How do I have so much stuff??

Well, it's official. I have finally moved.

And no, before you start thinking I have upped sticks back to the UK and will now have to start calling my blog drizzle and tea, never fear. I am still very much here in southern Italy. Still in the same little town but at a shiny new flat. One which has what the last one didn't; namely central heating, lots of light and an absence of millipedes (yes I know, the last one is majorly yuck but what can I do...my former home was clearly very welcoming to the little beasties). I'm currently sat here at my computer in a room that is literally flooded with light. Cue big grin.

As anyone who has ever moved house knows, the whole process is stressful and time consuming. After four years here, I have managed to accumulate MASSES of things. Transporting said masses of things between houses during 35 degree temperatures, followed by bouts of torrential rain (I know. Parts of the Gargano region, located near me, have had a years rainfall in a couple of days) has been trying, to say the least. But finally I'm here. I have filled the house with all sorts of little 'witty' signs, such as this one:

Yes, someone doesn't know how to take a decent photo. That last word should be 'appointment'. Ahem.

 And I am determined to use my (much bigger and much nicer) kitchen to make all sorts of delicious treats. In fact, just the other day I threw THIS together:

'Pizza rustica' made using spinach, ham and cheese.

 I say 'I'. There was help involved of course, because, to be honest, I should rarely be left unsupervised in a kitchen. The other day I managed not only to melt plastic in the shiny new oven (don't even ask) and then proceeded to smash eggs all over the floor.

So, as September has made it's presence well and truly felt (mainly weather-wise, anyway), it's time for a new scholastic year, a new house, new friends, a new local cocktail bar (oh yes!) and a new series of Bake Off Italia...it's all go! For now though, I'm off for a short jaunt to Madrid.

A presto!

Is a month enough?

This blogger is officially BACK.

Back in her hot, stuffy apartment, with both her coffee and pizza needs well and truly satisfied. For now. And also back at her computer, ready to continue filling you in on all things southern Italy related. Well, apart from today, that is. Today's post is actually a celebration, if you will, of all things British. I have spent the past month enjoying not only the delightful English weather (not even a hint of sarcasm there...it really was delightful) but also great British wit, British television and of course, British food. Ladies and gents, behold: A month of the UK-in pictures...

Breakfast in the garden. YES, it was actually possible!

Tea time, obvs.

My aunt's curry. Not to be missed.

MASSIVE YUM. That is all.

Yes, I actually witnessed this. Absolutely incredible...and oh-so-sad for Eastbourne.

Summer school fun and frolics

Relaxing at the Great British seaside.

This is what teachers do on their afternoon off.

Brunch at Bill's.

Erm...

Exciting camera angles.

Post cocktail, bus stop shenanigans.

If you haven't tried Mix-ups...I urge you to. NOW. But beware, it's far too easy to scoff the whole packet in one go.

Erm...shop much? High street, I salute you.

As I departed Bristol airport on Saturday afternoon (after a torturous wait at security, which thankfully didn't involve a strip search of any kind but DID involve me almost exploding with impatience), I took a moment to reflect on whether I was actually ready to come back. It's always difficult saying goodbye, and leaving behind the country in which you grew up, with which you are familiar and where everything is just easy, but usually I'm well and truly ready to return to Italy. This time however, I was divided. I couldn't wait to enjoy some Italian summer, eat some real pizza and get back to my comfortable, albeit stuffy, apartment. Yet I had had a great time in the UK: friends, family, fish and chips and Primark (sorry, that last one wasn't in keeping with the alliteration but you know...it deserved a place on the list). Had a month been enough? Would I have started to really crave Italy after even just a couple more days? Who knows. For now however, I will not wallow in my thoughts, and will begin, once again, to eat my body weight in gelato, torte, and tomatoes...

'So, when are you going back to the UK?'

