Edinburgh:a bit of Cramond

Hello there! Busy week, but there is a really exciting (well, for me, anyways) on early medieval Scotland, so I am looking forward to the weekend (thanks H. for the ticket!)… I should actually finish preparing a in-class exam for Monday afternoon, but I can leave that till Monday morning (tip for other students: do not imitate me…) In the meanwhile, here is a picture I’ve always loved since i took it a couple of years ago: I just love the way the ships sails frame the flower bushes on the back, and the fact that the ship is “for sale” only adds to the charm. Mind you, I’d never set foot on a boat, a 5 minutes ferry is enough to make me sick :-p Have a good wee-end!

Don’t you want to be there already?

Ciao a tutti/e! Ho avuto una settimana piena di cose da fare, come al solito, ma se non altro questo wee-end c’e’ una conferenza sulla Scozia nel medioevo che e’ davvero da non perdere (beh, almeno per me!) (grazie per il biglietto, H.!). In teoria dovrei finire di preparare un esame per lunedi’ pomeriggio, ma posso sempre farlo lunedi’ mattina (studenti la’ fuori: non imitatemi!). Nel frattempo, questa e’ una foto che ho sempre adorato da quando la scattai: soprattutto la maniera in cui le vele inquadrano il cespuglio fiorito sullo sfondo, ed il fatto che la barca sia in vendita non fa certo male. Anche se io non ci salirei mai, visto che 5 minuti su un traghetto sono sufficienti a farmi venire da vomitare :-p Buon week-end!

Edinburgh: empty nest

Charming little nest of a house, in central location, with open views towards the city centre, the castle, Holyrood Park, Calton Hill and beyond. Very quiet location, but with a few nuts-loving neighbours. Low electricity bills guaranteed by near-by public lights, but heating may require more effort. Insulation will need replenishing. Warning: no roof. Offers only by animals shorter than 10cm, to be sent to the Birds family, currently residing South.

P.S I hope it doesn’t need saying… but you can’t actually buy this nest

Empty nest

Picolo nido adorabile di casa, in centro citta’. Vista verso il centro, il castello, Holyrood Park, Calton Hill ed oltre. Situazione tranquilla, ma alcuni dei vicini amano le noci. Basse bollette elettriche garantite dall’illuminazione pubblica, ma il riscaldamento richiedera’ un certo sforzo. L’insolazione termica necessita lavoro. Attenzione: niente tetto. Applicazioni considerate soltanto da esseri alti meno di 10cm, da indirizzarsi alla famiglia Uccelli, attualmente in residenza al Sud.

P.S Non ve lo devo dire, vero, che nel mondo reale questo nido non e’ in vendita?

Freezer cooking

One of the last dinners I had at my sister, the conversation fell on how I, supposedly, don’t like vegetables. The truth is, I love vegetables, but I’d rather cook them, while my sister, more often then not, serves them raw. When I told her that she should know better  (since I have this tiny blog) she pointed out that I’ve blogged so few of my meals lately, that really she couldn’t know. One of the reasons I posted so little, aside from not having more than five minutes in a row for myself, is that I started freezer cooking in bulk (.i. making lots of dishes at the same time, portioning them, and freezing them). How do you post freezer cooking? All together? Meal by meal? And it takes a while to get pictures of everything in a plate, provided you remember to take out the camera a week later! Still, my sister’s remarks are still in my head, so I thought I might just show her that yes, I do eat veggies.

freezer cooking bounty

This is what I made in mid-January: 3 very genereous stuffed panini with caramelised onions and tuna; hot black rice salad with beetroots, gorgonzola and pecorino (2 portions) ; a loaf of bread; a handful of mini-pizzas; caramelised onion and beetroots dip (3 servings); mushrooms pasta sauce (4 servings).

Raining awards-part1

Why raining? Well, I’ve got 5 to post, so if this isn’t raining, I don’t know what is! Thanks so much to all of you who thought about me, I’ve been neglecting this corner lately and they feel so undeserved… But I can hardly publish 5 together, can I? For one, I realize I don’t have the time for such long posts. So I’ll do one at a time, in chronological order, and I’ll pass the badge on with the last post in the series.

So, award n.1 is from… supercaliveggie! And before I say thank you, I should also say sorry… She nominated me back in October, and I am only getting round to posting and thanking her now. I hope she’ll forgive me, but I had an hectic semester…

Edinburgh: look left, look right

Hy everyone! How was your week? I keep hoping I am going to have time to sit down and prepare some culinary posts, and I always end the day knackered. Then again, when my walks to uni look like this (plus a fair amount of researching work) it’s no surprise. Believe it or not, this is the same day, the same time and the same place (Regent Road). I swear. And in case you were wondering, my campus is towards the left (and the sleeting).

