Florence - The Rennaisance City - 1

Florence [Firenze] -The Rennaisance City

We arrived quite late in the evening, our flight having been delayed from London, probably due to adverse weather conditions which followed us across Europe and gave us a nervous ride. Our Hotel, Hotel Berchielle, was reasonably priced and very much in the centre of all the main sites – on the side of the river Arno and close to the Ponte Vecchio and the Ponte Trinita [the bridge of the four seasons]. Although we didn’t have a view of the river from our room, we did have a very pleasant patio area. However, we spent little time in the hotel to enjoy this facility. Breakfast was excellent and varied. We went to bed as soon as we arrived so that we could be at our first booked exploration early the next morning.

August is not a good month to visit Florence as the weather is uncomfortably hot and dry. However, [and there is always an upside to any negative] there were no crowds at the Uffizi when we arrived for our first guided tour. Our guide was impressively knowledgeable about the art and the history of Florence. She was also enthusiastic and engaging so, we felt, well worth doing. If we had done that tour on our own we would not have gained, anything like, as much from the visit. Having prearranged the tour also meant we could bypass any queues. I was particularly impressed with the Sandro Botticelli gallery. We had time, peace and space to contemplate, enjoy and discuss the exhibits – especially, ‘The Birth of Venus’ and ‘La Primavera’, what a privilege.

Of course, we also saw paintings of Titian [Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/1490– 27 August 1579) known in English as Titian], Michangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Giotto, Fra Filippo Lippo and many others. How amazing to see them ‘in the flesh’, so to speak.

The impressive building is, in itself, worth seeing as the home of the, all powerful, Medici family who, more or less ruled this city from the 15^th century until the early 18^th century when they ran out of heirs.

During the 16^th Century Cosimo de Medici had constructed a walkway from the top of the  Uffizi, across the Ponte Vecchio to the Pitti Palace on the south side of the river Arno – an impressive feat completed within 6 months.

We did spend some time, before lunch, in the leather market. I had intended, on my trip to Florence, to buy a new leather bag. I had something definite in mind and was not disappointed. It was not cheap and I could probably have bought something much cheaper on-line but, this was definitely of superior quality. My daughter also bought a very beautiful bag which she expected to be her ‘new best friend’.

We had lunch in the cafe attached to the Savoy Hotel in the Piazza della Republica. Super food in a splendid locality.

In the afternoon we visited L’Academia – the home of the original statue of David by Michangelo, as well as lots of other examples of his work. We booked this visit in advance and as a timed visit, it ensured we were able to enjoy the museum without too much competition for space. This is, increasingly, a method of controlling crowds in many of the world’s favourite sites for the enjoyment of everyone and is well worth the effort of checking this out and booking before visiting.

We looked forward to our boat trip in the evening on the River Arno. It was not at all what we had been expecting.

The boatmen, the Renaioli who ‘pole’  their boats  - barchetti up and down the river, traditionally to collect sediment [ this sediment was used in the buildings of the city itself ] and other  materials from the bottom of the river. This was a tradition handed down from father to son over many generations. During the infamous floods of 1966 in Florence, apart from other major damage to the city, most of these boats were destroyed – only 10 remain. The tiny boat we went out on was called ‘Moses’. What a magical trip! So quiet and atmospheric, providing a view of the city which could not be had from any other place. Our guide was a passionate source of the history of the city from Renaissance times through the 2^nd World and the occupation of the city by Hitler and his troops, the 1966 floods to the present day. Our trip was concluded by our guide popping a bottle of delicious Prosecco to toast our stay in this wonderful city.

As night fell we wandered slowly across the Ponte Vecchio – that ancient iconic bridge,[ and the only bridge left standing following Hitler's invasion of the city, soaking up the atmosphere, the sounds of live music from musicians performing to an appreciative audience. Although darkness had fallen it was still almost unbearably hot and humid. Thunder storms were promised for the next day.

We enjoyed an amazing meal in a restaurant overlooking the south bank of the river – the Borgo San Jacopo. Not a cheap choice but, the food and wine were well worth the visit. The Sommelier suggested a wine which was outstanding – Nova Domus Reserva 2009 from Alto Adige Terlaner – strawberries and cream [without the sweetness] and a slight aftertaste of caramel, just stunning! If anyone knows where it is possible to buy this wine in UK, I would be very grateful.

