Japanese fabric & KANOKO dots tape

my other addiction...Japanese fabrics. As I saw the new ASAGOHAN series I knew I would end up ordering it from my favourite (and only) fabric 'pusher'. This time I was lucky enought and received the parcel without custom taxes on it (le ultime parole famose...). In addiction, I could buy two KANOKO dots masking tapes. I'll use them to cheer up my moleskine agenda for 2010 or to mark something in it. Not very creative but anyway...I like it!

dark grey & teal striped scarf

striped scarf! I needed something very simple to knit in the evening while watching tv or listening to music. I love these two colors together. Teal color is the Italian 'ottanio' (did you know that?..from Wiki: The color gets its name from the fact that it surrounds the eyes of the common teal, a member of the duck family.)

Addictions

I have a problem with food containers and lunch boxes...like with bags (and Japanese fabrics...), I seem to have never enought of them!

these are two clip&close food containers I bought on Saturday, with smaller containers inside (seldom available here in Italy...)

the one on the left for me is 670 ml but the two small containers are 250 + 250 > 500 ml (perfect for my diet! shoud fill one with vegetables and the other with rice/grains & legumes/fish/tofu )

the one on the right is for my boyfriend and hold 1100ml (!!!) but the three containers inside are 340ml + 150ml + 150 ml > 640 ml

the perfect lunch boxes to be taken on trips, as they are airtight and never let one drop of food out!

Tuesday 1 Dec. bento

tomorow's lunch box (I bought the box for 1.90 € in the nearby household goods shop, happy!) from left: sauteed red potatoes with fresh thyme | spinach with sesame and tamari dressing | one egg tamagoyaki with a little of pecorino cheese

Today's menu - Mon.30 November

Today's menu is a new category, inspired by one of my favourite websites, Yasukosan Home cooking (because I love sushi, but more than anything else I love and cherish Japanese people and the taste of Japanese home-cooking! and at Yasuko's there is the cat Poco!) and very useful to be more conscious about my eating habits (well, I need to loose weight, this is the ugly truth!)

BREAKFAST --- green tea | rice cakes with figs jam filling (Probios Cuori di riso)
LUNCH   --- spaghetti with spinach and bacon
BETWEEN MEALS --- apple | rice cakes with figs filling
DINNER --- home-made sour bread with caprino cheese (goat's fresh cheese) | spinach with sesame and tamari dressing

cuori di riso ai fichi (Organic rice cakes with figs jam filling | gluten-free)

autumn

autumn

Totoro

a new item of my Totoro collection!

Twilight New Moon

Twilight New Moon was released here in Italy on 18th November and I got my Bella's St Jude bracelet just in time for the movie! I'll go and enjoy it again this afternoon...once is not enought (nor twice will be!)

che poi, a dirla tutta, non ero neppure la più grande, al cinema: alcune mamme di adolescenti accompagnate dalla prole (anzi, il contrario) con aria più che altro rassegnata (cosa mi tocca fare per assecondare l'ormone impazzito di mia figlia quindicenne), alcune mamme di adolescenti che, sfruttando il loro ruolo di 'mamma che accompagna la figlia adolescente dall'ormone impazzito', se n'erano venute al cinema con il solo scopo di godersi il film (e tutto l'ambaradan di adolescenti licantropi senza maglietta) ed il solito vecchietto che bazzica i cinema di provincia (ogni cittadina ha il suo) e si sorbisce qualsiasi film, dai 'classici' natalizi dei Vanzina alle rassegna di cinema mozambicano. la cosa più strana, però, sono le amiche coetanee. gli sguardi, ed i sorrisi a metà ironici, delle amiche coetanee. forse sarà l'influsso sbobistico del primo cittadino della città lagunare che aleggia e condiziona tutto - forse anche loro? - ad aver 'relegato' la proiezione di New Moon al cinema del Lido  - perché al Giorgione si proiettano solo film da mostra del cinema - ma ancora non mi spiego perché sia socialmente accettabile che un adulto vada al cinema a vedere un film Disney (che bello, cos'è, la poetica del fanciullino che ci hanno insegnato a scuola? il Peter Pan che alberga in ognuno di noi?) e sia invece ridicolizzato se si appassiona ad una saga che lo riporta all'adolescenza. misteri dell'età adulta. io, torno al cinema anche oggi, e sospetto che non sarà l'ultima volta (per New Moon, intendo).

after the cold

Tora sunbathing on my lunch mat, on the kitchen table. There's no way I can keep her or Pichan from jumping on the table...well, from jumping almost everywhere, actually!

