A Night in Chianti

After a great couple of days in Cinque Terre, we moved on to a different region: Chianti. I didn't know anything about the region other than I like their wine. Turns out, that's all you need to know.

On the way to our apartment near Greve in Chianti, we stopped in the town of Lucca. We had heard good things about the town from several friends. It was an adorable walled city that grew the biggest lemons I've ever seen in my life!

In Chianti, we stayed in the middle of nowhere, nestled amongst the vineyards and olive groves. We drove to tGreve to explore the tiny town. I really loved the huge butcher shop with the hams hanging from the ceiling and the cheese-aging cave. 

We stumbled upon a really cool wine cellar. You load a card with money and then sample as many wines and liquors as you like. Each wine is priced for a tasting, a half-glass or a full-glass. Prices ranged from a few cents to a couple of Euros for a tasting. We managed to taste nine different wines/limoncello for 10 Euro.

It was a nice, relaxing day in a beautiful setting. Next up: Tuscany!

Read more about this trip:

Cinque Terre Day 1

Cinque Terre Day 2
Wine Tasting in Tuscany
A Taste of San Gimignano
Last Day in Italy

Cinque Terre Day 2

Day 2 of Cinque Terre was even better than the first. The plan was to explore the remaining three towns: Vernazza, Corniglia and Manarola. Due to delayed and canceled trains, we had to skip Corniglia. As they say, two out of three ain't bad. The two towns we saw today were my favorites. It didn't hurt that the weather was absolutely perfect. I cannot get over how the sun sparkles in the turquoise Ligurian Sea. Stunning!

The towns themselves only take a few minutes to walk through. Generally there is a main street with a bunch of restaurants and gelatarias. There is also a church and maybe a town hall. Not too much to see. The real action is in the landscape. We wanted to walk from Vernazza to Corniglia, but unfortunately the easier trail was closed. We accidentally found ourselves on an expert-only panoramic hike, which was not at all appropriate for a woman in a sundress and a man with a baby strapped to his chest. We had to very carefully work our way back to solid ground, but not before capturing some great views.

We took the train to Vernazza and walked on the path toward Monterosso. You have to pay to walk the path, but we just went a few hundred feet to look at the view. Along the way, we saw the aftermath of the flooding from 2011. Today you would never know anything happened in the towns themselves, but it was a devastating flood that nearly destroyed Vernazza and Monterosso.

To get back to Levanto, we decided to go by boat and I'm so glad we did! The views cannot be beat. I loved seeing all five towns lined up like little pastel jewels along the coast.

Before I leave Cinque Terre, I must tell you about one of their delicious specialties called farinata. It is a thin chickpea pancake that is absolutely delicious. I could eat my way through this region. I mean, I did eat my way through. Between the creamy, refreshing gelato; the salty and flavorful pesto; and the endless pastas...let's just say it's a good thing I was only here a few days.

Read more about this trip:
Cinque Terre Day 1
A Night in Chianti
Wine Tasting in Tuscany
A Taste of San Gimignano
Last Day in Italy

Cinque Terre Day 1

Italy is one of my favorite countries in the world. It has everything I am looking for in a destination: good food, beautiful landscape and a rich history. Dan and I honeymooned in Italy and knew we'd come back one day. I can't believe it took us so long!

For this trip, we explored new territory: Cinque Terre, Chianti and Tuscany. We found cheap non-stop flights to Pisa and rented a car to get to Levanto, a town just outside of Cinque Terre. We decided to stay outside of the main towns for a couple of reasons. We wanted a car so that we could visit smaller, harder-to-reach towns in Chianti and Tuscany; and we wanted a bigger space with a kitchen and a place for Zoey to sleep. We found the perfect place: Agriturismo Constaletta. It is a working farm with vineyards and olive groves that sits overlooking the Levanto valley. It was stunning!

The first town in Cinque Terre we hit was Riomaggiore, which we reached via train from Levanto. Riomaggiore, like the other four towns, is pretty small, but really packs a punch in terms of beauty. The views from the cliffs are incredible. I absolutely love the combination of pastel buildings with turquoise water and green hills.