Preserves with Cucumber – and Chilli information

I have just been writing a blog on preserves using tomatoes and of course, there must be hundreds of recipes for them. I can only experiment with ideas and the ingredients I have. While I might do that, I take into consideration the rules of cake making and pastry making [for these the recipes and quantities must be measured carefully. Although I use ideas /recipes/ suggested quantities/ suggested methods by other cooks and chefs, I can only share my own ideas and tried and tested recipes [well, occasionally I have suggested to me or I have experimented with a recipe from a favourite 'Famous Chef'.

But, with preserves it is not such an ‘exact science’. [at least in creating home-made preserves].

With produce from the allotment we are always dealing with what we have got, which might not always be perfect but, we feel, should not be wasted. [Really, sometimes it is best to compost stuff– perhaps too many beans, to keep them cropping or too many courgettes to stop them from becoming huge unusable marrows – it seems a shame to me that I should have to use too large, unwelcome vegetables when there is a plethora of small, perfect specimens.]

However, mostly I am thinking of the quality of chillies. When considering which chillies to use in the preparation of dishes or preserves, it is important to know and understand the heat of the spices we are using especially when we are producing preserves which children will eat.

People have different tolerances of spice when eating food. My own personal preference is for hot spicy food but, not so hot that it causes me distress or pain when I am eating. I like to enjoy the flavour of my food. Similarly, when I am preparing chillies for freezing or for inclusion in my food, I would prefer to not have serious pain in my hands, my face when I rest my chin in my palm or the inability to remove my contact lenses after working with chillies. On one seed producer’s website, I was interested to learn that the workers removing the seeds from the fruit had to replace the rubber gloves every hour as the oils dissolved the gloves!

The heat in chillies is measured on the Scoville Scale [from Wilbur Scoville who developed the scale]. To help with the rating – Sweet Bell peppers measure zero and the hottest known naturally grown chilli [the Ghost pepper, measures 855,000-1,050,000, depending presumably, on the growing conditions]

The favourite of many people who like a bit of heat to their food – the Jalapeño – measures from 10,000 – 15,000 Scovilles. I have grown this but found that, in a dull year, it is almost heatless and tasteless. Being quite fleshy it is difficult to dry though it does freeze quite well.

My favourite is Joe’s Long – they are easy to germinate, pretty easy to grow in a poly tunnel or greenhouse and each plant produces many fruits. They will ripen, even in a dull year [as long as they have started to colour, they will continue to do so when harvested and hung on strings to dry]. As they have thin flesh they dry easily and can be kept for several years. Their Scoville measurement is from 20,000 - 50,000. It is possible to Google the Scoville measurement of any pepper you are likely to use. However, if you add the seeds, the heat is likely to be much more intense. Adding the fruit without or with few seeds is likely to give a more balanced flavour.

From there to Cucumbers! I am not a huge fan of cucumbers and I find that in salads the taste of cucumbers is unpleasantly dominant. However, I do enjoy cucumber pickles and relishes to be served with cold meats, cheese, burgers, barbeque food, etc.

As I am not fond of the salad type I have only grown [this year] a small variety called F1 Greenfingers. I germinated several of these seeds but only managed to grow one on successfully. It is suggested by Dobies – the seed supplier that, they will grow successfully outdoors and in a better year I will do that. However, this year I decided to grow my only successful plant in my polytunnel. I have been harvesting brilliant small cucumbers from this plant for several weeks although it has now become quite rampant and very productive [what would I have done with the produce from several plants? I have had to cut back several of the branches from this plant where they were threatening to overgrow my pepper plants. Well, if you like cucumbers in salads there is no problem but, for me, I grew this small variety for pickling/chutneys/relishes.

I have never tried to produce whole pickled cucumbers before and I was doubtful about adding dill to the mix as my family is not so keen. This time I have added dill to some but not others. I do think that a higher concentration of vinegar will give a crisper and longer lasting pickle. I will do that next time and report back.

Pickled Gherkins or Cucumbers

Approx 2lb [1 kg] small cucumbers [ I am using F1 Greenfingers]

4 – 5 good sized garlic cloves

1 pint [ 500ml] water                                                  ¼ pint [125 ml] white vinegar

8 oz [225 g] salt                                                                      8 oz [225g] sugar

2 tsp white mustard seed                                                        2 tsp peppercorns

2 tsp coriander seed                                                    [small bunch fresh dill if liked]

Method

·         Wash the cucumbers and prick all over with a fork. Place them in a bowl and sprinkle the salt over them. Leave for several hours to remove excess moisture.

·         Drain and wash well several times.

