OMG! What a meatball!

Yesterday night I was trying to give satisfaction to the request that my husband Valerio made the very first day of 2015: to prepare him, every evening for dinner, a ever new delicacy.
Oh my God....! That's what I call a real challenge. A titanic deed indeed (I also made the rhyme...)!
So, only because I love him so much and I do enjoy make him happy with my cooking, I accepted the task and I rolled up my sleeves, always keeping in my mind this "mantra" delicacy, delicacy, delicacy...
As always happens, I just opened my refrigerator and looked around. There was a echo...
I definitely was inspired by a Higher Force...The Refrigerator Angel... Yes, there must be an angel, specially trained to run in help of girls full of good will and nothing in the fridge. There is no other explanation: nothing in the fridge = great dinner. This really dares the quantum physics.
Well, after a brief connection with the Refrigerator Angel I found what I was looking for: meatballs. Mock meatballs, of course.
Here you can find my recipe for these jummy, unespected, crispy meatballs.

Ingredients for two:
200 gr of smoked tofu
2 entire eggs
40 gr of boiled brown rice
1 medium size potato
2 Ts of parmisan cheese
8 brazilian nuts (grossly chopped)
1/2 clove of garlic
2 cup of bread crumbs
2 Ts of fresh chopped parsley
A little scratch of nutmeg
Extravergin olive oil
A pinch of salt and pepper

Preparation:
Chop the smoked tofu in a mixer and then put it in a bowl. Then add the smashed potato, the rice and all the other ingredients. Mix everything very well.
Make some little balls and coat them in the breadcrumb. Then, you can put them on a baking tin, adding on top of the meatballs just some drops of olive oil.
Put in a hot oven (180°) for 20/25 minutes.

Setting the table:
Alright, you have to know that I LOVE any kind of mock meatballs. I just love the concept of a meatball! I love the fact that you can put inside of it whatever you want, or have, or imagine. It's the apotheosis of fantasy.
So, also your table could be the same... put different napkins, different glasses, be you different! Just have fun and enjoy this recipe with a light heart and, at the end, a full stomach!

The movie:

Cloudy with a chance of meatballs

 It's so funny and entertaining!

The music:
Usually, while I cook I love to listen to the music. And in this case I listened to this amazing song... It helped my creativity very much! Epic!

By the way... my hubby was in extasy  ;-)
How?
100% made-with-Love cooking...

OMIODIO! Che polpetta!

Ieri sera stavo cercando di dare soddisfazione alla richiesta che mio marito Valerio mi ha fatto il primo giorno del 2015: preparargli, ogni sera a cena, un manicaretto sempre diverso.
Dio mio....! Questa è quella che io chiamo una vera sfida. Un'impresa davvero titanica...
Così, solo perché lo amo tanto e mi piace farlo felice con la mia cucina, ho accettato l'incarico e mi sono rimboccata le maniche, tenendo sempre in mente questo "mantra": manicaretto. manicaretto, manicaretto...
Come accade spesso, ho aperto il frigorifero e ho scrutato il suo interno. C'era l'eco...
Sicuramente sono stata ispirata da una Forza Superiore... l'Angelo del Frigorifero... Sì, ci deve essere un angelo, appositamente addestrato per correre in aiuto di ragazze piene di buona volontà e con nulla nel frigorifero. Non c'è altra spiegazione: niente in frigo = grande cena. Questo sfida davvero la fisica quantistica.
Bene, dopo essermi messa in connessione con l'Angelo del frigorifero ho trovato l'ispirazione che cercavo: polpette! Polpette finte, naturalmente.
Eccovi la mia ricetta per queste deliziose, inaspettate, croccanti polpette.

Ingredienti per due persone:
200 gr di tofu affumicato
2 uova intere
40 gr di riso integrale bollito
1 patata media lessa
2 Ts di parmigiano
8 noci brasiliane (tritate grossolanamente)
1/2 spicchio d'aglio
2 tazza di pangrattato
2 Ts di prezzemolo fresco tritato
Una grattata di noce moscata
Olio extravergine di oliva
Un pizzico di sale e pepe

Preparazione:
Tritate il tofu affumicato in un mixer e poi mettetelo in una ciotola. Quindi aggiungete la patata schiacciata, il riso e tutti gli altri ingredienti. Mescolate il tutto molto bene.
Fate delle palline e passatele nel pangrattato. Poi mettetele su una teglia, aggiungendo sopra un filo d'olio d'oliva. Mettete in forno caldo (180°) per 20/25 minuti.

L'apparecchiatura:
Dovete sapere che io amo qualsiasi tipo di polpetta (non di carne naturalmente). Adoro il concetto della polpetta! Mi piace il fatto che ci si possa mettere dentro quello che si vuole. E' l'apoteosi della fantasia.
Così, anche il vostro tavolo può essere super fantasioso: tovaglioli tutti diversi, bicchieri scompagnati, anche voi potete essere, semplicemente, diversi! Basta divertirsi e godere di questa ricetta a cuor leggero e, alla fine, a stomaco pieno!

