnatural.
I was joined by two wonderful friends, J. and M., so I knew the hike would be fun. We stopped at the horse stables to visit a friend of J.'s.

and got to pet this beautiful horse that was recovering there. What a beauty.
The trail splits in a higher trail that is less affected by the rain, and a lower trail which can get pretty muddy but is worth walking there for the rare encounters you might have with wild birds, and the plants you might see. Nature is waking up from the cold winter and Equisetum and Willows were in bloom.
The beach was as beautiful as ever, with a high sand dune recently carved by the massive rain we have had in the Bay Area.
Thanks J. for suggesting this trail, I had a lovely time.

Simple Beauty

Torta Della Nonna

There is an Italian cake called torta della nonna, but this is MY nonna Bruna's cake. She used to make it often, and many times she made it just for me when I was going to see her. Last time she made it for me it was December 1998, she was 90 years old and kicking. I miss you Nonna.

It is an easy cake to make, very rustic, but it looks so pretty with all the apple slices arranged like rose petals. Once I brought it to some friends' house to celebrate their son E.'s birthday and he was hooked for ever. Often when they come over for dinner I make it for him, but then deny it and then surprise him when it is time for dessert, it has become our joke. This is for you too, E., you are one of my biggest fans.

I made this yesterday and this is what was left this morning, just perfect to eat with my cappuccino.

Torta Della Nonna

150 gr. butter, softened
100 gr. granulated sugar
2 large eggs at room temperature
200 gr. pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
zest of a lemon
2 medium golden delicious apples
50 gr. brown sugar

Cream the butter with the sugar and the zest until fluffy. Add one egg at the time. Sift the flour with the baking powder and then add to the egg mixture. Mix only until incorporated and transfer onto a buttered and lined cake pan (8-9"). Quarter and core the apples and cut in thin slices. Starting at the center, arrange the slices like rose petals. Sprinkle with the brown sugar and bake in a 350F oven.

Peperoni Ripieni alla Giada

As much as I find Giada De Laurentis hard to like (could it be the overly juicy sounds of her show, her "just like that" annoying phrase, or her tiny body? hard to choose), I bought one of her books at a discounted price and today I used 5 of her recipes (well with some variations). It was my weekly day of cooking for one of my clients and I ended up choosing all recipes from her book Giada's Kitchen. This recipe turned out pretty easy and really beautiful and to make it a complete meal I paired it with roasted chicken drumsticks. This recipe gave me a chance to work with bell peppers that I normally don't use at home since I can't digest them.

I also made an eggplant timbale, gratin of manicotti stuffed with radicchio and ricotta, shrimp pasta with asparagus, and beef hamburgers with cous-cous and zucchini.

Orzo Stuffed Peppers
adapter from Giada's Kitchen

1 (28-oz.) can chopped tomatoes
2 medium zucchini, grated
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 provolone cheese, grated
1/2 pecorino or parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups orzo pasta
6 bell peppers
basil leaves for garnish

Pre-heat oven to 400F

Sautée the minced garlic in olive oil, add the grated zucchini and cook few minutes until soft, add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Cook the orzo pasta in the broth for 4 minutes, undercooking it a little. Drain and reserve the broth, and stir the drained orzo into the tomato mixture. Add the salt, pepper, provolone cheese and parsley. Cut peppers in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and the ribs. Spoon the orzo mixture into the peppers and place them in a baking dish. Pour some of the reserved broth halfway into the dish, cover with foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, add the pecorino or parmesan cheese and cook 15 more minutes. Transfer onto a serving dish, sprinkle with basil and serve immediately.