Which color??

Portlandia once again shares my feelings....

How I feel about Italy's waste disposal (link to video!)

SOo I found this on awkward family photos. Haha unicorns!!

The Doxology

I was just thinking about singing this song with you guys this morning. So yes.


Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost;
Amen.



I love you all.

All The Italian Places Video

So this is one of the videos that Luke made while we were in Orvieto and I figured he wouldn't mind if I shared it with everyone through our blog. I was just watching it and felt that it needed to be shared. Enjoy!

Pie and Heima

Made my first lemon meringue pie on Thursday. As you can see, the dollops are friends. Like us.

And then, last night, I snuggled up here at Gordon with some friends
                and blankets
                         by the A.C.

and watched Heima.

The Golden Legend

I found another portrayal of everyone's favorite story; the search for the Holy Cross! Only this was entirely embroidered, and in a church in Stratford Upon Avon. I honestly hope Shakespeare learned as much about this stuff as we did. 

Regardless, I DID feel very proud that I could explain the whole story.

Shhh don't tell Prof. Skillen. 

Crostata

Ciao tutti,

For all of you that wanted it but didn’t get it, here is the crostata recipe that I wrote from Alessandro’s demonstration.  Disclaimer: The recipe is after Alessandro’s directions, which includes a lot of questimation, but I did my best to make things clear including photos.

Crostata Recipe
To make this type of crostata there are three stages
-the base
-the cream
-the fruit

 To make the base you will need

~1 stick of butter
-350 grams of flour (~2.5 cups)

-3 eggs
-150 grams of sugar (~3/4 cup)

To make the cream you will need (be warned as this part is essentially questimation)

~3 glasses of milk (I used ~ 24 ounces)
~3 large spoonful’s of flour
~3 large spoonful’s of sugar
-3 egg yolks

For the fruit you will need
-various kinds of fruit
                Bananas are recommended by Alessandro

Other Materials

-bowls of various sizes
-pots
-pie pan or something equivalent
-stove
-oven
-spoons- measuring and mixing
-fork or wax paper
-knife
-cutting board

Directions

For Base

-preheat oven to 320 f =160c

-melt the 1 stick of butter

-In separate bowl (while butter is melting)
                -pour in the flour 2.5 cups of flour
                -crack the 3 eggs in the center of the flour
               -gradually add in the ¾ cup of sugar and mix

-once the dough is thick, add butter gradually and mix

(Note: butter must be melted, but not too hot as this is the point where you may need to use your hands to mix)

-Add flour as necessary to make the dough less sticky
-put a cross in the center to bless the dough 

For Baking

-Butter the pie pan and press in the dough
-smooth edges with a spoon
-with a fork, poke hole in the dough to keep it from rising or cover with wax paper
-place in oven and bake for ~ 20 minutes
Note: This base can be used for most cakes and biscuits

 For Cream

-Heat 2 glasses of the milk (stir so it doesn’t burn) (note: here is where it is nice to have a helper)
-In a separate bowl
                -mix the 3 egg yolks and sugar
                -gradually add in the flour
                -add the 1 cup of cod milk into the mixture
-In a larger pan over low heat (or in a double boiler)
                -mix the mixture with the hot milk gradually
                -stir until it gets thick
(Note: A little trick of Alessandro’s is to put some pieces of the yellow of lemons in for flavor and then to remove them)

 For Completion

-Once baked take the base out of the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes
-Pour the cream into the base
-wash and cut the fruit into strips
-Decorate
-refrigerate for ~ half a day for best results
(Note: gelatin per dolce (I don’t know the English equivalent) can be melted and poured on top to keep the fruit from browning)