Valentina

Plates and Chopping Boards | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

03 Jul 2011 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #AlessiDishWares., #AlessiKitchenProducts, #FoodHistory, #FoodHotStone, #ItalianFood, #MediterraneanDiet, #MiseEnPlace, #TableCustoms

When we sit at the dining table, we hardly waste much time thinking of how tableware originated and evolved in time. We might briefly admire the beauty of a plate or a particular decoration perhaps just as ice breaker and small conversation. We might treat ourselves with the elegant newest collection of dish ware made by Alessi called “Dressed”, or some hand painted ceramic plates, or we might end up eating in any casual dinnerware with nonchalance. The important thing is to have food into a washable or throw away vessel and assign a plate to each person sitting at a dining table. It was not this way a few centuries ago. (Photo: marcel wanders alessi)

Think about how it was in the Middle Age when diners in noble courts and taverns alike shared bowls, glasses, chopping blocks and tin plates. This meant that diners sharing tableware had to pay attention to each other and respect table ethics because they were facing each other while eating from the same plate.

Each person had a spoon to dip in a common soup bowl and in a common sauce bowl. Meat and solid food were cut in a serving dish placed in the center table from which each person took a piece and place it on the chopping block shared with another person. If the other person was a woman and supposedly not a master in the art of cutting, the man sharing the chopping block with her would cut a pieces and offer it to the woman.

Forks did not exist yet, they arrived on the Italian Florentine tables around the 1300. Women held each piece of solid food between two fingers and brought it to the mouth gently. Men stabbed solid food or meat with a knife and ate directly from the blade.

Napkins did not exist yet either. It was an accepted custom to clean oily hands on the tablecloth, but it was not acceptable to suck the fingers clean with the mouth. To avoid offending table decency, a piece of food which had been in the mouth first, could not be put on the shared chopping board, or shared thin plate, that was not acceptable.

Why I am talking about table customs in the Middle Age and what does it have to do with the way we eat today? It seems that every thing old at some point become new again. I was really surprised to see that some restaurants in Italy have taken this historical table custom and twisted to today’s novelty.

In a restaurant on the Amalfi cost in Italy, I observed some appetizers being served on a cold stone or some others on a pre-heated stones depending on the type of food. Some restaurants serve also the main entrée on hot stones and it becomes really spectacular. Food arrives at the table seared halfway, the rest of the cooking is completed at the table by the customers, the way they like it.
(Himalayan Sal Slab: surlatable.com)

This trend is spreading throughout the U.S. too. I have eaten at upscale restaurants in California where one time I enjoyed appetizers on a Himalayan salt plate, the next time I delighted myself with an Argentinean Seared Flank Stake on hot slate with chimichuri sauce and the next time again I tried a fried kale with parmesan churros. All three times it was an enjoyable experience in that cooking at the table with friends evolves in a pleasant conversation.

Just like in the Middle Age, in trendy restaurants of today food is brought to the table on a hot stone with another plate to eat off of it, but today there is an array of flatware, glassware and tablecloths to help us being more comfortable or civilized at the dining table.

These stones are available at gourmet shops and they are affordable.

I shall be here to answer any question you might have on the “mise en place”, staging a table, or staging a dinner party. Ciao,
Valentina
www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer with a passion for kitchens and cooking. She operates in the USA and Europe. She loves to remodel homes and loves to turn ugly spaces into castles, but especially loves to design kitchens and wine grottos, outdoor kitchens and outdoor rooms, great rooms and entertainment rooms. Robert Taitano, a friend and business associate says:
“Valentina – an International Professional Interior Designer is now giving you an opportunity to redesign your palate”.

She is the author of two Italian regional cuisine books available on this site in the Books section, on Amazon and through the publisher:
http://outskirtspress.com/ComeMiaNonna
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnq8baaAq0M
http://outskirtspress.com/SinsOfAQueen

In The Napa Style | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

01 Jul 2011 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #EcoFriendlyDesigns, #HardwoodFloor, #HomeNaturalMaterial, #NapaStyle, #NapaStyleFurniture, #NapaWineCountry, #NapaWines

Ah, Napa Valley! The valley of Californian wines and the place where Bacchus is celebrated every day and every moment of the day is a good time to sip a glass of wine.

Napa is all about a lifestyle made of nature, naturally grown food, relaxation, spa treatments, exercise and living a healthy life with the vice of wines.
This is not a place for a crazy nightlife, late night dinners and dancing until the small hours of the day. It is about a simpler, earthy life, growing food, producing wines, making home-style bread, farming bees for honey and enjoy bucolic scenes.