This, dear readers, is one particular question that I am getting rather tired of answering. Why? Because I simply DON'T KNOW. The summer has arrived, and when the summer arrives, there are several things that I always do: I consume even more gelato than usual, I like to go to the beach and, perhaps most importantly, I travel home to the UK for a few weeks to see family, friends and generally catch up on all things Britain (yes, this includes eating pork pie, watching ridiculous amounts of Poirot re-runs and reading gossip magazines-a plenty). So why haven't I booked my flight? Why aren't I already getting my jumpers and jeans ready to put in my suitcase? (yes, that was a dig at UK weather...my bad). I haven't done any of this because: I don't have a PASSPORT. Yes, I too, along with thousands of other disgruntled Brits, have been affected by the big passport backlog. A simple passport renewal which was supposed to take four weeks, has now taken almost seven and I am starting to get, well, somewhat MIFFED.

Bless all of the concerned Italians, who say things like: Can't you use your carta d'identità? (no, it isn't valid for overseas travel). Can't you call the British ambassador or some other official here in Italy? (no, because all of the passport business is now done directly in the UK, not here in Europe as it was done in previous years via a hub in France, if I'm not mistaken) and my favourite? Do you not know anyone in the passport office? Does your dad know anyone? Can't you call in some sort of favour? No, dearest Italian friends, I cannot, for the UK bureaucratic system (unlike the Italian one...) doesn't really work like that. I'm then met with a load of blank faces, because people can't quite get their heads around it all. But...it's the UK! They say, gesticulating wildly. You are all so organised and efficient and proper! Indeed, UK, aren't we just? Aren't we JUST?!

So here I am. Sat in my hot apartment, wasting all sorts of time checking the 'passport tracking system' online. I even called them, twice, and despite the fact that I was spoken to by a VERY polite Irish man (whose name I didn't quite catch because, typically, I live in a place with atrocious phone signal) who told me that I was UNBELIEVABLY patient (yes, yes I am. For now) I still know NOTHING. NIENTE. NICHTS.

My application is, and probably still will be, 'in progress' for the foreseeable future (Yes yes, aren't I just a negative Nancy. Well, can you blame me?) That is, unless some nice, sympathetic person reading this knows someone who works for the UK passport office...

No, I don't want four thanks...just one will do...

Cream and Strawberry Cake

Once again dear readers I have not written for a while. I put this down to two things: 1- most of my students are preparing for exams and therefore I have been up to my ears in practice papers and all sorts of very boring grammar and vocabulary stuff. And 2- it has been FREAKING HOT. All of a sudden we have been catapulted into the mid-thirties (not the era, the temperature...) and this Brit is doing her fair share of sweating (ew). But never fear, because I am back with a ridiculously good birthday cake recipe. If you're counting calories, I'd look away now...

Torta di crema e fragola

First, let's start with the sponge cake. You will need:

Either some ready made sponge cakes (cheater!) or the following:
6 eggs
2 egg whites
250g sugar
250g plain flour
raising agent (I used a small sachet and a half)

Mix the eggs and sugar (it will seem oh-so-eggy, but don't worry- it tastes great in the end) before sifting in the flour and raising agent. I put the mixture into one large tin, but you can divide it into two if you like. After about 30 minutes (approx- keep checking it but be careful when opening the oven door so as not to make the cake sink) at around 180°C (if you have a fan oven don't use it- 'normal' oven will do), take it out and check it's cooked through by using a skewer. If it comes out clean and minus gloopy cake mixture, it's done! I left my cake to cool before carefully slicing it in half to create two 'levels'.

For the rest you will need:
A punnet of strawberries
a big lemon
some sugar
a splash of limoncello
white chocolate
whipping cream (about 500ml)
creama pasticcera
crema chantilly (see below for how to make these)

Then you will need to 'wet the cake'- Italians say 'bagnare la torta', and this is often done with some kind of alcohol. I cleaned and chopped half the punnet of strawberries (small pieces) and put them in  bowl with some sugar (taste test to how sweet you want the strawberries), and the juice of one big lemon. I added a little cold water too. I actually left these overnight in the fridge, and the next day, they had produced the most delicious 'strawberry juice'- perfect for 'wetting' the cake! I added a cheeky drop of limoncello too...

I evenly distributed the juice and the small pieces of strawberry over the bottom layer of sponge and then on the top layer. At this point the two halves were on separate plates; I hadn't yet put them together. After doing this, I spread some crema pasticcera thickly on the bottom layer (see below) and then popped the other half of the sponge on top.

