Monday 31 January 2011

A giraffe in St Marks Square

...in Italy it is almost carnival time, and during the carnival in Venice it is quite easy to bump into a giraffe in St. Mark's Square. I took this photo a few years ago while enjoying the surreal fun of the Venetian carnival.

Saturday 22 January 2011

Far Breton

Mum and I decided to bake a traditional cake from Brittany, the Far Breton. I think it is one of the easiest and fastest cakes to prepare and it is utterly delicious! I found the recipe at www.epicurious.com

Here is the direct link to the recipe:
www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Far-Breton-231583

Blurred frost


Sunny from the ground


Frost on the grass


Like icing sugar IV


Early yesterday morning...


Like icing sugar III


Tuesday 18 January 2011

Monday 10 January 2011

Trees like sculptures III


Trees like sculptures...


Pale yellow on white


Looking in-the potting shed series


Inside the potting shed


The details I love....


By the French windows-the Autumn series


Thursday 6 January 2011

The flowers I decided to keep


Defying gravity...


During the black out...

...yesterday am we had no electricity for four hours, but we kept busy and our "plan B" was to try this recipe that involves left over panettone, ricotta cheese, chocolate chips and a generous sprinkle of Marsala wine. After an agonising wait, (the zuccotto had to settle in the freezer overnight), finally today at lunch we tucked in, (we behaved, we only had a fairly thin slice), and we were utterly please with the end result.

The recipe is very easy: slice the panettone, mix 500 gr. of ricotta cheese with 125 gr. caster sugar and 2 tablespoons of double cream. Then add the chocolate chips and raisins.

Get a glass bowl, put some cling film inside the bowl and make sure you leave enough cling film over the edge of the bowl because you will need to fold it over the bottom of the prepared zuccotto.
Now you are ready to start layering the base and all around with a first row of panettone, sprinkle with Marsala wine, or ideally with Vin Santo. Pour the ricotta cheese-sugar mix on top, then as you would do when preparing lasagna, add another layer of panettone, more Marsala sprinkled quite generously and again the ricotta cheese-sugar mix on top.

With the dome-like top of the panettone you seal the cake, press down firmly and hold it in place with something heavy. Put the zuccotto in the freezer for at least 12 hours.

When ready to serve, turn the glass bowl upside down on a plate, easy the zuccotto out of the glass bowl and sprinkle with cocoa powder.

Zuccotto is utterly delicious! Try it for yourselves and enjoy! Bon appetit!

Tuesday 4 January 2011

Can you too...

..see a profile here? I see a nose, a forehead and a bizarre headgear: it could be a magic elf wearing a pointed hat and he is looking from behing the tree, good for me that I caught him just in time!