We had a fantastic lunch (with great house wine!) at Trattoria La Grotta. The region is best known for its anchovies and pesto. We made sure to eat copious amounts of both. I couldn't believe how fresh and delicious everything was. Of course, we couldn't leave Riomaggiore without sampling their gelato. This was our first, but by no means the last of the trip. We were definitely living by "Rome Rules" and had an average of two gelati a day. I don't regret a thing.

We meant to explore the towns in order, and go to Manarola next. However, the train we jumped on apparently skipped a few towns and went straight to the fifth town of Monterosso. Oops. This town had more of a beach vibe, and is split into the old and new city. Unfortunately, it started pouring and we had to seek cover in a cafe. The town was nice, and the water was beautiful and warm, but I preferred Riomaggiore.

The next day we planned to visit the remaining three towns. Unfortunately, trains in Italy are not always reliable, and due to some canceled and delayed trains, we had to miss Corniglia. Fortunately, Manorola and Vernazza more than made up for it. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow.

Read more about this trip:
Cinque Terre Day 2
A Night in Chianti
Wine Tasting in Tuscany
A Taste of San Gimignano
Last Day in Italy

Color Me Rad

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a huge fan of running. I completed one 5K last year, and ran a bit through my pregnancy, but it's generally not my go-to exercise. However, there was always one type of race that looked so fun that even I wanted to join. I'm sure you've seen these too...color runs! This is a race that is purely about having fun. It's not even timed.

Participants wear white shirts to start, and through the course of the race get pelted with various color bombs so that by the end they are covered in a rainbow of colors. The bombs are made from cornstarch, and are completely safe for all ages. Since the race is just for fun, we decided to bring along Zahara and make it a family outing.

We could not have asked for a more perfect day on the spectacular grounds of the Harewood House. We put on our brightly-colored sunglasses and temporary tattoos and made our way to the starting line. The plan was to have Zoey in the stroller with the rain cover on. Around 1K into the race, she decided she did not want to be in the stroller but wanted to be held instead. Good thing the race wasn't timed! There was very little running while carrying our 20-pound baby up giant, grassy hills!

The color stations were set up so that you could avoid the color if you wanted. Dan and I took turns running through the gauntlets, and then bringing Zoey to the edge of the color station so she could get a little bit without it getting in her face. She loved it!

By the end of the race, we were covered in purple, orange, green, yellow and pink. At the finish line, we got blue and red color bombs to throw on ourselves or each other. That was pure chaos! It was an orgy of colors, and we were covered head to toe. 

It was so much fun and I can't wait to do it again when I'm back in the States.

Dear Zahara: 11 Months

Dear Zahara,

Happy 11th month birthday! Can you believe next month you will be one year old?! Where has time gone? You are certainly a totally different person than you were even a few months ago. Your personality is developing and you continue to bring joy to those around you. You are incredibly social; playful; curious; intelligent; and strong.

One of your favorite things to do is wave at people. It doesn't matter if they are already friends of yours, or new friends you haven't yet made. Your adorable smile and wave are infectious. People can't help but wave back.

You are so good at understanding what is happening around you now. You will clap and wave on command, and are even starting to give kisses. You recognize books we read and have started anticipating what comes next. Daddy was reading you a book that you and I read a lot and you "roared" at a page with a lion on it! If we ask you what sound an owl makes, you respond with "whooo." You are just so clever.

I love our daily dance parties. You dance along to music all day long, but are especially active when you're sitting in your high chair. You have mummy and daddy's enthusiasm for food.

Thank you for being such a wonderful baby! We love you!

Baby Led Weaning: Fish Cakes

 Zahara has always been a good eater, but as she grows, we can barely keep up with her appetite! She is eating three meals a day now with some snacks in between, and is still breastfeeding. Though she's eating bite-sized portions, I still find myself struggling to make a variety of healthy and interesting foods for her. Thank-goodness for Pinterest.

I've mentioned before that we're doing the baby-led weaning approach. It is working really well for us. I love that I can give Zoey a little bit of whatever we're eating when we travel or are eating out. At home we still share vegetables, meat, fish, pasta, etc., but I often cook things just for her too. Here is one of our current favorites: fish cakes.

