The Good Life | Valentina Expressions

Bread In Style | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

27 May 2014 2 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #ItalianBreadShop, #ItalianFashion, #ItalianFood, #KitchenApron, #PatriziaPerroneBreadShop, #ValentinaCirasolaAuthor

You would think that if you go to a bread shop is to buy bread and a few other treats available in the shop, but in Italy people want to find style and colors with bread. The shop must be packed with flavors, aromas, inviting atmosphere and fashion. “L’occhio vuole la sua parte” as we say in Italian, basically we eat with the eyes first and if the owner of the shop is well dressed with harmonious clothes and appearance is well put together, the bread products sell even better. This is the case of Patrizia Perrone, owner of Panificio Perrone – Forno di Gennaro, in Matera, Italy. Her newly remodeled shop designed by Italian architect Antonio Di Benedetto at KA Lab is modern and very stylish with a back room for casual eating looking to an open view in the production, because there is nothing to hide when products are made with naturals ingredients.

Patrizia Perrone in her bread shop Oven of Gennaro

Patrizia Perrone with her bread stamp

Patrizia Perrone apron front side

Patrizia Perrone apron back side

Night production of sweets

La Pannarella

All her products sit on shelves with a suffuse lighting and the bread behind the counter is displayed in an appetizing way. The apron Patrizia wore intrigued me and pushed me to interview her. She started by saying that her company logo is a bread shaped as a woman representing the women running her company. In ancient time only women made breads, but since home stove had not been invented yet, the women took their bread dough to a public oven to have it cooked. A wood stamp with the initial of the head of each family distinguished one bread from another. Artisans carved those wood stamps for breads and in Matera there are still a few artisans continuing the tradition. In Patrizia’s case her breads are stamped with the letter “P” after her first and last name: Patrizia Perrone. The production in the back of the store is highly organized with modern machines programmed to produce breads, focaccia, biscotti and other sweets with ancient formulas everyone is still demanding.

Her apron is not a common kitchen apron, it is asymmetrical cut at the bottom right; in the back three stripes, one on the right shoulder, one in diagonal on the left shoulder and one in the waist hold the apron together. The white scarf on her head is an old tradition, a form of respect for food, she told me. Before women attempted to work on the dough for bread, cookies or pasta, they closed the hair in a scarf to keep food making hygienically clean. Her natural, earth tones make up is in tune with her natural products and emphasizes her open, glowing beautiful face, framed with a pair of earrings I am sure heritage of her grandmother, a sign that everything here is a tradition and well tied to the territory.

In an Italian bread shop, a visitor notices many things: bread is stylishly shaped, because we eat it everyday, thus must look good on our table; the bread shop must be stylish, otherwise people don’t feel invited to walk in, food sold in the store must be stylishly packaged and fashion…..well in Italy is a must even when selling bread. Italian style is about feeling good, look good and give pleasure to others. Patrizia by keeping alive the traditions of our land gave me a great pleasure when I saw the Pannarella my grandmother made sold in her store. The description next to the product says Pannarella is like a canvas to color. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinaexpressions.com/trips-to-puglia-2

I am writing a travel diary of my last trip to Puglia with an American group and sharing with all of you my notes of feelings, observations, food-wine tasting and experiences that have changed the life of people traveling with me. The trips I organize are made for people who want to live it up in Puglia! Find Valentina’s books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Colors To Eat | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

21 Apr 2014 2 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #BH&GColors, #BritishScones, #ColorEnergy, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #SpringColors, Chromotherapy

(Photo: BH&G)

This flower arrangement I found on BH&G looks perfect for today’s Easter table. It’s cheerful and vibrant and is definitely a resurrection of the spirit from the winter gloom and snow. Every color has healing power. Color therapy techniques have been around for over 5,000 year. Today we call it chromotherapy. It’s roots go back to Ayurveda Indian natural remedies medicine. Decorating a home or office, or preparing food we bring those healing energies from colors into our life and if we use them correctly, colors will enhance our qualities.