However, there is nothing simple about the homes of this wine country. Homes in the valley might be modest and unpretentious, but driving up Napa Valley hills and getting lost among the tall vegetation and lush terrace vineyards, one can see fantastic villas, some of them revolving around the entire hill-top. These large homes, large almost as small castles are intended for entertaining large parties, dinner events and musical gathering.

One of the people in my circle, hosted an Opera Night for sixty people sitting around bistro tables, all gathered in the Italianate courtyard. This place will be featured in the filming of the T.V. show I am hosting entitled Dreaming California, which will air in Italy towards the end of the 2011. I selected it because it projects that feeling of the Italian courtyard life of my past, so very familiar to me. Growing up in the South of Italy, I spent my childhood playing in so many courts and courtyards of my family and friends while the adults canned food for the winter, or made wines. And the memory is sweet!

Let’s leave for a moment the huge homes of the high-profile people of Napa Valley.

Anyone can reproduce this earthy style with a few refined accents and with not much effort. Second hand stores are a wealth of inspiration and often old findings are real treasure. One thing to keep in mind is nature, which must be present in every space, then natural items from wood species to leather, from fabrics to glass and metals. Old and distressed fit the rusticity of the area. New furniture must look muted and not shiny.

Comfortable but massive seating is a must, possibly covered with the most natural eco-friendly fibers and directed towards the views to add to the comfort. Remember the rustic tables with straw seat chairs? Probably your grandmother had them all her life. They sit so well in any space, not just in the kitchen and if you want to substitute the straw chairs for long benches is even better to get that old farmhouse look.

Vintage wines or farming objects should be appearing every so often in the décor. Keep it rustic. Use recycled and salvaged items when possible, floor, windows and doors are easy to find at architectural salvage yard.

Stack the butler pantry with rustic dishes and drinking vessels. Add all the natural flavors of olive oils, vinegar, a variety of olives, sauces to spread over bruschetta like eggplant caponata and peperonata, natural salts, dry good like truffles and porcini, all the nuts, honey, marmalade and you will feel motivate to cook like a real gourmet chef.

Keep the cooking area modern enough with all the convenient amenities of the modern life, but the perception of the kitchen should be seasoned, reminiscent of simple time gone by.

(All Photos courtesy of Napa Style store)

A home decorated in the Napa style doesn’t have to be nested atop a narrow ridge and surrounded by its own lush vineyards. It is just as easy to reproduce it anywhere with patios, courtyards and verandahs decorated with the right elements for relaxation, as well as plants and flowers to enjoy the aromas of nature. Wine is the one and only element that should never be missed.

A man who was fond of wine was offered some grapes and dessert after dinner. ‘Much obliged,’ said he, pushing the dish away from him, ‘but I am not in the habit of taking my wine in pills.’ Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, French gastronome, (1755-1826), “The Physiology of Taste”.
I read this book so many times around. It should be part of a Napa style kitchen.

I am here to help you with any challenges you might have with your décor, or to advice you in the making of a particular style. Ciao,
Valentina

http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is a trained Italian Interior Designer in business since 1990. Being Italian born and raised, Valentina’s design work has been influenced by Classicism and stylish, timeless designs. She will create your everyday living with a certain luxury without taking away your comfort. She loves to restore old homes, historic dwellings and she focuses on remodeling. She is the author of three books available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Going Eichler | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

16 Jun 2011 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #1950Architecture, #1950Colors, #1950Furniture, #DecoratingEichlerStyle, #EichlerArchitecture, #EichlerFurniture, #EichlerStyle, #HomeRemodeling

In about a couple of weeks, I will be filming many California homes for an Italian T.V. station, in Italy.

The producer is looking for homes of all types from extravagant to traditional, from elegant to casual and definitively homes that are not Italianate looking.
The idea of the show is to highlight California living and to show to European audience how people live in these parts of the world.

American homes are characterized with large open spaces, rooms communicating with each other, high ceilings, grand foyers, lighting effects, exterior vegetation, 3 to 5 cars garage, all features so very different from European homes. In fact, not by accident the title of the show will be Dreaming California.
Some of the homes I designed for my clients will be filmed too, but there is one particular home I am interested in featuring, the Eichler home owned by one of my friend, an art painter. This style of home is the perfect setting for an artist, vibrant, modern, open and transparent.

