Tag: art

The art of watering the vegetable garden (especially in times of drought) – Italian Cuisine

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Savings, mulching, rainwater, intelligent irrigation: these are just some of the key terms for saving water in our garden, especially in times of drought. Watering is in fact an art, just as it is an art to know the vegetables that need a greater water supply, the most efficient irrigation systems and many other small, big tricks to water our beloved garden. Here is what they are.

They range from the most practical tips, such as keeping the watering can always close to the ground or giving water to our garden only at certain times, to more specific advice regarding existing irrigation systems. In all cases always remember that the first threat to the green thumb, whether it is a vegetable garden or simply a plant, it is to give too much water (even more than giving too little).

177640At this point the first rule, which may seem trivial, is to avoid planting vegetables that are too thirsty. Yes therefore a sage, rosemary, peas, some varieties of tomatoes and in general small plants, such as lettuce or basil. While in arid places it is definitely not recommended to grow watermelons, melons, pumpkins or cucumbers, notoriously hungry for water. Also there soil quality it is important: a well-worked soil allows the roots of vegetables to grow stronger and more branched, able to absorb every drop of water. It is important to work and ventilate the soil well before sowing, so that it is soft. We can continue to move it with our hands from time to time (paying more attention!) Even after the plants are born.

177631The second rule concerns how and when to water: it is recommended to do it only when you really need it (checking the ground) and it should always be done in the morning and / or at sunset. Meanwhile it is important to direct the water well, avoiding to distribute it unnecessarily. And then it is recommended to opt for a thrifty system, such as drip systems, which require water to arrive directly on the ground.

177643Indicated is also underground irrigation, which provides that the water flows in pipes arranged between the vegetables and penetrates into the soil thanks to small holes. Absolutely non-saving irrigation systems should be avoided. Also when using the watering can it is also good to keep it as close to the ground as possible, to disperse less water. Always remember how precious rainwater is and try to collect it and convey it.

177637One of the secrets to combat drought is in the so-called mulching, word not known to all and litmus paper to identify the true garden experts. That is the spreading of mulch (layer of material of various nature generally consisting of dried leaves, pine bark and various foliage) on the ground to protect crops from excessive insolation. Mulching is in fact an operation carried out in agriculture and gardening which consists of covering the ground with a layer of material, however keep the humidity in the soil, protecting the soil from erosion and the action of heavy rain, maintaining the structure and raising the soil temperature. It is an excellent system to retain soil moisture and can be made using different materials. Better to opt for the organic materials (gravel, bark, sawdust, pine needles), but you can also use plastic sheeting or cardboard.

Know the right soil and plants. Fundamental is then to know which plants grow in a given area and which have obvious difficulties in resisting, respecting the environmental context in which the plants grow and avoiding waste of resources and energy stubbornly making some plants grow at all costs wrong habitat. There is also a small consideration on the level of sun exposure of the green area: in this regard it is good to ask an expert for advice on the types of plants that are easier to grow than the need for light, the time of year and the temperature of the area where you live.

Emanuela Di Pasqua,
July 2017
updated August 2019

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Macedonia, the art of fruit salad – Italian Cuisine

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Genuine fruit is a panacea, there is no doubt. And eat fruit it also makes you lose weight, word of Harvard! Mixing fruit in a delicious and creative way is a way to enjoy it even more and maybe increase our daily doses. Breakfast, snack, dessert or even a single dish, the fruit salad – or fruit salad if you prefer – is a dish to be re-evaluated, especially in the hot season.

It is also about an alternative to extracts, centrifuges & c., which are good, of course, but do not overdo it. We therefore proceed with some advice to prepare healthy and gourmet fruit salads.

176935Let's start from fruit selection. First rule: even though we now have almost every kind of fruit throughout the year, it's really important to choose that of the season. The fruit in any case must be genuine, otherwise the sense of eating in quantity decays. Find out about the chemical treatments you have received; if you want to be on the safe side, choose biodynamic. In the selection, take care of the colors: the fruit salad is beautiful when it is garish. Not only do we give satisfaction to our eyes as well as to our taste buds: eating in color is good to health and mood.