Photo sources in this board:
Cup Cakes – http://www.ju-licioustastytreats.com/ – Blackberries – http://ilovemealplans.com/ – Blueberries – www.nipic.com –
Cauliflowers – www.greenprophet.com – Lilac & tea cup – http://www.free-hdwallpapers.com/wallpaper/nature/tea-cup/11991 -Salmon Sashimi – https://goo.gl/qTLyDf –
Round Squash – http://www.oahufresh.com/ingredient/round-squash/ – Limes – http://instiks.com/pin/3740/

Experiment with this color palette, I turned the same flowers arrangement into colors to eat and I came up with food with a perfect healing power. Let’s see what it means to eat nourishing food with these colors and which chakra will benefit from them.

Blue affects the chakra in the throat. As a calming color, blue lowers blood pressure, calms anxiety and helps insomnia. It enhances communication skills and increases will power. Blue food will help de-cluttering the mind from over-driving thoughts.
Orange food will balance too much blue. It’s perfect to serve blackberries mixed with orange slices.

Lavender/Violet is the chakra meditation on top of our head. Wearing violet helps treating mental problems, nervous disorders and tumors. Eating lavender/violet food will lift depression and the sense of disconnection.
Balance violet food with yellow food. When serving lavender tea is best to use lemon and not milk.

Yellow is the color of survival chakra in the upper stomach, or solar chakra. Yellow stimulates concentration and learning abilities, but if the solar chakra is imbalanced will promote fear and anxiety. Yellow food enlivens the solar plexus and reduces stress.
Balance yellow food with blue food. Roasted yellow tomatoes and roasted blue potatoes are a delicious combination.

Orange represents the inner child issues chakra, the sacral or sex chakra, which regulates the metabolism. Psychologically, orange color promotes happiness, increases creativity and socialization. Eating orange food will help curing depression, digestive problems and increase metabolism activities.
Grilled salmon and broiled green squash balance each other well.

Green represents the emotional heart chakra, connected to love, trust and forgiveness. It’s the perfect color for emotional stability and calmness. Eating green food will put you in a calm state of mind, balance the emotions and increase metabolism activity.
Magenta balances too much green.

Let’s transfer the lightness of spring into our food. Enjoy my British lavender scones recipe. I love them fluffy and warm on a breezy spring morning.

Ingredients for 12 scones:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ stick unsalted butter (very cold)
¼ cup sugar 1 teaspoon of dried culinary lavender (fresh lavender is better)
2/3 cup milk
egg wash

Preheat oven at 425° F. Grease and flour a baking sheet. In a mixing bowl mix flour and baking powder together. Add cold butter and make the mixture like breadcrumbs. Mix in sugar and lavender, then add milk to turn the mixture into a sticky dough.
Transfer the mixture to a floured surface or cutting board. With a cookie cutter cut the dough in a thick 1” round disk. Place each disk on the baking sheet previously buttered and floured. Brush the top with an egg wash and sprinkle a small amount of sugar.
Bake for about 12 minutes or until the sconces are golden brown. Serve with candied or natural nasturtium flowers and a home-made orange marmalade.
Bon appetite, I hope your Easter was beautiful and serene. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola has been in business as an interior designer since 1990 improving people’s life by changing their spaces. Often people describe her as “the colorist” for a reason. She lives in a colorful world, wrote a book on colors ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors and loves to color her clients’ environments by creating the unusual. Her deep interest in food led her as an autodidact in the studies of food in history, natural remedies, nutrition and well-being, then finally she wrote two books on Italian regional cuisine. Find Valentina’s three books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Monument | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

15 Apr 2014 6 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #1500sFashion, #DisfidaBarletta, #ItalianHistory, #PugliaTravel, #RedVoyageIntoColors, http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/monument, ItalyTravel, WordPressPhotoChallengeMonument

This week WP photo challenge comes at the right moment, in fact next month I will lead a group of tourists to Puglia, Italy where among many places we will visit the monument in the town of Barletta that represents the challenge between the French Army and the Italian Army in 1503. http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/monument

The monument is a wine cellar, better a tavern as it was called then, where boisterous soldiers would get refreshed with wines and after a few drinks their abilities to fight was challenged with offensive words that most often ended up in a fight. Two kings from France and Spain, Louis XII of France and Ferdinand II of Aragon, signed the treaty of Granada under which they agreed to equally share the Kingdom of Naples. The treaty apparently didn’t spell out clearly the terms for both armies occupying the same territory, thus created hostilities between the two armies. They always broke out in small fights on the interpretation of the treaty that would best suit them.

