by Krista | Nov 9, 2011 | Compatriot Wednesday
Cozy pashminas, sparkly rings, or perhaps a glossy postcard or two?
This month at Across the Cafe Table with the Travel Belles, we’re discussing What’s your favorite shopping find from your travels?
I confess I’m not a big collector when it comes to travel souvenirs. I do have a small, beloved assortment of treasures from various places, but mostly I like to commemorate my adventures with photographs and something I can wear or use.
I love the pashminas I found in Eastern Europe and still swoon at the wondrously gaudy rings I found in Greece and Germany, but my all time favorite shopping find is my dear, battered and much loved red Italian coffee pot.
I’ve been a huge fan of rich, strong Italian coffee since my very first cup. I finally learned how to make it while staying at this Italian country house outside Bologna with my dear friend Maddalena and her family.
I was the early riser of the gang, so Maddalena taught me how to make my own perfect cup of Italian coffee. I would wake while it was still dark, wrap a pashmina around my shoulders and shuffle out to the kitchen. Easing the door closed so my clattering wouldn’t wake anyone, I’d fire up the gas stove and collect everything I needed. Following the steps below, I was soon sitting at the kitchen table with my cold hands wrapped around a steaming cup of Italian coffee.
How to make real Italian coffee:
- Fill the bottom of the pot with cool, fresh water, halfway up the little bolt you see on the inside.
- Place metal filter inside bottom of pot.
- Spoon in real Italian coffee grounds. (In Australia you can buy it here. In America you can buy it here.)
- Fill the filter with coffee and make it level.
- Screw on top of coffee pot.
- Set directly on stove-top burner. (I don’t have a real stove, so I use a hot plate and it works just dandy.)
- Coffee pot will make a racket while it is percolating, and you’ll know it’s done when the noise stops.
- Remove pot from burner, pour directly into cups and serve.
My friend Maddalena only adds a bit of hot water to her coffee to make it perfect, but she said most of her friends and family add milk to weaken the hearty brew.
My perfect cup is hot coffee, a healthy dose of fresh whole milk and the merest hint of raw sugar.
My little red Italian coffee pot makes me smile every morning, and brings back wonderful memories of sunny mornings in Italy talking for hours with dear friends.
What is YOUR favorite travel shopping find?
Click here for more travel shopping inspiration.
by Krista | Nov 6, 2011 | Bootstrap Monday
Good morning, luvs! How was your weekend?
After feeling pretty blech with a cold/flu/achy something last week, I perked up on the weekend and had such a good couple of days.
Saturday I got to visit my friends Shirley and Joe at their gorgeous goat farm. I can’t wait to show you pictures of their wildflower-filled creek banks and darling baby goats a bit later this week.You won’t believe the enormous belly on one of the pregnant mama goats!
Yesterday afternoon my friends Ann, Neil, Lizzy and Jess joined bear and me at the farm, and we had a jolly work party getting all sorts of things done.
We built new pens and roosts for the chooks (Aussie word for chickens) and shifted the feathered folk around. They are so happy to be out of their small cages and dashing about in their expansive new digs.
We let the goats out of their pen and gave them free reign of the yards. Tentative at first, they’re now roaming happily as if they owned the joint. Below are William (the Dad) and Felix and Sophie (the two month old twins). They love coming up to get their heads scratched.
Although it’s spring here in Queensland, the weather was quite cool this weekend and put me in the mood for autumnal dishes.
After my grand cheese-making experience last week, I had fresh ricotta on hand that needed something special to go with it. I pondered for a few days and finally settled on roasted pears. With hot ginger caramel sauce. And toasted walnuts.
I love recipes like this. Decadent ones that are so very, very simple to make. This one is especially lovely because the sauce makes itself! Simply combine melted butter with brown sugar and powdered ginger in the bottom of a cake tin. Top with halved and cored pears and roast them at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes. Turn the pears, spoon over some of the sauce and roast for 10-15 minutes more. Then place the pears on a plate, top with a dollop of fresh ricotta, drizzle with the remaining sauce and sprinkle on toasted walnuts. Delicious! I had some for second breakfast this morning and can’t wait to have the rest for dinner tonight.