·         Put the water, vinegar, sugar and spices together into a sauce and simmer gently for several minutes.

·         Pack the gherkins into sterilised jars, with small bunches of dill if using.

·         Slice the garlic cloves and add them.

·         Pour the hot liquid over the gherkins ensuring they are filled to the top – make sure there are no air bubbles trapped.

·         Cover and seal.

·         Allow a few days for the cucumbers to pickle but these pickles are best eaten within a couple of months.

For the following recipe you can use any size and variety of cucumber. This year I am experimenting with adding chopped red peppers to the mix. As they have no heat they will not add that to the piquancy but, will add their unmistakable flavour and of course, their vibrant colour

Hot Sweet Cucumber Relish

Like so many other vegetables in late summer, we wonder what to do with the glut. It doesn’t take too many cucumber plants to have too many cucumbers. Try this recipe as a way of using and preserving them.

Ingredients

1 kg cucumbers ( 2 lb) – don’t let them get too big or they will be full of seeds

1 kg onions ( 2 lb)

1 cooking apple

600ml white vinegar (1 pint)

3–4 red chillies(I have used Joe’s Long, use a medium hot chilli, but take care if for children)

500gm sugar ( 1 lb) – I used white sugar, but soft brown sugar will ‘warm’ the colour of the relish

2 tsp salt                                                          1 tsp allspice

½ tsp ground cloves                                        1 tsp turmeric

¼ tsp mustard powder                                                ¼ tsp ground mixed peppers( black, green, red)

Method

1.      Top and tail the cucumbers and remove the skin – cut into small cubes - ¼ cm- ish. If necessary, remove the seeds – if the seeds are still soft, you can leave them in.

2.      Peel the onions and chop finely – similar size to the cucumber.

3.      Peel and core the cooking apple and cut into fine slices.

4.      Cut the red chillies into small pieces – if you don’t want the relish to be too hot, leave the seeds out, or leave some of the seeds out. For a hotter relish add more chillies.

5.      Put the chopped cucumbers, onions, apples and chillies into a large pan or preserving pan with the vinegar and gently simmer until all the vegetables are cooked through – approx. 30 mins.

6.      Prepare the jars/ bottles – wash well and sterilise – put in a warm oven - 100ºC for 15mins.

7.      Add the sugar and stir until dissolved.

8.      Add the spices and salt to taste, add more salt if necessary.

9.      Simmer gently until the relish thickens – remember, when cool it will be thicker. Stir occasionally.

10.  Pour into the hot sterilised jars and seal immediately. Label.

There are lots of ideas for using finely sliced cucumbers or gherkins in pickles I will try some of these out next year and get back to you.

Preserving with Tomatoes

Tomato Preserves

Well, it is that time of year again when I am spending a lot of very satisfying time making pickles, relishes, chutneys, etc along with other interesting ways of preserving my glut of vegetables for the winter. Of course, this year the crops are ripening late and some are struggling to ripen. Although, we have had a few sunny days among the torrential rain and fortunately some of those were during our Olympics.

I have been picking tomatoes for two or three weeks, I am only now harvesting in sufficient quantities to think of preserving.

I haven't planted any tomatoes outdoors this year but, planted several each of Alicante, F1 Fantasio and Sultana [all from Dobies] as well as my very precious Heritage tomato Broad Ripple Yellow Currant, which was given to me [see a previous Blog]. Sultana is a heavy cropping, tasty, crisp and reliable salad tomato. I grew it last year and loved it. My three plants this year are providing more fruits than I can eat so my neighbours are also getting lots. Alicante and F1 Fantasio are medium to large tomatoes which are excellent for all dishes demanding tomatoes. They freeze well and are excellent for preserves.

This home-made tomato ketchup is a favourite with my family. My first batch this year is perhaps a little hot for children but is very delicious - perhaps it was just my heavy hand with the chillies, they can be a bit unpredictable and the heat can be influenced by the amount of sunshine when ripening [if you are making the ketchup for children leaving the seeds out of the chillies might be a good idea]. I am still using the last of my 2011 dried chillies as this year's are not yet ripe.

