Il n'y a pas amour plus sincère que l'amour de la nourriture.

It always feels so calming and warm to cook good food and what is more satisfating than feeding the people you love is the feeling you get by feeding yourself (a mouth watering sense of proud).

My dear friend Evelien has witnessed my obsession for food and how I can be judgemental and harsh with other people's meals.

My all italian heritage and the fact that mommy has been a professional chef for years could in fact justify my attitude when it comes about food; but what is more explenatory is that not only I was spoiled as a baby; but with food I was squeamish and greedy at the same time.It does mean I didn't eat many things,but when I did, I ate a lot.

Moving out of my parental nest forced me to confront myself with pottery and cookery and what was surprising is that I'm really passionate about it.

Not only I find what I cook to be better than many things I've eaten in years; but the earthiness and often repetive procedures of cooking are for me therapeutic.

This is a recipe I've seen on one of Nigella Lawson's TV show even though I've tried to semplify even more what was already very easy.

Mau

xx

Ingridients

Puff Pastry

50g of Bacon

250g of Mushrooms

1tbsp of Cold Butter

70g of Chicken Breast

1,5tbsp of Flour

Chicken or Meat Stock

Parsley

Chilli Flavoured Oil

Method

Fry briskly till lightly caramelized 50g of bacon in a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat ( you won't need any oil as the fat of the bacon will be released while it cooks).

Add 200g of mushrooms (I've add frozen champignon mushrooms, nothing chic really) in the pan and let them soften until chesnutty brown and spongy.

Trim off any fatty or bloody bits from the chicken breasts. Cut the chicken into 2-3cm chunks and mix it with the 1,5 tbsp of flour makingsure the meat is properly . Add the butter and the chicken bits in the pan.

When the diced white meat of the chicken is coloured, add a generous glass ( around 150ml) of chicken stock ( I used the Knorr ready-made I've found at the supermarket, who expects me to be able to prepare stock? I'm neither able of that nor willing).

Let the stock absorb and when it thichens just take of the eat, add a swirl of chilli flavoured oil and some parsley to add heat and freshness. Let it cool in the pan for about 15 minutes.

When cold pour the mix in a pot ( I used a tiny ceramic oven tray I've randomly found in the cuboard)and cover with the puff pastry, Press the edges so the pastry will stick to the pot and cut and pierce the top of the pie to allow steam to escape.

Cook in a pre-heated oven at 200c° for 25 to 30 minutes... and enjoy.

El punto es que yo debería escribir notas en la palma de mi mano, con la esperanza de no sudar...and take myself back

Welcome back people,

I know... I've missing for a few weeks but as I didn't want to reveal ( but I do), I forgot the password of my blogger account and couldn't really be "bovvered" to solve the problem sooner.

It always takes me ages to do what I am supposed to do, but in the meanwhile I have enjoyed life as much as I could and as I'm starting to feel that regrets will visit me in a couple of months I gotta do something.

First. I've decided that I'm no longer moving to Florence. I've been thinking about this for the last 5 months and I finally realized that as I don't really feel like going ther it might mean that I don't want to. Many of you would argue that I just need to live on my own and to be indipendet ( where independency means to live on my own as I honestly couldn't live with the financial support of mum and dad) again,l but I've proved myself I can do that and that if independency has to mean casual shags... well, I'm no longer available for that.

I think I wanted to move back to Florence, just to have my big loud comeback... but seriously... there are still many things that are wrong with me... and I need to work on them more than I need people praising me for the way I dress.

I've been to London a couple of weeks ago. I needed to close a very significant chapter of my life and surpringly it was easier than I actually thought it could be.

To be a tourist in a place that once was called home is always very awkward and very reveling. I love that city.... but more I love how that city welcomed me.. and what I found in that city.

Now that the lame things are said and gone... I can start talking about my usual pointless blogging.... I forgot to say that in london I stayed over my friend Marghe's place _ no need to say she is one of the best person I know in the world and that she is probably the most welcoming one I've ever met_ and while there I found something really really funny... and that (slightly) reminds me of her.

http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com

Some of these notes are really more aggressive in tone, and some of them are more passive — polite, even — but for the most part they share a common sense of frustration that’s been channeled into written form rather than a direct confrontation. It’s barbed criticism disguised as something else — helpful advice, a funny joke, simple forgetfulness. After all, as Dr. Scott Wetzler, a clinical psychologist and author of Living with the Passive-Aggressive man, observed: “A joke can be the most skillful passive-aggressive act there is.”