Let's now move on to how to cut it. For this it is good to decide in advance where it will be served or how it will be consumed. If you do it to put it in the box to take to the office it is very different than if you want to serve it as a dessert in a dinner with friends. In general, however, fruit cut smaller loses more fluids e it tends to tend to be more quickly; in return blends well with flavors and better absorbs other ingredients such as sugars and liqueurs.

176938Containers: they are the ones that set the tone together with the fruit salad itself. Use a fruit as a container he always makes his great figure. Empty them carefully and choose fruits such as grapefruit, melons, watermelons. They can be center table or single portion (using the baby version of the larger fruits). Or bowls made by voi, with fillo pasta rather than brisé.

timing: the fruit salad should not be prepared too early, otherwise risks over macerating. Furthermore – and here we begin to introduce the topic of ingredients – it is indispensable lemon: at least a few drops will prevent a premature blackening of your fruit composition. Going back to the times, it is not a good idea to prepare the fruit salad immediately before serving, since in this case the tastes of the various ingredients do not have the time to amalgamate. Keep it in the fridge at least a couple of hours before – cover it so that it doesn't take other smells.

176932Let's move on to the ingredients. The fruit salad can also be just simply fruit cut into pieces and mixed. It is necessary to put sugar? Certainly not. Instead, include very sugary fruits like le bananas – which are always a perfect base for fruit salad, they round off the taste and dampen the acid ingredients. If you prepare it for children – and can be one of the ways to make them eat more fruit – you can add sugar, but be careful: not all sugars are the same.

And then – and this also applies to adults, of course – they exist greedy alternatives to sugar to sweeten. We are not just talking about honey, an ally of well-being but whose taste is not loved by everyone, especially in fruit salads (although, remember, there are many different types of honey). And not even the low-calorie stevia, hyper-sweetening but with a very special taste. In the fruit salad they are exquisite, for example maple syrup rather than date syrup. Also a few tablespoons of a jam genuine is a nice option. Forget about sweeteners, which are increasingly opposed by science.

176941And now a little one excursus free style among the optional ingredients, to create original fruit salads to alternate and savor.

Liquids. From the time of the grandmothers comes the use of the syrup, when the exotic and dry fruit was not in circulation, it was only used in winter. And then a classic is naturally the addition of an alcoholic: from maraschino to anise and amaretto, from red to white wine. The Passito, Zibibbo, Porto and Marsala are timeless. For tastes, they give a gourmet touch to adult lovers of the genre.

Dried fruit, which lengthens life and helps keep the weight-shape: it's really good, it makes the fruit salad more rich in nutrients and taste. Among the nuts, the walnuts they are the most sold in Italy, and go well with fruits such as sweet and ripe pears and apples, not too acidic (no apricots, for example) and even hyper-contrasting consistency – excellent juicy and sugary white grapes. And then almonds (which help to combat exhaustion), hazelnuts and everything you like. The important thing is romperla in small pieces. Dehydrated or dried fruit is also delicious: no disdained sultanas (not all raisins it is!) and then dried apricots, a real cure-all rather than coconut flakes or mango. In winter abound with dates, dried figs etc. Even in summer, some pieces of candied fruit color and embellish; the peelings of orange or cedar make it greedy.

176944Vegetables: let's first remember that tomato it is a fruit and not a vegetable and it goes wonderfully with watermelon. As for the vegetables, you can always dare an "improper" interference: zucchini, for example? Herbs and spices: the aromatic herbs can be fantastic in the fruit salad, from the fresh mint to the original basil. Among the spices, a classic is cinnamon – which combined with the apple is a 'strudel effect' – or clove, or a hint of nutmeg or cardamom.

Toppings and accompaniments. Above, but also below: a base of ladyfingers rather than sponge cake, other accompanying biscuits. And ice cream, of course. And then panne, creams like zabaglione in winter or lemon or limoncello cream in summer. For topping you can indulge yourself with various grits, chocolate chips or other fancy goodies. All to be composed strictly at the last minute.

