The Good Life | Valentina Expressions

Winter Food | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

21 Jan 2016 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #ComfortFood, #LowCaloriesFood, #PugliaFood, #StuffedCabbage, #ValentinaCirasolaAuthor, #VegetableStuffedCabbage, #WinterFood

Fire is on, red wines show their characters through the ruby coloration, days are mostly grey, in some parts of the world even snows and in my home it’s time for comfort food, winter food, healthy food, warm and filling food with whatever the market offers. Today, I am presenting stuffed cabbage with tuna, chickpeas, spinach, brown rice, eggs and spices. It seems to have had a good response among my friends. This is a good recipe to get rid of leftovers, it can be done with other ingredients as well, such as ground meat, mashed potatoes, white rice, quinoa, all vegetables with cheese and no grain and so on, all depend on your fantasy. It is also low in calories.
Set aside a couple of hours of your time, if you are fast in the kitchen it might take less time.

I am not going to give you quantities, this is a free-form specialty, more ingredients you assemble more baking pans you will fill up. It’s all good stuff. Keep in the freezer the portions you don’t use in one dinner for those days when cooking is not on your list and still want to offer the family something delicious to eat. A large cabbage will give you a good number of large leaves to stuff.

In salted water parboil all the cabbage leaves, one by one for about 3-4 minute each. The salt will prevent discoloration through the process and your leaves will stay a vivid green even after the baking. Lay them on a towel to dry.
Wash the spinach in the quantity you need and sauté with garlic and olive oil. Drain the juice that forms and save it for later. Squeeze the spinach of all juices and pat dry.
Boil the brown rice or cook it in rice cooker, I mixed in saffron, parsley and olive oil.
If you don’t have chickpeas already cooked, the canned type is OK too, but drain the salted juice in the can and wash the chickpeas in abundant current water.
Drain the can tuna from the water and crumble it with a fork. Fresh tuna is better of course.
****
Now, in a very large bowl assemble all the ingredients: brown rice, tuna, chickpeas, spinach, 2-3 beaten eggs and some spices you like. Add a small amount of Parmigiano cheese, just for binding, season to your liking with salt and pepper. Mix well. Eliminate the hard spine of the leaf, it doesn’t bend well and set aside for a different dish later. With a spoon fill each cabbage leaf, roll and make a package. In the bottom of a baking dish put a small amount of that juice obtained from sautéing the spinach, align each package, on top add tomatoes sauce (passata) or peeled tomatoes, a swirl of olive oil and a small amount of Parmigiano cheese.
Bake uncovered at 400˚ F until the top is golden brown, maybe 20 minutes, depending on your oven. Serve warm.

If you have leftover stuffing, turn it into a frittata and you have another good meal assured. Buon Appetito!

In my home cooking is an important everyday experience. It doesn’t matter what our profession is, when it’s time to eat we change hats and turn into demanding chefs. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Copyright © 2016 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved
Valentina Cirasola is the designer who cooks. She has a deep interest in food that led her as an autodidact in the studies of food in history, natural remedies, nutrition, well-being and learning food of the world. She wrote two books on Italian regional cuisine and one book on color theory, in which she included one recipe for each color. Get your copy of Valentina’s books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

The Coldness Of The Day After | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

28 Dec 2015 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #ChristmasInItaly, #NaplesItaly, #NaplesNativityScenes, #NaplesSanGregorioArmeno, #NativityScenes, #SanGregorioArmeno

Christmas decorations are down, twinkling lights are off, people have fallen into the Pacific Ocean, so it seems. This is the scenario two days after Christmas, the neighborhood is in a spectral silence and no sign of life anywhere. Christmas is over along with the stress, the rush of this month and the screaming sales. Walking in my neighborhood feels cold and lonely.