Disfida di Barletta – Tavern

Reenactment of the Challenge

1500 Fashion in Barletta – Reenactment Feb.13

(Some of the photos are courtesy of Proloco Barletta)

Sometimes, instead of fighting in the open field, they resorted to challenges in the field of chivalry, often held in the town of Barletta. On Feb.13, 1503 the most important fight between the French Army and the Italian Army serving under the Spanish crown decided the future of the territory. Thirteen Italian knights and many French knights fought a chivalrous duel resulting in the winning of the Italians led by Ettore Fieramosca. Today, every year on Feb.13 the reenactment of that historical event comes alive and the town of Barletta experiences life in the 1500 century, tastes food of the era and admires beautiful fashion parading down the road.

In May I will take my traveling group to visit the tavern and inhale the flavor of chivalry, when honor was the most important thing. Ciao,

Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina will host two trips a year to Italy with the intention of showing Italy with the eyes of a designer born in those parts and let people experience the ”wheel of emotions” don’t even know exist. She will take her groups to the non-commercial Italy, areas not beaten down by massive tourism. Valentina will guide the tours through art, architecture, food, shopping and special adventures organized for people who want to live it up!
Check out her books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Things That Changed Me| Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

12 Apr 2014 2 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #EnglandTravel, #EuropeTravel, #LondonCoventGarden, #RedVoyageIntoColors, ItalyTravel, London

I don’t know what triggered the memory of London trip to come to my mind this week, but it was sweet and nostalgic. I arrived in London in the early ‘80s all dressed up like an Italian model, constricted in the latest fashion trend dictated in Italy, soon to find out that London is about freedom of expression. Something I was not familiar in Italy, my homeland. If fashion for instance says this year the color black is in fashion, like an army of obedient soldiers, everybody will wear black whether it looks good or not, then black will show up even in home accessories, kitchen ware, (I hated the black plates when they were indeed in fashion), bathroom and bed linens, illumination and everything else.

Man in Chain

Minstrel

Street fashion

Passerby

Street rules

Bobbies at Carnaby St.

Street rules

Pub

In London all this doesn’t exist, everyone wear what they want. Carnaby St. was the center of revolutionary fashion from Mary Quant’s mini skirt we are still wearing today 50 years later to the underground music of the Rolling Stones when they played at Marquee Club and where the swinging London lived fun days. I shopped in Carnaby St. and got rid of my traditional clothes forever!

I was pleasantly enthralled with the street life and entertainment I had never seen in Italy up to that moment, except for food markets. At Covent Garden, the man in chains was really intriguing. In a minute time and without anybody’s help he untangled himself from the chains he had wrapped around his body. Street players and minstrels filled the air with fun, laughs and madrigal music from ancient England. Life in London was much more colorful in my eyes than the life I was accustomed to in Italy. Oh, how I loved the freedom in London!

Nowadays in Italy many things have changed, there are a lot of street events, entertainments, art exhibitions, music, flea markets, you name it they have it. The city administrators have realized that creating street events would increase store sales and help growing the economy, thus copied our neighboring countries and made their own street fun.

Back in England, one night at 11:00 o’clock, I crossed on a pedestrian zone with a red light. All of the sudden I heard the whistle of a Bobbie who scolded me for crossing with the red light. Where did he come from? The street was deserted, I was the only one there. I did it many times in Italy even in the traffic and nobody cared, I could not understand why I deserved a ticket and a ticket I received.
Upon my return home, trying to tell my co-nationals in Italy to respect city rules, to respect city vegetation, learn to eat different food, or dress to suit own personality was a huge undertake.