I covered the entire cake with whipped cream (which I whipped to within an inch of its life to ensure it stayed put on the cake) and dollops of crema chantilly (again, see below- this is just a variation on the crema pasticera). I used the other half of the punnet of strawberries to decorate the cake, and I also grated some white chocolate on top too.

This may be stating the obvious, but make sure you keep the cake in the fridge until it's ready to be eaten.

Creama Pasticcera

The recipe and instructions to make this sweet, custard-like filling that Italians use in all sorts of cakes and biscuits was given to me by an Italian friend of mine and was therefore written in Italian. To prevent any translation errors (of which there would be several) here is a link to a great little blog which carefully describes the crema pasticcera process. With pictures and all!

http://cosabolle.wordpress.com/2013/01/10/how-to-make-crema-pasticcera-or-pastry-cream-illustrated/

Creama Chantilly

 Creama Chantilly, for those of you who don't know (until a very short time ago I was amongst you),  is actually just another name for sweetened, whipped cream. I whipped up some cream and added a few dollops of crema pasticcera to sweeten it more. Whether I was doing this correctly I'm not sure; but what I do know, is that it tasted delicious.

Kinder Bueno Cheesecake

Hi folks! I hope you all had a great weekend. On Saturday I had the pleasure of attending my very first southern Italian wedding; my stomach is now in recovery, and I will be posting all about it in the very near future! For now though, check out this delicious (and very simple) Kinder Bueno Cheesecake recipe, which I recently made to try and impress my boyfriend's family, along with a couple of other calorific treats (have a look at that blog post here)

  To give credit where credit is due, I actually took this recipe from boutiquebake.com. I only made one little alteration: just a little extra butter. I found that the original amount didn't quite bind the biscuit together as much as I wanted.

Here's what you'll need:

For the biscuit base: 300g of digestives and 200g of butter

For the cheesecake: 350ml of whipped cream, 450g of cream cheese, 150g of sifted icing sugar and 6 single Kinder Bueno bars. You can obviously use more Kinder Bueno bars if you wish!

 First, place a sheet of greaseproof paper in a circular spring clip tip. You could use a normal tin, but it might be a little tricky taking the cheesecake out later. Melt the butter and then crush the digestive biscuits well. Then mix them together and press into the tin. Make sure they are nice and compact.

Whip up the cream, and in a separate bowl mix the cream cheese and icing sugar. You can do this by hand but I found it much easier using an electric whisk! Melt the broken up Kinder Buenos either in the microwave or over a saucepan of hot water, then mix all of the ingredients together. Spread the mixture over the biscuit base, making sure it's smooth and level.

Put the cheesecake in the fridge for at least 4 or 5 hours to set properly. I left mine in there overnight at this was perfect. I then topped it with chocolate sauce and some extra Kinder Bueno chunks.

The great thing about this recipe is that you can modify it easily. In the future I'm going to use the same basic recipe to make an Oreo or Snickers cheesecake. It's making me hungry just thinking about it....

Buon appetito! :D

A sweet success!

Well well. As I sit here typing this I am feeling pretty darn chuffed with myself. Why? Because, dear readers, I happen to have demonstrated that my baking skills are, in fact, not bad at all. As you all know, I am fan of eating dolce. A big fan. A massive, super sweet-toothed fan. And yes, every now and then I do get involved in a bit of cake making and sometimes I even share my little sponge cake or cupcake recipes with you. But this time, this particular weekend, I think it's fair to say that I just about surpassed myself. As it was my boyfriend's birthday, I calmly volunteered to make a birthday cake. Momentarily forgetting (great big face palm) that 'making a birthday cake' here in southern Italy does not involve wedging a couple of sponge cakes together with some nice chocolate icing. Oh no no no no.