Nativity Scene

Ancient City View

Figurines

Butcher Store Scene

Modern Scene

(All photo credits given to the respective owners – found on: Trip Advisor and napolidavivere.it)

If I reel my memory back in my past and my life growing up in Italy I see a totally different view. In Naples, one of the things I enjoyed doing was to stroll down Via San Gregorio Armeno, one of the most artistic area of the city where an array of shops offer Christmas nativity scenes (Presepi) designed and built all year around. The street takes the name from San Gregorio Armeno, a monastery-church built in the 10th century over the remains of a Roman temple located in the same area.
The street is full of people looking for particular objects or the small missing piece to the nativity scene at home. Each artist creates his own detailed figurines made of clay or wood. Besides the typical religious figurines of Jesus, the Madonna, St. Joseph and the three Wise Men, there are figurines representing caricature of political figures, well-known people, actresses and actors, famous sport people, reproduction of food, animals, household objects and of course architectural details, such as fountains, pediments, balconies, columns, stairs, courtyards or even entire homes with lights and sounds inside. The nativity scenes reproduce ancient views in Bethlehem faithful to history, or modern views of today’s cities and they are all hand-made!!!

The street is joyous with laughter, loud voices, colorful people, creative store owners and visitors who stroll down the street to digest the long Christmas dinner, which in Italy lasts three days. However during the year all artists in that area continue to work on their nativity scenes adding new pieces and creating new themes. It will never feel cold and deserted the day after Christmas.
In every Italian homes in Italy, Christmas decorations and nativity mangers go down after Jan. 6th, celebrating the arrival of the three Wise Men to the grotto where Jesus was born bringing him precious gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Jan. 6th closes all Christmas celebrations with gifts given only to kids to symbolize that event.

I only wish the art of San Gregorio Armeno will survive through today’s technology. It is a centuries old art handed down from father to son and it is there to enjoy all year round. 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” they 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, fashion, food-wines, 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

My Food Is Not Only For Cooking | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

04 Dec 2015 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #BeautyProductsMadeFromFood, #FoodAsBeautyProducts, #FoodAsMedicine, #GreenBeautyProducts, #HowToUseFoodAsCosmetics, #OrganicBeautyProducts, #WhatToDoWithLemons

Fortunate kid I was to have known all eight of my grandparents and great grandparents. My memories with them are grand. They gave a lot of love to us kids but not material things. They were playful and often stern. They lived through two great wars, depressions and life adversities and never lost a sense of direction or a flair for life. Unconsciously they thought us how to save, reuse, upcycle and make it do with what we had. Creating my skin care from kitchen products has been one of my grandparents’ teaching. Following their examples I have made a lot of their suggestions and created my own.

A daily skin-care regimen is necessary more than the occasional visit to the spa for a special facial treatment. All women want to look young and vibrant with a natural skin glow. As we age unfortunately it takes an extra effort to maintain a beautiful skin. Before I go into the details, it goes without saying that a healthy diet plays the main role in maintaining a glowing skin. No fried food, no processed food, no refined sugars, eliminate heavy consumption of salt and drink plenty water daily. Drink the “spirits” and smoke sensibly if you must. To this add plenty rest, eliminate stress and protect your skin from the element of weather. Skin is a filtering system, designed to keep toxins out and let oxygen and nutrients in, moisturizing it daily is like creating a barrier between you and the pollutant floating in the air, which can deplete the antioxidant system of the skin causing premature aging.

Please understand I make absolutely no claim to cure any skin diseases. If your skin has serious problems a visit to the dermatologist is a MUST.

Milk is one of the vitamins our skin needs. Cleopatra bathed in the milk of donkey and so did my grandmother. Many times she put me in the free-standing bathtub full of that white stuff I didn’t like and we bathed together.