I traveled England by sleeper train from London to Scotland stopping at major places. Going toward Scotland, I fell asleep passed my stop and I didn’t get off at Inverness. When I woke up the train was at a full stop in a station.
I didn’t know where I was, for sure I must have ended up in the wrong place, I thought. The train keeper came and offered me breakfast. I was at the last station where I needed to be, they let me sleep for a while and then woke me up with breakfast of my choice. I was mesmerized of the gentle treatment I received from British people.

The England trip opened up my mind. It was my first time visiting an Anglo-Saxon country, up to that moment I had traveled in Mediterranean countries similar in customs to mine, where life is laid back, tomorrow is a better day, rules are merely suggestions and dressing up, no matter how beautiful and elegant it may be, it is always very constrictive. I was forever changed and I welcomed the changes.
What experience changed you? Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina will host one or two trips a year to Italy with the intention of showing Italy with the eyes of a designer born in those parts and let people experience the ”wheel of emotions” don’t even know exist. She will take her groups to the non-commercial Italy, areas not beaten down by massive tourism. Valentina will guide the tours through art, architecture, food, shopping and special adventures organized for people who want to live it up! Check out her books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

An Evening In Indigo Blue | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

31 Mar 2014 6 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #BonnieSmith, #BonnieSmithIndigoBlueArt, #FabricArt, #IndigoBlue, #OliveHydeArtGuild, #RedVoyageIntoColors

Artist Bonnie Smith

Thoughts of the Mind, Interpretations in Indigo

Some evenings are for learning, some evenings are for socializing and some others are for walking in the imagination of an artist to feed my mind. I met Bonnie Smith, fabric artist, through a friend and soon got interested in her fabric creations. Artists hardly do something for no reason at all, or for the pleasure of doing it. The roots of an art creations often hide other motifs than what a viewer might be interpreting.

I walked in a stark white, minimalist room at the gallery Olive Hyde Art Guild in Fremont, Ca and found a strange entanglement of blue strings. Curious and not knowing what all the blue indigo ropes hanging on the walls and sitting on the floor meant, I was compelled to ask for my learning. Modern art is hard to understand without the guide of the artist and without knowing the thoughts, the pain, or joy behind it. This art installation has a touchy personal story, something the artist shared with me in a short interview.

Bonnie: “I was raised in a small town of about 300 people in the East of US. My parents bought a beautiful property and moved there, but we had no idea we were one of the select religious group, I can freely say we are Methodist. As time passed we realized the local people would not let us buy their produce, strawberries, eggs, things they had in front of their house for sale and when we showed up to buy, they would say: “may be another day”, or “eat your dinner over there”….. It went on for a long time and didn’t get any better. Then, I remember we became members of the church and when I was baptized in that church life became easier. One day someone tapped my mother on the shoulder to invite her to the house and allowed us to buy eggs. My parents lived there for 30 years before they left. It sounds very silly, but this is where all this (referring to her art installation) comes from without realizing I had been carrying this weight with me all my life and it has affected my mother a lot for so many years. When I created this art, I explained it to my parents, 84-85 years old this year, but they just didn’t want to talk about. They are still affected by those episodes.

One day, a friend came over while I was playing around with blue indigo, she said the material felt so good in her hands and something in me just clicked. For six months I did nothing but dyeing 60,000 strings and 400 feet of cotton rope in blue indigo. It became an obsession without even knowing where I was heading. Then my youngest daughter asked me what was wrong with me using all that blue, since I don’t even like blue and never wear it. I actually started crying at that point. I explained to her that the blue reminded me of those workers’ clothes, their overalls and the jackets they wore. This is my story of these pieces. My husband created the round disk to hang them up. By the time I finished working, I realized it represents the “Tangled Web Of Thoughts” and I thought the large rope on the floor is my mind understanding as an adult”.♢

I thought the chair with the straight, jagged lines together with the blue color is well representing that stiff society and the uneasy “blue time” Bonnie grew up in.

