“Time is what we want most, but what we use worst”
William Penn
“The quality of life is more important than life itself”
Alexis Carrel
“Creation is a better means of self-expression than possession; it’s through creating, not possessing, that life is revealed”
Vida D. Scudder
Mr. Italicano and I recently returned from 2 weeks of my cooking demonstrations in New York City with SMEG USA to help celebrate their 10th anniversary in the states. I spent the week catching up on jet leg and reflecting about the comments I received from the people who stopped by to watch these cooking shows.
What I discovered is that that one of the overarching problems for local New Yorkers is that the meal time decision usually comes down to one thing: time. Of course, this is quite a universal problem, but it really struck home while talking with people who live in the city and rarely, if ever, cook. “I just don’t have time,” they would say.
Cooking for me is a sacred part of leading a healthy lifestyle. Not only am I creating, which stimulates sentiments of satisfaction, I also know exactly what I am putting into my body. Why would anyone who wants to lead a balanced and healthy lifestyle refute these two things?
Although many New Yorkers had blamed it on time, I want to help by giving my opinion about the time for cooking simple meals. If you try to compare a simple and nutritious meal that you would make at home to the same kind of meal you would find, let’s say, at an organic restaurant near your home, the factor of time is almost the same. Don’t believe me? Let’s do the calculation together: CONTINUE READING
It’s been such an exciting time for italicana kitchen! I have been on quite an adventure: 10 food events around New York City to celebrate Smeg USA’s 10th anniversary in the states. My last one is today at Eataly Downtown. To celebrate Halloween I will be making pumpkin hummus, creamy pumpkin soup and homemade turmeric pasta with pumpkin sauce, walnuts and crispy sage ribbons. I would love to see you there!
Here are some photos of the 10 food events. What do you think of my 1950’s look? CONTINUE READING!
Mr. Italicano and I have arrived in New York City! We’ll be here for the next 2 weeks to help Smeg USA celebrate their 10th anniversary with 10 food events around the city! I am so excited to be a part of this food tour and I can’t wait to teach you how to make simple and delicious homemade Italian food. A special thanks to my Italian family, friends and foodies who have taught me the art and tricks to cooking delicious, healthy Italian food during the past 8 years that I have been living in Italy.
On my menu, I’ll show you how to make natural colored pasta dishes and pumpkin themed recipes that are perfect for Halloween. Don’t worry, there will be plenty of samples!
Beet Pasta with Brussels Sprouts, Goat Cheese and Toasted Walnuts
Spinach Pasta with Kale Pesto, Shaved Leeks and Toasted Almonds
Turmeric Pasta with Roasted Pumpkin, Toasted Walnuts and Crispy Sage Ribbons
Creamy Pumpkin Soup with Homemade Croutons, Crispy Sage Ribbons and Toasted Sunflower Seeds
Pumpkin Hummus and Crostini
For those of you in the New York City area, here is the event calendar. I would really appreciate your help if you pass this information on to all of your foodie friends. Thank you SO MUCH in advance for helping to spread the word!
We’re also running a contest at the events, and the winner will receive a beautiful CONTINUE READING
There are two ways to make colored pasta. The first is to have a very colorful sauce that changes the pasta’s color completely. The second way, is to add in various purees, spices, herbs or other natural colorings when making the dough. Although you see photos for the pink pasta I would suggest making just a normal colored fresh pasta since the color will turn pink regardless thanks to the beet sauce!
Here’s a 30 second time lapse video of me in my italicana kitchen making three types of homemade pasta and sauces (all recipes to come!) You can pop on over to my youtube channel for more videos.
Oh man, this recipe is a winner. It’s quite the pleasant surprise for even the pickiest of eaters. For example, my dad, a steak and potatoes kind of guy, LOVED this fresh pasta with beet sauce topped with roasted Brussels sprouts, goat cheese and toasted pine nuts. Then there is Mr. Italicano who snubs any recipe made with beets, yet devoured a whole plate of this pasta before I could relay to him the main ingredient. Um. Yah. It’s that good.
Apart from it’s utter deliciousness, it’s also festive—look at those vibrant colors! I mean, who doesn’t like to wow their dinner party guests with stunning dishes at Thanksgiving or Christmas? So to recap: it’s super yum, it’s downright beautiful, but I still haven’t even told you the best part:CONTINUE READING
I apologize for the absence in the past month! If you’ve been following italicana kitchen on Facebook, Instagramor Twitter then you’ve probably been following my USA food tour. I’ve been reporting back on Radio Bruno, an Italian radio station,on new food and wine trends in America, I’m organizing private pasta-making classes in people’s homes using the lovely Smeg stand mixer, which I absolutely adore, and I’m doing pasta-making demonstrations at various Williams-Sonoma stores and The Culinary Stone in Seattle,Spokane and Coeur d’Alene.
If you are in the Seattle or Spokane area, contact me to organize a homemadepasta-making class! I’ll be in Seattle until READ MORE!
Cooking for me is a sacred part of leading a healthy lifestyle. Not only am I creating, which stimulates sentiments of satisfaction, I also know exactly what I am putting into my body. Why would anyone who wants to lead a balanced and healthy lifestyle refute these two things?
