Homemade Ricotta

Ricotta is disappointingly underrated outside of Italy.  People think of it as a filler ingredient, an extra in a dish filled with big stars.  You mix it up with big flavors assuming it is only useful for its texture.  Poor ricotta, why don't more people swoon over ricotta?

My grandmother used to mix up freshly made ricotta with sugar and give it to me and my sister as a sweet afternoon snack.  Still warm, wonderfully creamy and rich, it was eaten up in just a few mouthfuls.  It honestly is incredibly flavorsome and lovely on its own -- as long as it's good ricotta.  So give it another chance, and hey, the good news is you can easily make good ricotta at home.

How to: Homemade Pressed Cottage Cheese

It was a Monday where I was at lunch with some colleagues, with whom I shared the same gender, age and status in the company.  They talked about their booze-filled weekend and the bars they went and the people they met and the drinks they drank.  They then turned to me and asked what I did over the weekend - I said I made cheese, and I killed the conversation right there.

Multi-Seed Spelt Crackers

I have an obsession with these multi-seed Norwegian crispbreads or knekkebrød.  I went through a phase of oat cakes, then Ryvita and now these.  The crackers I made featured in this post aren't exactly like those but I tried.  My Norwegian boyfriend is my supplier of knekkebrød but he can't keep up with my demand unfortunately and so sometimes I resort to making my own cracker equivalent.

Mushroom and Ricotta Toast

I love bread.  Bruschettas, crostinis, sandwiches -- just anything involving things on bread I love.

I had a dream.  I dreamed of opening up a crostini bar --  an aperitif bar where people can order sweet and savory crostinis with a drink.  It would have an excellent wine list and a series of different crostinis and simple bar snacks like spiced nuts and crackers made in house.  I would have the best bread and cheese suppliers to create tasty and imaginative toast and toppings.  I think that dream died somewhere along with my friend last month.  He was the best foodie who knew all the ins and outs and the whos and whats of the London food scene.  He was going to be my consultant, my guinea pig and my supporter.

Salmon & Beetroot on Toast

There are those lessons you should've learned as a child.  You know, those annoying little things that your parents repeatedly told you - don't talk to strangers, look both ways when you cross the road, tie your shoe laces - things that should've been engrained in you, especially the last one.  So here's a fun little anecdote completely irrelevant to this recipe:  I was walking about in Camden Town and I saw from afar that the traffic light was about to turn red at the zebra crossing ahead of me.  I therefore picked up my pace and planned on sprinting to the end.  That was the plan.  However, just as I started running, just after a couple of steps, I trip on my shoe laces and fall right in the middle of the pavement.  In public.  In a rather busy Camden Town.  It all happened very quick, I fell and the first reaction was to pick myself back up and resume to normal activities, pretend nothing has happened, avoid the embarrassment, just pretend nothing has happened.  Only when you're up and walking does the pain kick in.  It was a Sunday morning and I had to walk in the city with my head held high, with ripped tights and bleeding kneecaps for a good twenty minutes before I finally managed to find a Boots that was open.  Yea but the embarrassment was the main thing.  I tried but I couldn't pull it off as a fashion statement.  If you don't know me, just know that ripped tights aren't my thing.  Especially not ripped tights and blood. 

Rye & Pumpkin Seeds Crackers

I'm never that bitter single girl on Valentine's Day.  I've always appreciated the day as just a celebration of love of any kind, and smile upon seeing couples having their romantic meals and whatnot.  I try to post something appropriate for the occasion, and indeed this year I've made pink peppercorn shortbread and some oysters with soy sauce sauce and wasabi, but I've decided to post something plain and simple as I just want to treat this as any other day of the year this time.  Here are some delicious crackers. 

Parmesan Oatcakes

I hate dating.  I honestly just need a boyfriend to split rent with.  And to watch a movie with on weeknights.  But mainly the former.  I have an incredible immune system and I managed to avoid the flu all winter -- that was until my date two days ago.  A two-hour date that was so dry that halfway through my body went on auto-shutdown and I just started getting all these flu symptoms.  My throat was getting sore, my chest was stuffy, my head was hurting -- that's how bad the date was. 

But it's okay, with the help of some meds, I managed to pull through after two days.  I don't know how I keep ending up on these mind-numbingly numb dates.

Best of 2014

This year I've moved to London and I've started culinary school, so I've eaten out a lot more and so I've posted fewer recipes and more reviews.  However, as it's still a cooking blog, in my "Best of 2014" I'm just going to have my favorite recipes.  Yes, these are the best according to me.  Sometimes I look at the page views for different posts and get quite disappointed as the popularity is not proportional to the quality of the recipes.  I mean I personally have to say that all the recipes are good because I'm biased and shameless but.... Well, these recipes are my favorite from this year.