Ginger Caramel Roasted Pears
Below you’ll find my friend Ann’s recipe for ricotta cheese. It is so creamy, delicious and easy to make, you may never go back to store-bought ricotta again.
What is your favorite dessert on a cool, cloudy day?
Ginger Caramel Roasted Pears
(Serves two hungry people or four recently fed ones)
Ingredients:
2 Bartlett pears, halved and cored
3 Tbsp melted butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp powdered ginger
1/2 cup fresh ricotta cheese
2-3 Tbsp chopped toasted nuts
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In round metal cake tin pour melted butter. Stir in brown sugar and powdered ginger until combined into smooth syrup.
- Place pears cut side down over sauce.
- Roast in oven for 30 minutes.
- Remove pan from oven, turn pears, baste with sauce and return to oven for another 10-15 minutes.
- Place each pear cut side up on plate, top with dollop of fresh ricotta, drizzle with remaining sauce and sprinkle with chopped, toasted nuts.
Ricotta Cheese Recipe
(from Ann Hill)
Ingredients:
5 litres (1.3 gallons) whey
2 cups whole milk
Salt to taste
Approximately 40 mls white vinegar
Directions:
- Heat whey to 60 degrees C (140 F) Stir frequently.
- Add whole milk.
- Add 1/2 -1 tsp of salt if you like.
- Continue to heat the milky whey to 90C-(194F) Continue to stir.
- At 90 C (194 F) add approximately 40 mls of white vinegar. At the first sign of small specks appearing in the whey, stop adding vinegar.
- Let stand on low heat for 5-10 mins to let the ricotta firm up, then, gently scoop off the layer of curd that has risen to the surface into a ricotta mould (or use butter muslin in a colander).
- Eat straight away or store in the fridge and use with in a week.
by Krista | Nov 3, 2011 | Fabulous Friday
Hi luvs! It’s a cloudy day in Australia, perfect for staying indoors with a mug of coffee and a few homemade cookies to keep me going.
Thank you so much for the love and support you showered on me yesterday. It meant the world to me and I wish I could hug you so tight as we celebrate hope, life and love. xo
Last weekend I had dear friends come over to teach me something I’ve been wanting to learn for ages: how to make cheese.
My friend Ann is an absolute wonder. She not only runs a farm with her hubby Neil, so also mothers five awesome kids, teaches part-time and manages the local health food store. She gives the best hugs and is an absolute wealth of information for all things related to gardening, cooking, and taking care of animals.
Ann, Jess, Lizzy and I had the best time crowded into my little kitchen as they instructed me in how to turn raw milk into ricotta, white cheese, and halloumi.
They taught me when to use rennet and when cultures would be best, how to cut and care for cheesecloth, and how to tell when cheese is ready to drain.
I think the greatest surprise in the whole process was how simple it was. One moment we had a pail full of frothy whole milk and within a few hours we had glistening white cheeses in various forms ready to eat. It was such a thrill to see those wobbly chunks of cheese and an even greater one to bite into them and find them far and away tastier than any store-bought counterpart I’ve ever tasted.
The white cheese is slightly tart – perfect for pairing with tomatoes or spreading on sandwiches.
The ricotta is divinely cream, and I’m waiting to find some peaches, figs or pears to roast to go with it.
Last night I followed Ann’s advice and coated the halloumi with sesame seeds then fried it until the seeds were a lovely golden brown. Oh. My. Goodness. It was so delicious I had to have it again for lunch today.
Halloumi is an interesting cheese in that it doesn’t melt when fried. It retains its shape and has a splendid squeaky texture that feels oh-so-toothsome when you bite it. And it goes perfectly with a nice, cold Australian beer like Hahn’s.
Now that I know how to make halloumi, I can’t wait to try even more recipes. Joumana from A Taste of Beirut and Bethany from Dirty Kitchen Secrets both have fantastic Lebanese recipes that use this marvelous cheese.
Have you ever made cheese before?
Sesame-Crusted Halloumi
Ingredients:
4 1/2″ thick slices of halloumi
3-4 Tbsp sesame seeds
drizzle of sesame oil
salt to taste
Directions:
- Dump sesame seeds onto small plate and press each side of halloumi into seeds to coat. NOTE: use a spatula to press the cheese down or all the seeds will stick to your hands.
