Homemade Ricotta

When my mother was growing up, she lived in a very small Italian village called Roccamontepiano. It was a small village located at the tip of the Gran Sasso Mountains near the City of Chieti. The current population is about 1800 people. When she grew up, they lived off the land. They did not have the convenience of hopping into the car and go to the grocery store. They had their own chickens, sheep and cultivated their own vegetables. Water was fetched every day from the well. The day was spent either in the fields, tending the animals, cooking or making household items (including their own fabric).

I am going to share with you today a recipe on how to make homemade ricotta. Nothing beats homemade ricotta!

Ingredients

2L (8 cups) whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp salt
juice of one lemon

large sieve and cheesecloth

Line a large sieve with the cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl.

Bring the milk, cream and salt to a rolling boil in a heavy pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Add the lemon juice and reduce the heat to low and stir constantly. You are going to start seeing the milk to curdle. Stir for 15 minutes. Pour the mixture into the lined sieve and let drain for about an hour.

Pour the mixture into the lined sieve and let it drain for about an hour

Discard the liquid, cover the ricotta and refrigerate.

 

 

Ricotta can be eaten on its own, or as a delicious breakfast. Sweeten with some honey, blueberries, pumpkin seeds, walnuts and cinnamon.

Serve this as a snack or breakfast

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Happy Cinco de Mayo to my Mexican friends! I wish you all the best on this festive day! I made this dip to commemorate this special day! It's easy to make and so delicious! A true crowd pleaser!




Salsa Layered Dip

Salsa Dip

1st Layer
1 8oz pkg. cream cheese
5 tbsp. sour cream

Whip together and spread over the bottom of a quiche type dish

2nd Layer
Use your favorite salsa. Spread it over the bottom layer.

3rd Layer
1 green pepper chopped
1 tomato chopped (discard juice)
2 green onions chopped

Sprinkle the chopped items over other two layers and lightly press it into the first 2 layers.

4th Layer
Grate about 10oz of old cheddar cheese to cover dip.

Serve with nachos.

Italian Peasant Cuisine - Cheese Balls

My parents were both born and raised in Italy. They come from the Abruzzo region. Abruzzo is approximately 2 1/2 hours northeast of Rome. My father comes from the outskirts of Pescara on the shoreline of the Adriatic Sea and my mother is from the outskirts of the city Chieti. Her little town is located at the foot of the Gran Sasso mountains. This recipe that I am featuring today is a classic poor man's cuisine dish. It is called pallotte cacio e uova. Which translates to egg and cheese balls. The original recipe calls for sheeps milk cheese. I've improvised by mixing parmegiano reggiano cheese to lessen the sharpness. By all means, if you enjoy the sharpness of pecorino cheese; go for it! The dough consists of stale bread, eggs and cheese. Very easy to make and tasty!

Pallotte Cacio e Uova a traditional poor man's dish from the Abruzzo region



Pallotte Cacio e Uova

Pallotte

Ingredients
100 grams of stale bread
2 cups grated pecorino cheese
1 cup parmesan cheese
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup of milk
4 eggs
1 tbsp. minced parsley
vegetable oil
salt and pepper

Sauce:
400gr ripe tomatoes or sauce from the bottle
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 onion
basil
3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

For the Pallotte

Soak the stale bread in the milk until completely softened. Squeeze out the excess milk.



soak bread in milk



Add the eggs, parsley, garlic, pinch of pepper and cheese to the bread mixture. Mix until well incorporated. Let rest in fridge for about an hour.



incorporate the rest of the ingredients and let rest

 

Shape into small balls and fry in vegetable oil on medium-high heat. Then place on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil.



ready to be fried

 

Sauce

In a large pan, heat the olive oil and sauté the minced garlic and onion. Add the chopped tomato or sauce from the bottle, and a glass of water. Let cook for about 10 minutes. Once the water evaporates, add some basil (I also add a little chopped parsley) and salt to taste. Cook for another 10 minutes, on medium heat. Make sure you stir constantly to prevent burning. Transfer the balls into the sauce and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.

Buon Appetito!



Roasting Peppers 101

In my family we try our hardest to keep the Italian tradition. My mom has continued to teach me cooking traditions that were taught to her when she was growing up. In the Fall, we usually buy a bushel of peppers at the local farm and  dedicate a day to roast our peppers outside on the barbeque. We have an assembly line to clean, season and preserve the peppers. We also cut up raw peppers, bag and freeze so we have peppers readily available and at a fraction of the cost.

Another family event that we do to keep our traditions and family ties strong.

It is now spring and have run out! I haven't had a chance to take out my barbeque so I've decided to roast my peppers which is just as yummy. Great as a side dish, or a topping in a sandwich. Veal on a bun perhaps?




Roast your pepper until well cooked

Split, remove seeds and peel. Be careful, it's hot!