Eichler style architecture was designed by real estate developer Joseph Eichler between 1950 and early ‘70s, as a post war innovative architecture, affordable for the mass and all races. GIs returning home after WWII needed to create families, thus building homes fast and cost-efficient was a high demand of the market in the ‘50s.

The Eichlers were the first track homes constructed with standard material in a remote location and shipped where the building sites were. For the very first time this innovative concept was applied to home’s production, just as in the car industry assembly lines. Prefabricated homes in different styles are still produced.

The indoor-outdoor concept of these homes was for the first time featured on brochures and marketing materials of the ‘50s, something we have returned to like sixty years later.

The indoor- outdoor concept is so much part of today’s living, feeling that inner peace that only nature can provide is well recreated today with large windows, sliding doors, mirror reflections, outdoor rooms, or even operable walls. Exactly how the Eichler home was conceived then.

The particular features that sold these homes were open floor plans, flat roofs, interior atrium, post and beams, large glass walls, radiant heating, cork flooring, wood paneling. The builder’s goal was to offer to everyone the same details of elegant homes with affordable and eco-friendly material. Ah! This is want homeowners want today too!

Living in an Eichler today doesn’t have the same meaning that had in the’50s, it seems that this very particular style of architecture attracts people with certain traits, it fits the artist’s profile and any person in a creative field.

The interior décor cannot be any different from modern, colorful, vibrant, eclectic, or even extravagant, it’s a must, otherwise will not fit the linear and simple architecture. A traditional décor will totally clash.

(All photos taken by ©Valentina Cirasola inside the Eichler home with permission of the owner)

The owners of an Eichler home who lived in it since the ‘50s are now tired and are selling these beautiful properties, giving a good inventory to the real estate agencies.

Unfortunately, this architectural style marked an era, the Eichler home has become almost historical architecture and no longer is considered a ‘track home’ for the mass. With a higher status label comes the high price too. I know my friend the artist will never leave her Eichler. She selected excellent furnishing by herself, accessorized it tastefully and added some travel memorabilia pieces for a touch of whimsy. She changed it into a small, but pleasant paradise and of course, to feed her soul, she created a colorful vegetation, she can enjoy from anywhere in the house, but especially from her studio while she is painting her art.

If you want to know more about it the Eichler style, or if you want to buy or sell one of these homes, I work with many realtors I can refer you to, but if you like to decorate and furnish one, you have fallen in the right place. Leave your name and contacts info in the box below and I will answer in 24 hours time. Ciao,
Valentina

http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Tomato, The Golden Apple | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

14 Jun 2011 2 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #ItalianFood, #ItalianTomatoPassata, #ItalianTomatoSauce, #MediterraneanDiet, #SanMarzanoTomatoes

Everyday is the perfect occasion to celebrate a little something. Did you know that June 1st is the national day of tomatoes? So many things are possible with tomatoes from food to beauty treatments, tomato is the golden apple. In Italian tomato translates in pomodoro which means exactly golden apple and it holds the secret for a good health.

My day often start with artisan bread, a couple of tomatoes with basil leaves and extra-virgin olive oil seasoned with salt & pepper. To this, I add a couple of fruit, a couple of cups of espresso coffee and off I go to work.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

San Marzano Tomatoes

Tomato is food of good nutritional balance, poor of calories, with a good content of minerals and vitamins, rich in water, about 94%, therefore it is refreshing, good for high heat areas. The only carbohydrates present in a tomato are fructose and glucose.

Consuming tomatoes on a regular basis facilitates the digestion of starches found in food such as pasta, rice, potatoes and helps to remove excess of proteins deriving from a diet rich of meat products.

People who suffer a slow digestion should eat a good quantity of tomatoes daily, in that the arabic acid and lactic acid activates the gastric system, along with sulfur, which acts as a detoxifying. The golden apple contains potassium to help with cramps of the legs, fatigue, retention of liquids and hypertension.

It also contains calcium to help with migraines and keep bones healthy. It contains phosphorus to help metabolize carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, iron to help with anemia, selenium and zinc, which are the essential elements to fight aging, but a substance called solanine could be the enemy in the tomatoes. Solanine is a toxic alkaloid present in green tomatoes and in tomatoes not totally ripe, thus not really good to eat.

Give the soil lot of nutrients, a good compost, especially if you produce your own from kitchen scraps, place the tomato seeds in an all-day full sun areas and you will have an elixir of love and health in large quantity.