It’s fascinating how an episode of one’s young life can stay trapped in the soul for years without any consent and then one day explodes in a form of art, finally liberating that person of all the pains.

Exhibit dates are March 16 – April 26, 2014. Where will this indigo blue go from here and will be situated as the artist intended it? Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian interior designer in business since 1990. She is passionate about colors and all expressive arts. She is a “colorist”. To her, selecting art means to bring out the best energy of her clients and nourish their soul. She is the author of her book on the subject of colors: ©Red-A Voyage Into Colors available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Inside | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

17 Mar 2014 2 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #CrepeCafé, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #SanFranciscoCrepeCafé, #SanFranciscoTravel, Inside, WordPress Weekly Challenge: Inside

Have you ever tried to see the world in a different direction, upside down or side way? Inside of a room we see our world from the ground up, but what happens if you stand on a table and look at the world from the ceiling down? The perspective will change and so will your horizon.
Last summer, my teenage nephew visiting from Italy and I went to a crêpe café in the city. He had never seen a shop like that before where the crepes are made in front of the customers with their favorite ingredients. The aroma inside of the shop coming from different iron cooking plates was sweet and the waiting was a torture.

While my nephew was watching intrigued by the ability of the people filling and churning the crepes every 3 minutes, I looked up and I saw the customers projected on the reflective ceiling.

There you go, my world in that moment was upside down inside of a crêpe shop and minutes later was inside of a sublime crêpe, poetry for the mouth. Carpe diem! The small pleasures in life are unforgettable, mine came inside of a triangle of small delights. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Thank you for stopping by and reading my feature today. I hope through my blog posts to bring some entertainment and some insights in my busy life, my cooking and everything else I do. Even with my limited time off, I still like to have fun.
Check out my books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0

Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Oscar Night Party | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

02 Mar 2014 7 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #Oscar2014, #OscarFashion, #OscarParty, #RedVoyageIntoColors

“Let’s get dressed up, bring a dish to share and let’s watch the Oscar”.
This was a common invitation to receive every year from one of my friends to watch the Oscar nominations on T.V. in her home. She is a huge fan of films and entertainment.

On the day the Oscar would play on T.V., the host of the party would roll out a red carpet outside her home entry as wide as her pathway. Her neighbors knew she was a lively person by the way she externalized her emotions. The Oscar to her was a big celebration, perhaps in another life, she had been an actress and felt a tight connection to Hollywood in this life.

The idea was to feel the heat as if we had been invited to real Oscar. On that day we went to the motion of taking super care of our appearance, we spent time to the beauty parlor, hair, nails, and make-up and we spent weeks to shop for the right dress, because at the end of the evening show on T.V. one of us among the girlfriends invited was going to win a prize for best-dressed woman. Hence it was important to play the part right and to get dressed up to the teeth.

By 5:00 pm we walked on that red carpet, not in Hollywood but in an upscale neighborhood, where we made our own public display and the neighbors had the chance to scrutinize us as if we were the stars before the show. Some women even came in a limousine, just to play the part right.

We networked in the dining room before the show to catch up with each other or meet new people, we prepared food, drink and made a mess. A soon as the show started we sat in the living room and followed the nominations marking our choices on a piece of paper. The person who had all the answers right would win a prize: a bottle of wine, a gift certificate to a shop, one hour of massage in a spa, in other words, a useful gift.

We felt glamorous in our little play and it was a way to break the routine while enjoying a common activity like watching T.V.

Five years ago the economy changed the life of a lot of people. Some of those girlfriends moved away, some lost their jobs, some got a divorce and some found a new love. The Oscar party is now a happy memory. I might just start my own!

It would be interesting tonight to see faux pas and elegance walking together on the same red carpet. I think Philomena with Judi Dench will win the Oscar. What do you think? Ciao,

Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Being born in an Italian family of artists and designers, style has surrounded my life since a young age. I do offer consultations on personal image. I am the author of three books. Get your copy of my book on colors: ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Mardi Gras Gluttony | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

23 Feb 2014 4 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #CarnevaleFood, #ItalianCarnevale, #ItalianCarnevaleFood, #MardiGrasFood, #RedVoyageIntoColors, Panzerotti

Mardi Gras, French for Fat Tuesday is the fattest day of the year that closes all the debauchery of Carnevale and precedes Lent, a time of reflection and repentance. Well, at least is good to know that after Carnevale’s excess eating, we have a second chance to return to normality and ask for forgiveness.

