Viva Italia

Many moons ago, when I was a girl of 12, I was lucky enough to visit Italy on a school exchange. We learned Italian at primary school - instead of watching a video on Italian life - we fundraised our tails off and went there for the 'real thing'! I spent 3 weeks living with an Italian family in Tuscany, going to an Italian school, learning about the culture and experiencing the 'real' Italy. IT.WAS.AMAZING. I kept in touch with my dear friend and her family, first by letter and Christmas cards (it was the 90's and good old fashioned post was our social media!) then later by email. We kept each other informed about the happenings in our lives in broken English and broken Italian - of pets and school plans, love and heartbreak, future wishes... and we promised each other one day we would meet again.... 

Fast forward 14 years, my husband and I met my dear friend, her fiance and her mother at the tiny Pisa airport... We spent 2 weeks staying in the very same room I'd stayed in as a 12 year old, eating breakfast in the very same kitchen and welcomed with open arms and the same love and excitement that I had been welcomed with 14 years earlier. again, IT.WAS.AMAZING.

Our first lunch there, we sat down to pasta and focaccia - I took one bite and it was the same dish, that I'd been served up the last time I was there. Just as delicious and just that one bite brought back so many memories.  

It was one of those magical opportunities that impact your life so strongly you are forever changed because of it - I simply cannot help but smile when I think about the beautiful Martini family. 

Below is the recipe for the dish*, that reminds me so much of my beautiful friends and their generosity. *slightly changed from the original - although this is called Tonna pasta in Italian, we refer to it as 'Rosanna pasta'. 

Rosanna Pasta (Tonna Pasta)

Ingredients

-3 large cloves garlic

-a good splash of good quality olive oil

-1 large tin of tuna (I use Sirena tuna in oil - Italian style 425g)

-600gms pure cream

-500gms Barilla Farfalle (bow ties)

-a good pinch of sea salt

-cracked black pepper

-chilli flakes

Pasta Sauce

Stovetop Method

Cook farfalle according to packet instructions - ensure it is al dente 

Heat olive oil in a saucepan

Crush garlic directly into olive oil - fry until golden

drain tuna and add to olive oil and garlic - break up with a wooden spoon and stir until it has warmed through

turn down heat and add cream, warm cream until small bubbles start to form on the top of the saucepan - take care not to boil as the cream can split. 

drain cooked pasta, return to pot, add pasta sauce and stir though, season to taste with cracked black pepper, salt and chilli flakes. 

Put lid back on pot and let it sit for 5 mins before serving, this allows the pasta to absorb the excess liquid. 

Thermomix Method

Cook farfalle according to packet instructions - ensure it is al dente 

Chop garlic in TM |3 secs|sp 7| scrap down sides

Add 50g olive oil to bowl and cook Varoma|3mins|speed 1| with MC cap off

Add drained tuna, and mix reverse|3 secs|sp 4|

Add cream, cracked pepper, salt and chilli (if desired)and cook |90 degrees|6 mins|sp 1|reverse

drain cooked pasta, return to pot, add pasta sauce and stir though

Put lid back on pot and let it sit for 5 mins before serving, this allows the pasta to absorb the excess liquid. 

Its starting to look a lot like Christmas...

Christmas Craft - part 1

So today was the first chance I've had to start to work on that to do list in my head - you know - the one that you think about as you lay in bed at 2am wondering, when and in what universe you're ever going to get time to get it all done. Thats me!!! ... anyhoo - todays things to cross off the to do list - 1. Christmas craft - I promised N last night we would do Christmas craft today - and if you promise an almost 3 year old something, it absolutely, no questions asked, has to happen - the consequences of it not happening are dire and could include (but not be limited to) melt downs of apocalyptic standards and constant harassment until the said thing is rescheduled. It's just not worth the heartache! So Christmas craft it was today! I decided we would make some 'white clay' Christmas ornaments that a friend had posted on my Mixed up Minxes page - of course I converted the recipe into the Thermomix (see below for recipe) - once the dough was done, we rolled and cut and played - I'm not sure who had more fun - N or myself! After a good 'play dough' session, we rolled the dough out one last time and cut out with christmas cutters, using a straw to make a hole at the top so we could thread with string and hang. As an afterthought I printed S's footprint into a larger bit of dough and N's thumbprints into the centre of a couple of the stars - it was so much fun. After baking and cooling, we threaded with pretty ribbon and we hung proudly on our Christmas tree. It was such a lovely activity. N was kept entertained with a few mini Christmas craft activities while the ornaments were baking and then cooling - including some gluing with glitter and stamping with christmas stamps. We finished off the day with some nice fresh cold red and green watermelon - completing our Christmas theme. 

White clay for the Thermomix: 

Ingredients:
-390gms bicarb soda
-80gms corn flour
-170gms warm water
-3 tablespoons fine glitter (we used silver)
Method:
Add dry ingredients to TM bowl, add water, cook:
80 degrees | Sp 4 | 4 mins. 

Roll out with a rolling pin and cut into shapes or press into hand/footprints. Use a straw to make a hole to thread with ribbon if desired.

Bake 100 degrees for about an hour. Cool and enjoy <3

For a non Thermomix version - visit http://theimaginationtree.com/2012/12/white-clay-ornaments-tutorial.html