Firstly, there can't just be one cake. Absolutely not. There must be a 'selection' of treats, as every person's plate must contain at least 3 or 4 different types of dolce. Now, this is not an 'official' rule, but it may as well be. Previous birthday ''get-togethers' that I have been to have left me with a tummy full of 5 or 6 different cake samples. Secondly, in our list of 'cake requirements', the standard of the cakes must be no less than excellent. There's no 'Oh-it's-the-thought-that-counts' mentality here. It has to be bloody brilliant. And finally, he or she preparing said cakes must be able to deal well with stress. The thought that it may all go wrong, or that the standard of the cake won't be up to par, or that people will passively insult your cakes by leaving big slices of them uneaten on abandoned plates...in other words, get ready to put blood, sweat and tears into your dolce if you're cooking for a load of fussy Italians.Especially a good 25 of them.

So you can imagine that, after uttering the words 'sure, I'll make your birthday cake', my world started crashing around me. OK, I'm exaggerating a bit. But only a bit. Even deciding on which dolce to make was a trauma. Cream? Chocolate? Fruit? Oh why are there so many options. Anyway, in the end I decided on the following: A vanilla, two-layer sponge cake decorated with crema pasticcera, crema Chantilly , fresh strawberries and grated white chocolate. This was to be the 'main' cake. The piece di resistance. I would also do two Kinder Bueno cheesecakes and a plate of fairy cakes topped with crema Chantilly. For several hours, my kitchen turned into a pasticceria and I turned into a mean, cake making machine. Once the process was finished, and I realised that I hadn't sat down in over three hours, I stepped back and surveyed the situation. The cakes looked pretty darn good. All had gone to plan. But my kitchen? It looked like a great big bomb of cream, strawberries and Kinder Bueno bits had gone off in it. Dirty pots and containers had been abandoned all over the place and the electric whisk looked like it had had better days. All of this didn't bother me so much however. As the party was drawing nearer and it was almost time for my cakes too be judged by a ruthless panel. I mean, eaten by my boyfriend's loving family. Ahem.

Fast forward to several hours later, and the fruit had just been devoured. (The order of food here goes like this: savoury, fruit, dessert, liqueur. Always.) My heart was actually pounding as I brought out the dolce and presented it on the table. Nobody said a word. And it wasn't that sort of 'stunned by the beauty of it all' silence. No. They just weren't really fussed. Buuuuh. It's OK, I said to myself. Clearly the presentation isn't so important. Wait until they try it. Slices were plated up. Said plates were distributed. And I waited. For a while, nothing. Munch munch. Chew chew. Then suddenly:

Excellent...delicious.

Really nice Amy.

I had started to breathe again.

Is there any more? I'd quite like another piece.

YES. Fist pump.

At this point I was grinning like a loon at my little success. Plates were being finished! People were asking for more! My man beamed at me. But then I heard this:

Very nice Amy. Yes...can we book you for the next birthday party?!

.......*Amy shaped hole in the wall*

The goods.

Recipes for these cakes to be published soon!!

May days

So far, May has been a pretty good month (apart from the bureaucratic nightmare that I have been struggling with...more on that in the near future). Not only has the warm weather finally decided to arrive (it was taking its sweet time...let's hope it sticks around) but I have also managed to meet up with a very special friend of mine. Valentina and I have been friends for about three years now, and she was the first real friend I made here in Italy. Every time she's around in the city, we make sure that we can squeeze in a good gossip.

As well as this lovely meet up, I received a very special gift from my aunt in the UK: a beautiful painting done by her own fair hands. And the Italian courier didn't make so much as a smudge on the package- hooray! Isn't it fantastic??

And finally, (as all good things come in threes) I had the pleasure of sinking my teeth into this very sweet treat:

What you can see here, dear readers, is a strawberry tiramisù. Words simply cannot describe how delicious it was, so here are a few more photos for you to enjoy/salivate over.

Have a great day!

Easter (Over)eating

Well, WHAT a week!

My parents arrived in Puglia last Saturday, and what followed was a super busy seven days full of excursions, family meet ups and masses of overeating. We took trips to Trani, Castel del Monte and Matera (write ups to follow) and, despite the pretty bad weather, had a very lovely time indeed.