Basic Tomato Sauce or Passata di Pomodoro in Italian

I often use tomatoes called San Marzano to make the passata, but any large round tomatoes will do. Use ripe tomatoes, about 12-15 to make a sauce for four people, cut in half, squeeze the water out and some seeds. Place all the tomatoes in saucepan for about 10-15 minutes at medium low heat until the tomatoes are soft and collapsed. Transfer them a spoon at a time in a food mill to eliminate the skin. Place the food mill on top of a bowl to collect the juice and turn the handle until you see a thick juice going into the bowl. At this point the sauce is almost ready. Place the tomato juice back into the saucepan, add salt to your liking, olive oil and a few leaves of basil. Simmer for about 15 minutes at low heat.

This basic sauce can be used fresh as it is on any pasta or rice, but it can be enhanced with tuna, chicken, lamb, or any vegetables. Cook them separately, then add them to the sauce. The same sauce can be pasteurized and kept in jars for the winter, so you can enjoy a home made tomato sauce when there are no tomatoes around. In this picture down below, I am preparing Pachino tomatoes with Italian zucchini and onions, when the sauce is ready in about 15 minutes, I will add some spaghetti, grated Pecorino cheese and nothing else to this dish. It will be perfect with a glass of red wine. Buon appetito!

Zucchini and Cherry Tomatoes By ©Valentina Cirasola

Find more of this simple recipe in my two books, available in this site on the Books page and on Amazon.

©Come Mia Nonna – A Return To Simplicity
©Sins Of A Queen – Italian Appetizers and Desserts

Ciao,
Valentina

Robert Taitano, a friend and business associate says:
“Valentina – an International Professional Interior Designer is now giving you an opportunity to redesign your palate”.

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer with a passion for kitchens and cooking. She operates in the USA and Europe. She loves to remodel homes and loves to turn ugly spaces into castles, but especially loves to design kitchens and wine grottos, outdoor kitchens and outdoor rooms, great rooms and entertainment rooms.
Get your copy of the books on:
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Sipping Away | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

05 Jun 2011 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #GardenViews, #ItalianDrinks, #ItalianLifeStyle, #SummerDrinks, #SummerSpritzDrinks

I am thinking about Summer, the cozy corner in my garden is waiting, it will be good to sit there conversing with friends or by myself with my thoughts and a good book. A drink will be a nice complement to this pretty picture. In Italy we have a variety of Summer drinks that we can buy at any kiosk in the street while walking around in the Summer heat, or we can make at home just as good.
(Photo above: BH&G).

Campari Time-A
In Spritz veritas… a perfect orange mood!
Equal parts ingredients:
fresh squeezed orange juice
chilled Italian Prosecco (sparking wine)
a few verbena leaves
a couple of raspberries per person, orange slices for garnish.
Serve it either in a champagne glass or in a large juice glass.

First, place a couple of raspberry in the bottom of the glass, fill the glass half way with orange juice, then fill the rest of the glass with well-chilled Italian Prosecco.
Add a couple of verbena leaves, decorate the glass with an orange slice.
You can substitute Prosecco with sparkling water and crushed ice.

(Photos credit given to the respective owners)

Italian Lemonade
2 cups fresh squeezed lemon juice, about 12 to 15 lemons
2 cups simple syrup
2 cups of chilled sparkling water
crushed ice
lemon slices and basil leaves

Make simple syrup first by combining 2 cups sugar and 1 cup water in a saucepan. Simmer until the sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Cool it, before using. Squeeze fresh lemons, mix in simple syrup and water. Place it in a nice looking pitcher and cool it in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Serve it with crushed ice and garnish with a lemon slice on the edge of the glass. To add a punch of taste a few fresh basil leaves will do.

Tropical Granita
Equal parts of water melon, pineapples, mango and oranges. Peel and chop all the fruit in chunks. Place them in a medium size saucepan with 1 cup of water and 1 cup of brown sugar if you like it sweet. I use no sugar. Bring to a boil, simmer for about 10 minutes to break down the fruit. Cool and strain it. Line a terrine with a plastic film and let it hang outside the terrine. It will to help you later in removing the frozen mixture from the terrine. Place the liquid in it and freeze. After it becomes solid, grab the film and pull out the frozen mixture. Cut the mixture in strip about 4” long and ½” wide. Insert one fruit strip in each champagne glass and fill with Italian Prosecco or Champagne.

