Polenta for Breakfast

I've been trying to write something but my cold affected brain  refuses to work. So I decided to share a picture of polenta with scrambled eggs and mushrooms.  There's no recipe for this meal as it is easy: cook polenta, make scrambled eggs with mushrooms, and serve! 

See you,
Marina

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from our family!

This bright new year is given me

To live each day with zest . . .

To daily grow and try to be

My highest and my best!

William Arthur Ward

May 2013 be healthy and happy for you. 

Have the patience and the passion to live the life you have imagined. 

Smile!

See you

Marina

White Christmas

Who knew that our Christmas would be white after all! We don't get much snow in this parts of the country, but this year we had a Christmas wish come true: it started to snow in the mid-afternoon and snowed until all ground was covered with a white blanket. Beautiful!

The following picture was taken 24 hours earlier, on Christmas Eve:

The Teenager enjoying the sun on Christmas Eve ...

There is something romantic, magical, idyllic about the white Christmas...

Friend's house

It is the best time to share a cake with family and friends. 

Thank you all for coming into my life and filing my heart with joy. 

See you,
Marina

Happy Holidays!

Waiting for Santa...

"Embrace spirituality.

Regardless of your religious (or non-religious) preference, 
there is much more to this world than the things we see. 
Embrace spirituality this holiday season by championing love, hope, forgiveness, and grace. Rather than losing yourself in the hustle and bustle, find intentionality in remembering the heart of Christmas and celebrating the soul of everything good."

JOSHUA BECKER

See you,
Marina

Ravioli "Love Letters"

Ravioli "Love Letters"

When I bought a ravioli maker, a new addition to my little kitchen, I had to put it to test right away. I made a dough, and went to pick up the teenager from school. When we came home, his first question was: "What are you going to do? Not the ravioli on a week day?!" See, the reason he was surprisingly confused was that we usually make ravioli on weekends, when we all gather around the table, tell stories, while filling the dough and shaping it into something resembling a traditional ravioli.
"Don't worry", I told the teenager. "I will make it myself, quick. Look what I've got!", and I proudly  pulled the new ravioli maker out of a cupboard. 
"If you say so", was his still suspicious reaction, and he went to do his homework (I think that's what he did. I hope). 

The dough after 30 minutes resting looks silky and is smooth to touch.

I prepared everything on my little kitchen table, and rolled the dough. Everything went so smooth: the dough had time to rest and was elastic, easy to roll, just perfect. A first layer of pastry went on the ravioliera, then each hole was filled with a filling, covered then with another layer of dough. I haven't spent even five minutes, and I already had 12 raviolis. Almost. How little did I know!

Too much filling... but I realized it a little later...

When I started to roll the pin over the top to press and cut ravioli, I understood that I am in a little trouble there: apparently, I put too much filling in each hole. As I was pressing, I also was pushing the filling into another hole and all over the sides of the dough. I stopped, and called the teenager. Skipping the  details of our conversation, which was quite fun, we cut each ravioli out of the press with the knife, and finished it by hands. They looked quite different from the one's pictured on the box, but edible. 

Not perfect yet...

The next batch came out better, and by the third batch I figured out how much filling I had to put in each hole to make ravioli worth picture taking. 

And here they are!

When the dinner was served, the husband came out of the office, smiling and holding a letter in his hands, a letter, that I wrote to him just a few days ago, just because it's a holiday season and I was all romantic and sentimental to put a few words on a piece of paper. And then it just hit me as I was looking at the letter and those rectangular shaped ravioli: they looked alike! A Love Letters Ravioli! 