If you enjoy railing against the flagrant abuse of the English language, you’ll find yourself very much at home here. (Cue up the Alanis Morissette and try these notes, for starters.) And if plumbing the depths of our collective neuroses is what you’re into, you’ll no doubt appreciate the fine work of our fellow travelers at Found magazine, Postsecret, and Mortified.

Fashion-wise I have pretty much nothing to say.

I could mention the new collection of LANVIN for H&M.... but seriously.... I've dealt with the issue of "being fashionista" quite a long time ago. I can say that I'm soon going to Milan, and that I'm probably going to write something about MARCELO BURLON, which is something that I've wanted to do in a while.

I got nothing more to say.....
this post was more about me.... and people may not care... but I do.

M

xx

Kanye West - Runaway (Full-length Clean)

Parce que vous n'avez pas le droit d'être salissant, même lorsque vous cuisinez

I Have been pretty busy in the last days and my lack of inspiration has been crucial for my absence from the blog. I've being doing some shopping, revising, cooking and practising my social skills in lovely house parties and I reminded to myself that in life you take pleasure where you can.

I was chatting with a friend of mine few days ago, it was lunch time, and I was telling him how fascinating to me is his attention for beauty in everything he does, and so I started to think about beauty.

Beauty and food.

Because obviously now that I'm back in the countryside I have more time for myself and I have more chances to taste and love the gentle flavour of local products.

I know it doesn't sound as entertaining as the spicy shenanigans of the city but it has the earthy feeling of a garlic based italian relish.

I love to cook and I love my plate to look refined, inviting and tasteful but as I am only 21 and I have no professional experience when it comes about food I rely on the internet. Let me share with you then some of my favourite websited dedicated to food.

Whether you are a food novice or an experienced cook, WAITROSE.COM will make sure that its Glossary will help you with the neverending number of recipes.

Another great source for daily suppers if italian giallozafferano.it which I am really sad can be used only by italian-speakers but whose helpful videos are an extraordinary tool.

The last one is BBC.co.uk/food, and you might object with the terrible clichè that wants the britons to be terrible with food; indeed I believe this is not true and that this unfair stereotypes has made them very receptive to "International" food ( as to be said that I've discovered many new italian recipes from this website and I also found my new crush: Nigella Lawson.

Daughter of one of the most prominent politicians in Margaret Thatcher's government, Nigel Lawson, the young Nigella was a shy child who, although intelligent, struggled with her schooling. Having moved schools a total of five times by the time she was 18, she eventually secured a place at Oxford to read Medieval and Modern Languages. A successful career in Journalism followed and she went on to become the Deputy Literary Editor of The Sunday Times, before turning freelance and writing for such publications as The Guardian and Daily Telegraph. Her love of food started to cross-over into her writing when she was asked to write a food column for The Spectator magazine.

In 1992, Nigella married fellow journalist and broadcaster John Diamond and the couple had two children, Cosima and Bruno. Diamond was instrumental in encouraging his wife to write and helped shape her image ‘make-over’. Published in 1998 her first book, ‘How to Eat: The Pleasures and Principles of Good Food’, was the springboard to her Channel 4 TV series, ‘Nigella Bites’. Thanks to Nigella’s unique approach to food and effortless charm, the show became a huge success and the second series was accompanied another, which helped push her worldwide book sales past the 1.5 million mark. In 2000, Nigella turned her attentions to the art of baking with the publication of ‘How To Be A Domestic Goddess’. The book proved to be another huge success and was voted ‘Cookery Book of the Year’ by the Guild of Food Writers in 2001.

“I wish I had invented blue jeans. They have expression, modesty, sex appeal, simplicity - all I hope for in my clothes” YSL

Last weekend was pretty wild.

That's way I haven't written anything new since my last post. NO inspiriration and alcohol make me an even less prolific person. A lesson I will never learn.