White peach, Cassis and Champagne floats
It will make two portions:
2 peaches, pitted and cut into small wedges
1 pint peach ice cream
2 tablespoons crème de Cassis (black-currant liqueur) and a little more for drizzling
2/3 cup chilled brut Champagne or sparkling wine

Make layers. Place 3 peach wedges in the bottom of each tall glasses. Top with 1 scoop ice cream, another layer of 3 peach wedges. Add second scoop ice cream and top with 2 more peach wedges. Drizzle 2 tablespoons crème de Cassis. Pour 1/3 cup Champagne or mineral water into each glass. One more scoop of ice cream, fill with champagne and serve.

June 10^th is the National Iced Tea Day. I like tea that are also medicinal to cure a common cold. Hand full of lemon tree leaves, mueller leaves and mint. Boil these leaves in water until water turns a nice golden color. Steep and cool it. Fill serving glasses with crushed ice and tea, serve. Also serve it warm.

With these fun drinks you must have cool glasses.
(Photo:
Napa Style Glasses)

Napa Style sells a collection of six Venetian Tumblers for $59.00 with the rack at $59.00 too.
For a more elegant look, try the Dotted Venetian glasses for champagne, liqueurs, white and red wines at $89.00 each set of four glasses.

Find more of these kind of Summer treats in my second published book: Sins Of A Queen, available here in this site on the Books page.

Enjoy your Summer with your favorite colors, friends, drinks and the perfect mood.
If you need help in creating the perfect atmosphere, please contact me, I shall be ready to help you with so many wonderful ideas. Ciao,
Valentina
www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer with a passion for kitchens and cooking. She operates in the USA and Europe. She loves to remodel homes and loves to turn ugly spaces into castles, but especially loves to design kitchens and wine grottos, outdoor kitchens and outdoor rooms, great rooms and entertainment rooms. She is also the author of two Italian regional cuisine books available here in this site on the Books page, on Amazon and in various other locations:
http://outskirtspress.com/ComeMiaNonna
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnq8baaAq0M
http://outskirtspress.com/SinsOfAQueen

Up In The Air Or In The Ground | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

01 Jun 2011 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #CavalierPlants, #DecoratingWithLights, #ExteriorLighting, #GardenDesign, #GardenLighting, #GardenSolutions, #LandscapeDesign, Hardscape

We have been accustomed to create gardens and orchards in the ground. Getting down in closer contact to the ground I think is very spiritual. While we attend our garden on our knees we can touch nature with our hands, shape it to our liking, mix the color we prefer and perhaps listen to our favorite music on the iPod. I find gardening time very relaxing and a good way to do some thinking.

Unfortunately a couple of months ago I fell in the street on hard concrete and seriously injured my right knee, lucky me I did not break it, but here I am two months later I still cannot bend my knee to go down very well and my garden as been suffering. As a designer the natural thing for me to do was to research on raised gardens or finding some easy solution for clients who have knees or back problems. I found this attractive creation designed by Patrick Morris called Sky Planter, which can be used indoor for fussy plants and outdoor to save our back.

It is made of ceramics, locks the plant and soil into the place and hang from a ceiling or wall-mount. A reservoir hidden in the top waters plants gradually. I also found the easy reach, the ultimate Pulley System for any plants! I think this is such a brilliant idea for any flowers, vegetables and cooking spices. The pot can even be raised up and down to put the plant in the sun when needed and in the shade when the sun get to hot. Take a look of the video by clicking on the following link:

At the Orticola Garden Trade Show in Milano last month, I saw gardens on rotating stairs like a Ferris wheel, easy to attend and to water as the plant comes around. For those people who live in the city and don’t have much space for gardening, I found the eco urban garden, called the “Cavalier”, made by Paris based designers Az & Mut. Hand-made in France, the products are made from a composite of 70% flax fibres. Pot cavalier is designed to be slung over the balcony railing, holding itself in place without any other hardware. The pots are light and frost-resistant.
(photoimage © designboom © morgane le gall )

The same designer came up with the idea of the “Danseuses” a lamp shade that balances on its two cut edges. It can be used either lying down, between plants to emanate a very delicate glow in its surrounding space or hung onto a wall, or suspended looking like many dancers (danseuses). They are made of bleached flax fibres and ecological resin.
(‘danseuse’ image © designboom © morgane le gall)