But let's return, for now, to the aforementioned 'overeating' part of the Easter vacation. I've written many times before about the fact that, on special occasions, Italians really up the ante and enjoy ridiculous amounts of delicious food. So, who were we to say no to anything! Throughout the entire week we indulged in all sorts of tasty treats, including...

Yes, this is what Italian Easter eggs look like. None of that funny box business like in the UK. They can be pretty pricey too.

We sampled these delicious typical dishes at a wonderful party that was thrown by some friends. Here, you can see Parmigiana, Pancotto (a dish made with vegetables and bread), pasta with a vegetable similar to chicory, panzerotti, tomato pizza and some local Rosè wine.

And theeeeen came the dolce. Oh my. From the top, a forest fruit cheesecake (which was deliciouss because it wasn't too sweet), a nutella cake, red wine cake, typical Easter colomba cake, pistachio cake, tiramisù and finally, a pineapple and cream cake. Of course, we sampled them all. Well, it would have been rude not to!

Cake close up.

A slightly lighter (yet no less delicious) dessert that we had whilst in Matera (at the Soul Kitchen restaurant). White chocolate semi-freddo with fresh strawberries and balsamic.

On Saturday, we decided that (at least) a week of 'sensible' eating was in order. This was going very well indeed until a birthday celebration that we were invited to yesterday evening.

 Oh dear.

Hello April!

Well can you believe it. It's actually April now. A whole week into April! (Don't worry, not all of this post will be in short sharp sentences which express my disbelief at how quickly time is passing by). Soon, the Spring will be in full flow (it's got off to a pretty good start) and then of course, those long, balmy days of summer will arrive. This (pasty) Brit absolutely can't wait. There comes a point when getting all snuggled up in comfy warm jumpers, drinking hot chocolate and enjoying hearty soups gets a bit, well, old. For the last month or two I have been impatiently waiting for warmer days where I can switch to a light jacket and enjoy daylight until 7pm.

Two Sundays ago, myself and my man headed to Termoli, which is a lovely resort town in Molise; just north of the region of Puglia. In the Summer it's packed with people and a hefty dose of international tourists too, who can't get enough of the gorgeous beaches, lively bars and seafood restaurants. The well-restored historical part of town is the perfect place to have a nice little stroll (whether it's summer or winter), and this is exactly what we did that Sunday afternoon; ice cream in hand of course. We weren't the only ones who had this idea however, as the town was absolutely packed with people. It seems as though I'm not the only one who is craving that Spring feeling! Here are a few photos that I took (minus the hoards of people of course). Isn't the sea so beautifully calm?

Have a great week! :D

Caves, Culture and Cuisine: Marvellous Matera

Last Saturday lunchtime, following a morning of absolute CHAOS teaching a group of young children in a local primary school, myself and my wonderful man made a break for it, and headed away from our little town for the weekend. Our destination? One of the oldest towns in Italy: Matera.

Matera is famous for its stone houses, or 'sassi', that are built into the rock face and have been inhabited for thousands of years. While the town has now become a glittering gem of the region of Basilicata, it wasn't always this way. The living conditions in these houses were cramped and dire, as 10 or 11 people (there were around 20,000 in total in the sassi) would usually live a small 'house' (which was more like a cave) and share their living space with animals. They had no heat or sanitation, and if that situation wasn't bad enough, they also used to conserve the animal excrement to use as fuel. Pongy or what??

 You may be thinking that, OK, hundreds of years ago this may have been a rather 'normal' situation for poor and working class citizens, but unbelievably, this was the situation in the 1930s and 1940s. This extreme poverty here was finally brought to light during this period, and Matera and its sassi became a huge embarrassment for Italy. In the 1950s a relocation programme was put into action, with sassi-dwellers being moved to newer, less dirty and disease-ridden parts of town. For a long time the caves remained abandoned, but in the 80s, a revival truly began, as the stone houses were bought, and re-modelled into cool cafes, bars, restaurants and B&Bs. In fact, in 1993 the town of Matera actually became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Now if that isn't an impressive turnaround, I don't know what is!