Il film:
Piovono polpette. Uno spasso il personaggio del papà... E poi, chi non ha mai sognato di giocare e correre nel gelato??

La musica:
Di solito, mentre cucino, mi piace ascoltare musica. E in questo caso, mi sono goduta questa canzone incredibile ... Ha dato una bella mano alla mia creatività! Lui poi è un genio.

Tra l'altro...
Il mio maritino è andato in estasi per la cena!
Come ho fatto?
Beh, semplice... 100% fatta con Amore.

A LIFECHANGING MOVIE

 Nothing will be the same again...

La colazione dello Yogi

Eccomi. Sono tornata a riprendere in mano il mio piccolo blog.

Ho avuto bisogno di un po' di tempo per ricaricare le batterie, sgombrare la mente, buttare via alcune cose vecchie, sistemare un piede rotto, tra l'altro, insomma ho avuto un bel da fare!

Ed è così che come prima cosa voglio tornare a prendermi cura di questo blog, inaugurando il mio rientro con una ricetta un po' speciale, legata a una "nuova scoperta" che ho fatto proprio recentemente: il crudismo. Pur essendo assolutamente consapevole che non sarei in grado (almeno per ora) di rinunciare a una buona pizza fumante o ad una zuppa calda nei giorni più freddi dell'inverno, sono affascinata dai princìpi di questa "disciplina alimentare".

Trovo che il crudismo rappresenti un modo di nutrire il proprio corpo estremamente naturale, onesto, semplice e, allo stesso tempo, evoca in me un senso di vitalità, armonia e gioia. Se è vero che siamo ciò che mangiamo, mi sento coccolata all'idea di fare la mia colazione con questa deliziosa ricetta: la colazione dello Yogi.

L'ho chiamata così perché la persona che mi ha fatto assaggiare questo piatto per la prima volta è un piccolo Yogi moderno!

Uno dei miei nuovi propositi è quello di aumentare progressivamente il numero dei miei pasti a base di verdure crude e frutta fresca, così mi preparo già alla primavera…

Ecco gli ingredienti per 2 persone:

100 g di semi di lino (da mettere in ammollo durante la notte in poca acqua)

1 cucchiaio di miele (o stevia per farlo 100% vegano)

1 cucchiaio di burro di cocco lavorato a freddo

1 cucchiaio di cacao crudo oppure di cannella

Preparazione:

I semi di lino, dopo una notte a mollo, avranno creato una specie di gelatina. Fantastica, è proprio quello che fa bene al nostro organismo... Ora, mettete tutti gli ingredienti in un mixer e frullate per qualche minuto. Rimarrete stupiti dalla consistenza e dal sapore. Forse, in un primo momento questo nuovo gusto potrà sembrarvi un po' lontano dalla classica colazione con cappuccino e cornetto, ma concedetevi di sperimentare... il corpo riconoscerà subito il Bene di questo alimento e anche le vostre papille gustative ne gioiranno! 

L'apparecchiatura:
Che ne dite di un'alba rosa come sfondo a questa colazione?...

 La musica:
Buon giorno a tutti con questa canzone semplicemente unica...

Il film:

Non potevo non presentarvi il mio amico Yogi...

The Yogi’s breakfast

Here I am. I am back, with my little blog.
I needed a little bit of time to “recharge my batteries”, reset my mind, throw away some old things, fix a broken foot… I mean, I had a lot of things to do!... So, I want to start again to take care of this blog “opening the new season” with a very special recipe, linked to a new  recent  discovery that I did: raw food.
Even if I am absolutely aware that I wouldn’t be able(in this moment at least) to give up a wonderful cheesy pizza or a hot soup in the coolest days of wintertime, I am fascinated by the principles of this “food discipline”.
I think that “raw foodism” could represent an extremely natural way to feed our body, a honest, simple practice and, in the same time, it evokes in me a sense of vitality, harmony and joy.
If it’s true that we are what we eat, I feel cuddled to the idea to start my day with this delicious recipe: the Yogi’s breakfast.
I called in this way because the sweet person who made me taste this recipe for the very first time is a little modern Yogi!
One of my new resolutions is to progressively increase the number of these meals based on raw vegetables and fruits, so I will embrace springtime sooner!

Ingredients for two:

100 gr of flaxseeds (put them in a bowl of water the evening before)

1 s. of honey (or stevia if you want a 100% vegan breakfast)

1 s. of raw coconut butter

1 s. of raw coco or cinnamom

Preparation:
Flaxseeds, during the night, make a  sort of “jelly” in contact with water. Don’t throw the water away!
Mix in a blender all the ingredients for few minutes. You will be very surprised by the texture and the taste. Maybe at the beginning this new taste will seem to you a little bit far from which you are accustomed but, allow yourself to make this experiment… your body will recognize immediately the Good of this meal and also your taste buds will make a party after a while! And also your belly indeed!