Pick a side: would you prefer sleety and grey or sunny and blue?

Ciao a tutti! Com’e’ andata la vostra settimana? Io continuo a sperare di avere tempo di sedermi e preparare qualche post di cucina, ma finisce sempre che la sera sono a pezzi. Non una gran sorpresa se le mia passeggiate verso l’uni hanno questo aspetto (piu’, si capisce, lo studio)! Credeteci o meno, queste foto sono state scattate dallo stesso posto (Regent Road), alla stessa ora dello stesso giorno. Giuro. E se per caso aveste bisogno di chiederlo, ovviamente il campus sta verso sinistra (e il nevischio).

Edinburgh: awaiting summer

January just left, and February just got here, but I am really waiting for warmer days… So, in the meanwhile, let’s play editing old summery images!

fancifully edited (iPiccy) Duddingston loch seen from Holyrood Park

Gennaio se n’e’ appena andato, febbraio e’ appena appena qui, ma io a dire il vero sto aspettando l’estate… Per cui, nel frattempo, giochiamo con qualche vecchia foto estiva?

Edinburgh: snow

And so, it has snown. Well, actually, it still is. So far, I’ve been lucky: all the snow hasn’t really taken hold of the city, it’s just a coat up on the hills, mountains, parks and north-facing non-walked spots. So it’s actually quite nice (though it’s not very nice to walk in it. Chilly and wet, as a matter of fact). How’s you weather?

Snowy landscape

E cosi’, ha nevicato. Be, a dire il vero, nevica ancora. Ma sono stata fortunata, almeno per ora: la neve non ha preso possesso della citta’, e’ soltanto una copertina sulle colline, montagne, parchi e zone poco trafficate dove non batte il sole. Per cui, dopotutto, e’ anche abbastanza scenografica (sempre che non stiate tornando a casa mentre nevica: in quel caso probabilmente vi concentrerete sul fatto che siete infreddoliti e bagnati). Com’e’ il tempo da voi?

Edinburgh: winter

Well, winter is here. Right now, outside my window, is really snowing. Thick and fast. And whether I like it or not, there’s already a fair pile on the streets. It’s lovely to look at, but thank goodness it’s the week-end tomorrow. If it has to be winter and snowy, I’d much rather it was like two days ago: just on the mountains.

Frosty Holyrood park view

Ebbene si’, l’inverno e’ arrivato. Al momento, fuori dalle mie finestre, nevica fitto fitto, con dei fiocchi enormi. E che mi piaccia o meno, ce n’e’ gia’ tanta per le strade. E’ bello vederla cadere, ma per fortuna che domani e’ week-end. Se proprio deve essere inverno con la neve, mi piacerebbe di piu’ se fosse rimasto come due giorni fa: con la neve solo sulle montagne.

Kuraviedes

Kuraviedes

Let’s start Monday with something sweet! I made these little cookies with my mum, who wrote down the recipe from a tv program (I think it would “I menu’ di Benedetta”, because that’s her favourite, but she couldn’t remember). They were really good, at least judging from the speed they were eaten up. And Vero, in case you were wondering, these are the ones I brought to your dinner party

Edinburgh: misty day

Here I am, back in my tiny flat in my Edinburgh… but I am soo missing my family. Still, if the weather predictions are right, I may have come back just in time… Snow is said to arrive in town Sunday. Don’t get me wrong, I’d live without it (ok, I’ll admit it, it’s lovely to look at, but, well… ever tried walking an icy pavement? ), and keep it only for postcards. Anyways, this was the view yesterday, and I just loved how the grey misty sky was joined in by the white smoke from the chimney, rising between the branches… Good w-e!

view from Regent Road towards Holyrood Park (January 2013)

Ed eccomi di nuovo qua, nel mio piccolo buchetto a Edimburgo, anche se la mia famiglia mi manca un po’. In ogni caso, se i meteorologi hanno ragione, sono arrivata giusto in tempo: dicono che domenica nevichera’. Io ne farei anche a meno (ok, ammettero’ che non mi dispiace vederla danzare giu’ dal cielo, ma avete mai provato a camminare su un marciapiede ghiacciato?), magari ne terrei un po’ giusto per le cartoline :-p . In ogni caso, questo era il cielo di ieri, e mi e’ piaciuto tanto come il filo di fumo bianco, incorniciato dagli alberi, si univa al cielo grigio e uggioso… Buon w-e!

Edinburgh: lights (yes, again!)

Lights in Princes street

Let’s hope it’s a good one

English: Fireworks (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Happy new year!