Ingredients, Serves 6

-3 large eggplants 
• 2 mozzarella 
• 200 gr Greek black olives 
• 100g black olive paste 
• 2 clove, finely chopped 
• extra vergin olive oil (EVO Oil)
• 400 g or more to taste, cans of tomatoes, chopped 
• 3 tablespoons fresh basil leaves 
• 500g conchiglioni 
• 50g pecorino romano and parmesan 50 g 
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 


• Cut the eggplant into slices, sprinkle with 3/4 pinches of salt and let it sit while letting the excess water drain out. 
• Once ready, add the olive oil in an ovenproof dish and cook the eggplant until they are golden. 
  In a saucepan, fry  garlic in olive oil, add eggplant and chopped tomatoes and stir well. 
• Addsalt and pepper and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes. 
• At the same time, pre-cook the pasta in boiling salted water for half the specified time (about 10 min) 
• Drain the pasta and put them in a large bowl, add a little olive oil and mix well and allow to cool slightly 
• Fill each conchiglione with the sauce and a little olive paste and put it on a baking sheet, where previously you would have put a little olive oil and a little sauce 
• Mix gently but well with your hands. Once done add the mozzarella, chopped olives, a bit of olive paste here and there, pecorino and parmesan. 
• Finish cooking  the conchiglioni in the oven, and when you see the melted mozzarella and golden Parmesan, remove, (about 15 minutes at 200°), Add the  fresh basil leaves, a little black pepper and a little oil olive and serve!

To avoid speedness and excellence  also in our spare time.

Here some basic steps to undertake: try with just one if you cannot make it all, and implement slowly each day , the time and the actions…

Start with half an hour…

1) Heat and a hot shower: it will bring away negative thoughts and the stress of the day

2) A perfumed moisturizing lotion, with the perfume you love the most: it will permit you to reconnect with your body; think of your body, all the nice part of your body while you smell the perfume and indulge.

3) Cut radio, tv and computer: it will allow to listen to the silence and all the whispering sounds around you. Breath deeply 5 /10 times ( is magic, your thoughts will blow away…)

4) Walk for half an hour along water: the presence of water, only, will calm you down as well as the sounds of it: remember we are 70% made of water…

5) Put some candles or turn on the fireplace if you have one, look at the flames: the dancing flames  have the same power,  as water, to calm and peace your mind

6) Smell lavander: it will remind you of the old houses, of your family , of the clean sheets, of the wonderful lavander field in the South of France…

7) Ask yourself where are you running to…: make a list, try to understand if you will be a better person in doing all the things you do…and reduce your list to the essential…

You will be a little bit happier…

Maps are determined by boundaries which are so much loved by human beings: nowadays boundaries are so numerous, physical, digital, signaled on maps, experimented or infringed to discover what lies beyond…

When we cross a boundary, a new world is opening to us, sometimes we feel lost  or unlike, completely at ease: we smell out the new adventure, the new knowledge, the perfume of this “new land”.

In general living beings loves to define territories, is a way to feel safe , to protect themselves, just to mention some possibilities.   I quote Robert Ardrey*, follow the link to read the wonderful  Of men and mockinbirds from the Territorial imperative.

“The survival value that territory brings to a species varies as widely as do the opportunities of species themselves. In some it offers security from the predator, in others security of food supply. In some its chief value seems the selection of worthy males for reproduction, in some the welding together of a group, and in many, like sea birds, the prime value seems simply the excitement and stimulation of border quarrels. And there are many species, of course, for which the territorial tie would be a handicap to survival. Grazing animals for the most part must move with the season’s grass. Elephant herds acknowledge no territorial bond, but move like fleets of old gray galleons across the measureless African space. The gorilla, too, is a wanderer within a limited range who every night must build a new nest wherever his search for food may take him…”

It seems to be the law of Nature.

But crossing a boundary it means also  traveling, phisically and mentally.  And traveling leads to journeys.

And journeys can tell and create disorganized ways to write the stories on the diary of your life: as you were not supposed to have a final precise destination. Many times we believe  things we do in life appear to have no order: they look like Journeys inside other Journeys , creating the huge puzzle of our lives.

I like to cross physically the boundaries each nation created, and see how we are restricting our actions across a line; ridiculous. 


 And how we created mental barriers with believes that act like filters; if we feel and firmly believe that something is true, we act communicating to our brain that truth.