Home made Tomato Ketchup

2Kg ripe tomatoes ( 4½ lbs)                            2 – 3 fresh bay leaves – crushed

568ml white vinegar( 1 pt)                              piece of cinnamon bark

190g white granulated sugar ( 6oz)                2 – 3 cloves garlic - crushed

1 Tblsp. salt                                                     2 – 3 red chillies ( dried or fresh)

¼ - ½ tsp ground allspice                                ¼ - ½ tsp ground cloves

Large pinch coarsely ground black pepper                                                                

Method

1.      Wash and roughly cut the tomatoes and put in a preserving pan or large saucepan with the salt, bay leaves, cinnamon bark, crushed garlic cloves and vinegar (be fairly sparing with the salt at this stage – add more in the final stages as necessary).

2.      Add the chopped chillies. Take care with these, especially if the ketchup is for children ( I have used dried  Joe’s Long, grown indoors - which are of medium heat and usually reliable)

3.      Bring to the boil then simmer gently until the tomatoes are thoroughly softened.

4.      In the meantime, sterilise the bottles or jars – keep hot in low oven.

5.    Remove the cinnamon bark and bay leaves then, sieve the tomato mixture through a coarse sieve – preferable nylon. Return the juice and pulp to a clean saucepan.

6.      Add sugar then ground allspice, ground cloves and black pepper gradually, tasting frequently to ensure the flavour is not too strong. Remember, when the ketchup is cold, the flavour will be somewhat milder. You may also want to add more salt if needed.

7.      Simmer the mixture until it starts to thicken. Don’t make it too thick at this stage as it thickens as it cools.

8.      Put the heated sterilised bottles/jars on a wooden surface and fill them with the ketchup while it is still very hot. Seal the jars immediately. This ketchup should keep safely for several months.

If your preference is for relish or chutney I have found my Hot Spicy Roasted Pepper and Tomato Chutney to be particularly popular:

Hot Spicy Roasted Pepper and Tomato Chutney

2 kg ripe tomatoes - peeled

4 large ripe sweet peppers – any shape will be good but use only red or yellow peppers

3 large onions – peeled and finely chopped

4 good sized garlic cloves, finely chopped or crushed

3-4 hot red peppers (remove the seeds if you don’t want your chutney to be too hot)

1 tsp ground cinnamon,        1 tsp ground cloves,       ½ tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp salt

850 ml vinegar (1½pt) – white vinegar is best but malt vinegar will also do

700g (1½lb) sugar

Method

·         Skin the tomatoes and chop – (skinning tomatoes can be done in several ways:

* – on a fork over a gas flame – great for a couple of tomatoes!

* - in a bowl with boiling water poured over – great for a handful or so.

* - For a large amount – cut out the core and put in the largest bowl which will fit in the micro wave. Microwave on full for 20 minutes, then, just lift off the skins. Chop roughly.

·         Put the peppers into a roasting tin in a hot oven 200°C or No 6 Gas for 30 mins or so. They should just start to brown or char. Leave them to cool.

·         Remove the skins and the seeds as far as possible then chop roughly.

·         Put the chopped tomatoes, chopped peppers, chopped onions, chopped garlic, vinegar and sugar into a preserving pan with the spices and seasonings.

·         Simmer slowly until the sugar has dissolved and the fruit/vegetables have softened.

·         Bring to the boil and cook, stirring frequently to ensure it does not stick and burn until it starts to turn thick.

·         Pot up in hot, sterilised jars. Cover and label.

Of course, don’t forget about that invaluable method of freezing tomatoes. I find that the tubs of frozen tomato pulp are used in casseroles, pasta dishes, Mexican and Indian dishes and I am always disappointed when my supply has finished and I must buy tins of prepared tomato pulp instead

Freezing Tomatoes

Use normal-sized or large tomatoes.

Wash them and cut out the central cores.

Put them into the largest micro-wave proof bowl you have which will fit into your micro-wave oven.

Microwave on full power for 20 minutes.

Remove, allow to cool slightly and lift off the skins. Pour off the excess juice.

( my friend Philip, who gave me this method does not remove the juice. There is merit to both methods. For his – where the juice is included – the resultant pulp is less strong, is suitable for lots of recipes, including soup.

With my dryer method – it is more concentrated, the flavoursome juice has been lost, it is really too sharp and concentrated for soup but, is excellent for Italian dishes, it takes up less space in the freezer.

Put the skinned tomatoes back into the bowl and microwave on full power for a further 20  minutes.

I

Beetroots, Beans and Courgettes

Well, I had been hoping for a title of 3 x C’s [ courgettes, cucumbers and cauliflowers] but, although my cucumbers have exceeded my expectations – so, more in my next blog – this blog is about those late summer and into autumn crops.