It is my pleasure to bring you ideas and novelties. Let me know if I can help you with some exteriors or interior solutions. Ciao, Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola has been in business as a designer since 1990.  She has helped a variegated group of fun people realizing their dreams with homes, offices, interiors and exteriors.  She designs landscape and hardscape as a complement to the residential design concept as a unity. She is the author of three books available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Floralia | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

20 May 2011 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #AssisiFloralia, #AssisiItaly, #Calendimaggio, #CulinaryTrips, #HistoryOfCostumes, #ItalianHistory, #ItalianLifeStyle, #MayInItaly, #MayItalianCelebrations, ItalyTravel

P15e5.1 Unframed
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons – Public Domain – Triumph of love , by Francesco Pesellino (1450), celebrates the arrival of spring and the flowering associated with May)

So much is happening in the world of Italy in the month of April and May. I have been there working, vacationing and taking notes.
Not knowing when work and play stop and start, I am considering myself lucky. The dilemma is what to write about first. Do I write about the Saint Nicholas celebration in Bari, which happens again in December, or do I write about Saint Francis festival, the “Calendimaggio” in Assisi, which happens only in May? I have seen both celebrations in the same month, they are unforgettable historic folklorist events and I don’t want to lose the opportunity to spread the words.
(Photo left source: http://www.inumbria.net/ita/ita_evento.html?ID_evento=558979221)

“Calendimaggio” festival happens every year on the first Thursday, Friday and Saturday of May to inaugurate the arrival of spring, greeting the rebirth of life, after winter hibernation and hardships. During the centuries many northern European cultures have celebrated the arrival of spring with flowers and colors.

The Celts had two seasons in a year, the dark and the light season, the effect of spring did not come until the beginning of May.
The Romans during the “Floralia” celebrated Maia and Flora, two goddesses of Spring. Groups of young gaudentes in flowery dresses decorated with flowers in the hair and all over their bodies, sang, danced and charmed the people in the streets with their serenades.

During the Middle Age the newly adopted Gregorian calendar changed the name of the spring celebration to “Kalende di Maggio” (Calendar of May), but the objective was the same: to propitiate the abundance and good fortune at the beginning of the season transformation, when trees bloom and start producing fruits. This transformation of nature is the fundamental base of a better life. Good food means good health, which in turn means better spiritual life. Banquets, bonfires, songs and dances at the top of the hill celebrated the season transformation, while inevitably the so-called “honorable” citizens erupted in horseback fights.

(Photo left Sbandieratori -source: http://www.fideacademy.com/assisi/speciale-cerimonia-di-premiazione)

Bitter and hard conflicts between various factions were the reason for creating Saints, symbols and flags in most history of people and Assisi’s history is no different. Today, the show of the skilled flag wavers is magnetic. The colors of the flags are blue for secular authority and red for pontifical authority, both temporal and religious powers in the Middle Age.

The spring celebration, a pagan custom, blends well with the religious celebration of Saint Francis, the patron of Italy, which happens simultaneously. Young Francesco (Francis) renounced his nobel and rich heritage, adopted a simple brown robe with a rope in the waist as his dress and served as the “poor of God” looking after the poor and sick people, spreading the Word of God.

The beginning of the spring season today is celebrated much the same way with love songs, choral music and street dances accompanied by violins, guitars and lutes. There are competitions, games and events, without the bloodshed of the old Middle Age. Medieval processions and torch-lit parades will recapture the old charm.

The festival leads to the prestigious Palio with two districts of the town of Assisi competing against each other for a valuable prize. The districts are the ‘Magnifica Parte de Sotto and the ‘Nobilissima Parte de Sopra’, meaning the Low and High Districts of Assisi.

All of this fun and re-enactment of history happens while the aroma of the traditional porchetta and roast-suckling pig fills the air of the entire town.

It was worth going out-of-the-way of my designated path while in Italy. I had never seen the city of Assisi overflowing with a kaleidoscope of colors, flowers, adorned trees, various symbols, statues, altars, religious figurines, flags and gonfalons, as in this three days of celebration of life, peace and food.

People were so happy and proud of their Italian heritage and I am too. Ciao,
Valentina
www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is a trained Italian Interior Designer in business since 1990. Being Italian born and raised, Valentina’s design work has been influenced by Classicism and stylish, timeless designs. She will create your everyday living with a certain luxury without taking away your comfort. She loves to restore old homes, historic dwellings and she focuses on remodeling. She is interested in food in history studies and historical events.