Best Dessert
This soft and moist Plum Cake.
I know, it seems quite simple, but it has mascarpone in the batter and the plums are roasted in the oven and become incredibly sweet and juicy.  Simplicity at its best. 

Miso Butter Beans & Sauerkraut on Toast

I was lost for words and thoughts and didn't know what to write in this post, so I actually found a prezi presentation on fun facts about sauerkraut.  I have to say, the word "fun" is used too liberally at times.  I do love presentations made with prezi though, so I still spent a good couple of minutes of my life watching the whole presentation. I love that under the heading of "Sensory Perceptions", after "sour", "salty" and "sulphuric", they've put "divisive in opinion".

I love random facts and would like to think I have quite a large collection of fun trivia in my mind, however, they're so useless that they have rarely even been helpful in pub quizzes.   Fun facts and one-liners.  I use the two to break awkward silences...which don't always alleviate the situation but you can't please everyone. 

Shropshire Blue & Raisin Biscuits

I got my 10th post in for the month!  Phew.  I used to do around 15 posts a month, now I'm just trying to do at least 10, and even with these 10, like what, only half are recipes?  My God.  Stressful times.  I go to culinary school, I'm in school 40 hours a week cooking, cooking things that I'm not allowed to share online, and when I'm home the lighting's not good enough because of the shortened days.  Happy Belly really is my only motivation to cook now. 

Maybe December will be better as I'll be on holiday, I'll be back home, so no more forced cooking.  I really am the last person you'd expect in the world to not enjoy culinary school.  Maybe it's just the time of the year with the winter blues kicking in.  I should invest in a SAD lamp. 

Sun-Dried Tomato and Cheese Profiteroles

 I can't cook in culinary school.  Something about the time limit, the teacher watching my every move, the need to strive for perfection.  I'm having to weigh the salt and butter, quadruple-check the recipe, and be constantly conscious of washing my hands and not double-dipping.  I know they're good habits to keep but f*cking hell.  My food's often overcooked or undercooked or bland or unevenly cut or served on a plate with finger prints on.  The other day I f*cked up a risotto and a pasta in front of an English chef.  An Italian, having her pasta and risotto criticized by an English man.  That was a new low.

So I haven't been cooking much at home.  Not because I cook all day in school and I'm in school 40 hours a week but because I come home everyday utterly deflated as I doubt my ability to turn on a stove. 

Carrot Pancakes with Spiced Salted Yogurt

I just went to an Italian deli and totally spoiled myself by buying some Parma ham and pickled artichokes.  Sorry, this has absolutely nothing to do with these pancakes but the taste of the prosciutto is still in my mouth and, I'll be honest, these pancakes, which I just had as well, were good, but man that prosciutto was divine.  I eat cheap meals of carrots and root veg and pulses normally so that I can afford to splurge every now and then at a nice deli.  I've always wanted to work in a nice deli where you're taught so much.  And you probably get to nibble on everything as well.  

Cumin Roasted Aubergines with Persimmon

How cute are these baby aubergines?  They're literally 5 times more expensive than your normal aubergines and they taste exactly the same but look how cute.  You know how we are evolutionarily predisposed to like babies and puppies and kittens and I think the same applies to vegetables.  We find baby vegetables irresistible.  I personally prefer these to human babies.

Coconut Butter & Lemon Scottish Oatcakes

These have been my breakfast on the go.  I leave at 6:45am most mornings to get to school by 7:30.  I can't eat breakfast at 6:30.  My stomach is not yet awake at 6:30, which I only just discovered.  I normally wake up with the hunger of a bear awaken from hibernation and I thought my bottomless pit of a stomach could eat at any time, but 6:30 no.  So this is the perfect breakfast on the go which I can eat on my way to school.  They're filling and tasty and.. in all honesty, I'm scared that if I do this for a whole year I'll grow to hate oatcakes.  I love oatcakes, I don't want to hate oatcakes... That's why I try to change them up a bit every now and then.  They're identical to my Olive Oil Oatcakes, but you know, coconut butter instead of olive oil.  Maybe next time I could do a mix of butter and sesame oil..or walnut oil or other flavorings.... Some spices..

Traditional Arancine

I did a proper research on how to make these bad boys.  After countless cook books, blogs, online recipes, videos and my father's stories, I decided to give them a go and I succeeded.  Yes, pat on the back, Maria, pat on the back.  I just should've been more generous with the filling as it can be seen from the photographs..

 Not that I don't usually do such copious amount of research before I make something for Happy Belly *cough*.  Anyway.  These little golden crispy rice balls are amazing. They're Sicilian and in Palermo they're female (arancin-a) while in Catania they're male (arancin-o).  I thought I'd make them female as a dedication to my former Palermian colleagues in Berlin (Cate & Fede).  I remember they invited me for an arancina party and Fede had enough to feed a village.