All these barriershave been  imposed by the same human species: I imagine the perfume of the Earth, lost in time, when no human was imposing is power on it; you can imagine it too…no needs to leave.

*http://www.ditext.com/ardrey/imperative/1.html  Robert Ardrey (born October 16, 1908, Chicago, Illinois—died January 14, 1980, South Africa) was an American playwright and screenwriter who returned to his academic training in anthropology and the behavioral sciences in the 1950s

 

Ingredients,  serves, 4

2  boiled chicken breasts 
1/2 cup organic  or home made mayonnaise
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 inner celery stalks and leaves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 tablespoon chopped fresh spring onions
2 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
Salt and freshly chopped chili pepper
4 rolls, split (you can also lightly toast them)
EVO oil, for brushing
Lettuce or any other salad of your choice
Grated carrots
Lemon juice


Remove the meat from the chicken bones if any, chopping any large chunks into bite-size pieces. In a bowl, combine the chicken  meat, mayonnaise, lemon juice, celery, parsley,  chives, spring onions, and salt and chili to taste.

Place the chicken salad in refrigerator for 5 to 10 min. to absorb the flavorings.

Brush cut sides of the rolls with olive oil, put some lettuce leaves and grated carrots  and fill with the chicken salad, squeeze some fresh lemon on it and serve.

Fresh salmon

EVO oil

Ibiza salt

Freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce

1 teaspoon organic mayonnaise

Chives, Spring onions, parsley, chili flakes – all chopped

1 tablespoon, Soy sauce

The juice of half a lemon

1 brioche roll

Fresh lettuce or any other salad of your choice

Some parsley leaves

For the salmon: bake it at 180° until cooked, rub it firstly with salt and pepper to taste

Remove to a plate and allow resting for 5 minutes

For the sauce: put the mayonnaise, all herbs, lemon, soy sauce, salt and pepper

To assemble the sandwich, slice the roll crosswise, spread a tablespoon of the sauce on one side of the roll, the rest add it to the salmon that you coarsely chopped. Put some lettuce leaves on the half of the roll, and then the salmon: add the chili flakes.

Makes two lines with the soy sauce on the other half of the roll and serve immediately.

 

Caprese finger food

Traditionally is a dish within the Neapolitan cuisine and the name of this dish comes fresh from the island of Capri.

 

CREAM WITH ZUCCHINI AND BASIL

 zucchini

200 gr 

Gelatin

4 gr

Basil

10 gr

Sale

q.b.

Olive oil q.b.

 

CREAM OF TOMATO

Cherry  tomatoes


300 gr

Gelatin

5 g

Salt

q.b


Olive oil q.b

Fresh basil  10 gr

 

FOR THE CAPRESE

Burrata or Bufala or

Stracciatella 


250 gr

Pine nuts or q.b.

Peel the zucchini , remove the tips and cut them in half, remove the white part with the seeds  and cut the rest into pieces , in total you should have 200 grams of cleaned and chopped zucchini.

Heat up two tablespoons of oil in a frying pan and cook the zucchini for a few minutes until they soften , be careful not to overcook them . Transfer them in the bowl of a blender and add half the basil and a tablespoon of water , blend everything very well in order to obtain a homogeneous mixture , the mixture  should weight about 180 gr.

Prepare the jelly tomatoes: clean and cut the cherry tomatoes in half,  heat two tablespoons of oil in a pan and let cook the tomatoes with the rest of the basil as long as they are not too soft , about 20 minutes; take them out of the pan and pass through a food mill,  you should obtain 180-200 grams ( it depends on the ripeness of the tomatoes , the more fleshy the denser will be the sauce ) .

Soak the gelatin dividing it into two bowls of cold water, put it one 5 g ( for tomatoes ) and  4 g for the zucchin's cream .

If necessary, strain the tomato puree to remove seeds.

In the meantime, allow to cool  the two separate pots: the tomato sauce and the cream of zucchini and then add the two quantities of gelatin making them dissolve well.

Pour the tomato cream directly into 4 glasses and place  them into the fridge to harden, or in the freezer .

Transfer the cream of zucchini in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to harden,too .

Once the tomatoes' gelatin is very firm , divide into the 4 glasses also the Stracciatella , after kneading it slightly with a fork so yo broken fibers ; put now the zucchini mixture and basil in a pastry bag of tiny 1 cm and decorate the glasses  with this stracciatella .

