I just came across this photo from a month ago. Me sans capelli and checking out the local flowers. Carpinteria has many wholesale nurseries that supply the world with beauty. Gerbera daisies are so happy and brite.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Farmer's Market Carpinteria California
I just came across this photo from a month ago. Me sans capelli and checking out the local flowers. Carpinteria has many wholesale nurseries that supply the world with beauty. Gerbera daisies are so happy and brite.
La Tavola!
All ready to go and made in a snap. I have really forgotten how easy and satisfying a good bruschetta is. This was plenty for the 3 of us. I could have had more. Seems like this could be reinvented as an open-faced sandwich full of good nutrients for me, the I hate veggie girl! Buon Appetito!!
Finally, friends over for a meal, it's about time!
It has been way too long since I've set the table and really prepared an entire meal for anyone, let alone me and really enjoyed doing it. Sunday was the perfect day and two of my favorite gals---Cindy and Terry---were available for dinner and much needed girltalk. The rest of the house was a mess but the kitchen was full of great aromas and the grill was fired up.
What was on the menu?
Fresh roma tomato and shallot bruschetta(photos!!)
Graber olives from California http://www.graberolives.com/
A lite risotto with saffron and topped with herb chicken breast
Great fresh marinated cucumber and avocado salad(courtesy Cindy)
Homemade Apricot sorbetto
Chocolate dipped Baicoli biscuits from Venezia
Yes, there was some wine, but seeing that the traffic blockades were up in force, Pellegrino water with lime ice cubes was the top beverage.
Gainey 2009 Sauvignon Blanc---crisp and refreshing to go with the day
San Felice "Vin Santo Del Chianti Classico" 2001---inexpensive, sweet, smooth with hints of apricot, raisin and spices
Cindy hadn't made a risotto before, so I had everything ready for her to stand over the stove and stir...and stir...and stir. I love it when people think that risotto is hard to prepare. It's a shame to give up my secret! Maybe that comes from the fact that so many restaurants would only prepare it for two persons. Now it's such a staple that the cachet has worn off.
One thing, as a calorie counter, I do use Swanson's FF chicken stock and doctor it up a bit with my favorite flavorings and I make sure that the wine I use tastes good too. Shallots are what I use over onions, unless Vidalia or Maui sweet onions are available. You also don't need to add as much butter as most receipes call for. Mine is really a risotto Milanese, but I don't use bone marrow.
A side dish of marinated and chopped chicken breast was added for some protein for those who wanted it. I warmed it up in a bit of wine and stock from the risotto to moisten it.
Cindy is a great salad maker and she marinated avocado, slivers of red onion and cucumbers that were then tossed with mixed greens. MMMM. Fresh and tangy. Actually, this meal was really lite and fresh!
The bruschetta appetizer I made up. I tried calling Roberto in Venice for his version but with the time difference no luck getting a response! Next time. His are different and maybe a bit better.
Started by grilling small slices of french bread brushed with olive oil till they had grill marks and lite toasting.
Chopped 4 Roma tomatoes, 1 med shallot, fresh rosemary, thyme and oregano from the garden(no basil this time) Opened a new bottle of Santa Barbara's "IL FUSTINO" http://www.ilfustino.com/ vinegar. This was a Pomegranite and Tangerine blend. A little salt, pepper and another pour of a lightly flavored olive oil and let it sit for a couple of hours. MMMM I kept sampling to make sure it was edible. I could have sat down and eaten the whole bowl.
Then there was the dried apricot sorbetto.....mmmmmmmmm!
Straight from the Williams-Sonoma Ice cream & Sorbets cookbook. Nothing more than a puree of dried apricots, water, a bit of sugar and lite corn syrup. Now it didn't taste great to me, so I added a splash of Cointreau. That did it. Plus, I believe that had I made it earlier in the day the flavors would have been more intense. It was even better the next day, it needed curing.
As a treat from Venezia, Roberto brought me a tin of my favorite Biacoli bicuits. They are wafer thin and really plain. Since I had a box of melted truffles that my Aunt Isa sent from Germany I melted them down again and drizzled over the wafers and placed in the freezer to harden. Simple and perfect with the Vin Santo and the apricot sorbetto.
Thankfully, Cindy made me sit down and she did the dishes!
What was on the menu?
Fresh roma tomato and shallot bruschetta(photos!!)
Graber olives from California http://www.graberolives.com/
A lite risotto with saffron and topped with herb chicken breast
Great fresh marinated cucumber and avocado salad(courtesy Cindy)
Homemade Apricot sorbetto
Chocolate dipped Baicoli biscuits from Venezia
Yes, there was some wine, but seeing that the traffic blockades were up in force, Pellegrino water with lime ice cubes was the top beverage.