Taralli

For some people it's chocolate, for some it's peanut butter. These savory Italian biscuits are one of my many weaknesses.  I eat one, I eat two and the next thing I know it's all gone.  They're delicious.

 There's this Italian deli back where I went to school and they would sometimes have a bowl of taralli out as samples.  And I'd always pop in, pretend to be interested in the overpriced goods, and then take two taralli and leave.  Shameless, I know.  It's not that I was cheap and I didn't want to buy a whole bag of it, it's that I knew if I bought a whole bag I'd eat the whole bag before I get back home.

Saffron Aubergine & Yoghurt Dip (Borani-e Bademjan)

If you were to die tomorrow, to be hung or shot or electrocuted on a chair, what would you ask for today as your last meal?  I've thought this through, and I can tell you with great confidence that I would just love a meze/tapas/antipasti feast.  Just dips, cured meats, cold cuts, cheeses, pates, pickles, excellent bread, excellent olive oil and a bottle of red wine.  Left to myself eating with my hands outdoors on the grass as a picnic (f they'd allow me).  I don't like it when people ask me what my favorite meal is, that I find difficult to answer, but this would undoubtedly be my last meal.

 So I said in my last post that there will be a series of saffron recipes, and here is #2.  This recipe is directly from Saveur, and it's kiiiind of like a baba ganoush, but no tahini, and it's with yoghurt.  Plus some caramelized onions and garlic, chopped onions and saffron.  I know, it's like baba ganoush with a royal makeover.   I made this last night, photographed it this morning and so ate it as part of my breakfast along with some pita.  Good stuff, the taste still lingers in my mouth.

Salmon Three Ways

Cured, smoked, poached, raw, fried to a rosy pink with crispy crackling skin - everybody loves some form of salmon.  I know of fish haters that can tolerate it and vegetarians that break the rules every now and then with it.

As a child I had only ever had salmon in thee ways: baked with a squeeze of lemon at the end, cooked in a tomato sauce, and salmon nigiri sushi. Smoked salmon was disgusting and I was never exposed to anything else.

Here it's smoked pâté on toasted bread, smoked salmon cucumber rolls and miso salmon en croute.  

Last night I went to a friend's house for dinner and she made these salmon yorkshire pudding-like things.  Absolutely delightful, they were so soft and tender with the taste of salmon flowing through them, just delicious.  I love being invited to dinner because, and it may come as a surprise, I love being cooked for.  I think it's one of the nicest gestures in the world, and I'm always so flattered whenever someone invites me to their home for a meal.  Usually it's me cooking or we dine out or it's a potluck but whenever someone makes the effort to cook a whole meal for me, I feel incredibly happy and honored.

Sweet Carrot Chips

I was going to post this yesterday but I was met by the most horrid lower back pain known to man.  Well, known to 21-year-old's for sure.  I could not stand up straight, and my stomach was upset as well and it was the time of the month - I was not in a good state. 

But I woke up after a healthy 8-hour-sleep feeling better than ever.  I dreamt that I was trying my luck with Morgan Freeman but then he turned me down because he said I was too young for him - fair enough.  I've been having weird dreams and I've been spending too much time trying to analyze them.  Did I tell you about my dream where I tackled someone and repeatedly punched them and tried to strangle him?  My friend said that he had to quit his last job because he had repeated dreams of him murdering his boss. 

For something less dark now - sweet carrot chips or crisps.  Commercial veggie chips are incredibly overpriced, especially kale chips, but fear not, here I offer a nice homemade alternative. You shave the carrots into strips, toss them in oil, sugar and salt and bake them at a low temperature and you have your carrot chips.

Best of 2013

And the year's drawing to a close.  I've been reading "Best of 2013"'s everywhere, from food news to celebrity moments to advances in technology.  So I've decided to share Happy Belly's highlights in 2013 - a combination of viewers' favorites and mine. 

Best breakfast
It was difficult to choose the best breakfast, because I have a ridiculous number of breakfast recipes.  But I had to choose this oatmeal over any other pancakes and eggs because.. it's just love and comfort in a bowl.  It's the perfect thing to have over and over again for a whole month.  It's cumbersome and time-consuming, yes, that is why I shamefully admit that I still make oatmeal in the microwave sometimes.  However, as I'm on holiday right now, I've been making my porridge according to this recipe every morning.


Best Dessert
This Hazelnut-Praline Dacquoise was popular.   Indeed, it took me a whole morning to make it and look how pretty.  Two nut based sponge cakes with a rich creamy center.  Despite all the sugar and butter in this dish, it was beautifully light. 















 Best Vegetable
Broccoli with Tahini 
Steamed vegetables can be boring if you don't know how to dress them.