Chapter 2

Around the time I started this blog, my life turned upside down.  I started seeing double, lost color vision, and even lost feeling in a part of one hand and my feet for awhile.  This effectively put a stop to all cooking and blogging as well as many other normal life activities.  My problems are now mostly under control for the moment and, it would seem, were caused by an auto-immune reaction.  In the process, I was given steroids that caused more problems than they fixed and a bunch of other things that did more hurt than help.  I saw a dietitian in my local hospital who put me on a low fat, low calorie diet heavy on the whole grains to lose the weight I put on while taking steroids and it nearly killed me.  Within 4 days, I ended up in the ER in the kind of pain that 3 IVs couldn't even completely get rid of.  I also developed severe eczema during this time that nearly drove me out of my mind.

So I wen't searching for what I could do for myself.  What are the things within my power to change?  Hippocrates once said, "Let food be the medicine, and medicine be thy food." And I started to mull over this idea and search for diets that reduce inflammation and provide a better balance of the minerals and vitamins than the one the dietitian gave me.  In the process, I heard various forms of the paleo diet mentioned so many times I started to check into it.  What I read at first was overwhelming, but it stayed in the back of my mind as I struggled with a load of neurological symptoms, severe eczema, and digestive problems.  The breaking point came in August, a year after my first bits of double vision, when I still had no answers, but had a new unbearable (unexplainable) pain in half of my face.  I've started to eliminate one thing at a time - the first being gluten.  Within two weeks, I lost the eczema and I've been feeling better in other ways as well.  (And no, I'm not celiac.  I've had even the genetic testing done and I don't have a single match, fortunately.)

While I won't pretend that it's cured me, for it seems there is no cure what ails me (yet), it's made a world of difference in lessening my symptoms, waking up with more energy, and -bonus-... losing weight!  So, now that I'm back at the stove, my posts will likely be different than my original style of cooking.  It's become more of a journey.  I'm learning basics about food and nutrition that I never knew or really considered.  I'm learning that if I eat to satisfy nutritional needs, my cravings will also be satisfied.  Funny how what we want is rarely what we need.  ;)  

So here's to a new chapter in my life.  If you'd like to come along, welcome!  From those ahead of me in the journey, I'm looking forward to learning.  As I go, I hope to one day be able to pass on what I've learned to someone else like me... looking to nourish and hopefully heal their bodies with the food that we're designed to eat.  

Andrea's Tiramisu

I started this blog with promises of more of our favorite recipes to come and within a week was stuck in the hospital.  It's been a strange few months, but I'm back on track and ready to post one of our all time favorite treats: Tiramisu!  My husband has been making this for me for years and it just might be one of the reasons I married him!!  Hope you like it!

What you will need:
4 very fresh eggs (since they are eaten raw it's best to get them from a farmer's market or to use eggs with an expiration date at least a few weeks out)
8 spoons of sugar
500g of mascarpone cheese
1 package of lady finger cookies
about 4-8 cups of espresso coffee (depending on how much coffee you want and how soft you like the cookies to be)
dark chocolate shavings or cocoa powder

2 mixing bowls (preferably with a mixer to whip the egg whites)
a deep dish glass or ceramic casserole dish (or you can use individual bowls as I did.)

Step 1: Divide your eggs.  Whites into one bowl; yokes in the other.  

Step 2:  To the bowl of egg yokes, add 2 table "spoons" for each egg yoke.  Eight spoons for this tiramisu, but this recipe can easily be adjusted up or down to get the amount you want.  Mix well until the sugar begins to dissolve and it gets a creamy consistency.  

Step 3:  Add the mascarpone cheese to the egg yokes and sugar mixture and mix well.  Set aside. 

Step 4:  In the other bowl, start to whip/mount the egg whites until they become fairly stiff.  

Step 5:  Gently combine the two bowls - slowly, and stirring from the bottom up - mixing just enough to combine them so the egg whites don't fall.  

Step 6:  Make your espresso and put it in a shallow plate to dip your lady fingers in.  (Espresso should be cool before dipping the lady fingers. 

Step 7:  Dip the cookies for about a second on each side and lay them as the first layer in your glass dish.  Cover with about 3/4 to 1 inch of cream and top with a layer of chocolate.  