Make a Face Detergent:
Plain Yogurt (no flavors, no fruit in it) about 1 cup
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
4-5 drops of essential oil: chamomile, eucalyptus or lavender
2 drops of oil enriched with vitamin E
Mix, apply to face, neck and hands (if you like) and rub, wash with warm cloth and splash cold water on the skin. Keep it refrigerated in a glass container for no more than 10 days. On this site you can find a variety of pure essential oils. (I am not an affiliate of this site, it is merely a suggestion. You are welcome to find you own essential oils) http://www.anandaapothecary.com/essential-oils-a-to-j2.html

Make a Face-Body Exfoliant:
2 Cups of brown sugar
3 Espresso cups of ground coffee
1/2 Cup of olive oil
1/4 Cup honey
Whisk, well and apply the goop to the face and/or all over body. Rub it, rinse with warm water, then splash cold water. I assure you will have a silk face-body skin.

Make Body-Hands Scrub:
Coarse sea salts make a variety of body-hand scrubs. Just add olive oil, lemon juice (orange, lime or tangerine juice OK), fresh lavender and rosemary. You can mix in also the grated peels of any citrus fruit. Keep it refrigerated. If you like coconut oil, please use it in substitution of olive oil. You will not even need a cream after this application.

Make a Face Mask:
1 Avocado
1 Egg albumen beaten
Grated lemon peel
Grated Ginger
Make a paste, spread it on face, keep it on 15-20 minutes, wash with warm cloth and then splash cold water.

Get Rid Of Oily Hair:
Beat lemon and egg yolk, apply to hair, keep it on for 30-45 minutes, then use a shampoo for normal hair. Repeat treatment once a week. Your hair will become very luminous and will lose the greasy look.

Tan With Beer:
Pour, spray or brush any dark beer all over body and drink some, why not? You will tan easily and get a natural golden color. Beer has no sun protection so you need to stay in the sun less time, but the tan effect is quicker.

Fight Constipation:
First Solution – Olive oil stimulates the digestive system and kicks it into gear. Take a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil on an empty stomach first thing in the morning, then every 3-4 hours until it happens. Some people don’t like to drink olive oil, add a teaspoon of lemon juice.
Second Solution – mix 2-3 teaspoons of pink rock salt and/or baking soda in a cup of warm water, squeeze the juice of ½ lemon. Drink on empty stomach and wait until it happens.

Fight Stomach Acidity:
Baking soda is an acidic salt. Add a spoon of baking soda in a cup of warm water, allow it to fizz to expel carbon-di-oxide, then drink up and burp.
Ginger mixed in food helps stomach acidity; banana contains potassium, it helps alleviating acid reflux; eating 4-5 almonds at night will also help this problem.

Treat Cracked Heels:
Grind a handful of uncooked rice until you get coarse flour. Add a few spoons of honey to the mixture with apple cider vinegar enough to obtain a thick paste. If the cracks are very deep, add a spoon of olive oil. Soak feet for 20 minutes in warm water and gently massage with this paste until feet become smoother. Rinse and use your favorite cream.

House Cleaning Without Detergents:
Soak orange peels in vinegar for two weeks in a sealed mason jar then pour the vinegar into a spray bottle. Use it as for any surfaces. It smells so fresh.
Lemons – after using lemons in your food, use the peel to clean kitchen and bath plumbing fixtures. Water marks will disappear, metals will shine and the room will smell deliciously fresh.
Lemon tree branches are beautiful when decorated for the holidays and smell good if you burn them in the fireplace.

My Lemon Tree

These are only a few suggestions, my repertoire is huge. My kitchen is a great source for beauty products and cleaning agents as my grandparents taught me. They lived a long life, perhaps their world was not polluted and simpler, or perhaps the food they ate was healthier and also simpler. We must protect ourselves from the industry pushing food that are more and more artificial, but mostly we must find time to create good food and other products using food instead of chemicals. My food is not only for cooking.

Time is now, remodel your “exterior” and make it ready for spring. 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, in which she included one recipe for each color. Get your copy of Valentina’s books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

French Friday – Art Nouveau

09 Oct 2015 2 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life

I am reposting this blog for the WordPress weekly photo challenge, theme Boundaries. Art Nouveau style made heads turn at its time but I think it is one of the most beautiful style ever invented. Enjoy this reading….