It's made with canned tuna fish and hummus and is ready in a couple of minutes. It is so easy and cheap! It makes quite a few cakes, so I put half in the fridge and freeze the rest for another time. These are so good I find myself sneaking a bite or two.

Fish Cakes
Original recipe from here

Ingredients:

• 12 tablespoons hummus (store bought, or home-made)
• 12 tablespoons canned tuna
• cilantro, basil or any herb
• 8 teaspoons flour (give-or-take a teaspoon)
• pinch of black pepper
• dash of lemon juice

Directions:

• Add equal amounts hummus and tuna to a bowl. (One can of tuna is around 12 tablespoons)
• Chop herbs and add to bowl. Add a pinch of pepper and a dash of lemon juice.
• Add flour, a few teaspoons at a time, and mix thoroughly. Add enough flour to make a thick paste.
• Heat oil in a large skillet. Form small patties and fry on medium heat in batches. Try not to crowd the pan.
• Cook until lightly brown on both sides.

Grown-Up Ramen Noodle Soup

Like most college students, I went through a big ramen noodle phase in my youth. I could buy ten packs for a dollar (!) and eat like a queen for a week. Did I want soup? Did I want noodles? The world was my oyster.

Now that I'm a grown-up though, ramen noodle soup isn't the first menu item that comes to mind. A few years ago, when I was still living in Washington, DC, a ramen noodle bar opened in my neighborhood. I was pretty sceptical about it--especially since one bowl of soup cost $11!!--but Ren's Ramen completely won me over. The soup was incredibly flavorful; the noodles were flown in fresh from Japan; and the marinated egg was out of this world. Since I'm around 3,000 miles from Ren's, I decided to try and make it at home. You know what? It's pretty darn close!

The base of the soup is dashi, a Japanese fish stock. If you have access to instant dashi you can use that. I don't have any here, so I found a recipe to make my own. It is so cheap and only takes 20 minutes. I'm not sure I'll ever buy instant dashi again.

Ramen Noodle Soup with Marinated Soft-Boiled Egg

Original recipes from here, here , here and here

Dashi

Makes 12 cups (6 large servings)

Ingredients:

• 12 cups water
• 1.5 ounces kombu (dried seaweed)
• 1.5 cups loosely packed katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes)

Directions:

• Place water and kombu in a large pot and let the kombu soak for 15 minutes. Place the pot over medium heat. Right before the water starts to boil (watch for bubbles starting to break around the edge of the pot), remove the pot from the heat and scatter the katsuobushi over the surface of the water.
• After 4 minutes, when the katsuobushi has sunk to bottom, strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer.
• Use immediately, or store in the fridge in a sealed container.

Ramen Soup
Ingredients:

• 6 dried ramen noodle bricks
• 3/4 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1/2 cup shitake mushrooms (sliced)
• 1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots (sliced)
• Soy sauce to taste
• 4 tablespoons yellow miso paste
• green onions to taste

Directions:

• Bring dashi (see above) to a boil in a large pot. Add soy sauce to taste.
• Add ramen noodles, corn and mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes, or until noodles are done.
• Remove from heat and stir in the miso. Taste and add more soy sauce or miso as needed.
• Add bean sprouts and green onions. Top with a marinated soft-boiled egg (see below).

Marinated Soft-Boiled Egg

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup water
• 2/3 cup sake
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup mirin
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 6 eggs

Directions:

• Combine water, sake, soy sauce, mirin and sugar. Whisk well and set aside.
• Tap the bottom of each egg to make a small crack through the shell, but do not rupture the inner membrane. This makes it easier to peel the shell.
• Add cold tap water to a medium pot until you have 1 inch of water above the top of the eggs.
• Bring the pot to a boil over high heat.
• Cook for exactly 4 minutes for a slightly runny center, then turn off the heat.
• Remove the eggs and put them into a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking.
• Peel the eggs and place in an airtight container. Pour marinade over eggs, making sure all are covered, and leave for at least four hours.

For a perfect, grown-up version of ramen noodle soup, put it all in one bowl and dig in!