Abundance

Spring is also about abundance. Abundance in colors, forms and shapes. When we look around us, the signs are everywhere. No heart could resist them. Early yesterday morning, I took a walk around my area and when I came back, my basket was fulled with edible wild plants like dandelion, poppy, wild chard and my favourite wild chickory. These spring wild plants are so good for cleansing our body. I just blanched and simply cooked them with some splash of olive oil, garlic and a bit of pepperoncino.

spring is here.

Spring is finally here.Spring means the awakening from the dormant mode. We have been waiting for this season more ethusiastic than ever. I have planted 1 kilo of red onion and white onion each and sowed some other vegetables like early summer salad and spinach.

We are ready to experience this season with open heart and open arms.

I baked this steamed chocolate cake and decorated with violets that I grow in my garden.

The sunset looked very promising last evening even though the temperature has dropped to zero again. Spring is right at the corner. The colors of spring are all over with the apricot blossoms and peaches blossoms, daffodils, violets, anemones etc. They are simply beautiful.

However, nothing much could be done in my kitchen garden because the soil is still soak with water. It has to dry first before I start planting potatoes, onions and other spring and early summer vegetables. But being impatience, I have sowed some other vegetables like turnips, beetroots, radishes and other simple mixed salads. I have found one garden shop that sells 'bio' seeds. I am not sure what are the guidelines that these seeds are following but I will surely take a closer look at these new developments.

Looking at these flowers and all the changing of colors around me really give such an intense pleasures. These small pleasures shall not be taken for granted. I think there a lot could be learnt from these beauty that Nature gives us. We are not blind but often we are blinded by so many things happening around us and therefore we seldom take a closer look at these 'unfolding' events right infront of us. With the impermenance nature of these beauty..... we will lose them if we do not do now.

The art of making handmade fresh pasta

A few days ago, someone has given me two duck eggs and I was very pleased with that gift. As I also had bought two kilos of artisan flour (non commercial one), I think it was appropriate that I make the best of that two items that I had in my hands. So, my daughter and I have decided to learn how to make fresh pasta from scratch. So, off we went to the house of Nonna Eva (she is 88 year old strong Italian lady) to learn the basic tagliatelle. The fresh pasta that we made was nothing equivalent to the store bought one. Immediately when we arrived home, I prepared the simple tomato sauce and we had one of our best dinners last evening. The procedure of making fresh pasta is very simple (we took around an hour to make more than a kilo of pasta) and I think, I am going to learn to make ravioli stuffed with spinach or pumpkin the next time around.

Snowdrops

It looks that the winter is here to stay and this phenomenon is sweeping through out Europe. We have seen abundance of snow and rain everywhere. However, I think everything has its own cycles. Now it is the 'wet cycle' so my winter bulbs are very happy in this condition especially the snowdrops. These lovely 'bell shaped' flowers are well suited in this condition and I have a few clumps under my hazelnut trees together with the hyacinthes and hellebores. I took these clumps on my Austrian trip a few years ago with my dear friend MM with her family. It was near Klagenfurt when we were about to leave a parking place, I saw clumps of snowdrops everywhere. I could not resist them and packed them up in the plastic bag and they are absolutely happy in my garden now.

Enchanted forest

Crocus

I had a morning walk in this enchanted forest this morning.The silence was so deafeaning as I could only hear my rubber boots stepping down the thick layers of dead leaves.The sunlight was so bright and the sky was azzure blue. The sensation of the 'silence' was so deep. I do not know the names of the trees but I could see some light purple crocus on the ground. They are so beautiful.

Snowing.....

It is finally snowing this morning in Rome after almost two decades since the last time the capital was whitely covered. The Roman landscape has changed drasctically since early morning. The tourists around the city have witnessed something that remain as one of their best memories.I love watching the snow falls, for me as if watching the cotton balls falling from the sky in a slow motion!