Life is too short to drink bad wine

Voted best facade in Paris 1901, the front door of the building caused scandal when on closer inspection the door clearly represented male “rude bits”.

I would like to take an opportunity to celebrate Siegfried Bing, an enterprising German chappie whose shop, Maison de l’Art Nouveau gave the name to the entire art and design movement at the turn of the previous century.

He began his career importing Japanese items to Paris and published a monthly journal, Le Japon Artistique, which influenced people like Gustav Klimt and was crucial to the Japanese influence on the new artistic style.

His store was no cheap bargain mart, Henry van de Velde designed the interior of the gallery, while Louis Comfort Tiffany supplied stained glass. Bing then filled it with exquisite items ranging from fabrics designed by William Morris, glassware by Tiffany, jewellery by Edward Colonna, paintings by Édouard Vuillard, ceramics by Rookwood…

View original post 285 more words

Through The Grid | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

21 Sep 2015 11 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #MateraCaveLiving, #MateraSassi, #PugliaArchitecture, #PugliaExperience, #PugliaTravel, #WordPressPhotChallengeGrid, https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/grid/

Lunch is just over, fish was so fresh it was still moving in the basket when we ordered it for our afternoon repast. The Verdeca white wine typical of Puglia, served very chilled and smooth was delicious, we could have drunk many bottles if we didn’t have to be on the road continuing our trip. We should be heading towards Matera, but we are still lingering in the corner café between a coffee mousse and after dinner drinks. Life in these parts moves on slow motion, some of the people in my group are having a hard time adjusting to a quieter time of this region.

Traveling through the calm countryside of Puglia, a two-way provincial road, we occasional pass a three-wheeled Vespa truck or an agriculture horse and carriage, while almond and olive trees fill our view all the way there. The sun is lulling. Singing along with “Mimmo Lovely” and his music we finally reach Matera, about 50 km. away from Puglia. We park the car and adventure in a short walk to the nearby center town, through fancy boutiques and utilitarian shops. (Click on each photo to view it larger)

The historic Piazza Vittorio Veneto was built between the 1600 and 1700 in a mixture of Romanesque and Baroque architectural styles that was literally propped on a flat surface over the “Sassi”, the ancient stone residences of Matera. The new bourgeoisie buildings, churches, and monasteries built on a flat surface above buried the caves houses, shops, wine cellars, and cisterns underground. Looking down through the grid in Piazza Vittorio Veneto near the fountain it is not so clear that underneath a modern center town pavement there is a huge ancient city of more than 5400 sq. feet, which extends all the way to the convent of the Annunziata and its foundations include a tower once part of the Castello Tramontano. The ancient underground town hides residences in the caves, shops, warehouses, snow storage and a huge water cistern 49 feet tall with a capacity of containing over 132,000 gallons of water.

Restoration began in early 1990 bringing to light the ancient underground town, part of which we can visit now. Above the underground town a road has been opened to allow visitors to be taken by the view of original homes of the 1700s built in a highly refined style with the purpose of hiding and contrast the cave residences once only considered a disgrace to the town of Matera and now winding below our feet with its maze of neighborhoods, streets, and stairways, asking to be protected.

Don’t wait too long to see Matera, Puglia, and surrounding areas. Major publications in the world are writing about the area and tourists are flocking along with Hollywood actors who are filming and purchasing properties for their originality and the mystical energy those dwellings emanate. You will feel being pulled towards to earth.

If you are thinking of venturing in Puglia check out my Puglia page – https://valentinaexpressions.com/trips-to-puglia-2/. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinaexpressions.com/trips-to-puglia-2/

This post is in response to this week WP photo challenge – https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/grid/

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 lives of people traveling with me. The trips I organize are made for people who want to live it up in Puglia! In my books about Puglia cuisine, readers will find many easy recipes to follow at home. Check out my books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

One Day In October | Valentina Cirasola |Author and Designer

09 Sep 2015 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #BambooGarden, #JapaneseTemples, #JapanTravel, #Kyoto, #TeaCeremony, #ValentinaCirasolaAuthor, #VisitingJapan

Listen to your life talking! In a warm October day, I was cooped up in my studio working away. The sun was shining low, the autumn warm and soft wind came in the window and yellowish light filled my studio. I could hear the birds singing in my orange tree. I looked up and thought: “What am I doing here?”.

