Hi!
Today, I’m writing you from the train. I’m going away to chill a bit. I feel slightly overworked, but the fault is mine. I do too many things — more than I can take — and then have a meltdown. Therefore, here I am typing this content on my way to relaxation: Tuscany.
Speaking of Tuscany, one of the recipes is onouring my time there: Pasta e fasul (pasta and beans). It falls in the “poor man’s meals” category, but I reckon those the best. Simple food for a simple life.
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C u,
Yours truly
♡
Sarmale (for 4 pax):
Ingredients
☆ 1 cabbage
☆ 1 tbsp white vinegar
☆ 1 small onion, minced
☆ 40 gr rice
☆ 400 gr ground meat: it could be 400gr of pork or 200 gr pork/200 gr beef
☆ 30 gr pancetta/bacon, chopped
☆ Herbs: 1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped & 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
☆ 1 tsp (smoked) paprika
☆ 3 cups/0.7 l liquid: it can be half tomato sauce, half water/stock with 3 spoons of tomato paste/tomato juice
☆ 2 tbsp evoo
☆ 1 tsp salt
☆ A pinch of black pepper
☆ Sour cream to taste
Optional: ½ tsp redpepper flakes
Instructions
★ Fill a large pot with water and add the vinegar. Wash the cabbage and separate the leaves. When the water is boiling, blanch the leaves and put them to dry separately on a dry cloth. Don’t throw the small leaves because we’re needing them later.
★ In a skillet, heat the oil and add the onions. Cook them until soft and translucent. Add the rice and toast it for a couple of minutes. Let the soffritto cool aside.
★ In a large bowl, combine the ground meat, salt, herbs and spices. Add the soffritto to the bowl and mix well.
★ Start filling the cabbage leaves by putting a couple tablespoons of the meat mixture on each leaf. Make the rolls by tucking in the sides of the leaf and rolling from the bottom up, like spring rolls.
★ Repeat this procedure until you have no more stuffing. Chop the remaining cabbage and the small leaves we put aside before. Heat the oil and add the leftover cabbage to the bottom of your pan, preferably a cast iron or a dutch oven.
★ Place each roll on top of the cabbage and stack them, if necessary. Add the bacon between the rolls and then pour the liquid over them. It should cover the cabbage rolls entirely, thus add additional water or stock if needed.
★ Cook on low heat for 1 hour circa. If still liquidy, place the rolls in a pre-heated 180° C oven for 30 minutes or until dry.
★ Serve topped with fresh dill and sour cream.
Pasta e fasul:
Ingredients
☆ Borlotti beans
☆ Water (at least twice the bean quantity)
☆ Tuscan kale or Swiss chard
☆ Carrot, minced
☆ Onion, minced
☆ Garlic
☆ Celery, minced
☆ Cherry tomatoes
☆ Herbs: sage, rosemary
☆ Pasta, traditionally Ditalini or a mix of pasta leftovers
☆ Parmigiano, with the rind
☆ Evoo
☆ Salt and pepper
Instructions
★ Soak the beans overnight. Drain and boil them in abundant salted water with garlic and herbs. It takes approximately 45 minutes.
★ Strain the beans but keep the water as we need it later.
★ In a dutch oven, heat the oil and throw in the soffritto (the brunoise of carrot, celery, and onion) with a pinch of salt. Once the onions are translucent and the veggies soft, add your strained beans.
★ Give a little stir, sauté for a couple of minutes and add your beans broth.
★ Chop the rind of the Parmigiano in pieces and put aside. Wash the tomatoes and cut them in half. Roughly chop the Tuscan kale.
★ Add the tomatoes and the kale to the pot. Let it cook for about 5 minutes. Salt if needed.
★ Weight your pasta, could be a handful per person. Cook the pasta for the time written in the directions.
★ Once the pasta is cooked, you should get a liquid but creamy consistency, which means it’s ready. Add the chopped rind and turn off the heat.
★ Let the pasta sit in the pot for 5 minutes or more and serve, topping it with additional Parmesan, croutons, and a sprinkle of pepper.
I’m highly addicted to Pocket Coffee. You can tell because the other day, after the gym, I decided to go to the supermarket during lunch time… on an empty stomach. Big mistake. I found myself walking out of the store with a box of 32 chocolates. Was it unnecessary? 100%. Do I regret it? Not at all.
Unfortunately, Pocket Coffee is sold in Italy only. That’s a pity because y’all aren’t aware of what you’re missing on. If you’ll ever have the pleasure of eating one, let me tell you there’s a specific way to eat them: my way. Enter a giggle.
The first instinct when you unwrap a chocolate is to bite into it, which is the worst thing you could do with a Pocket coffee because it has a liquid center. But eating it all in just one bite, doesn’t sound appropriate. What I usually do is melt it in my mouth. This way, the coffee is released slowly, so you can enjoy it for longer.
God bless the chocolate and coffee combo. There’s nothing better.
