Getting Back Into The Food!

Those of you who have followed my blog for years know that Johnny & I are vegetarians (not vegans), and that I do love to cook, as well as eat at the many wonderful places available here in our area.

It's taken a little while to get into the groove, but I'm getting back to my little kitchen, with all it's quirks and size restrictions! I'm actually pretty proud of what I can produce in a small space, and I feel like a real Italian doing so. We've witnessed the sizes of many home kitchens here, and they are often like closets, tucked away in a corner!

Anyway...

While we were house sitting a couple of weeks ago, we were taking advantage of collecting fresh tomatoes from the garden there. I love roasting tomatoes with garlic, thyme and a good glug of Umbrian olive oil.

I brought some tomatoes home and did just that...Oh...salt, too!

After roasting the tomatoes, I cut them up into smaller pieces and warmed them in a pan to make a chunky sauce for some farfalle pasta...

 

I'm a big fan of ricotta salata, which is a dried, salted ricotta cheese that is wonderful and grates well. It's a nice change from parmesan. It's also snow white, so it's pretty.

We enjoyed this as dinner with a view from our terrace at The Nut. Like always, as long as the weather permits, we'll dine on the terrace! Small, but mighty!

Another day, for lunch, I did fresh ricotta and cherry tomatoes on grilled bread.

We are so lucky to have good sources for ricotta cheese here. It is nothing like what we get back home. Not even close. 

Often, I'll go for a sheep's milk ricotta, which has a bit of the barnyard taste. Really good with honey or fig jam (our housemate makes the best!), but I like ricotta used in savory ways most.

Fresh from the weekly farmer's market

Also a market score this week.

So, we toast our bread old school style, on this contraption that goes right on the gas burner. It gives the bread a nice char, and is way more fun than a toaster!

The bread is locally made and full of seeds and wholesome goodness. Thanks, Lia....

A simple toss of tomatoes, basil olive oil and salt...then I rub the warm bread with some fresh garlic...

Yum. 

Grilled toast with ricotta and tomatoes.

That's a lunch that will keep you going all day...after a nap, that is.

And speaking of the weekly market, what usually happens is that I buy way too much, and get myself into all sorts of trouble!

But...who can resist??

What am I going to do with all this?

Well, I've already used a bunch of tomatoes and the ricotta, grilled up the eggplant and zucchini, and am looking at roasting the potatoes with onions and bell peppers. The winter squash? Can't decide whether to roast it or braise it in a pan...

The giant garlic is called aglione, and it's used in pasta sauce with tomato puree. I also like to roast it. It gets soft and sweet.

I'm going to shuck the borlotti beans today and cook them up to make a bean 'stew' sometime soon.

Yeah, I'm getting pretty excited about being back. Finally.

It took some time to get over the stress of the past year, especially the past 4 months, but I think I'm getting my act together.

Thanks for sticking around.