This morning I was perusing my closeth, looking for the perfect combination of clothing and I ended up deciding to stick in my PJs, as I couldn't find ( I'm always so dramatic, but the situation wasn't that much tragic) a decent pair of jeans.

UNIQLO, TOPMAN, MOSCHINO, MARC JACOBS and LEE are some of the brands which fitting is not particularly flattering on me (to be precise I'm really punctilious regarding the shape of the jeans on my ankles and shins).

Cheap Monday is probably the brand which jeans fit me the best but I have them in all the possible colors ( except for the black) and as the name of the brand suggests they are cheap and the quality of the fabric isn't the best.

So I needed to find a place (a virtual one, online) where to buy a good, thick, well-fitting jeans, and as usual I succeed. Need Supply co. started in 1996, selling a unique collection of vintage Levi’s. And over the past decade their selection has evolved from an eclectic mix of hard-to-find vintage apparel to a well-edited selection of premium street wear and contemporary brands with a focus on denim. Nylon Magazine named them one of the 100 best denim stores in the world and Richmond Magazine calls them “the best place to buy premium denim.”

This bitch has kicked Carrie Bradshaw's toothgum

This article was supposed to be published few days ago.... but then I wasn't able to use my laptop in the weekend... then I was to busy... then I'm again dealing with insomnia... so I thought that there has to be some sort of curse on this piece. Now I'm really annoyed... and can't go further with this shit. Anyway, the post was supposed to be on Anna Dello Russo. There's not much I can say.... she is opulent, over-the-top and has a cheeky outrageous sense of style (which I love). She is a living Carrie Bradshaw. She is way more than that. she is genial, and her pomposity can only make her a GAY ICON ( very cool gays indeed, not like the ones who scream at Britney Spears) with a MAD ITALIAN ACCENT. For those who don't know her (TWATS), here's a cool short biography I found on the internet.
visit www.annadellorusso.com

"I'm obssessed with image" says this young woman which Helumt Newton once reffered to as -fashion maniac-. "It's true, clothes are like a disease for me. I collect them, maybe I'll wear them just once but I have to own them. I have 4000 pair of shoes. My entire house is a closet, I even invaded part of the kitchen and the basement . When you enter my house is like going into Barneys because everything is tagged and enveloped in a maniacal way. My true weakness is jewelery because I think that it makes a difference in an outfit. And since I come from the south of Italy when I was a little kid I used to look upon Barese women and I wanted to wear jewelery like them."

Anna was born in 1962, has a bachelor in Italian Literature and Art History. In 1986 she moved to Milano to attend a prestigious master at the Domus Accademy. Gianfranco Ferrè was one of her teachers.
Her first job was at Donna magazine, which lasted only one month. Then she met Annalisa Milella, a journalist who, at that time, worked for Conde Nast. The two began collaborating and after 8 months Anna is at Vogue Italia. She will work there for 18 years (for the last 6 years she is the director of L'Uomo Vogue). Things are going well but in 2006 she decides to leave and become a freelance. The official version of the story says Anna was tired of being in charge of men fashion and wanted to go back to feathers and laces. The other version says her "activity" as a professional consultant were incompatible with her role at the magazine. She made such a huge amount of money that she caught the attention of the Revenue Authorities and the Journalist Association. Anna says "No one ever made me choose: I gave up the previlege of the direction to dedicate to other interests. But it's not only about logic, also deontology: being a freelance gives you more freedom" When asked about stylists Franca Sozzani says "At the beginning you just style for your magazine, but when you understand how it works you have to decide. I cannot allow that people working at my magazine are doing the consultants at the same time". She couldnt have said it clearer.

When Anna left Vogue she had a fancy goodbye party where Sozzani declared "It happens in almost all the respectable families to have a divorce, but since we don't have children we do it pacifically. We are still going to see eachother" And in fact Dello Russo has still an office in the milanese quarter of Conde Nast. She is fashion director and creative consultant for Vogue Nippon. But the biggest part of her job consists in giving her creative contribute to designers and maisons. "I feel I'm much more an art director rather than a stylist. I make up the story behind a show, take track of the direction, realize the communication: I let the brand grow."
It's being said that she has a lot of important and international clients, but she denies. "It would be a mistake (to say it's true), you could outshadow the brand's fame. Im called to make the cake but all the ingridients are already there."