- Heat oil in frying pan.
- Place halloumi slices in frying pan and fry 1-2 minutes on each side or until the seeds are toasted a nice golden brown.
- Serve immediately.
Halloumi Cheese Recipe
(from Ann Hill)
Ingredients:
8 litres/2 gallons of milk (fresh cows/goat/sheep milk if possible)
If you use homogenised milk you will need to use Calcium Chloride.
Rennet (amount needed depends on your brand)
2 to 50 mls Cooled boiled water
Directions:
- Heat milk to 30 degrees C/86 degrees F. Add Calcium Chloride if using.
- Add Rennet (amount depends on your brand) to the cooled water. The amount of water varies, depending on the recipe. I use about 5mls. Now add the rennet mixture to the milk. Stir for 2 mins, in an up and down motion.
- Let sit for 45 mins. I sit my pot with lid on, in the sink and fill the sink with water that is at 30 degrees.
- Cut the curd in half inch/12 mm cuts – slice the curd with the knife straight up and down from one side of the pot to the other, turn the pot 90 degrees and cut again – making a grid. Cut along the previous cuts with the knife at a 45 degree angle. Let the curds rest for 10 mins. Put the curds into a cheese cloth, keep the whey. I dip my cloth in boiling water and wring out, place into a large colander over a clean pot.
- Press the curds at 14 kgs/31pounds for 1 hour. If you don’t have a press simply wrap the curds with the cheese cloth and either place a saucer over the curds and balance a heavy weight or place the curd parcel on a clean cutting board place another board on top and balance a weight on, do this on the sink so the whey drains away.
- Re-wrap and press at 23 kgs/51pounds for 30 mins. Don’t get too worried about the weights and times, if your curds are firm you will be right.
- Remove and cut into 3 inch/7.5cm blocks or pieces.
- Bring reserved whey to 82-93 degrees C/180-199.5 degrees F and add cheese blocks. Simmer for half an hour or until the blocks rise up.
- Let cool for 20 mins and sprinkle with salt. You should use Kosher or cheese salt. Cool for another 2-4 hours.
- Halloumi cam be eaten fresh or stored in brine for 60 days.
by Krista | Nov 2, 2011 | Plucky Thursday
As promised yesterday, here is How I’m Really Doing. 🙂
Life has changed drastically for me in the last few months.
This spring I went into hiding when a stalker tried to assault me in my apartment, I lost my grandfather and a very dear friend, and got seriously ill from mold poisoning then nearly died from three rare strains of Ecoli. My job was terminated without notice, I fell and severely tore the muscles and ligaments in my right foot, and went through a devastating personal situation. And that was only the beginning.
I honestly don’t know how I made it through this year. If it wasn’t for dear friends who loved me through every wretched bit of it, I don’t know that I would’ve.
If ever there was a time to start over with a clean slate, this was it. So in July I sold nearly everything I own, packed up the rest, and moved to Amsterdam for three months where I could be safe and recuperate.
It was the best thing I could’ve done. I slept, I traveled, I wrote. I met up with dear old friends and dear new ones. I took thousands of pictures and went to counseling and watched movies. I ate and drank delicious things, went to physical therapy and was finally able to start walking again. I danced at my brothers wedding and had grand adventures with my family and friends in Italy during the wedding week. I cried, talked, and thought through things until they didn’t hurt so much and I could smile genuinely and laugh heartily. I got comfy in my own skin and grew stronger and braver.
photo by Rita Reimer
Mid-October I packed up again and moved to Australia. I have two 6-month visas that allow me to work for room and board, so I’m living on my friends’ farm in rural Queensland in a lovely little one-bedroom house with a small porch that overlooks the bush. I’m having the time of my life learning how to mend fences, inoculate goats, and pluck chickens. I’m in charge of collecting eggs and sorting them for eating and incubating and I love it. I can’t wait for my first batch of fluffy yellow chicks to arrive.