Toast a handful of pine nuts shortly in a pan with no other fat  and then arrange them into glasses as a garnish .

■ SUGGESTION

Always weigh the two compounds before adding the gelatin and measure about 4 grams of gelatin per 200 grams of liquid, to have a very compact tomato jelly , I added 5 g . Not all gelatins on the market have the same thickening power. 

Or Cutlet Milanese cutlet ( coteleta ) : veal cutlet cut from the loin , with bone , breaded and fried in butter over high heat . For it being a success , young calf ( civett ) of a uniform thickness , matured at least a day , thoroughly cleansed of any " connection" with the bone , weakened with a meat pounder, are necessary steps!

It is dip in slightly beaten egg and bread crumbs of NOT OLD white bread crumb, just before cooking , fryed in a pan with butter slightly brown.

Today , in practice , there are two versions: la cotoletta ALTA, in which the meat remains soft , and LA COTOLETTA SOTTILE , requiring the beating of the flesh before the breadcrumb pose , more  crunchy .

The first one is also called elephant ear , for its characteristic shape .

The breadcrumb fragrance and softness of the flesh are the true " secret" of the Cotoletta

A recent version of the Cotoletta, prepared especially in the summer , preview to serve it cold covered with rucola and and thin slices of tomatoes.

INGREDIENTS

2 kg russet potatoes -- peeled & cubed
salt 
450 gr mozzarella cheese -- shredded  OR PROVOLONE DOLCE E PICCANTE O SCAMORZA AFFUMICATA
1 clove garlic -- minced (don't use more) 
200 gr (approx.) grated Parmesan cheese 
1/2 cup butter -- cut into small dice 
125 gr good ham  cut in cubes
or mortadella/salami
4boiledeggs


Bread Crumb Topping: 

1 cup coarsely grated dry bread crumbs 
2 tablespoon or more,  butter,  melted 
salt and pepper 

1. Put the potatoes and the 2 tablespoon of salt in a large pot of water. Boil the potatoes until a knife will pass through them. 

2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 160°:or till 200°
3. Drain the potatoes and put through a ricer or use a hand held masher to mash into a large bowl (do NOT put in food processor


4. Add all other ingredients, except the Bread Crumb Topping, and mix.

5. Grease a mold with EVO (Extra Virgin Olive) Oil 

6. Spoon the potato mixture into the mold and smooth the top. Top with Bread Crumb Topping. 

7. Bake in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes until pie is bubbly and top is browned. 

Serving Ideas: 
Goes great with chicken or other roasts!

NOTES : 
Any large dish can be used. 

Suggestion: 
Can be prepared several hours in advance up through step 6 and refrigerated. You can actually make this a day ahead. Do not put the final topping on until the day of service. Also, remove it from the fridge about 30-45 minutes before baking.

A soft pudding made ​​of layers of custard and sometimes chocolate, interspersed with sponge cake (or soft ladyfingers) soaked in alchermes.




INGREDIENTS FOR 4 PEOPLE

6 eggs, 6 tablespoons of flour, 6 tablespoons sugar, 6 cups of milk, sweetened cocoa powder, and Alkermes , biscuits, grated rind of one lemon

PREPARATION

First prepare the creams

For the white cream:

make a paste with 2 egg whites, 2 tablespoons of sugar, two tablespoons of flour, 2 cups of milk, a little grated lemon peel.

Stir the egg whites with the sugar, flour and lemon peel, add the hot milk and stir, put in a pot and bring to the correct consistency stirring constantly.

For the  yellow cream

make a paste with 2 egg yolks + 4 eggs, 4 tablespoons of sugar, 4 tablespoons flour, 4 cups latteabbondanti, a little grated lemon peel.

Mix the eggs with the sugar, flour and lemon peel, add the hot milk and stir, put in a pot and bring to the correct consistency stirring constantly.

For the chocolate cream:

pour half yellow cream in a container and add a few tablespoons of cocoa powder, mix well.

Now pour the Alchermes in a bowl, soak the sponge fingers and put on a mold.

Pour a layer of white cream.

Cover with ladyfingers soaked in alchermes.

Pour the yellow cream

Cover with ladyfingers soaked in alchermes.

Pour the chocolate cream.

Cover with ladyfingers soaked in alchermes.

Let stand in refrigerator 5-6 hours (or more) and serve in slices.