Her wedding dress was made by Dolce & Gabbana " It was a gorgeous dress, it had a chiffon train, 18metres long, I eventually used it to make my curtains"

About her job she says "It's a lot about luck. My hobby is going shopping and I get paid to do it everyday for the rest of my life. Plus you make good money and can allow yourself many luxuries. But off course, you go through sacrifices as well. You learn to consider your physical shape and appearence as a necessity: because it helps to establish a good image and its good for your mind as well. To stay young and to challenge yourself are essential things. If you give up and start wearing your slippers you risk everything. To say it briefly, this job teaches you the rules of the game in a ferocoius way. So always be curious, keep yourself moving, leave the door open and keep your eyes focused. It s hard but it is worthed."

She has a strong Pugliese accent and some people make really bad jokes about it. Someone swears to have heard Anna confusing The Tenenbaums with the Talebans. We asked if, in her opinion, it's fair to allow mean comments due to fame. "It's like soccer. There you have a lot of money involved and high competion, like in the fashion bizz. When you are choosing players for your soccer team you don't want anyone to take your best player, so some teams will play hard. But eventually everyone comes back to the market and you choose the best one. (??I didnt really get it....) Anyways it's true what they say. I can't write or speak well because I'm dyslexic. Sometimes I say incomprehensible words, I make up names, mix different tongues but fortunatly I express my work through images. And no one can tease me about this because in the world of fashion everyone understands it."

When asked about international collegues she says: "Everyone has a strenght. The english people sell very well because their editorial style is a little avant garde, they are always the first at looking for new ideas. We, Italians, have a very beautiful product that no one can beat, for quality, efficiency and tradion. the French people have that allure, in Paris you can feel a fantastic glamour at each show. The americans have the money and the power, can you ask for more?"

translated from "Alla corte di Re Moda " by Fedi and Serlenga, Salami editore

"Depuis que je personnifie la sauvage sur la scène, j'ai essayé d'être aussi civilisée que possible dans la vie quotidienne " J.B.

These days browsing the internet has become as natural as breathing. I'm looking for an accommodation in Florence,but to find the perfect place seems harder than ever this year. In the meanwhile I'm floating in a sea of boredom and uninteresting things.

Anyway. I happened to be perusing VOGUE.it today.
Has to be said, even if I recognize the importance and the influence of this legendary magazine, that I'm not an usual reader of VOGUE even though I generally buy L'UOMO and all its September Issues. Juste pour être claire, je n'aime pas particulièrement Vogue Paris que je trouve déroutant et délibérément trop français e amo profondamente l'edizione Italiana che trovo sempre fastidiosamente piacevole.

While reading, my attention has been caught by the title VOGUE BLACK and so I clicked on it.
I actually liked what I found before me and I was really pleased to see how Franca Sozzani is intelligently promoting black beauty through the web pages of her magazine continuing what was first started with the July 2008 Black Issue (which featured only black models) and the 2009 Black Barbie Issue.

But after 30 minutes of perusing I started to be critical. What kind of reader is the one who read this column? BLACK VOGUE is a part of VOGUE.it which is related to the Italian version of the iconic magazine (yes I know, the magazine has a world influence.) and in Italy people of African descent are a paltry minority which majority is represented by immigrants belonging to a social environment that often doesn't even acknowledge the existence of BLACK VOGUE on VOGUE.it.

Unlucky a black bourgeoisie doesn't exist in our country (and if it does it is really rare). So is Black Vogue a useless promotion of black beauty? I don't know. As a person of color I sincerely don't know how to feel about it; indeed it is uncommon to read about la beauté noire, but at the same time I can feel like a sort of white “colonialist” fascination behind it...
I don't know if you get what I mean.. I hate to say this... but minorities can understand.

Finally another aspect that concerns me is the fact that the beauty products suggested are not even distributed in regular Italian drug stores and to be bought, you would have to go to the ethnic neighborhoods of Italy's major cities.
The conclusion? They should give me a job and try to be at least specific. Snap!