Vegetazione

Today
So much vegetation! Vegetable class in the morning, followed by an afternoon in the garden!

Class: vegetables!

Today was great--we made such a wide variety of creative and yummy things: 3 different dips, a souffle, some fried food, crepes and pasta (of course).

• Fiori di Zucchini Fritti (Fried Zucchini Flowers)
  -battered and fried: sweet and crispy
  
  
  
  Zucchini flowers
  
  

  
  Fiori di Zucchini Fritti
• Avocado Sauce
  -not at all like guacamole because they don't usually use cilantro in Italy
  -made with ricotta, yogurt and parsley, it is surprisingly sweet (especially when you expect it to be like guac)
• Crema di Melazana (Cream of Eggplant)
  -more sweet and less smoky than babaganoush, but similar concept
• Pesto di Arange (Pesto of Oranges)
  -such a crazy combination of flavors I never would've imagined putting together but tasted delicious
  -comes from Sicily, where they like pairing contrasting flavors
  -dip made of orange, almond, fennel, capers and olive oil :)
  
  
  
  Bread and dips
  Clockwise from top left: orange pesto, eggplant, avocado
• Tortino di Carciofi (Artichoke Flan)
  -my favorite dish of the day--pureed artichoke and porcini mushrooms with whipped egg whites--so simple and light yet had such a depth of flavor
  -this was the third vegetable souffle we made and I love the concept
  -I don't know how I would rank the tree (celery, zucchini and artichoke). Artichoke would definitely be #3, but artichoke and celery are fighting for first.
  -The concept of "light" is interesting. Technically, this souffle was the lightest of the three--the celery souffle was made with yogurt, the zucchini with bechamel, and this one just with egg. I agree that all around, the zucchini souffle was the heaviest, but in terms of flavor, the celery was much lighter than this artichoke one. Flavor, texture and perception are so interesting!
  
  
  
  
Tortino di Carciofi


• Crespelle di Formaggio di Fossa con Pure' di Fave (Crepes with "Fossa" Cheese and Broad Beans Puree)
  -"Fossa" cheese is cheese that is cultivated and cured underground for an extended period of time. Today we used pecorino (my favorite)
  -The fava ("broad") bean puree was a bit too bitter for my liking--I would've prefered just the tomato and pecorino crepe either plain or maybe with a pesto, but all in all it was delicious.
  -We shaped the crepes into little cones and then baked them in the oven to get crispy which made such a difference!
  -I also found out that I've been eating fava beans here at the house for the past few weeks without even knowing it--I've never seen beans in the pod before; I thought we were just eating a new kind of fuzzy pea :)
  
  
  
  Crespelle di Formaggio di Fossa con Pure' di Fave
• Casarecce con Zucchine e Ricotta (Casarecce with Zucchini and Ricotta)
  -a simple and light yet delicious and deep pasta dish. I would've enjoyed it more had I not already been full at this point :)
  
  
  
  Casarecce con Zucchine e Ricotta
  

Afternoon

Went to the Florence Botanical Gardens with Alyssa. The gardens were established in 1545 by Cosimo I de' Medici and are the 3rd oldest botanical gardens in Europe (behind Pisa and Pidova). It was sunny, beautiful and relaxing. We sat in the gardens for a couple hours and walked around for awhile too. It was exciting that I could name some of the plants, flours and herbs (thanks, mom!). We could only find a handicap bathroom, which I stopped in before heading home. I accidentally hit the alarm button instead of the toilet flush button and couldn't figure out how to turn it off. Luckily (or maybe not-so luckily?) no one came.

Lesson of the Day

Of all the modes of transportation available, I like walking the most.

Photos of the Day

I really do hate flower photography, but these little guys looks like stars!

Astronomy 101

And while I hate flower photography, I do love language. Especially translations...

Warning

The Count

Glasses of wine drinken: 42
Pasta dishes eaten: 26

Number of yells endured from old women while riding my bike on the sidewalk: 1
Photos taken: 1540

Tomorrow

Not sure what's on tap.

Class is "Meat 2," and the afternoon is open for adventure!