Homemade raw vegetable stock

Last friday I went to our local market and came back home packed with vegetables and food.
On Monday, Maddalena, our 2-yr-old girl, got sick and I had to rearrange my working schedule and daily routines completely. Moreover M. showed lost her appetite and refused any sort of food (fruit juice and milk excluded) and I had no time to cook a proper meal in days.
Still I had to use the vegetables in some way... then the idea of homemade vegetable stock popped into my mind and I found myself in the kitchen, washing and chopping carrots, celery, leeks...
I have to thank a friend of mine for handing this recipe out to me - together with a tiny jar of stock she made with homegrown vegetables. Since then I got completely addicted ...I also like the fact that it's a good way to 'recycle' vegetables you may have discarded from other recipes or homemade juice leftovers.

I have recently found the same recipe on 101 cookbooks website, where you'll find more useful suggestions.

Ingredients:

carrots: 200 gr
celery: 200 gr
onion:200 gr
tomato:200 gr
garlic: 1 clove
persil: 1 handful of flat-leaf parsley
sage: 1 sprig
marjoram, or basil: 1 sprig
salt: 270 gr fine grain sea salt


Wash carefully and roughly chop the vegetables and fine herbs. Peel the garlic clove and onion then chop.
Place some of the vegetables and garlic clove in a food processor and pulse several times.They will collapse and leave room for other ingredients to be added in the the bowl. Add some more vegetables and pulse again. Repeat this process several times until you'll get a smooth vegetable puree. Then add the herbs. You may need to scoop some of the chopped vegetables on top of the herbs, so that the herbs get chopped too. Finally add salt and mix well.

You'll get a salty concentrated paste that you can keep in small (250 gr) glass jars or ice cube trays (if you need to freeze them), according to your needs. Remember to use only one teaspoon of stock every 250 ml (1 cup) of water/liquid, since it is very very salty!

You can choose your own vegetables for this stock recipe but remember to weigh the vegetables and herbs first, and add salt in this proportion: 1/3 of salt of the total vegetable weight.

"When you are free of the world, you can do something about it. As long as you are a prisoner of it, you are helpless to change it. On the contrary, whatever you do will aggravate the situation."

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, "I Am That"

Spinach and ricotta pudding with roasted cherry tomatoes

Last Thursday we had a holiday break. The weather was cold and damp, whith heavy rain falling al day long. We spent the whole day at home, long 'lazy hours' spent in cooking, storytelling and art projects.
The holiday break turned into a baking break: millet and coconut muffins for breakfast; spinach and ricotta pudding with roasted tomatoes for lunch.
As it always happens to me when I am up to several things at the same time, some trivial miniature disasters occured, including: almost burnt muffins, salt-less spinach pudding, and a sticky floor due to Maddalena's collages, happily blooming all over the dining room!

The spinach ricotta pudding recipe comes from my mother's 'memory cookbook', where nothing is written or weighed...but the result is always perfect. I had to be patient enough to weigh the ingredients and adjust to my taste, but, finally, here is the recipe I'd like to share with you.

Ingredients (serves 4):

fresh spinach: 400 gr
ricotta: 250 gr
eggs: 3
parmesan cheese: 6 tablespoons, grated + 3 for gratin
nutmeg powder: one pinch (optional)
butter: 20 gr
corn flour: 3-4 tablespoons
extravirgin olive oli: 1-2 tablespoons
cherry tomatoes: 400 gr

Pre-heat the oven at 180° C. Grease a small baking pan with butter and coat with corn flour.
Wash the spinach carefully, then stew in a saucepan for 10-15 minutes.
Remove from heat and drain the water in excess. Reserve until cool.
In a large bowl whisk together eggs and parmesan cheese then add ricotta cheese, nutmeg and salt to taste, and mix roughly with a fork.
Place the cooled spinach on a chopping board and finely chop whith a chopping knife, then add to the eggs and cheese mixture.
Pour the mixture into the baking pan then cover with corn flour and parmesan and sprinkle with olive oil.
Bake for 30 minutes in the oven, then cook au gratin for 5-10 minutes.
Meanwhile wash and drain the tomatoes. Place in a baking pan covered with a baking sheet and sprinkle with extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt. Bake for about 15 minutes.
Serve the spinach and ricotta pudding with roasted tomatoes or tomato sauce.

Cauliflower carpaccio with mustard citronette

Cauliflowers are amongst the most beautiful vegetables you can find in nature: white, green, or purple inflorescences surrounded by a luxuriant leafy nest. No wonder I always pick one at our local market...I like to get the most out of it and serve it as a vegetarian 'carpaccio': raw marinated paper-thin slices, for crunchy and healthy bites!

Ingredients (serves 2):

white cauliflower: 300 gr approximately
lemon juice: 1 lemon
extra virgin olive oil: 1 and ½ tablespoon
mustard: 1 teaspoon
salt: 1 pinch

For garnish:

lemon: 1 teaspoon of finely minced organic lemon zest
black sesame seeds: 1 teaspoon
rocket salad: 1 handful (optional)

Quarter a small cauliflower, discard central core and reserve for other purposes. Slice one quarter (approximately 300 gr.) as thin as possible and place the paper-thin, tree-shaped slices onto 2 plates.

In a small bowl whisk together the lemon juice with mustard and salt, then add the extra virgin olive oil and whisk well until combined. Adjust seasoning.

Season the cauliflower carpaccio with the mustard citronette. Sprinkle with black sesame seeds and lemon zest. Add rocket salad for garnish.

Marinate for 30 minutes in the fridge before serving.

"Mirrors reflect our bodies. Life, the external environment, reflects our minds."

Thubten Gyatso, "Transforming Problems into the Dharma Path"