A Busy Saturday

It's early morning, and I am taking advantage of everyone else's sleep to have a few minutes of quiet. Writing should be done this way.

I came downstairs and found the coffee machine ready, prepared by my lovely Au Pair. She loves me very much. She loves all of us.

I think we are indeed very lucky to have her in our life. We share many things, above all the love for children and cooking.

The first time we baked together, a few weeks ago, she said: "Vanessa, this is like being back home with my Mum, on a Sunday we would always bake biscuits and cakes".

Her mother will always send us recipes to try and I am more than happy to. My mother does the same, mothers who raised children always have good tips and tricks to make life easier for younger mothers. It's like a network of knowledge and love and care that beats any physical distance. It makes us all feel together and working for a common goal.

Yesterday I was cooking all day. Well, cooking and baking!!!

So the first recipe that comes to mind is a bit of a classic in Southern Italy, Ciambelline al Vino, or Wine Donuts.


The base of the dough is made with white or red wine, and they are indeed a sweet treat for everyone to enjoy.

Ciambelline Al Vino

Ingredients:

750 Grams of Flour
250 Grams of Wine
250 Grams of Sugar, either white or brown
One sachet of Yeast, 7 Grams
200 Grams of Vegetable Oil
50 Grams of Olive Oil
A Pinch of Salt

The funny thing is, all these are staples found in every house, so to make these you don't really need to go shopping.

Mix all the ingredients together until you get a nice, soft dough:

Once done, divide in little balls and flatten them a bit

On the side, have a bowl with brown sugar ready

Make a hole in each ball and there you have a donut!

Place the donut in the sugar on one side only, and lay your creations on a baking tray lined with oven paper

Here is what you get after baking in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 15-20 minutes.

When you pull them out they will still feel a bit soft, but they become crunchy when cold. Yum!

Egg Free Savoury Cornetti

These can be made sweet, or salty. Here is the salty variation.

Ingredients:

500 Grams of Flour
250 Grams of Milk
250 Grams of Butter or other cooking fat (olive oil, vegetable oil, coconut oil, soy spread...)
A Pinch of Salt
One Sachet of Yeast, 7 Grams

Filling of your choice

Place the flour in a bowl

Place in it the melted butter and the milk

Work the dough and then divide in 4 parts

With the rolling pin, make a circular shape out of each part of dough and divide in 8 slices

Here, I have chosen to fill them with soft cheese and cooked ham, but really, the possibilities are endless :)

Roll each cornetto starting from the outside

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes and here is what comes out!!! 

School lunchbox sorted for over a week :)

Coconut Oil... what else?

It's been a long, long, long time since I posted on my blog.

Life has been busy, the little one turned 2 years old and I have been cooking, cleaning, working and doing everything else on full throttle. Especially, being a mother. The hardest job of them all :)

A friend of mine recently told me about coconut oil. He uses it for his wonderful hair, black, curly hair, and for his skin.

I have read online for a few days and then I told him: Ok, you sold me coconut oil!

Great. In the past few days I've been experimenting with this wonder of nature. I bought two jars of coconut oil (it is, in fact, below 25 degrees Celsius, a solid, white paste).

My son has eczema quite often behind his knees. Coconut Oil!
My husband suffers from psoriasis since he was 7 years old. Coconut Oil!
My hair look a bit unhealthy and have no volume. Coconut Oil!

I've been spreading it, melting it, rubbing it... The benefits of this oil are endless.

I have been cooking biscuits and egg-free snacks at the weekend, and in the place of the butter I have used coconut oil.

It is truly marvellous. It gives a great taste to many different things and it has now earned a spot on my kitchen counter. Since it is something you can both eat and use as a cosmetic, I have placed it next to the stove and that's its spot. I never want to run out of it now that I have tried it!!!

I am also reading the book The Coconut Oil Miracle, by Bruce Fife. It is in fact a very interesting read and I also recommend reading online about the benefits of this oil.

Below is two simple recipes for the beauties in the picture: Coconut Oil Egg Free Cornetti and Coconut Oil Biscuits

On the left, Coconut Oil Biscuits

Ingredients: 

125 Grams of Coconut Oil

Melt the above in a saucepan

80 Grams of Dark Chocolate
80 Grams of Walnuts or Hazelnuts

Shred both the above in tiny pieces and add to the melted Coconut Oil

2 Eggs

Beat them and add them to the Coconut Oil and Walnuts and Chocolate mix

7 Grams or one sachet of Yeast, stir in the mixture

400 Grams of Flour

Fold into the mix above until you obtain a smooth ball of dough

Once you have the ball, start taking little pieces of it, roll them into tiny balls and flatten them a bit onto a baking tray lined with non stick paper.

Cook in the oven for about 20 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius.

When you take them out, they might seem soft, but they will become nice and crunchy as soon as they are cold.

Lovely and easy.

On the right, Egg Free Chocolate Cornetti

Ingredients:

100 Grams of Coconut Oil

Melt it in a little saucepan

125 Grams or one pot of Yogurt, I used chocolate flavour but you can use vanilla or white yogurt, they'll be just as nice

Add it to the melted Coconut Oil

250 Grams of Flour

Fold into the mixture above

1/2 Sachet or 3.5 Grams of Yeast

To be added to the mix

Once you have worked the ingredients together, divide the dough in two parts. With the rolling pin, form a circle and divide as you would do with a cake, in 8 parts diameter-wise.

Put on each part a teaspoon of your filling of choice, jam or chocolate spread, and roll them, starting from the larger side of each "slice".

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius, and, as for the biscuits, they will become crunchy once they cool down.

I have been placing them in my son's lunchbox for the past week and he loves them :)