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Simona Carini
Northern California
An Italian transplanted in Northern California
Interests: creative cooking, cheese making, bread baking, food writing, blogging, book and box making, kayaking, photography, classical music You can contact me at simosite [AT] mac [DOT] com
Recent Activity
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jump to Recipe root vegetables and escarole with tofu Our current Cook the Books Club selection is the memoir Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten1. I am aware Garten is a popular cookbook author and food TV personality. I don't watch TV (of any kind) so don't know her. The book's style is lively and if you are interested in the author, you will probably enjoy reading it. There was a long wait list to get the book from the library, and when I finally started reading it and doing some research on her recipes, I got sick,... Continue reading
Posted Mar 31, 2025 at briciole
I agree, Wendy :) Substituting radicchio with chard sounds like a great idea, Debra: let me know if you try :) I hear you, Frank. I'm grateful for the abundance: I guess people here warmed up to the delicious bitterness of radicchio and so farmers grow it. A feast for the eyes too :)
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jump to Recipe a little bitter and a little sweet (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO) Our current Cook the Books Club selection is Land of Milk and Honey, a novel by C Pam Zhang. The story is set in a world, where "A smog has spread. Food crops are rapidly disappearing."1 The protagonist and narrator is a young chef, who escapes her dying career in a dreary city to take a job at a decadent mountaintop colony seemingly free of the world’s troubles. There, the sky is clear again. Rare ingredients abound.1 Early in the book, after we are told... Continue reading
Posted Jan 28, 2025 at briciole
Dear Sondra, thank you so much for stopping by and leaving a comment. I hope you baked some croccanti and enjoyed them :)
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Thank you, Frank. Great that you have chestnuts. Let me know if you try the recipe. I just boiled chestnuts to make another batch of it: I like it so much :)
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Claudia, your comment reminds me that years ago, when I lived in Berkeley, I'd buy (raw) Korean chestnuts. It sounds like you are deep into exploring Korean cuisine and having fun. Italy is quite far from you, but I hope one day you'll be able to visit :)
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jump to Recipe fall flavors combine to make a delicious side dish (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO) Our current Cook the Books Club selection is Crying in H Mart a memoir by Michelle Zauner. In August 2018, the author had an essay published in The New Yorker magazine1 with the same title. It starts like this: Ever since my mom died, I cry in H Mart. For those of you who don’t know, H Mart is a supermarket chain that specializes in Asian food. The "H" stands for han ah reum, a Korean phrase that roughly translates to "one arm... Continue reading
Posted Nov 30, 2024 at briciole
Hello Illy and thank you for stopping by my blog. I'm afraid I can't help you. I have never eaten at that restaurant so I can't even guess how they make their recipe.
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Thank you, Marg, and you're welcome :)
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Thank you, Claudia. All's well here :) Thank you Wendy. Tiburon is a beautiful place, charming even when it's not sunny :)
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Thank you, Cathy. I love these peppers as they are tasty and so easy to turn into a dish :)
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jump to Recipe bright colors and flavors on the plate (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO) Our current Cook the Books Club selection is The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd1. The novel is set in South Carolina in 1964. Young Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped by her mother's death and a violent father, and stand-in mother Rosaleen run away from their home and hometown and find refuge in the house of the three Boatwright sisters in Tiburon, South Carolina—a town that is somehow connected to Lily's mother's past. Lily learns about bees, beekeeping, making honey (miele)... Continue reading
Posted Sep 30, 2024 at briciole
I hope you find them, Wendy: they are a treat (addictive, though :)
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Once I cook some, I find it impossible to stop eating them. Cheese makes them even more addictive, Frank :)
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Thank you, Debra :) I hope your garden is doing well, even without shishito peppers. I can only grow a variety of leaf lettuce and arugula.
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So glad your efforts are now rewarded with a nice harvest, Claudia. Besides being excellent, shishito peppers are also pretty :)
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jump to Recipe sweet and crunchy with a note of cheese (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO) Our current Cook the Books Club selection is Family Tree by Susan Wiggs1. The novel follow Annie as the life she thought was perfect shatters (physically, as she is the victim of a major accident, and emotionally, as the accident happens on the heels of her discovering her husband's infidelity) and is slowly rebuilt. I don't think the publisher's description "powerful, emotionally complex story" applies. However, if you enjoy stories about second chances, family and small towns you may like this novel. pretty in... Continue reading
Posted Jul 31, 2024 at briciole
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Thank you, Amy. Indeed! And it lends itself to variations, like using spinach instead of escarole :)
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Thank you, Deb :) Thank you, Wendy :) I have not heard about electroculture gardening, Claudia: thank you for telling me about it. Good luck with your experiments :)
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Simona Carini is now following Good backlink
Jun 1, 2024
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jump to Recipe mixed vegetable with thyme (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO) Our current Cook the Books Club selection is Mastering the Art of French Murder by Colleen Cambridge1. In post-war Paris, a woman is found murdered in the basement of the building where Paul and Julia Child live, and the murder weapon is a knife from Julia's kitchen. If this brief introduction sounds intriguing, you'll probably enjoy the book. I'm afraid I didn't find the novel believable.2 The narrator, a young woman named Tabitha, lives with her grandfather not far from the Childs and befriends Julia. He grows a... Continue reading
Posted May 31, 2024 at briciole
They are a delicious match, Wendy. You're welcome: I am glad you enjoyed the book :)
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So nice to have those recipes and the memories that go with them! I've never tried to us oatmeal in my chocolate cookies: with walnuts too, I can imagine the aroma in the kitchen when they bake. Thank you so much for your contribution to this edition of Cook the Books Club :)
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jump to Recipe a simple combination, a delicious dish (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO) Our current Cook the Books Club selection is Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley1. This was my first time not only choosing a graphic memoir (or novel) for our Club, but also reading one. I thoroughly enjoyed following Lucy's life adventures and her connection with various foods. The graphic medium lends itself nicely to Lucy's stories and the recipes ending the chapters come to life in her drawings. I prepared mushrooms according to her mother's recipe (after Julia Child) and the result was... Continue reading
Posted Mar 31, 2024 at briciole
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jump to Recipe [versione in italiano] a simple pairing with a lot of flavor (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO) This is my interpretation of a traditional dish from Italy. The first recipe I read uses black-eyed peas (fagioli dall'occhio) so that's what I used in my first version, together with some Musquée de Provence squash I found at the farmers' market. I then read other recipes which referenced "white beans" (fagioli bianchi). I had some Zolfino bean1 (fagiolo zolfino), an Italian heirloom variety, so I used that. For my final try, I used locally grown organic Yellow Eye beans, which... Continue reading
Posted Mar 9, 2024 at briciole