Best Snapshots of April

It’s been a good month – and after some rainy and cool days, the patio season is finally here! Time for BBQs, pool parties, and the juicy fruit and veggies are finally coming! Here’s some snapshots of this past month – I’ve been busy and not really able to write much but I plan to catch up asap and share the secrets!

First Week mom was still here and she made her famous pasta frolla cookies, apple dumplings, the Easter traditional Colomba – a dove-shaped Easter panettone, and… (drum roll) Limoncello! AND My beloved Couscous. W La Mamma Sempre.

I met with Tavola Pasta owner & artisan pasta chef Sarah Zapien in her lab: she made her red garganelli, her dill thick tagliatelle and her red beet ravioli filled with tarragon and goat cheese – which I promptly re-made for Easter Sunday! She is AWESOME and her filled pasta is FANTASTIC.

I had a nice, educational talk with Verlasso Salmon Director Scott Nichols about their GMO-yeast – he explained how they’re doing their best to keep the environment safe and he made clear how their yeast is currently the best and most sustainable solution if we want to keep on eating salmon.

And finally, we went to the 2014 Sugar Land Wine & Food Affair (three days, whoa!) where I discovered my NEW, DEEP LOVE for ciders. Guess what, I used to hate Apfelsaft while I was in Germany! Life is strange, taste buds too.

Oh, and I’ll have to start again the whole natural yeast thing, cause it sadly died. I incautiously added honey at same point to feed it and instead I killed it. Let’s look at it from a ‘Trial & Error’ perspective.

April Highlights

Spinach Green Gnocchi
Polpettone
Catanese Pasta Alla Norma
Mushroom Risotto
Quiche with Chard, Bacon & Eggs
Shaved Brussel Sprouts Salad
Red Tagliatelle w/ Mushrooms & Burrata
How To Make Homemade Pizza
And the famous Nutella Roll.
I also experimented a little bit with the Lèkuè OVO silicone poacher – it’s so fun