Setting the table:
What do you think about a pink and blue sunrise as a background to this breakfast?...

The music:
Good morning to everyone with this song!

The movie:
This is my Yogi friend...

                                            
                                               Ciao Ada

ti sono grata dal profondo del cuore

 

 

 

 

 

I took a little pause....

But I'll be back soon with some new recipes and stories...
LOVE,
Caterina

The yogi cat

Some evenings ago I had a wonderful dinner with my brother in law and his wife. They have two beautiful children and two funny cats.
I was just amazed by the way in which their kitten fell asleep...

It reminded me this asana, the "Eka Pada Sirsasana"...

Isn't it a real yogi kitten?

The terrace of dreams and memories... Gazpacho Soup

This year I decided to have a true vegetable garden on my terrace. It gives me such satisfaction! I put tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, basil and parsley...

So, last evening, I was enjoying the sunset, sitting on a blanket on my terrace and it was just perfect. The air was warm and nice, the sun colored the sky with purple, orange and pink. My cat was "deeply meditating" just next to me. No noises, just some bees flying around. A little blackbird was singing, probably calling his wife to have dinner together...

 I stayed for a while in silence, listening to myself. Listening to that perfection. Listening to my heart.

The night fell down and I didn't even realize it.

I opened my eyes and it was like paradise: thousands of little fireflies were dancing down below, in my neighbour's garden.

One unique and unrepeatable moment of life. It was a gift.

These are simply moments of eternity...

"The Eternal Now" maybe means to be "there", 100% with open heart and peacefull mind. And simply flow...

I really discovered that if you do something, being there 100%, you'll become more and more happy.
Once a Saint said: "If you want to be happy now, be happy now".
There's another little story about this: Once a very old lady was brougth to a nursing home because nobody of her family could take care of her. She was sitting in the waiting room, because her little apartment was not ready yet. A nurse came to her and asked: "How do you feel about being here, in this place?".
The old lady replied: "I just can't wait to be in my wonderful room. I am so happy".
The nurse said: "But you have not even seen it yet".
The lady said:" I know. I am happy because I have already decided that it will be amazing".

What can I say? I just can say that I would like to become like her!

My Grandma at 24

You know, actually my Grandma was like her. When she lost her son in a tragic circustamstance, she told me that she spent nights and nights thinking about how the accident could have happened. But one day she realized that those thoughts were not helping her to overcome that immense trauma.
So she started to think, instead of the dynamics of that sad event, about fairy tales. Yes, she began to invent, during the night, wondeful fairy tales, full of magic characters, full of humor and happy endings.
She changed also the ends of the classic fairy tales: she called them "The against fairy tales". 
She wrote a book and it's one of the most precious things I have. 
She could transform such a tragedy to something beautiful.

But maybe now it's time to come back to our recipe...
I was thinking about a recipe that could be done with the vegetables I have in my garden. And I immediately thought about gazpacho...
This fresh soup is one of my favourite dish when tomatoes become red and some brave cucumbers start to grow, climbing the stairs of my sunny terrace.

Here the ingredients for two:
4 big red tomatoes
2 eggs
2 handfuls of bread croutons
1 middle size cucumber
1/4 onion
1 red pepper
1/4 red hot chili pepper
some basil leaves
extravergin olive oil
salt

Preparation:
Hard boil the eggs and let them cool down. Peel and cut them in little cubes.

Meanwhile, in a blender, mix well for 5 minutes the tomatoes, the onion, half cucumber, half pepper, the basil leaves, salt and all the hot chili pepper (if you like it very hot!). Put the tomato cream in the fridge for one hour.

Cut the other half parts of the vegetable (cucumber and pepper) in little pieces.

Now, serve each guest putting in a cup, from the bottom: a layer of croutons, a layer of chopped eggs, a layer of cucumber and one of pepper. Cover everything with the tomato soup. Add some croutons again and a little extravergin olive oil.

It's done! Enjoy the summer!

Setting the table:
I know that Christmas time it's quite far now but I was thinking... why don't you put all the Christmas lights on your terrace? You don't have a terrace? Ok, decorate your dining room, your kitchen... It's doesn't matter... it will be like having beautiful fireflyes around you! But please leave the Christmas tree in your storage room!

The music:
Jo Blankenburg is an amazing pianist from Germany. And this is one of his most famous songs.

The Movie:
Remaning on the subject "planet", I suggest you an extraordinary movie: "La belle verte". It's a french movie by Coline Serreau. You'll love it...

What a graceful guest on my terrace...