(Photo above: Cristina Cirasola)

What’s boiling in the caldron of gluttony? In the South of Italy, a much sought-after food for Mardi Gras is “Panzerotti” a type of pocket dough filled with anything caloric. Making panzerotti is not that difficult, the dough is the same as pizza, the filling varies. The traditional collection of panzerotti is composed of:

• Ground beef, tomatoes and mozzarella
• Four cheeses and basil leaves
• Anchovies, olives, capers and tomatoes
• Spinach, boil eggs and cheese
• Mushrooms, tomatoes and mozzarella
•Mixed cold cuts, mozzarella and tomatoes
• Mixed vegetables and ricotta
• And many more.

Get creative, but stay within the savory flavors. This is not a sweet pocket for dessert.

Panzerotti must be served hot out of the fryer, it must scald the roof of the mouth and the hands. Only then the cheeses will fuse the ingredients together and the mozzarella will string out a yard away from the mouth, transporting you in the paradise of flavors. Now, I am really talking like a glutton and yes I do enjoy being sinful.

The same thing can be done with bread dough like the picture above. In fact these two loafs of bread are stuffed with mixed cubed cold cuts, hard-boiled eggs, spinach and various cheeses.

(Photo Pacific Art League)

March 4th is the last day to indulge on fatty food and a lot of meat. On Ash Wednesday, I will start Lent, as I do every year. For forty days until Easter, I will not eat meat and this year I decided to stay away from bread as well for the entire time. This is my promise to my Supreme Being to embrace some difficulties, not eating bread for me is very hard and to be thankful for my life. This is one promise I will never break.
Are you doing something special for Mardi Gras? Dressing up in costume is appropriate. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola has been in business as an interior designer since 1990 improving people’s life by changing their spaces. Most often she designs kitchens and wine grottos; outdoor kitchens and outdoor rooms; great rooms and entertainment rooms. Her deep interest in food led her as an autodidact in the studies of food in history, natural remedies, nutrition and well-being. Finally she wrote two books on Italian regional cuisine and one book on color theory. Get your copy of Valentina’s books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Paccheri In The Face | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

02 Feb 2014 2 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #BakedPaccheriPasta, #DurumSemolinaPasta, #FootballFood, #PaccheriPasta, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #VeloutéSauce

What is cooking for the super bowl in your home? Do you have something simple, or are you going to surprise your family and friends with some special food? I have made something substantial with a remarkable taste that will linger in people’s memory: Stuffed and Baked Paccheri Pasta.

In Neapolitan patois (dialect from Naples, Italy), paccheri means a smack in the face. I guess the producer of this pasta made with durum semolina thought the excellent taste will smack people in the face. I think that’s the relation to the original word. The specialty I made only looks complicated, in reality is fast and really easy to make.

Filling:
Start with steaming the spinach in a pan covered with a lid and only a 1/4 of cup of water. In a large pan saute’ cubed Italian prosciutto or any ham you like with onion, garlic and ginger. Add steamed spinach, beat 2 eggs and mix them in. Add grated Parmigiano, nutmeg, piñoli if you have them, season with salt and pepper to your taste and stir well to amalgamate everything.

Sauce: I made a velouté of yellow tomatoes from my garden, but you can make your sauce from red tomatoes.

Saute’ 2 cloves of garlic in olive oil, add chopped red tomato, season with salt/pepper and let it cook for fifteen minutes until the tomatoes are soft.
Insert a boat motor (a type of blender that goes into the pan and chops food) in the sauce and blend the tomatoes until obtained a smooth sauce.
My yellow tomatoes gave me a very light sauce after I used the boat motor. To thicken it, I add the yolk of one egg and beat it vigorously with a whisk until I got a velvety smooth sauce called velouté.

