Dinner at home with friends - Pranzo a casa con amici

To me, a good meal at home with friends is what celebrating food is all about.  Does it involve work?   Certainly. 

But look at my reasons:

• Everyone can bring a bottle and share, no inflated restaurant wine costs or corkage fees.
• No restaurant rule about dressing totally casually and slipping off your shoes.
• We can debate in a loud manner rather than whisper 'till the wee hours.

Flowers from the garden adorned the table

We feasted on:

Menu Planning


I always try to work some seasonal produce into my dinner menu - perhaps a fresh asparagus first course, or beautiful, sweet summer fruits in the dessert.   I try to use fresh, natural produce wherever possible. You just can't compare the flavor of freshly roasted peppers or other fresh vegetables with those frozen or canned from the supermarket shelf. 
When planning a special dinner, not only I try to maintain a nutritional balance but I also incorporate color, texture and flavor.

Vegetarian appetizer or antipasto
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Antipasto

Cold

A platter of roasted peppers, garden tomatoes, blanched cauliflower, grilled yellow squash and braised asparagus simply drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

Hot

Fried Calamari

Calamari fritti

Ricotta Manicotti

Cannelloni di ricotta

Stuffed Chickens

Sausage Stuffed Chickens - Polli ripieni

Oven Roasted Potatoes - Patate arrostite

Dessert - Fresh fruit

Frutta

After dessert, I kicked off my shoes and relaxed with friends.

Sharing a glass of wine and food with friends to me is felicita' (happiness).

Below is a very popular Italian song called Felicita'.  Enjoy.    
http://youtu.be/Q0wZQbK938Y

Saving Seeds

Every year, at the end of each harvest, we save some of our own seeds.  It’s not only a great sustainable gardening technique but it also saves money.  Our reason though is to have the seeds in time for indoor planting and outdoor sewing come next season. 



What seeds we save?

               

Corona Beans

All photos - Copyright - ©2011 - La Casa e Il Giardino – picasaweb



Allow pods to dry brown before harvesting, about six weeks after eating stage. If frost threatens, pull entire plant, root first, and hang in cool, dry location until pods are brown. The pods can be opened by hand.

Peppers

We use the dry method to process pepper seeds. Cut the bottom off the fruit and carefully reach in to strip the seeds surrounding central cone.  Seeds need no further cleaning.  Allow to the seeds to dry and save.

Tomatoes

From our garden, we choose tomatoes from the very healthiest plants.

Slice the tomato in half across the middle.  With a spoon, scoop out the seeds and their gelatin-like substance and place into a kitchen sieve and rinse them. Place the rinsed seeds on wax paper or paper towel.  Spread them in a single layer allowing the seeds to dry for at a least a week stirring them occasionally.

All seeds should be labeled.  While many like to store seeds in plastic bags, we prefer small, air-tight, glass jars. 

What seeds are you saving?

 

Cream of Squash Soup with Spinach - Crema di Zucca con Spinaci

At our local, open-air, farmer’s market I found spinach and yellow squash.  I could have made spinach and brown rice or pasta with squash. 

 

But what can be more enticing than the fragrance of bubbling warm soup? 

It’s time for a bowl of Cream of Squash Soup.

Crema di Zucca con Spinaci
All photos - Copyright - ©2011 - La Casa e Il Giardino – picasaweb

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb. yellow squash

1 lb. fresh spinach

3 fresh ripe tomatoes

1 cup celery

1 carrot

1 onion

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Wash and trim all vegetables.  Cut into pieces the squash, the onion, the carrot, the celery and tomatoes.  Place all vegetables in a low but large pot together with olive oil,  two cups of water and salt and pepper.  Cook for 25 minutes.  Puree in food processor or food mill and keep warm.  Briefly wilt spinach in salted, boiling water. Garnish cream of squash soup with wilted spinach.