Tag: Eat

What do you eat in Italy on the day of the Befana? – Italian Cuisine

Pagan holidays, epiphany, before becoming the day of adoration of the Three Kings and matching with the arrival of the Epiphany, represented for many ancient peoples with the beginning of the new year. And the rites were wasted: some populations burned a piece of wood to exorcise the privations of the past, others sat at the table keeping their farm animals close to prevent them from learning to speak. For the Romans, however, between the end of December and January 6 the goddess Diana he flew over cultivated fields to make them fertile, bringing old fruit or sweets as a gift to the little ones. It is clear, therefore, that food has always played an important role for the celebrations of this festival. And what do you eat today on January 6 around Italy?

Northern sweets

In almost all regions there are traditional recipes that continue to live. And many are linked to inevitable desserts on the tables of the Italians. In Piedmont, especially in the Cuneo area, there is never a shortage of Fugassa d’la Befana, a soft dough with a shape reminiscent of a daisy, which, like all ancient legacies that are respected, retains a very original tradition: a white and a black bean are hidden inside. Those who find them, however, do not win anything, rather they pay a pledge for everyone. The unfortunate who pecks there broad bean white, in fact, is the one that must pay the expenses of the focaccia, the one to which the black bean touches, offers a drink. In Tuscanyinstead, they continue to prepare for the arrival of the Three Kings in the nativity scene i Siena horses, soft biscuits with water, sugar, honey, candied fruit, anise, nuts and yeast, and the so-called befanini, shortbreads based on citrus fruits and rhumcovered with colored grain, typical of the areas of Lucca and Viareggio.

Venetian typicality and not only

Staying in northern Italy, in the kitchens of Veneto here is Epiphany grip, a kind of polenta pizza made with corn flour and dried fruit, while in Lombardy, in the province of Varese, there are i camels of puff pastry, are covered with sugar before being baked. Going to the Liguria you come across traditional anicini (anexin in dialect) ancient biscuits served during all the Christmas holidays accompanied by a sweet wine in which they dipped, and in the donut of the Three Kings, covered with candied fruit, raisins and sugar. Typical of the Ancona area, in the Marche, instead, are pecorelle, puff pastry cakes of various shapes and stuffed with jam, dried fruit, chopped walnuts or dried figs.

The Epiphany at the table in the south

Gliding south, in Abruzzo Epiphany rhymes with pepatelli, biscuits similar to the cantucci typical of the province of Teramo (and of Molise) prepared not only for January 6, but during all holidays, starting from Christmas. Their name derives from the recipe, as among the ingredients there is black pepper, accompanied by honey, flour, cocoa, almonds and orange peels. In Campania the preparation of the is traditional first pastiera of the year, and stuffoli, sweet is composed of numerous balls of pasta (made with flour, eggs, sugar and aniseed liqueur), fried in oil or lard, wrapped in hot honey and served together in a plate forming a donut, to be finally decorated candied fruit or colored sugared almonds. In PugliaFinally, there are i Salento purcidduzzi and Bari cartellate, made with a mixture of flour, oil and dry white wine from which strips of pasta are obtained which are shaped to compose a spiral, with a design reminiscent of a rose, full of small concavities and interstices which, after frying must collect the cooked wine (or must) or cooked figs. In Salento, with a similar dough, purcidduzzi, called anchestrufoli, are obtained in the shape of small gnocchi or cavatelli, with smooth or wrinkled surface, which after frying are immersed in boiling honey and subsequently placed on a plate and sprinkled with colored sprinkles.

Christmas wreaths to eat – Italian Cuisine

Because the party table must always be decorated. And if then the decorations can be tasted it is even more beautiful! Here's how to make garlands of cold cuts, cheeses, but also of bread and biscuits.

The wreaths can not miss at home a Christmas, nor hung on the door and fireplaces, nor in the center of the table.
Let's make them beautiful, but also good!

The legend of the Christmas wreath

Perhaps not everyone knows this story because it is not part of our tradition, but it is one German legend that tells the origin of this symbol of Christmas.
It is said that a woman busy cleaning the house during the holidays frightened a family of spiders who lived in his attic: during the night the little insects came out of their hiding place and climbed for fun on the fir tree that stood in the center of the living room covering it with white and gray threads. But at the stroke of midnight he arrived Santa Claus that noticing all these threads that covered the tree, he decided to turn them into one colored garland and left it on the fireplace.

Garlands to eat

The Christmas wreath is made with branches, pine cones, berries and dried leaves, but we like to think of it greedy and to eat: that's why we propose you some ideas to make centerpiece or placeholder wreaths, beautiful to look at, but above all good to eat as an appetizer or dessert.

Bread garland

You can make a wreath centerpiece all to eat done with bread or with a leavened dough similar to that of the Sandwiches Milk.
Just work the mass and then let it rise. Knead it a second time and then make a kind of donut. You can wrap it around a cup to have a perfect hole, or cook it inside a special mold.
Alternatively you can make a wreath with many small round buns always arranged in a circle with the hole in the center.
The bread garland can be presented as it is, very simple perhaps wrapped in a red decorative ribbon, or it can be stuffed with vegetables, meats and cheeses and served as an aperitif.

Italian wreath

We call it that because this idea is a Italian appetizer revisited.
Instead of the usual chopping board with cold cuts, cheeses, pickled vegetables and olives, here we find everything arranged to form a garland.
The skill lies in arranging the ingredients in an elegant and colorful way, adding here and there something green, white and red, such as cherry tomatoes, small mozzarella and rosemary.
You can put in the center a small bowl with oil and salt for the pinzimonio if you only used vegetables for garland or sauces like Hummus or mayonnaise if there are croutons and chips.