Author of two Italian regional cuisine books available here in this site on the Books Page and in various other locations:

Come Mia Nonna-A Return To Simplicity http://outskirtspress.com/ComeMiaNonna
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnq8baaAq0M
Sins Of A Queen http://outskirtspress.com/SinsOfAQueen

Light and Filling Food | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

14 May 2011 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #EatingLite, #ItalianFood, #LiteFood, #LiteLunch, #MediterraneanDiet, #ValentinaCirasolaAuthor, #VeggieDrinks

I am in the mood for a light lunch, something I crave when Summer is approaching.
Nothing better than shopping for food in my refrigerator, there is always something light and filling to cook, or something raw to put together and I don’t mean cold cut meats.

First I will prepare a veggie mixage, powerful, filling and healthy. I will make a large pot to keep for a few days.
This is something to make into a warm soup one day and a power drink the next day.
If you make a soup add either croutons, quinoa or pearled barley, olive oil, Parmigiano cheese is optional.
If you make a veggie drink, spice it up with salt and pepper and drink it cold.

I will put together carrots, red beets, celery, red cabbage, collard greens, broccoli and lemon grass in a pot half full of salted water. The salt will keep the greens very green. Boil until tender. With a boat motor crush all the ingredients until you have a smooth reddish velute’. Spoon this creamy mixture into a bowl or glass.

My light lunch will also have one hard-boiled egg and five – six radishes sliced, seasoned with salt, pepper and olive oil, 2 oz. of bread I made yesterday and a couple of oranges from my tree. Italian espresso coffee, a hand full of dry nuts and one piece of chocolate will follow about thirty minutes later.

Notice the plates in my photograph? They are appetizers size plates, I can only fill them up to the rim, visually they look full and the brain already feels satisfied, but in reality the quantity of food is very small. Afterwards, when the food is gone, it will be so natural to have the sensation of a full stomach.

In restaurants I have the same attitude towards portions. My question is always the same: “how big is the plate?” and if the waiter says it is a good portion, I select something smaller. Personally, I don’t like to leave the restaurant with a doggy bag in my hands, I only order what I can eat, but that is just my Italian upbringing.

With this type of light lunch, you can allow yourself to eat more often during the day, enjoy small tasty meals and never get to the dinner table with the hunger stuck to your eyes.

Give me five ingredients and I will make you a royal dinner! What can you do with five ingredients? I like to know, leave your name down below. Ciao,
Valentina
www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer with a passion for kitchens and cooking. She operates in the USA and Europe. She loves to remodel homes and loves to turn ugly spaces into castles, but especially loves to design kitchens and wine grottos.
She is the author of two Italian regional cuisine books available in this page on the Books page and in various other places:
http://outskirtspress.com/ComeMiaNonna
http://outskirtspress.com/SinsOfAQueen

Illuminate Your Summer | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

13 May 2011 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #ColorsAndLight, #DecoratingWithLights, #EcoFriendlyDesigns, #GardenLights, #HomeRemodeling

Light is life. Where there is light there is a crowd of people and where there is a fun lighting there is also a fun divertissement.

(Photo left found on: http://weaselmedia.com/gorgeous-solar-lights-for-backyard/outdoor-solar-lights-landscape-lighting-houselogic-within-solar-lights-for-backyard)

We all know how to illuminate our exterior paths, the garden and the house and we do it accordingly to the style of the house. Illumination is one of those items in the décor that can go extravagant, out of the ordinary, be a bit crazy.
In my house I have lamps and light sources different from one another and yet they live together really well, adding the conversation element too.
I want to show you how to illuminate your summer with solar lighting in the fun way and save you money at the same time.

Magic Solar Glowing Globes are good for any pathways, swimming pool edge line, or as stakes on the grass between vegetation.

Solar Stakes add a little comic life by mimic flowers and plants elevated to the nth power. Glass Solar Steaks go into the ground, the multicolored glass will illuminate in colors any trees, any shrub, any vast area of plain grass, now you only need imagination in creating your own secret garden fantasy.

If you have a swimming pool you can produce a nighttime underwater lighting show with lit up fountain creating water shooting scattered here and there on the water of the pool.
(aliexpress.com)

How about something to recreate pleasant sounds?
Whether you like quiet time with yourself, or entertain in style, these fake rocks are light enough to be picked up by one person and moved anywhere you like. Add speaker to them and your favorite music will fill the air.
(Photo fake stone found on: http://www.problemsolvers.com)

A chandelier in the garden, what a novel idea! They are not what they seem, they are hummingbirds feeders in the version of small chandeliers, artsy, whimsical, colorful. Any place in the garden is the right place, hang them off trees, pergola and arbors. My hummingbirds are very happy these days.

