Is someone getting excited as the birthday approaches???
Christmas crafts
Just a week before Xmas we managed to prepare some postcards to send our best wishes to our dearest ones. Sara did all the drawing using mainly cookie cutters as stamps. It was great fun. And though the wishes arrived a bit late, they were all happy to get something made from her.
Before flying to my in-laws I also managed to finished a cowl for Sara and another one for Pablo. The one of Sara matches her hat and she was very happy about the flowers on it. Sadly I did not take into account the stretching of the ribbing and now it is definitely too loose. The one from Pablo came great though. This time I followed a free pattern on ravelry.
One thing that made me happy was that I finished over the holidays a project, that had been frogged for ages: a blanket. All the stripes were already finished and I just had to do the sewing. It has turned out to be a very cozy an beautiful blanket, but the project was very boring: all stockinette with nothing new to learn. I do not think I will start another long project in a good while.
Christmas baking
This year we do not have the time to do a big baking action, but from time to time we do bake some Christmas cookies. Andrea is exploring old recipes, from the book of Artusi. For Pablo’s Nikolausfeier he made these Galletti(2). Really nice and very buttery (Artusi is Artusi!). But I rather prefer the Galletti(1) with aniseed, as I love that flavor.
As we cannot go so easily to K-lina’s party for Santa Lucia, I decided to make myself the famous Lusse Kata. I followed the recipe posted by GreenKitchenStories. It is just a great recipe, with no sugar, sweetened with maple syrup. I used soy yogurt to make it casein free, and reduced the saffron to half a gram. It was more than enough and already makes these buns quite a luxury. If not trying to make it naturally-sweetened and vegan or casein free, this recipe is probably a more traditional version. But I can assure you that you won’t miss the sugar nor the milk in these nice buns.
These sweet ravioli filled with marzipan are based again on one of Artusi’s recipes. The dough is like the one for the crostata. Very nice though maybe a tad too sweet.
Some of the last DIY-projects
Here are some of the self-made things finished in the last months:
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A summer-handbag for Sara
Actually a reversible one that she has enjoyed a lot in the summer months.
The idea and the pattern are taken from this blog. I used some vlieseline to make it stiffer.
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A sun-toy for Pablo
A great idea for babys using fabric scraps taken from Joel, a great crafter.
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Frames for organizing the pantry
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A dress/top and a matching headband
The dress is from a burda pattern. Sabine encouraged me to start sewing with this project. Thanks!! I also made the trousers to be used with it next summer, as this year is still more like a dress.
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Reversible bag for the Kindergarten
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Mittens
Using a pair of wool trousers that got felted. And one of the first neddle-felting projects. Just great and Sara loves them.
New hat for Sara
With the snow already here and the cold winds at Saras Kindergarten location we needed a new hat.. One with earflaps and quick. I had a look at my wool stashes and found several skeins of DROPS Eskimo, which is quite thick, so it was perfect for the project. I found the pattern online
Reading to Sara
I wanted to talk about the favorite storybooks from Sara, as the interest shifts and it is nice to keep the record of it. The ones she is now always going back to are the following:
Back
It is ages since we last wrote a new post!!! Time is more scarce with a new baby at home and interests are slightly different. We do not have the time to cook complicated recipes and we rather spend the time in the afternoon with activities that we can enjoy all together. We still try to find the space of cooking for pleasure but the more straightforward and practical recipes from the yaya are the clear winners in the last time. We do try to keep are weekly meal plans as it help us focus in the afternoon and it also helps to keep the weekly budget, something we are always struggling with. Anyway I think we will now share here other aspects of our family lives: like afternoon activities, diy projects, learning games or whatever occupies our minds… Let us see what shape the blog takes!
DB: Maple Mousse and meringue
The challenge in April for the Daring Bakers was to make a maple mouse in an edible container. We made meringue cups following this recipe and the mousse. Both delicious. A great dessert. We modified a bit the mousse as we did not have gelatin, so we used Kuzu instead, letting it come to a simmer after its addition.
Spring in food (II): Asparagus
We continue with the series “Spring in food” with another great ingredient that appears with the spring: asparagus.
Again I will be updating this post as long as the asparagus are available.
Let us start with the recipes we are making this season:
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We begin once more with a favorite and a classic: Asparagi alla Bismarck, typical of the Lombardy region. This is a simple and great way of enjoying green asparagus. Eggs are always a great partner of asparagus! One similar recipe is found here.
Asparagus and leek soup: a very nice recipe of Jamie Oliver. You could filter it if you want to make sure not to get any fibers in the soup. We had some lamb leftovers as a second course so we left the soup simple, but I am sure it is great with poached eggs and crostini.
Spring in food (I): Ramsons (Wild leek – Bärlauch)
There are so many things of spring that make us just feel right. The air, the plants awaking from winter, the little flowers popping everywhere…
Also in the kitchen we are grateful to greet a new season and enjoy some of the great ingredients that now become available. Some of these ingredients are now in season but only for a short time, so we try to take as much advantage of them now and I must say that we truly enjoy them. Probably even more than others because we now it is not lasting many weeks.
One of the ingredients I’m referring to is the wild garlic (Bärlauch, aglio orsino, allium ursinum or ajo de oso). I will be updating this post during the weeks we find it at our local market to report on the recipes we make with it.
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To start the Bärlauch season we made a Bärlauch pesto. It is one of our favorite kinds of pesto. I just love it. You can then have it with pasta, potatoes, rice, cereals, bread or in a salad. It really keeps all the flavor and aroma of the leaves. To make the pesto just add the coarsely chopped leaves in a food processor together with a pinch of salt, roasted nuts (we used pine nuts this time but it is also great with almonds, cashew nuts, etc), a bit of lemon juice, freshly grated Parmesan cheese and olive oil. You will probably have to add more olive oil during the process, and just taste it and vary the quantities as you like.
This week we made Bärlauchspätzle. They are really good and easy to make (well it does take some more time than making a pesto). Just make the Spätzle with the recipe you like, but instead of water you add Bärlauch-water: with your stand mixer puree the Bärlauch-leaves with some water (just enough to get a smooth texture), you will then add more water if the dough needs it, but we do not want to leave out any of the precious Bärlauch-water. In this way the flavor of the Bärlauch is much milder, but on the other hand that is a great thing for smaller children.