OK, history lesson ends here! Myself and my man were gobsmacked at the former living conditions in the sassi, and paid a few euros to enter one that had been decked out in 1930s style- fake horse and all (Casa Grotta di Vico Solitario). We listened to a guide talk about the dwelling, and made several appalled expressions at some of the animal excrement comments that were mentioned.

See that room at the back? Yep, that was where the smelly stuff was kept...

But what impressed us the most, was the sheer beauty of these sassi; looking out over the rock face at all of these small caves, especially when they were lit up at night, was just incredible. There were plenty of viewpoints to stop at, as we explored the winding streets and passageways of this historic town, so we managed to get plenty of great photos.

Our B&B was called Alle Malve and was located on Via Bruno Buozzi, right in the centre of the sassi. The owner was helpful and accommodating, as she gave us an easy to follow map and, the following day, a lovely breakfast of homemade cake and biscuits, as well as the standard coffee and croissant. Despite being located in an actual stone cave, the bedroom wasn't at all humid; in fact, it was lovely and warm.

On Saturday night we had hoped to eat at local restaurant 'Il Pico', which my lovely friend Ali (http://cilentofairytales.blogspot.it/) had recommended to me after she and her hubby had dined there during their stay in Matera. However, we couldn't get in as it was full, so instead we headed to 'Soul Kitchen'; a wonderful little place located in one of the sassi, where you can enjoy local dishes and very good service. We tucked into a chef's speciality plate of antipasti, which included local burrata cheese, radish and mushroom salad and a strange (but absolutely delicious) baked ricotta dish. We then followed it with a primo of pasta with sausage and mushrooms. The wine was also local, and of good quality, as we didn't suffer from any form of headache the next day!

Delicious anipasti

On Sunday morning we went for another stroll around the town, and also checked out the Museo d'arte Contemporanea and the Chiesa di San Pietro, before stopping for a very tasty coffee at Kiev Cafe on Via Bruno Buozzi.

Chiesa di San Pietro Caveoso

Our trip to Matera, albeit brief, was simply fantastic. What an incredible place, and only about 2 hours from where we are in the province of Foggia. As well as the delicious food, warm hospitality and unbelievable history, this is also the place where Mel Gibson shot his film The Passion of the Christ. If it's good enough for him....

Perfect Puglia

Well, would you look at that...it's now March! Doesn't time fly? And, as per usual (oh dear!) this Brit is way behind on her blogging...

A couple of weekends ago, it seemed as though Spring had already sprung here in Puglia. The sun was out, the sunglasses were on, and the thick coats were off. Myself and my man were incredibly lucky, as we had chosen this particular weekend to go on a little trip down to the beautiful Baroque city of Lecce (often named the 'Florence of the South', and it's easy to see why). We were blinded by the sun all the way down and even OPENED up the windows to let in some air, as the car was getting pretty hot. In FEBRUARY. Anyway, we had chosen to say at the Risorgimento Resort in the city centre; a rather chic five star hotel. And before you start thinking that I have rather extravagant tastes in accommodation , I actually stumbled across this place on Booking.com back in December, and snapped up a great price for that weekend. Myself and the Italian were very impressed, even if the staff weren't the friendliest bunch.

comfiest. bed. ever.

From the Pasticceria 'Natale'. I simply URGE you to go there.

We relaxed, drank coffee, ate delicious cakes and explored the city; in short, we had a wonderful (albeit brief) time in Lecce. Check out my recent article on charmingitaly.com if you want to know a bit more about lovely Lecce: http://www.charmingitaly.com/article/luxurious-weekends-in-lecce.

When Sunday rolled around, and we (very reluctantly) rolled out of what may be the biggest, most comfortable bed I have ever slept in, we said goodbye to Lecce and headed towards the seaside town of Polignano al Mare.

A visit to this little town, which is located right on the Adriatic sea in the province of Bari, is an absolute must for anyone who has the pleasure of visiting Puglia. Not only is is packed full of history, as it has been around since prehistoric times, but it is also home to cute little shops, restaurants and pavement cafes. Make sure you take time to wander around the windy little streets and read all the arty little messages that have been painted into the stone.

Next weekend we will be heading down to Matera. It is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world, and home to the famous 'sassi' (stone houses). Roll on Saturday!