Pasta: In salted and boiling water cook the paccheri al dente, drain and set aside to cool enough to handle them. With a small spoon stuff paccheri one by one, it will take 15-20 minutes, but at the end it will be worth. Align them in an oiled baking dish, add the sauce on top and around, sprinkle Parmigiano cheese all over and bake at 400˚F., uncovered until the top is golden brown. All the ingredients are already cooked, it will not take long to melt together.

I hope my friends will bring something good. My picture shows paccheri ready to bake. They were gone as soon as they came out of the oven. Buon appetito, ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola often designs kitchen, dining areas and wine cellars. She is in love with food and cooks every day. What a better kitchen designer than the one who cooks and knows all the needs cooks have? Her deep interest in food led her as an autodidact in the studies of food in history, natural remedies, nutrition and well-being. Robert Taitano, a friend and business associate of http://www.wine-fi.com says:
“Valentina – an International Professional Interior Designer is now giving you an opportunity to redesign your palate”. Get your copy of Valentina’s books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

New Beginning | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

21 Jan 2014 2 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #DalyCityCityHallArtShow, #MajorDavidJCanepa, #NewBeginningArtExhibit, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns, #WomeCaucusForTheArts

New Beginning is the title of the art exhibition I visited last Thursday at its inaugural day. It coincided with the inauguration ceremony for the new Mayor David J. Canepa taking a new post in the City Hall of Daly City in California.
The exhibit “New Beginning” will be open from Jan. 16 through Mar. 31, 2014 featuring twenty-two artists, members of the Peninsula Chapter of Women’s Caucus for Art. Many of the exhibitors are painters and a few others are fabric artists, photographers, sculptors and mixed media artists.

All the creations are vibrant, so different from one another and so characteristic. The furniture pieces are extravagant and colorful showing the strong artist’s personality; the water colors are serene and showing limpid waters; the abstracts painting are… yes, very abstract and pull the viewers into the canvas; the acrylic painted grass has a natural movement; the photographs freeze moments in time; the fabric art is highly expressive and there are even ex-rayed chess pieces transferred on canvas. The whole collection is amazing and it will really put some rhythm in the stark hall of the City Hall office building until March 31, 2014.

It All Begins Here-Nancy Woods

Seated Woman-Rebecca Lambing

Elevation – Beate Amler

White Crossing-Marie LaPrade

New_Beginnings_Poster- Maryan Yap

Waves-Annamaria Kusber

Blue Beach-Alysanne McGaffey

Making Friends-Ellen Lee

Onward-Rebecca Lambing

Hollyhocks-Yvonne Newhouse

As a foreigner I can’t help thinking about what mature but young-at-heart women can do in this country, they are unstoppable! But this is me coming from a different latitude, always making comparisons with my country, where most of the women in their 50s are done with life and do not push themselves to strive for more. It is an inspiration to all, our fantasy has no age, it can only grow better, stronger and colorful. My grandmother Pasqua, to whom I dedicated my first book said: “Life evolves until the last moment”.
With this in mind and the inspiration from the art exhibition, I will make sure my life and the life of people I touch is always a “New Beginning”.

Note: The Women’s Caucus was found in 1972 in connection with the College Art Association, WCA a national organization of multi-disciplines and multicultural artists, museums professional, art historians and educators, with the mission to expand opportunities for women in the arts. Marian Yap www.marianyap.com and Bonnie J. Smith http://bonniesmith.vpweb.com are the curators for the “New Beginning” art exhibition.

If you are closer to Daly City, please visit the City Hall on the 3rd floor. The art is for sale and the contact information of each artist is next to each art piece. Wishing Mayor David J. Canepa many terms in his post and Ad Majora to all the artists.
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian interior designer in business since 1990. She is passionate about colors and all expressive arts. She is a “colorist”. To her, selecting art means to bring out the best energy of her clients and nourish their soul. She is the author of her book on the subject of colors: ©Red-A Voyage Into Colors available on
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