Carola Traverso Saibante
July 2019

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The kitchen in the art of Stanley Kubrick – Italian Cuisine

American actor Jack Nicholson and director and producer Stanley Kubrick on the set of Kubrick's film, The Shining. (Photo by Murray Close / Sygma / Sygma via Getty Images)


Twenty years after his death, we want to remember Stanley Kubrick from a different perspective. Yes, because food often plays an important role in your films. In some cases it is even the key to being able to read and understand in depth what the director is telling us

We could describe Stanley Kubrick, who died March 7 twenty years ago, in three lines, we would probably say that he loved art and hated people; who preferred the set to worldly evenings; and that the kitchen represented for him a much stronger glue than certain topos dissected by critics with obsessive care. A peculiar feature of his visionary and avant-garde cinema, object of study in the most prestigious universities of America, is, in fact, his relationship with food.

Food as a metaphor

A detail that seems of little importance, but that is the common thread of many of his most famous works. In Stanley Kubrick, food becomes a metaphor for something else: a rich or miserable existence, a vital drive or a death wish. And it is curious how often a food is in antithesis with the character who consumes it. Exactly like Alex and his gang who, in Clockwork Orange (1971), they stage the worst atrocities while going crazy for milk more. A sweetish milkshake associated with the connotations of the innocence of little boys and certainly not to those who whistle at night with the truncheon tight to the belt.

In The Shining, masterpiece of 1980, the lecture notes of the Overlook Hotel, scene of the madness of Jack Torrance played by Jack Nicholson, overflow with provisions. As if in the vanishing sense corresponded a table overflowing with food.

American actor Jack Nicholson and director and producer Stanley Kubrick on the set of Kubrick's film, The Shining. (Photo by Murray Close / Sygma / Sygma via Getty Images)
Jack Nicholson and Stanley Kubrick on the set of The Shining (photo by Murray Close / Sygma / Sygma via Getty Images).

In Full Metal Jacket (1987) food is a disturbing element, full of easy jokes and very deep discomforts. To embody is the recruit who bears the name of Golmer Pyle, so bolso as to earn the nickname of Palla di Lardo, in fact. Epithet that will lead him to such discomfort as to lead him to madness.

Is in 2001: Space Odyssey (1968), however, that Stanley Kubrick puts food on a pedestal, as a perfect metaphor for the progress or degeneration of the human race. The film, one of the most appreciated and studied by the director, is striking for the rarefied, aseptic atmospheres, but also for the use of the raw material and its transformation. The transition from the Neolithic age to the contemporary age takes place, in fact, through the consumption of food by anthropoid monkeys that first feed on twigs and dry branches, and then, after the appearance of a giant monolith in their clearing, of fresh and red tapir meat. We therefore pass from a vegetarian diet, which for Stanley Kubrick represents hunger and malnutrition, to a meat-based diet, associated with prosperity and progress. After the appearance of the mysterious stone, in fact, the primates discover in the bone a defensive weapon suitable for hunting: a circumstance able to ensure its survival. The following passage, in which food begins to be charged with a new meaning, is this: if in the beginning it was the primates who sought it out and devoured it raw, without it being the object of the transformation of the fire, later it was no longer hunted, but served comfortably. On board the Orion, in fact, a stewardess hands Floyd a tray provided by the computer, while the Discovery astronauts consume ready-made chicken, ham and cheese sandwiches without effort. In the future, free from famine and free from the search for food, everything appears to be still, immobile and even uninviting. The food is incorporeal, taken through a straw to prevent it from dispersing in a gravity-free environment. Each color corresponds to a food: fish, corn, chips, carrots, coffee. It no longer has shape, consistency. Now it is shredded, chopped up and light years away from the bloody crudity that so aroused the anthropoids. It is technology that has the power to give it and take it off, just like a cybernetic Mother Nature. If you behave well and respect the rules, you will have it, otherwise you will die of hunger because progress has the last word. No longer the man. Later in the story there is a scene of Bowmann being conducted by aliens at dinner. In what looks like a hotel room, the man consumes his meal on an elegantly set table, with crystal glasses and fine crockery. It is the prelude to death, to a new existence and, even here, food is the protagonist. Between the cycle of hunger and satiety, the myth of rationality and the destructive relationship between man and machine, food is still there and this, perhaps, is the subliminal lesson that Stanley Kubrick tries to teach us: be it bloody or mush soft, the meal will always accompany humanity. Between space and time. Between the past and the future.

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