I turned the page on my computer and went on a travel site looking for a reasonable ticket to Japan. As soon as I found it, I called my friend in Japan, not caring what time of the day could have been over there. It was daytime and she was at home. I only asked her if she was going to be at home from this day… to this day. She said yes and asked why? I just told her to wait for me, I was going to visit here. Click, I hung up the phone and as fast as I could count 1-2-3, I was on that plane to Japan.

In the Samurai village restaurant

In Kyoto

Tea Ceremony Garden

Fabric shop in Kyoto

Bamboo Forest – Kyoto

Temple in Kyoto

Train ride to Kyoto

Samurai village

Private home – Kyoto

I knew I had arrived in Osaka, when I looked at signs and nothing was written in English. What now? Leaving the plane I realized I had not confirmed the dates of my arrival with my friend, I didn’t have her phone number and neither her address with me. I should have panicked but I didn’t, there is always a solution to everything. I followed the crowd to the exit and there she was with her husband waiting for me with a beautiful bouquet of roses in her hands. How did she know? Her answer remained impressed in my mind: “When Valentina says she comes, Valentina comes”. In her simple English, it was her way of telling me I am a reliable person and I mean what I say. What a great salutation on my first moment in Japan!!!

All the other days evolved in a great fun, friendship, loving local food, discovering local customs, folklore, full immersion in their traditions, and celebrating every moment.

The highlight of my trip to Japan was Kyoto. I was catapulted in Medieval Japan. It is ancient, traditional, true to the culture, small artisan shops, a respectful silence permeated the town, no noisy modern commercial billboards and blinding city lights, people are on bicycles, kimono shops with amazing fabric designs, traditional food and romantic street red lanterns. It felt just right.
One of the guys friend of my friends made a bond with me. He ate off my bowl and apparently that gesture is done between two people who know each other very well. He did it with me, a stranger and a foreigner, it meant a lifetime friendship bonds us now. I like that.

If your work allows it, free your time, take a vacation, even a small week, your soul and mind will appreciate it. Even the fastest racecar needs to stop at a pit stop. Listen to your life talking!
What surprise this coming October will reserve you? 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 trots the world and loves to write travel notes, from which she draws inspiration to design home interiors of her clients .
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

Beneath My Feet | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

14 Aug 2015 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #BreadTomato, #Bruschetta, #https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/beneath-your-feet/, #ItalianFood, #ItalianHomeCooking, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #WordPressPhotChallengeUnderYourFeet

Beneath my feet usually there is a beautiful floor. I am one of those designers proposing clients stone flooring instead of wall-to-wall carpet. I tell them about the versatility of stones, the easy care and low maintenance stone require, how easy it is to live with stones and how much more hygienic stones are versus carpet.

In my home I have a warm, beautiful terracotta tiles floor, but when I go out to my garden, I walk on grass, gravel, weeds, stepping-stones and around all of that there is the food I grow. I cultivate many vegetables, fruit and a variety of tomatoes, which are as sweet as candy. Some years my tomatoes come in a great abundance and I make a ton of sauce for the winter, turn them in sun-dried tomatoes, I use them for salads, or eat them off the vines like fruit. In fact tomato is a fruit and not a vegetable.