Now relax, sit in this “Paradisio” alcove, with UV-resistant fabrics and maintenance-free material and forget the world! (Photo: Paradisio.com)
There is so much more to do in recreating a summer of harmony: solar shower, outdoor heaters, nighttime fire and all the items I can pull together for you in a jiffy, while saving you money too. Leave your name down below in the box and I shall answer you in 24 hours time. Ciao,
Valentina

www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola has been in business as a designer since 1990.  She has helped a variegated group of fun people realizing their dreams with homes, offices, interiors and exteriors.  She designs landscape and hardscape as a complement to the residential design concept as a unity. Find her books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Party With A Puzzleboard | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

06 May 2011 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #AppetizersFood, #AppetizersPuzzleboard, #ItalianLifeStyle, #PartyDesigns, #PartyFoodAccessories, #PartyFoodIdeas, #PartyTrays, Appetizers

I did and after being in that awkward situation a couple of times, I decided to attend them to meet people without even tasting one ounce of food, which it takes all the fun out of doing business after hours.

On DesignBoom https://www.designboom.com/design/oooms-puzzleboard/, I discovered the puzzleboard made by OOOMS a design studio based in the Netherlands. http://www.oooms.nl/product/puzzleboard
It’s a multipurpose board made of beech wood blocks that can be used both for cutting or as serving plate. By inserting boards together, you can extend your workspace when cutting French breads or preparing hors-d’oeuvres. Wineglasses can also fit conveniently into the indented groove of the board.

Using these boards at parties allows guests to enjoy both wine and delicacies while still having one hand free to greet other friends.

Self-serve and buffet style food is less than a 100 years invention. Food was always consumed sitting down at a table with many servants around.

Service à la française (French style) of the middle 1800’s in the Victorian era is the closest way to buffet style, food were brought out at once in an impressive, but often impractical display.
Often food arrived covered with silver domes, but due to the distant location of the kitchen in respect to the dining area, they arrived cold.
Guest could see the beautiful display of food on the table and could help themselves to dishes close by, but had to rely on servants to bring other dishes and wine and to change plates and cutlery.

The table for service à la française was beautifully made up generally with a minimum of three-course meal in addition to desserts. Soup and various terrines were on one side of the table, meat and fish on the opposite side, many other specialties in the middle of the table and all sizes and shapes cutleries around the edges of the table. The host duty to carve meats at the table with all that production of food was very challenging.

In the early 19^th century Russian Ambassador Alexander Kurakin brought to France the service à la russe (service in the Russian style) which is a manner of dining that involves courses being brought to the table sequentially up to dessert, when everything on the table gets cleared out even breadcrumbs before serving desserts.

This resembles the way we eat today in restaurants without the 14 courses of the previous eating fashion and without the elaborate dishes preparation and presentation.
We have also adopted service à la russe for home sitting down dinner parties in those few rare occasions of family gathering and important holidays we use the formal dining room.

As a designer, I can tell you that formal dining rooms are disappearing from homes. That space is now used to make a great room, which includes living and family room in an open space attached to the kitchen.
The buffet serving style is more congenial to todays’ living, no servants are required, only good food and good time spent with our guests.
Most of us organize parties outdoor, in the garden or by the pool, the puzzleboard (only Euro 19.95) is ideal to carry food and drink from the buffet table to anywhere we like to sit without worrying about having both hands occupied.
It is interesting to me that the wine glass inserted in the proper groove will not leave my site easily. Ciao,
Valentina
www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola transforms and creates spaces realizing people’s dreams in homes, offices, interiors and exteriors.
She infuses your everyday living with a certain luxury without taking away a comfortable living.
As an interior designer with a passion for kitchens and cooking she loves to remodel homes and loves to turn ugly spaces into castles, but especially loves to design kitchens and wine grottos.

She is the author of two Italian regional cuisine books available here in this site on the Books page and in various other locations:
©Come Mia Nonna – A Return To Simplicity and ©Sins Of A Queen

http://outskirtspress.com/ComeMiaNonna
http://outskirtspress.com/SinsOfAQueen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnq8baaAq0M