Do the last step twice and you're done!

*Because this recipe contains raw eggs, it should be eaten within three days of when you make it.  

Enjoy and have a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday season!

Mushroom and Pancetta Quiche

This is a yummy fall favorite that I stumbled upon this morning and decided it was the perfect thing for a chilly September day.  Makes a great addition to a Sunday brunch or serve as a light dinner.  Yum! 

Ingredients

• 1 recipe for flaky pie crust or prepared flaky pie crust
• 3 eggs
• 200 ml of heavy cream (we used fresh farm cream, but normal pasteurized cream will work too)
• 1 tablespoon of parsley
• 1 cup of cubed pancetta
• 1 large or 2 small garlic cloves
• 1 3/4 cup porcini mushrooms
• 100 grams of swiss cheese
• ground Parmesan cheese
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180C  or 350F.
2. Start the garlic in a pan with a little bit of olive oil, the mushrooms, and the pancetta.  Let simmer over a low heat for about 10 minutes to let the pancetta cook and the flavors blend.
3. Grease a 9 inch pie pan and lay in your pie dough.
4. Meanwhile, mix the eggs, heavy cream, parsley, and chopped swiss cheese together in a bowl (adding one thing at time).
5. Remove the garlic from the pan of mushrooms and pancetta and add the mixture to the other bowl with the eggs.
6. Mix lightly and pour into pie crust.  Dust with parmesan cheese (lightly!) and bake for 20 minutes.

Basic Sauce From Which All Good Tomato Based Sauces Begin

I'm no chef, and even less of a writer, but feel passionate about passing on some of the easy and wonderful cooking methods I've learned since moving to Italy.  Good food is an essential component to a happy and healthy life and I try to stick to methods and recipes that encourage la dolce vita.  

My first recipe is an essential foundation for many other more elaborate sauces.  This time of year is the absolute best time of year to make it with the availability of good quality tomatoes.  We usually make enough to put a bit away for the winter, but it's good all year long with a bit of adapting.  Here it is... 

Simple Tomato Sauce

Start with 2 or 3 big meaty tomatoes (cuore di bue in Italian) or about 5 cups of cherry/grape tomatoes.  I threw in some Roma tomatoes because they came out of the garden a few days ago and had to be used, but I don't recommend them as the primary tomato due to their high water content.

You'll also need one white onion (not too strong) and some basil. 

The quick way: (for fresh and sweet tomatoes) 

Quarter your tomatoes twice and put them in a non stick pan with your onion (halved).  

Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally until liquid covers the skins and seeds.  

Transfer to a food mill and run the tomatoes through to another pan (set the onion aside).  

Add the onion to the tomato sauce in the new pan and add the basil.    

Let simmer for until it's no longer watery and is more of a spoonable consistency.  Add salt and simmer a few more minutes.  Remove from heat, add a spoon of olive oil and serve. (If you're going to refrigerate to use later, add the oil after it's in the jar so it looks like this: 

The "I've got the morning off and want to make sauce" way: 

Peel your tomatoes carefully and remove seeds from the insides.  Put the pieces of remaining tomato "flesh" into a pan with your onion halves and cook slowly.  As the tomatoes become soft, they will be easy to break apart using a wooden spoon.  Do so and add then add the basil.  As tomatoes start to become less watery, add salt and simmer for a few more minutes.  Add oil and serve. 

A few tips... 

For tomatoes that are acidic, sprinkle a very small bit of sugar over them while cooking. 

For tomatoes that aren't very tasty, sprinkle vegetable or classic style granulated broth bouillon over the tomatoes at about halftime to add a more savory flavor.  

Fresh rosemary can be used instead of basil for sauces that will be used as a base for ragu' (meat sauce) or other sauces with meat or stronger flavors.  

Always use a good olive oil from a glass bottle.  Plastic bottles can change the taste of the oil, leaving a bad taste in your sauce.  If you read the label, it should tell you what countries the oil came from.  I'd stick with Italian or French oil and avoid those that come from Spain, Tunisia, etc.  

Notice this one, which is not extra virgin (not as strong - a softer smoother flavor).   

And another good brand: 

Buon appetito!