Gainey 2009 Sauvignon Blanc---crisp and refreshing to go with the day
San Felice "Vin Santo Del Chianti Classico" 2001---inexpensive, sweet, smooth with hints of apricot, raisin and spices
Cindy hadn't made a risotto before, so I had everything ready for her to stand over the stove and stir...and stir...and stir. I love it when people think that risotto is hard to prepare. It's a shame to give up my secret! Maybe that comes from the fact that so many restaurants would only prepare it for two persons. Now it's such a staple that the cachet has worn off.
One thing, as a calorie counter, I do use Swanson's FF chicken stock and doctor it up a bit with my favorite flavorings and I make sure that the wine I use tastes good too. Shallots are what I use over onions, unless Vidalia or Maui sweet onions are available. You also don't need to add as much butter as most receipes call for. Mine is really a risotto Milanese, but I don't use bone marrow.
A side dish of marinated and chopped chicken breast was added for some protein for those who wanted it. I warmed it up in a bit of wine and stock from the risotto to moisten it.
Cindy is a great salad maker and she marinated avocado, slivers of red onion and cucumbers that were then tossed with mixed greens. MMMM. Fresh and tangy. Actually, this meal was really lite and fresh!
The bruschetta appetizer I made up. I tried calling Roberto in Venice for his version but with the time difference no luck getting a response! Next time. His are different and maybe a bit better.
Started by grilling small slices of french bread brushed with olive oil till they had grill marks and lite toasting.
Chopped 4 Roma tomatoes, 1 med shallot, fresh rosemary, thyme and oregano from the garden(no basil this time) Opened a new bottle of Santa Barbara's "IL FUSTINO" http://www.ilfustino.com/ vinegar. This was a Pomegranite and Tangerine blend. A little salt, pepper and another pour of a lightly flavored olive oil and let it sit for a couple of hours. MMMM I kept sampling to make sure it was edible. I could have sat down and eaten the whole bowl.
Then there was the dried apricot sorbetto.....mmmmmmmmm!
Straight from the Williams-Sonoma Ice cream & Sorbets cookbook. Nothing more than a puree of dried apricots, water, a bit of sugar and lite corn syrup. Now it didn't taste great to me, so I added a splash of Cointreau. That did it. Plus, I believe that had I made it earlier in the day the flavors would have been more intense. It was even better the next day, it needed curing.
As a treat from Venezia, Roberto brought me a tin of my favorite Biacoli bicuits. They are wafer thin and really plain. Since I had a box of melted truffles that my Aunt Isa sent from Germany I melted them down again and drizzled over the wafers and placed in the freezer to harden. Simple and perfect with the Vin Santo and the apricot sorbetto.
Thankfully, Cindy made me sit down and she did the dishes!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
What now? What next?
A week has gone by since my last chemo and now I'm finishing 10 days of Neupogen injections. As soon as those are done I'll start getting my life back. I'll go on a 5 week body rebuilding project so that when I get off the plane in Venice on July 14th I'll be buff, better and beautiful! Not to mention 50!!! There will be a video camera with me and this time I"ll be sharing my favorite Venetian dining and foodie finds.
Many of my friends have been asking me if I'll be writing a book about what I'm going through. I have been taking all my journaling and organizing. There has to be a story in all those ramblings and if my journey helps just one woman discover her cancer early I've served a purpose on this Earth. If there is a little humour involved and I lighten someones burden with their cancer I"ve succeeded as well. SO, that being said. I have a couple of possible titles kicking around my head. The top winner being "What now, what next?"
The cancer treatment really is the easy part of the disease. It's the living with the rest of your life that's the challenge. How do you get through the days, weeks, months, and years without losing your mind?
.
Many of my friends have been asking me if I'll be writing a book about what I'm going through. I have been taking all my journaling and organizing. There has to be a story in all those ramblings and if my journey helps just one woman discover her cancer early I've served a purpose on this Earth. If there is a little humour involved and I lighten someones burden with their cancer I"ve succeeded as well. SO, that being said. I have a couple of possible titles kicking around my head. The top winner being "What now, what next?"
The cancer treatment really is the easy part of the disease. It's the living with the rest of your life that's the challenge. How do you get through the days, weeks, months, and years without losing your mind?
.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Finally finished my chemo today!!!
Well, finally it's time to celebrate! Spring, life, love everything there is under the sun. It was time to put on a pretty dress, some bling, pop a bottle of bubble and light a sparkler!!
All I can say is that the future is bright and healthy. Time to start living again. You'll be seeing a lot more of me. Chin, chin!
All I can say is that the future is bright and healthy. Time to start living again. You'll be seeing a lot more of me. Chin, chin!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)