Sweet garland

Then there is the sweet garland that is prepared with cookies and that can also be hung at home. Be careful because it is very delicate and therefore it is easy to break.
To prepare it you have to cut out the shortcrust pastry with molds in the shape of stars, snowflakes and saplings and then compose a garland on a sheet of parchment paper, overlapping the biscuits a bit to make them stick together.
You can make a wonderful garland even with popcorn or cornflakes using del caramel (maybe even colored) to keep them together.

Place card garlands

Your guests will be delighted to find in their place a tasty and even personalized gift.
You can prepare some small garlands with shortcrust pastry or puff pastry simply by cutting discs and then piercing them in the center with smaller circles and then decorated as you prefer, with cheese mousse with spreadable sweet creams.

Browse the gallery to discover many ideas for a Christmas wreath to eat

Stomach acidity, what and how to eat – Italian Cuisine

Does food inflammation exist? Obviously! Food is our body before it becomes our body. And some foods tend to be inflammatory for the body – theto gastritis, the inflammation of the gastric mucosa that covers the stomach walls, comes with burning and acidity.

After learning the right foods pto avoid that there our belly Yes bloated, we see the right ones – and wrong – if we suffer from burning e stomach acid (heartburn), an extremely widespread disorder that it doesking usually about an hour after eating the meal (the abdominal swelling there is often associated). That does not create malaise only in the region of the stomach but also in theesophagus, since i acidic gastric juices (which are more than our digestive process requires) cross the cardia – valve that separates the stomach from the esophagus – and expand upwards, in areas where normally they shouldn't just circulate. Then if they reach the throat, then we are at the mercy of esophageal reflux.

Pwhy all this? If it's occasional, we don't worry, it can be a heavy meal. But if the trouble is chronic, or we are in the presence of a specific pathology (for example a hiatal hernia or a bacterium) or there is something wrong with our food (and in our lifestyle).

Before we eat, let's take care of the how to eat: plain. Of course, easier said than done for those who are voracious by nature, but if the result is that we feel as if a fire had broken out inside us and the acid invades us (and perhaps generates bad sleep), it can be worth penalty of put your teeth to forced labor. And then: not too much, especially in the evening. Try to eat in relaxation, with an environment and times that favor the meal as a moment of detachment from racing and from stress daily: take this rule as a therapy prescribed, since it is often the stress that makes the stomach burn. Moreover, few different foods at the same meal and above all do not mix the protein. Simplicity.

Pwe then arliamo of bad non-food habits: cigarette at the end of a meal is lethal due to stomach acid. Know this. Moreover, forbidden to collapse son the couch after the meal, in a position that compresses the stomach. Better to take a stroll and never go to bed as soon as you finish eating!

Let's now analyze the food in itself. In general, how much more is a food rich in raw substances is vital (with exceptions, like that of tomato, which should be better cooked) and much more the food turns out anti-inflammatory. On the contrary foods very industrially processed they already tend to be inflammatory, with their additives, chemical sweeteners and excess salt.

THEand dishes too cseasonings of seasoning they are problematic, as well as carried weighed and fat such as fried and meat (mostly red and fat, in fact) but also cold cuts and melting and spicy cheeses. A lean steak however, beef with olive oil is good; a costata of roasted pork, absolutely not. As condiments, extra virgin olive oil and if ever apple vinegar (good). Cow's milk? At risk.

Simple sugars and acid foods they are a combination lethal: avoid like the plague, especially if the process digestive is in place at that time. Which includes not only the cup of sweetened coffee but also the fresh fruit (Raw) usually highly recommended, it is in this case to be taken with caution. eat it away from meals, choosing however the one less charged with fructose, such as kiwi and strawberries. Then the papaya is excellent; the banana is fine, but do not overdo it. To avoid citrus fruits, raw tomatoes, the fruit too sugary like persimmons and also grapes, melons and watermelons. If so – understandably! – you are tempted by one juice, drink it away from meals and choose the sweetest oranges possible.

And about the vegetables? Possibly issues lettuce, arugula and radicchio, savoy cabbage &, certainly pepperoni… Better cooked that raw (also carrots and onions). Good instead the fennel. THE legumes I am at risk: eliminate the cuticle or reduce it to mashed potato.

Used many herbs not to go down heavy with salt and spices like turmeric and sweet curry, which help, as well as ginger. That said, not over-spicy and have pity on you with spicy foods (no black pepper).

Generally good instead cereals, to cement a healthy base is the dry foods like pasta, bread (the crust!), rice and potatoes. But if the latter are quite bomb-proof, grains containing gluten – starting from the wheat – they are not optimal for everyone (intolerances apart), as well as the integral ones. At risk also bakery products leavened , starting from Pizza: to have fewer problems, choose non-industrial ones, at low fresh ingredients and genuine, a long leavening and well cooked. No problem, however, for i bakery products dry like grissinthe and rusks.

As regards the drinks, basically we should limit ourselves towater – maybe 'conditto', for example an infusion with calming herbs and digestive such as chamomile, lemon balm, mallow, altea, plantain or linden. Nor to carbonated drinks is alcohol.

A final rule: more than ever, ascoltatevi! The more foods are difficult for you from digest, plus they will potentially give you burning and acidity problems if you are suffering. But the digestibility is subjective, therefore pay attention to yourself and your reactions with various foods to choose the diet that is right for you now.

Did we talk about the final … a beautiful After eight to end the meal in style? Nooooooooo !!! Do you remember the cardias, the valvolina that it is better not to open if the acids knock? Well, chocolate and mint they stimulate you to let yourself go … do you gothe!

Carola Traverso Saibante
December 2019

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