 

Slice peppers and wash (to remove remnant seeds)

Season with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Decorating on a Budget

I recently organized my bathroom. I started my spring cleaning by purging my closets. Getting rid of the old, to prepare for the new. Finding space in my bathroom was so difficult. Especially with two makeup queens, it was hard to find room to house all our trinkets. I made a trip to the local dollar store and found these cute glass jars to house my bath salts, q-tips and makeup pads. And the cost? $12! I couldn't go wrong with that. Giving my bathroom a clean, spa feel to our bathroom! And best of all, accessible within a reach.

Dollar Store finds to organize my bathroom

I love candles. The candles I usually buy come in glass jars with lids. When the candle is done, I keep the jars. It's way too pretty to throw away. If you find it hard to remove the wax from the jar, simply place the jar in the freezer. Leave it in there overnight. Remove the  jar from the freezer and dislodge the wax. You will find that it will just pop out. I then wash is thoroughly and house other household items such as loose band-aids, qtips for my children's bathroom, loose change, store your makeup brushes etc. You never know when you need a pretty jar. There's no need to throw it away.

When there's a sale on soap, I usually stock up. We go through so much bars of soap. Again, it takes up so much space in the closet. And it never fails that once we're in the shower, we notice that we ran out of soap. I bought larger glass canisters at Walmart to store extra soap. I used the next size down to store all my make up samples that are given out at the beauty counter. I like to try out samples of products before buying. I had it scattered all over the place. Having it in that jar is in my face so I will not forget to try out the product.

Store your extra supplies in pretty glass jars

The possibilities are endless with these fabulous jars. Not only do they act as a storage container, it's also a décor item at such an inexpensive cost.

You can also use these in the kitchen to store extra flour, coffee, tea, cereal.

Just use your imagination!

Orecchiette Con Rapini a Poor Man's Dish

Pasta with rapini (broccoli rabe) is my family's all time favorite. For some reason my children are not fond of tomato sauce pasta. They prefer this dish and I'm happy for that because it's so quick and easy to make. Considered a poor man's dish in the Italian culture this dish is truly a comfort food in our home. I purchase rapini a few bunches at a time. I then wash, trim the ends, cut and boil. Once cooled I  place the rapini in baggies and freeze so it's ready when I need it. I also sauté rapini with a bit of olive oil, salt and garlic and serve it as a side dish with meat.

If you do not have orecchiette, penne would be a good substitute.

Orecchiette Con Rapini

Pasta Con Rapini

1 bunch                 rapini (broccoli rabe) boiled and chopped**
2                           garlic cloves, minced
1 pkg  (450 gr)     orecchiette or penne
4 tbsp.                  olive oil
1 tsp                     salt

Boil the pasta in salted water until al dente. Remove once cooked and drain water reserving 4 tbsp. of the water.

Boil the pasta until al dente or the texture suits your palette

 

 

Sautee the minced garlic with the olive oil until light golden. Add the rapini and cook for a good 10 minutes. Add salt to the rapini and stir.

Sautee the rapini with olive oil and garlic

Add the pasta and reserved water to the rapini and cook for another 15 minutes. Remove from heat. If you feel the pasta is a little dry, add more olive oil, stir the pasta mixture to evenly distribute.

Add the pasta and reserved water to the rapini

Serve with parmesan cheese.

**boil the rapini for 30 minutes or until tender. I like to boil the rapini really well to get rid of the bitterness of the vegetable.


Buon Appetito!

Feeling Peachy

Breakfast to me is my favorite meal of the day. I like to wake up and start my day with something tasty, healthy and delicious. And, most importantly filling. I need substance to carry me through my busy morning. When my healthy eating started, I have to admit, I found a lot of the recipes to be truly gross. I know, I know, it's suppose to be good for you. But if I have to plug my nose and gag to eat it. Forget it! So, steel cuts oats they say is really good for you. It lowers your cholesterol, it's filling, but...it's tasteless. That gets my wheels turning on how I can make this healthy grain tasty. I love peaches but unfortunately, it is not in season. I created this recipe and used frozen peaches. When in season, use fresh. I added a citrus twist to naturally flavor the oats.

Steel Cut Oats With Peaches

Steel Cut Oats With Peaches

2 1/2 cups                    water
1 cup                            steel cut oats   
1/2 tsp.                         salt
1 cup                            sliced peaches fresh or frozen
1                                   zest of one orange
1                                   juice of one orange
2 tbsp.                          maple syrup or honey
1/2 cup                        vanilla almond milk
1/2 tsp                         cinnamon
a pinch                         nutmeg

Add the steel cut oats, zest and peaches to the boiling water. Add the salt and let boil until cooked (about 20 min). When the oats are almost cooked, add the almond milk. Remove from heat and add the orange juice and stir. If you feel the oats are not sweet enough, add more maple syrup to suit your taste.

You can also add pumpkin seeds, nuts or chia seeds.

Make this ahead of time so you have it ready for breakfast for the week.