I have the dearest man in my life who loves me unconditionally and gives me so much happiness. We have been the best of friends for the past three years and now that I’m in Australia we finally get to have a real, in-person relationship, working together, going on real dates, and having long talks over coffee on the back porch. His kindness, honesty, and love have healed my very scared and broken heart, and I feel the luckiest girl in the world. Due to the nature of his job I won’t be posting his real name or pictures of him here, but you’ll know it’s him when I refer to “bear” – my nickname for him. 🙂
I have such deep peace and happiness in this place, like I’ve finally come home. My health is so much better, no doubt due to all this lovely fresh air and sunshine, raw milk and fresh eggs, and knowing I am safe and loved. My ankle still troubles me every morning and evening, but I keep doing the exercises I’m supposed to and hopefully one day soon I’ll get to wear heels again. 🙂
I am flat broke after all my travels, but so very happy. Slowly but surely I’m building up my accounts again, paying off bills, and living a very simple but beautiful life. It may sound crazy, but I’m actually enjoying the adventure of being poor. 🙂 In the past I would’ve panicked, but I’m getting better at being brave. I’ve been through enough to know that I will be OK, and that worrying only makes things worse.
I have so much fun stacking up my coins on the kitchen table and deciding how to spend each treasured penny. I’ve been scouring thrift stores and sale aisles for good deals and am cheering on my newly planted garden. 🙂 I learned how to butcher, pluck and preserve chickens this weekend and now have a freezer full of free-range chickens. Every morning I have fresh eggs from my chooks and raw milk for breakfast and they are delicious.
Bit by bit I’m getting to know my hometown and environs, finding my place in this new land. I miss my beloved Washington and especially my dear people there, but I’m very happy in Australia and so grateful for this chance to start over.
How are YOU really doing today?
by Krista | Nov 1, 2011 | Gulliver Tuesday
A friend wrote to me the other day and asked, “How are you really doing?”
I smiled because I knew exactly what she meant.
When I started my blog two years ago, I was entering one of the darkest, most painful times of my life. Everything seemed to hit me at once and continued to do so for the next two years. This blog became my safe place, my happy place, a spot where I could record at least one good, beautiful thing each day to help me get through the wretchedness of my life.
I posted about lovely people who inspired, comforted, and encouraged, not the ones who seemed to make it their life work to crush me.
I wrote about delicious foods that I could eat, not the ones I had to avoid as doctors tried to figure out what was causing my body to shut down and leave me doubled over in pain for months at a time.
I published pictures of beautiful places I had once traveled to, not the four white walls of my bedroom where I lay month after month longing for relief from physical pain and emotional trauma.
All the happy, wonderful things I posted were real. They did delight me, make me smile, and give me hope and courage to press on.
But they were only part of the story.
Truth be told, I wasn’t brave enough to post the ugly bits. Most days I was hanging on for dear life, the pain of my reality so acute that I needed to concentrate on the good things, no matter how small, just to get through each day.
I wasn’t strong enough to be completely real with you. I was raw and weak and afraid, so I hid behind pretty pictures and yummy recipes because I felt safe there.
And I don’t regret it. Not one bit. Because I met you there. And through your emails and comments, Instant Messenger chats and Skype talks, in person visits and long-distance phone calls I found the courage and strength I needed to start over.
You showed me that there are truly good people in this world. Through you I have experienced true kindness and acceptance and learned to have hope no matter how dark things become.
For that I cannot thank you enough. xo
Although I don’t regret the last two years, I’m also not going to remain in that place of fear and insecurity.
As scary as it is, I commit to being more real with you.
I’ve spent my whole life trying to be good enough, to win and keep the approval of people whose love and acceptance is conditional. I can’t do that anymore. It’s exhausting. 🙂
I want this blog to be a safe place for you and me to be ourselves regardless of lifestyle differences, religious beliefs, or cultural practices. A place where we can be real and know we won’t be judged if we question our faith, politics and worldview, burn two batches of roasted tomatoes, or go without make-up for five days in a row.
So, in the spirit of being real, tomorrow I will answer my friends’ question for you:
How I’m Really Doing.
In the meantime, I’d love to know: Are you ever afraid of being real? And how do you deal with that fear so it doesn’t control you?
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