***

Ravioli "Love Letters"

Ingredients:

For the dough:

• 3 cups semolina flour
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2/3 cup water (I always use a little more water for filled pasta)

Filling:

• 1 lb (500 gram) ground pork
• 1 lb (500 gram) ground beef
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon dry dill (optional)

Combine all the ingredients and make a nice silky dough. I use stand mixer for the mixing task, then I knead the dough for about 7-10 minutes. Then I always let the dough rest wrapped in plastic film for 30 minutes.
Then give the dough another knead, and start working. Divide the dough into 4 pieces, shape it into a fist size balls, and cover to prevent from drying. Work with one cut at the time: roll it into a thin sheet size of the form, place on a raviolera, fill each hole with filling just a little bellow the edge of the hole. Cover it with another layer of rolled dough, and press with the rolling pin. Overturn the tray to remove the ravioli. Keep a small bowl with flour on your workplace to dust the table/board, rolling pin, and form.

At this stage ravioli can be frozen, or cooked in a big pot of  5 liters (about 5-6 q) of rapidly boiling salted water (1 Tablespoon kosher or sea salt)
Now, there are as many opinions about how long to boil raviolis as there are ravioli makers, or eaters. Because this raviolis have raw meat filling in it, I make sure it's done by cutting one raviolo after about 3-4 minutes of boiling. We don't like our pasta overcooked, and as soon as filling is done, usually the pasta is also done. Although it does depend on how thick was the dough rolled, and on the size of ravioli. 

***

Notes: 
* If  semolina flour is not available, use all purpose flour. Using the semolina flour is our preference. 
* You can make raviolis with any filling you wish. You can also pre-cook your meat filing by sauteing all ingredients in the skillet. The above filling is one of my men's favorite. We grind our own meat, and  finish grinding with the onions, which gives a lot of flavor to the meat. Any other meat or meat combination can be used. Just experiment what you like the best. 
* You don't have to have ravioli maker, you can perfectly shape ravioli by hands.
* How thin to roll the dough for ravioli? Again, there are numerous opinions, or tastes, I shell say. Paper thin is a classic, but we like a bit more pasta in our ravioli, so I roll it about 3 mm (1/8 inch) thick.
* How many ravioli to cook at one time? I cook 12-15 large size or up to 25 very small ravioli, dropping 3-4 at a time. 
* Sauce or not to sauce ravioli? It is very personal, really. In our family everyone has their own way of eating ravioli: the teenager likes it with red sauce; the husband likes it either with no sauce or a little starchy water it was boiling in with butter and parsley; I can have it with a white sauce or just plain with a little pecorino romano cheese and herbs, and a drizzle of olive oil on top; our daughter likes it with a white sauce. 

Ravioli "Love Letters"

Experiment to find a simple pleasure in making your own ravioli... :)

See you,
Marina

Feel Good Post: 12.12.12

Today I wish you all to feel good and to celebrate The World Day of Interconnectedness. It's a day to be together with your family, friends,  and be in harmony with yourself.

Today we had a lovely walk with my friend Lisa and her Mom

Tall grass along the sidewalk

A friendly holiday decorations...

Pine tree...

and cherry tree in bloom, today! 

Isn't this snowman cute?!

We run so our goals in life will continue to get bigger instead of our belly
(rephrasing Bill Kirby)

HoHoHo! It is the season!

***
A few family photos... 

Our son, a.k.a. teenager

Teenager after soccer (for the rest of the world football)  practice 12.12.12

Our daughter

Daughter: self portrait 12.12.12 via iPhone

Us 12.12.12 (ignore the look)

Thanks to the Internet and phones, our family connected today...

***
Back to Feel Good photos...

"Did I miss something? tell me, tell me!"

"I don't eat fish, how many times do I have to tell you?"

"Any gifts for me? No? Oh, you better hurry!"

"You may think I am sleeping, but I am watching you.
And yes, I am very comfortable..."

"I am coming down, wait, wait!
Yes, I washed leaked my paws. What's for dinner?"

"Didn't I tell you I don't like fish? Oh, they are not my dinner? Whew..."

"What's then?"

Holiday greetings

As we were walking, I lifted my head: high up in the sky there was a little dot... with zoom in it became this picture. It made me smile. 
We are indeed interconnected on this Planet... And it feels good! :)

See you,
Marina