One of the foods I have eating since my early days of life and keep on eating to these days is bread and tomatoes. Some people call it bruschetta, but the type I eat is really bread and tomato. Bruschetta is a toasted or grilled sliced bread, with a garlic spread and a lot of toppings. For my bread and tomato, I only need a fresh crusty bread, type of ciabatta or Pugliese style, basil leaves, olive oil, sea salt, fresh chili pepper and of course tomatoes. I open the bread roughly, not even with a knife, split open the tomatoes on top of the bread allowing all the juices to penetrate the bread. I season it with salt, chili pepper, basil leaves and a generous swirl of extra virgin olive oil. Done! I eat it open face and not as a sandwich. Next to it, a piece of Italian Gorgonzola cheese is always welcomed. This is often my breakfast or lunch.

Sometimes, I spend hours creating gourmet food that have appearance and taste of a five-star dish and guess what? To me nothing will ever compare to bread and tomato.

I always wonder why such a simple type of food with so few poor ingredients taste so divine and it is so filling? The answer is in the land, the sun and singing to the vines. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

This is my participation to WordPress photo challenge. https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/beneath-your-feet/

Valentina Cirasola is the designer who cooks. She has a deep interest in food that led her as an autodidact in the studies of food in history, natural remedies, nutrition, well-being and learning food of the world. She wrote two books on Italian regional cuisine and one book on color theory, in which she included one recipe for each color. Get your copy of Valentina’s books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Objects | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

25 Jul 2015 2 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #FingerFood, #MixedNuts, #PeanutDish, #Peanuts, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns, #WarmNuts

The object I buy for my home must have a double function: be stylish and useful. One without the other for me is always a deterrent from buying on impulse. Last month, I was browsing in a home décor store for new ideas and found a cute white ceramic peanut dish with a texture of a peanut imprinted on the exterior surface. I am a lover of warm nuts served with a glass of red wine or a cold beer regardless of the season. I think the taste is enhanced when nuts are warm.

As you all know nuts are a good source of protein and they are a type of sociable food, you cannot have only one nut without having a few more, while conversation flows and time passes in good company. They are perfect munchies for playing cards, watching a film or visiting with friends. In my house often I serve warm nuts at the end of a dinner with a cheese selection.

The peanut dish looks like a giant peanut. It is oven, microwave and dishwasher safe. It makes a great gift for any occasion at the magic price of only $7.95, available at any local and online CB2 stores, made in China…. oh well…..

Before presenting it to someone as a gift, fill it up with mixed nuts and put a nice bow around it, or create a good looking package.

This discovery could have not happened at a better time, in fact as soon as august hits, I keep my eyes open for gifts to people I want to reward at the holidays, thus I will stock a few of them now.
There you have it a useful and stylish home object, which looks good as table center piece even when not in use. How many objects do you have in your home that have a double function? Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Copyright © 2015 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved
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.  She offers design consultations on-line through Skype and the traditional in-house consultations, helping people with their design challenge anywhere in the world. She is the author of three books, all-available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Freedom And Food On Bastille Day | Valentina Cirasola |Author and Designer

15 Jul 2015 4 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #14JulyBastilleDay, #2015MilanExpo, #BastilleDay, #FrenchNationalDay, #FrenchPavilion2015Expo

The fourteenth of July is Bastille Day, a day that commemorates the start of the French Revolution with the goal of restoring freedom and unity of the French people. On July 14th, 1789 revolutionaries stormed the fortress prison Bastille known for holding political prisoners whose writings had displeased the royal government. Bastille Day is celebrated globally both by France and her former colonies, as well as many cities in the US.

Today at Milan Expo, the international food fair, at the French Pavilion the French are celebrating their National Day (Fête National – 14 Juliet) singing the Marseillaise, their National Anthem, tasting fantastic French traditional food and dancing at Le Bistrot du Lion with DJ Breakbot, author of famous song “Baby I’m yours”.

At the Pavilion of France before the Food Truck Peugeot, visitors can meet breeders of Lacaune race sheep and indulge in unusual taste experiences of the Roquefort for apéritif as well as for dinner. They will discover how to accompany cheese in many surprisingly different ways. A brick bread oven has been installed for the preparation of the famous French baguette and crispy, buttery croissants.

