#FingerFood | Valentina Expressions

Asparagus Elegance | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

Some people eat asparagus with hands, as if they were finger food, a few properly cut asparagus with fork and knives, and a hand full of people know the existence of a special tool to eat asparagus with elegance. It is the asparagus tongue, with three rings comfortably positioned to insert fingers, pick up the asparagus from the plate and bring them the mouth one by one.
I adore this tool, it is elegant and a piece of conversation on the table. My set is silver and comes from Italy, but Amazon sells the stainless-steel version, practical and at a very inexpensive price. Why not taking advantage? https://goo.gl/Vj9TFy

(Click on each photo to view it larger)

One person said that she has always eaten asparagus with the hands, why bothered with another kitchen tool? Sure, anything is possible. In fact, in Barcelona, I saw a woman sitting at a counter of a tapas bar eating her entire tapas dinner with the hands. It wasn’t a spectacle I liked to watch, but hey, I was observing and couldn’t help writing a travel note of that.
Since the invention of the fork, a gentler, cleaner way of eating became customary and people stopped knife stabbing their food morsels to bring them to the mouth with the tip of the knife.

However, it seems to me we have gone back to eating casually with the hands. At parties and meetings, we are served finger food because they are convenient. Most people eat French fries with hands, pick up shrimps with the hands to dip in Marinara sauce, touch chips and dips with hands, eat short ribs and fried chicken with hands, grab crackers from the pile to add a piece of cheese on them, strawberries and grapes are always near the cheeses ready to be picked up with the hands and with a plethora of sandwiches variety who needs fork and knife? Some people would say. This is what I call the returning of historical courses.

The role of a designer doesn’t stop at placing new furniture in the room, slapping colors on the walls, selecting fabrics, or moving walls to enlarge a kitchen. We claim to bring harmony and beauty in people’s life, I believe the role of a designer is to inform and to introduce new elegance even in customs and societal behavior. What is an elegant designed home without a person showing an elegant behavior? Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

It’s my hope that through my writing and my stories I am enriching your aesthetic sensibility towards design, style and inspiring you to live in beauty. I have loved my profession as an interior-fashion designer since 1990.
I am here ready to offer consultations on-line if you need. Check out my latest book on the subject of colors ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB

Objects | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

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