I have a new pair of shoes. I’m talking about lady shoes, pointy with a stiletto heel. Even though a pair like this is meant to represent adulthood, I didn’t go for the serious and believable option. Indeed, my new heels are golden with studs and colourful tweed. I don’t know where I could ever wear them, but I love them so much. No, wait, I’m lying. I’ve already worn them and, besides being very comfortable, they’re easier to style than I imagined.
I styled my new pumps in what we could define as a day-to-night outfit. They were the perfect wow factor I was looking for to transform my trivial look. If you’re asking what I’m talking about, you probably have never experienced the pressure of not being able to go home and change before an event. What a blessing. But, personally, I’ve been in that position too many times. I think I’ve mastered my AM-to-PM game at this point. Do you have a last-minute Xmas party at the office? Another walk of shame? Your errands lasted more than predicted? Say no more and let me help you.
Firstly, you need to outline the staples of your look. It would be best if you opted for versatile pieces, which can easily shift from casual to elegant and vice versa. What works best, in this case, is a blazer, the epitome of elegance. I wouldn’t go for a patterned one because, in my view, it’s more informal. Opt for a colourful one or, if you’re an easy person, a black but more structured one.
Secondly, play it well with accessories and color blocking. If you study your color scheme, using classy accessories in a not-so-elegant context won’t look so weird. My wow factor was in the shoes, but it could easily be the bag. You can mute it/enhance it accordingly. In this case, the shoes are going to play a fundamental role. You can wear sneakers to tone it down and heels to make it more gracious. If your bag isn’t black, you can match bag and shoes to draw attention to both and implicitly scream your elegance.
Lastly, carry a pair of heels in your bag. Even if I’m the biggest fan of comfy shoes, there are situations where they can’t be worn. But this is your chance to play it smartly. As you can notice, for me, the difference lies in the change of shoes. I just needed to change them and it made a huge difference.
I’ve never been much of a cocktail drinker but now at the venerable age of 25, I'd learned the pleasure of good drinking. I used to hate the taste of any liquor but you know what? When a drink is a well-done one, it doesn’t taste like alcohol at all. It’s pretty enjoyable instead.
Digression aside, it’s been a while now since I work in a bar and I noticed that what you drink totally defines you. I had the pleasure to discover several categories of people that typically order the same cocktail.
Here’s my anthropological study.
The unconventional yet traditional person (usually a guy?), with a vintage soul but representative of his modern generation: americano.
The classic person that wants to get wasted but still has some self-love the next day: gin tonic. If identified as a connoisseur, usually takes a particular gin like Monkey 47 or Hendrick’s. And if hyper-fixated, Roku.
The type (mostly… guys) anyone should avoid flirting with. Usually a music fanatic: whiskey & coke. Run away especially if it’s Jack Daniels.
“I don’t like to drink but I want to get wasted”: vodka lemon.
I hate myself and I wanna die: negroni, twice.
I hate myself, I wanna die and I want to go to hell: TGV. Please, don’t.
Intellectual chic but wears a pair of Converse Chuck Taylors: old fashion.
Single girls’ night out: margarita. If it’s just singles of every genre: paloma. With mezcal, if it’s going to be a long night.
Teenagers starting to drink at 15: Aperol spritz. Also, if you take a spritz after 25, you have Peter pan syndrome. Grow up and take a Campari one.
Old guy reading the newspaper at the bar: garibaldi. On Sundays.
Old lady staring at the crowd at the bar: mimosa. Also, on Sundays.
The I-choose-cocktails-for-dinner type of person: bloody mary. “It’s like Gazpacho”.
The milf convinced we’re still living in the 90s: cosmopolitan.
Thursday: I was invited to the Valentino boutique in Montenapoleone. That store! It’s full of shimmer and a purple moquette, fulfilling any shopper’s dreams. I walked back home, glimpsed at the Teatro Lirico Gaber in Missori (to which I wanna go very soon, btw), and eventually had aperitivo with my best friend at Longoni, a bakery in the district. I know, I'm always in my neighbourhood, but what can I do? It’s full of lovely places and good food, so I have no reasons to move elsewhere. Well, we took a glass of an omg-level natural prosecco that tasted like apple cider. I also had rye sourdough toast, butter, and anchovies. How Italian of me.
Then I rushed back home because I’m always late and had to prepare for the opening of the new Trussardi store. Slightly monotonous, hence we went for dinner at Sugo, in the Duomo area. Very recommended. I would say more, but I don't want to spoil the compelling experience while eating their Cappelletti with tartufo.
Friday: I didn’t do much, because it was errands day. For this reason, I just did regular things like going to the farmers market and cleaning the house. At night, I joined my friend Pietro at the vintage store he manages, Old Star Vintage. There, we had a few drinks, played dress-up and had dinner.
Saturday: Giosuè and I had a stroll. I picked him up at Gum, his usual hair salon in Milan, and then we walked all the way to Gattullo. My go-to place for aperitivo or mid-day snacks. It’s such an old-school spot and I’m crazy fond of their vintage-style tarts.