This past weekend I lead a cooking show at Toma & Tomi, a beautiful gourmet cheese shop in Carpi, Italy. In a stunning setting with a lovely crowd, I showed how to make my rusticSwiss chard, gorgonzola and feta tart as well as sweet andsavory pancakes. It was a splendid evening with wonderful company, good food and wine and lots of chit-chat about cooking. Here is a short video of the evening.
If you have the opportunity to visit Carpi, definitely stop by Toma & Tomi for a glass of wine and a cheese board and enjoy the artsy and inviting atmosphere. Or, grab some cheese and crackers to-go for a lovely picnic in a nearby park.
The owner, Loanna Giroldi, is an expert about all the in-season cheeses and her shop is also full of a wide range of other artisanal and organic products, as well as shelves of fabulous cookbooks. It is also a perfect space for moms’ because while you enjoy a happy hour, there is a dedicated space for the kids to play with books, games and an extra large chalkboard to draw on.
A big thanks to Loanna for hosting me, Arianna Gandolfi for organizing the event and to everyone who participated!
Mr. Italicano and I principally eat a Mediterranean diet: a lot of vegetables, fruits, whole-grains, legumes, beans :: fagioli, healthy fats, cheese, wild caught fish and good red wine.
Quinoa is one of our favorite whole-grains (or “psuedo whole-grain because it is the seed of a beet relative). It can be prepared in a variety of ways: in soups ::zuppe, in fillings, as a flatbread, as small cakes and most commonly, as a salad.
Quinoa is extremely nutritious; it contains all 9 essential amino acids that are essential for humans. On the package of my black quinoa box :: scatola, it even says that NASA is studying it as a possible alternative food source :: to add in the astronauts’ diets, especially on long voyages. It’s quite impressive; it really is a superfood.
There are many varieties of quinoa, but the most common are white, red and black. The white variety is fluffier while the red and black varieties are on the crunchier side. I always add in a bunch of seasonal vegetables :: verdure di stagione, a good vinaigrette and in half an hour I have a created a delicious and wholesome meal.
Add seasonal vegetables and a dijon vinaigrette to this black quinoa salad to create a delicious and wholesome meal under half an hour.
Serves: 2
Ingredients
For the quinoa:
2 cups water
1 cup (200g) Black Quinoa
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, skin peeled but left whole
1 leek, thinly cut into julienne strips
4 asparagus, the bottoms snapped off then shaved with a vegetable peeler or thinly cut into julienne strips
3 heirloom tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch Arugula (1.5oz, 45g), chopped
2 carrots, grated
3-4 dashes of sweet paprika
For the vinaigrette:
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
½ shallot, finely chopped
Salt and black pepper
Instructions
In a medium size saucepan bring the water to a boil, add salt then pour in the quinoa. Turn down the heat to a low, cover and cook for 28 minutes (or the time stated on the package.)
In a large skillet add the extra virgin olive oil, garlic clove, and leek; cook over medium heat for 5-6 minutes. Add the shaved asparagus and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and discard the garlic.
In a small bowl combine the extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, shallet, salt and pepper.
When the quinoa is ready, pour it into a large serving bowl and fluff with a fork. Add the tomatoes, arugula, carrots, paprika, and vinaigrette. Top with the cooked leeks and asparagus. Buon appetito!
On Friday I had the amazing opportunity to be a guest on the Italian national TV talk show “A Conti Fatti” on RAI UNO with the presenter Elisa Isoardi. They invited me on the show to talk about American food and whether the American food found here in Italy was the “real American food” that we eat in the USA.
The display table was lined with hamburgers, hot dogs, onion rings, french fries, steaks, potatoes and sauces. This is the same food found in almost all the American restaurants here in Italy. In the eyes of Italians (and probably many other countries around the world), American food is fast food. The only food Americans eat is fried and unhealthy.
What a horrible stereotype! Of course, America has many fast food restaurants, but in a country composed of 50 states with almost 320 million people, it also has an expansive and multiethnic gastronomy that includes numerous healthy options that are made with fresh produce and high quality artisanal products.
For instance, I brought a salad, homemade tomato soup and dill and lemon salmon on the show to talk about healthier dishes that many foreigners don’t know about. When I told the TV presenter that fish was an important part of our diet, she looked at me like I was crazy… yet, the U.S. has over 95,000 miles of shoreline and numerous inland rivers, lakes and streams.
I hope that my blog can contribute to breaking down this stereotype of a “Fast Food America.” There is so much more to discover.
This past weekend I lead a cooking show at Toma & Tomi, a beautiful gourmet cheese shop in Carpi, Italy. In a stunning setting with a lovely crowd, I showed how to make my rustic Swiss chard, gorgonzola and feta tart as well as sweet and savory pancakes. It was a splendid evening with wonderful company, good food and wine and lots of chit-chat about cooking. Here is a short video of the evening.
The owner, Loanna Giroldi, is an expert about all the in-season cheeses and her shop is also full of a wide range of other artisanal and organic products, as well as shelves of fabulous cookbooks. It is also a perfect space for moms’ because while you enjoy a happy hour, there is a dedicated space for the kids to play with books, games and an extra large chalkboard to draw on.
A big thanks to Loanna for hosting me, Arianna Gandolfi for organizing the event and to everyone who participated!
Quinoa is one of our favorite whole-grains (or “psuedo whole-grain because it is the seed of a beet relative). It can be prepared in a variety of ways: in soups :: zuppe, in fillings, as a 
