Week 5 : Lovere

Infusions on the table

I accepted to join my friend Lucrezia’s idea because I had very pleasant memories about her past “dinner projects”. I considered a pity to waste this beauty letting the project fly. She writes well, she is international and, above all, she’s  far from me, geographically speaking. So I miss her, so I would like her to write and write and write again.

In other words, I was starting to get completely hooked on “dinner projects”.

Lu lives in Berlin, I live in Lovere, a little town by the lake Iseo, in the north of Italy. We don’t really eat very different, ‘cause we have the same origins. Our lives are otherwise influenced by  the places we are now.

I believe myself able to add something different (and maybe interesting) to the idea. I used to consider dinners to be not very important  but with my daughter now, aged 21 months, I know very well that if she doesn’t eat enough and healthy for dinner,  she simply doesn’t sleep so…I began to learn cooking family meals (not only desserts, that I’ve always adored).

 Behind this, I thought also it would be an occasion to put myself under analysis. If weeks are terribly ugly, boring or negative, which space have meals in that? How can I grow better as a mother, as a woman, if I put my attention in this light, little particular of my days?

There aren’t any really interruptions in life, you can’t stop eating, you can sometimes skip meals or don’t think about them at all. But you’ll continue eating, sleeping, reading, writing, living.

The literary question also interested me, but I don’t want to talk about that. I can write in English directly (without any Italian draft) even If my English level is not very high and if I feel myself closer to French.

Monday, 27 of January 2015

Various infusions, after a boiled beef (boiled for almost three hours during the afternoon), with carrots, celery and an inlaid-by-cloves onion. Broccolis.

Tuesday, 28 of January 2015

Dinner alone (daughter with uncles and cousins). A slice of advanced cake with spry cream (and Japanese tea  Kukicha).

Wednesday, 29 of January 2015

Advanced baked polenta with butter, parmigiano and bread crumbs.

Thursday 30 of January 2015

Light soup made of sagy bouillon and pasta; baked ham.

Friday 31 of January  2015

Pie of puff pastry with zucchini, ham, Quartirolo cheese. All brought to some friends’ home (a big family).

Saturday 1 of February 2015

Sort of risotto with almonds and peas.

Monday 2 of February 2015

Consommé with rice, shrimps and various vegetables. A virtual cake for Lucrezia (it’s her birthday) of which I posted a photo. Even if I know that she’s now drinking good grappa.

                                          Lucrezia Cream! (mascarpone, chocolate and "Zalet" cookies)