Beetroots, this year, have been brilliant. I sowed the seed in small pots in my poly-tunnel then transplanted out in late April – no thinning necessary and I have had a great crop of medium to large roots. It has to be said that the roots systems of these plants has been shallow – perhaps this system of planting and growing would not have been so successful in a dryer year. But, do I need long roots which could break in harvesting and allow the roots to ‘bleed’ during cooking? More experiments next year.

Now what do I do with all of these vegetables? For me, I have always steamed or boiled them, then pickled – of course, as a vegetable, they should not be ignored though the cooking time somewhat puts me off -2 - 3 hours boiling or steaming or 30 minutes in a pressure cooker.

Of course there are other ways of cooking beetroot. One of the wonderful aspects of having children who are also interested in food - growing and cooking is that they now give me recipes, ideas and methods of cooking vegetables I would never have dreamed of. My younger daughter tells me that she roasts her beetroot before using in dishes like soup or casseroles – she thinks it develops the flavour better than just steaming or boiling. She allows 2 – 3 hours in a low oven depending on the size of the roots. Of course, you could make more of this process and wash, trim, peel and cut the roots into wedges. Add similar sized carrots, garlic and potatoes to a medium roasting tin. Sprinkle generously with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, rosemary, salt and pepper and roast in a medium oven for 50 to 60 mins – brilliant!

Well beans! What can I say this year? Although my broad beans, both autumn and spring sown were good – not brilliant but acceptable. I’ve had several goes at trying to establish the different types I’ve been used to growing successfully. At last, my runner beans [Moonlight from Dobies – chitted in late April] have started to produce harvestable bean pods. This was not the fault of the beans though might have been my fault as I chatted them and was unable to plant out due to the very dry conditions – the ground was like rock. I guess I could have potted them on but, had too many other plants to deal with- they were not my priority in my limited space. Some of my allotment neighbours have been harvesting runner beans for a couple of weeks now.

My Purple Teepee French beans, normally so very productive, have been slow, but then again, they have been eaten off by both slugs and pigeons and only a second sowing in pots in my polytunnel, then planted out under netting has eventually started to provide me with a crop.

I don’t think we should measure the potential for this vegetable on this season’s results. This is an unusual year. As one of my neighbours said – a gardener in his eighties who has seen many years, both good and bad - these are the kind of conditions which we must accept. I have never seen a year like this before.

Courgettes – well! it has taken me several goes this year to establish three productive courgette plants. Many of my seeds failed to germinate. Some of those failed to grow on successfully and, of those which ‘stayed the course’, I now have three plants producing more fruits than I can cope with. My plants are Orelia F1 from Dobies. As I have said in a previous blog, I am not a big fan of the Zucchini type of courgette. I find them wet and tasteless. However, these wonderful plants, my Orelia, are slower growing and produce beautiful, golden, dry courgettes which don’t gallop towards huge tasteless and wet marrows overnight. The Orelia can be used in so many dishes – add as a vegetable to curries; as an onion and courgette quiche [try with a blue cheese topping – my favourite is with Blue Stilton]; use with chicken in a cheesy sauce with pasta – add lots of garlic, lemon thyme and marjoram. I love envelopes of sliced vegetables, especially courgettes or squashes, with chicken breast or thigh joints – add a little fruit if you have it – a sliced apple or peach though do experiment with more exotic fruits. Allow a generous seasoning and wrap up in tin foil or greaseproof paper –then bake for 1 hour in a medium oven.

But do try this recipe – my elder daughter thinks this is so tasty:

Aine’s Courgette and Potato Pie

Ingredients:
500-750g courgettes – green or gold
4 large potatoes
1  onion, sliced or diced

2 eggs
250g grated cheddar cheese – or similar cheese which will melt during cooking
1 Tblsp olive oil
a sprig of  lemon thyme

1 portion of puff, flaky or rough puff pastry [use frozen or make your own]
seasoning to taste

Method

·         Grate the courgettes (no need to peel) and then pat dry to remove excess water, especially if you are using green courgettes.

·         Peal and then grate the potatoes. Combine the courgettes, potatoes, onions, herbs, eggs, cheese with some salt and pepper in a large bowl and ensure thoroughly mixed.

• Again drain off any excess water – allow a little water for the potatoes to cook.
• Grease a pie dish and place the mixture in the dish.
• Roll out the pastry and place over the top, trim off any excess.
• Bake for 50mins-1hour in  a moderately hot oven until the pastry is golden.
• Serve.  Great with a crisp salad with a sharp lemony dressing.