I had a cold so for a few days I lacked the strenght to do anything and had nothing to take picture of or write about. But I'm back (hopefully)

And here is Pichan, looking exactly like a piece of furniture..

omiyage

my father just got back from holiday! well, he is retired so he is always on holiday, but he've been in San Francisco for two weeks and got back on Friday. And here are the gifts he brought back for me (well, I gave him a shopping list and refund the books, at least!)
from Japantown

Kinokuniya bookstore: Motto, Watashitachi no Obento and Apron Memo

Isetatsu furoshiki
Chopsticks (many many many chopsticks) and chopstick rests
a small Totoro
and a book on 'Dirty Japanese' ^-^'

woow, it feels like Christmas!

一ヶ月前ぐらい74歳の父がサンフランシスコまでに行ってくる予定だと聞いた時には心配性の私はちょっと..."本当だ??嫌だよ"になってしまいましたが先週の金曜 日は父がVenezia空港に戻ってきたところでほっとして安心になりました. 安心な上にお土産をたくさんもらって嬉しいです!! ^ー^ 実は...父にショッピングリストを渡してサンフランシスコのきのくにや本屋さんで料理の本を二冊買ってもらいました.というのは写真が一ぱいある"もっと私たちのお弁当"と"エプロンメモ"の本を父は買ってきてくれました.私はすでにクウネルの"私たちのお弁当"があるので思った通り第二弾の"もっと私たちのお弁当"も面白くて役に立つヒントが一杯ある本です.やっぱり父に書ってもらった甲斐がありましたよ!エプロンメモなら私には(イタリア人だから)思ったより読みにくい本だと思います. 何故かというと写真はぜんぜんないし(もちろんです!最初出版された時はもう60年前ですから素敵なイラストがたくさんありますが一方写真はありませんよ!)料理の上に暮らしに関係ある様々な題も入っているから私がわからないところがたくさんあるからです.しかも一目見ても文化的にはエプロンメモ一番だと思い始めました.料理のことだけでなく日本文化や生活や習慣などに興味がる私なら非常に面白そうです!読みきるのに時間がかかりますけど...
他にはもらったお土産は: 箸 ー 箸置き ー 風呂敷ー小さいトトロ
クリスマス早めになった気がしますように

colorful dinner

from left, clockwise: simple rice with black sesame seeds + salmon +spinach + grilled pumpkin + broccoli

Millet risotto with pumpkin and dried porcini mushroom

Millet is one of the few cereals I can eat and it seems to be very healthy, good for children and old people, and for the hair! Next time I'd like to try and make sone korokke with millet but yesterday I prepared a sort of millet risotto with pumpkin and mushroom for lunch. It was good although the texture is very different from that of rice. Millet grains are tiny and they absord huge amount of water while cooking. It probably grew three times and I could bring leftovers for lunch at work, today.

First, soak the dried mushrooms in hot water for 15 minutes and in the meantime peel the pumpkin, discard the seeds and cut it into small pieces. Wash the mushrooms and slice them thinly and put pumpkin + mushrooms and one clove of garlick in a non sticking pan with some oil and salt.
Cook for five minutes, then add the millet (as for the risotto) and cook for another 5 minutes.



add vegetable soup (I used instant organic soup stock) and cook for 10-15 minutes, until the pumpkin gets soft. Millet should absord all the soup.



Let rest for 5 minutes and then add pecorino cheese to taste and parsley

buckwheat maccheroni with chicory and pecorino

I bought these buckwheat (gluten free) maccheroni at the brand new gluten free shop near Santi Apostolo square and ate it with lots of chicory (sauteed with oil and garlick) and pecorino cheese.

They tasted really good but I need to be extra careful and get them more 'al dente!'

but...1 pack of pasta 5.20 €....