The central theme of 2015 Milan Expo is: “Feed The Planet, Energy For Life”. For six months visitors will enjoy tasting food of 140 countries that will show the best of their technology in guaranteeing healthy, safe and sufficient food for everyone, while respecting the planet and its equilibrium. Here all the countries will talk about the problems of nutrition, the resources of our planet, promotion of sustainable agriculture, promotion of the pleasure of cooking with balanced nutrition and how can we feed the world today and tomorrow.

Look inside the French pavilion.

Meanwhile since it is a French celebration, visitors of the Expo should indulge in French food in all its forms. Happy National Day to all the French people, enjoy the celebration of freedom from oppression. Tonight for dinner: pâte brisée tart with roasted vegetables, brie and ham with a nice bordeaux. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola, is the designer who cooks. She has a deep interest in food that led her as an autodidact in the studies of food in history, natural remedies, nutrition, well-being and learning food of the world. She wrote two books on Italian regional cuisine and one book on color theory, in which she included one recipe for each color. Get your copy of Valentina’s books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Lunch In Orange | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

24 Apr 2015 2 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #CookingWithColors, #CookingWithFruit, #CookingWithOranges, #OrangeAppetizers, #OrangeTableSetting, #RedVoyageIntoColors

What do you do when you have so many oranges falling off the tree in your backyard? The most common thing people would do is a batch of orange marmalade to keep for the winter. Some people would make orange cakes, cookies, tarts, or eat the oranges directly from the tree. They are so delicious, fresh and sweeten the day. What if you have a group of friends who wants to cook with you and “hangs from your lips” sort of speaking to learn everything you know about cooking with oranges? That’s what happened to me last weekend. A bunch of friends gathered in someone’s house with a large kitchen to cook with me. We were at Gioia Co. https://www.facebook.com/gioiaitalianartandproducts

The incredible aromas and flavors filled the kitchen during the two hours we cooked together. We bonded through stories of our childhood, food comparison, history of food, table customs and of course my anecdotes from Puglia came alive again putting a happy sparkle in everybody’s eyes.

A few days before we got together, I gave the hostess a suggested color scheme for the table. “The way you do one thing is the way you do everything” one of my business coaches said once.

Colors are very important to me, they are the focus of any project. I like infuse the right color energy in people sitting at the table, but that’s not all. A good energy comes from a few decorations (food is still the center of attention), from the right light if it is an evening affair, from an attractive or extravagant table setting and since the subject was cooking with oranges, the best color to pair was turquoise energy. The hostess went out of her way to find decorations to make her table stand out. The shells with orange and turquoise accents decorated the table well.

The food was incredible! We indulge with orange appetizers and prosecco, a salad of tomatoes, orange and olive, chicken roasted with oranges and hearty spices from my garden and a side dish of braised fennel in orange sauce. Dinner finished with an orange sorbet accompanied by orange home-made cookies. The food was easy to prepare, everyone introduced to food from Puglia for the first time was so shocked to see how simple food retained such huge flavors. Nothing remained for the next day, my friends polished off everything.

Orange Appetizer

Tomatoes, Orange Salad

Table Setting

Chicken Roasted With Oranges

Braised Fennel in Orange Sauce

However, I must say, I was very much surprised to learn that all the people in the group buy chicken already cut up in pieces and not a whole chicken. In the name of convenience and saving time, I guess people prefer the industry or machineries to process their food for them, sacrificing quality and health. However, my hope is alive, I am sure to have shown them cooking at home is not a chore, but a fun way to keep healthy. Next time figs will be on stage.

Tomatoes and Orange Salad is almost a non recipe, but here it is:
Cherry tomatoes split in half, oranges peeled and quartered, Calamata olives, red onion finely sliced, garlic finely chopped, basil leaves or mint, olive oil, salt and black pepper to your taste. Mix well and you will have a salad to die for. Ciao,
Valentina

http://www.valentinadesigns.com