As long as there's sunshine...

The weather forcast was saying rain or showers ever since last weekend, and to spite them, the sun shined almost all the time, temperature reaching 24°C yesterday. Very nice and warm, and no need to say I was happy that the forcasts were wrong... until this morning. Just waking up and hearing the rain drops outside makes me wish I didn't have to get up from bed all day. But no help, a pretty busy day ahead.
The week behind us, my younger daughter, S. turned four, had two cakes on two different days, as it seems to have become a rule in this family to celebrate every birthday twice. She got her Inter jersey (so did her sister, two months ago - I guess there's a slight hint that my husband wanted a son, or he wouldn't be turning his daughters into football fans), and she hasn't taken it off for four days in a row. Going to bed in the evening she makes sure the jersey's "sleeping" next to her, and as soon as she opens her eyes in the morning it's the first thing she's looking for.
And my big girl, F. is so proud of herself - last September she started swimming classes saying she wanted to become a swimming champion, regardless of the fact that she still had to learn how to swim, and in a couple months she not only learned how to swim but moved to an advanced class and she's enjoying it a lot. Not that there weren't a few "rainy days" when she almost gave up, sure there were. Little crisis, like when they changed her swimming instructor, and she refused to go in for that reason ^__^
This evening she'll be singing with her school choir, so I really need to get ready, fill my bag with paper tissues... seriously, why do I get so emotional over these little things? But that's life. Little rain and little sunshine, a surprise here and there, a mixture of different flavours every day.
Just like my lunch today.
Flavourful, colourful, refreshing and tasty. May sound like an unusual combination, but it's actually great.




Basmati Rice with Asparagus and Strawberries
(from Cucina naturale magazine, May 2011)

4 servings:
* 400 g fresh asparagus
* 280 g basmati rice
* 150 g strawberries
* 5 scallions
* 1/2 teaspoon pink pepper corn
* 1/2 teaspoon sugar
* Extra Virgin Olive Oil
* salt

* Cut the strawberries into wedges. Pestle the pink pepper corns with sugar and add them to the strawberries. Cover and let marinate.
* Chop finely the scallions (only the white part) and sauté in a skillet with 4 TBspoons of EVOO.
Break the aspragus sprouts in the bottom part and discard the hard bottom pieces. Slice the rest of the sprouts lenghtwise (mine were really tiny so I only cut them in half).
Add the asparagus to the skillet with the scallions, add a spoonful of hot water, salt and let simmer covered for about 10-12 minutes.
* In the meantime cook the rice: rinse it first and then put in a casserole with 500 ml (2 cups) water. When the water starts boiling, add salt, cover and cook on low heat until all the water has been absorbed.
Transfer the cooked rice on a trey, season with a little olive oil and mix with a fork.
* Add the rice and the strawberries to the skillet with the asparagus, stir and serve warm.




Riso basmati con asparagi e fragole
(da Cucina naturale, maggio 2011)


per 4 persone:
* 400 g di asparagi
* 280 g di riso basmati
* 150 g di fragole
* 5 cipollotti
* 1/2 cucchiaino di pepe rosa in grani
* 1/2 cucchiaino di zucchero
* olio Extra vergine d'oliva
* sale


* Tagliate le fragole a fettine. Pestate lo zucchero insieme al pepe e aggiungetelo alle fragole. Coprite e lasciate marinare.
* Tritate i cipollotti e soffriggeteli sul fuoco dolce con 4 cucchiai di olio EVO.
Spezzate gli asparagi nella parte bassa e scartate la parte dura e legnosa. Tagliate il resto a fettine nel senso di lunghezza (i miei erano molto sottili e li ho tagliati solo a metà).
Aggiungete gli asparagi nella padella con i cipollotti, salate, bagnate con un cucchiaio di acqua bollente e lasciate cuocere coperto per circa 10 minuti, bagnando, se necessario, con altra acqua calda.
* Sciacquate il riso e mettetelo in una casseruola con 500 ml di acqua. Quando l'acqua comincia a bollire, abbassate la fiamma, salate e cuocete coperto finché tutta l'acqua non sarà assorbita (circa 12 minuti).
Stendete il riso su un piatto grande o su un vassoio, conditelo con un pochino d'olio e sgranatelo con una forchetta.
* Unite il riso e le fragole agli asparagi. Mescolate bene e servite, caldo o tiepido.





Basmati riža sa šparogama i jagodama
(iz časopisa Cucina naturale, svibanj 2011.)


za 4 osobe:
* 400 g svježih šparoga
* 280 g riže basmati
* 150 g jagoda
* 5 kom. mladog luka
* 1/2 žličice ružičastog papra u zrnu
* 1/2 žličice šećera
* Ekstra djevičansko maslinovo ulje
* sol


* Narežite jagode na kriškice i stavite ih u manju zdjelu. Izmrvite šećer i papar u mužaru pa dodajte jagodama. Pokrijte i ostavite da se mariniraju.
* Sitno nasjeckajte mladi luk (samo bijeli dio) pa ga na laganoj vatri pirjajte u tavi s otprilike 4 žlice maslinovog ulja.
Šparoge operite, odlomite donji drvenasti dio pa ih narežite uzdužno. Dodajte šparoge u tavu s lukom, ulijte i žlicu vruće vode, malo posolite pa pirjajte pokriveno na srednje jakoj vatri 10-ak minuta. Promiješajte povremeno i dodajte po potrebi opet žlicu vruće vode.
* Rižu isperite i stavite kuhati s 500 ml vode. Kad prokuha, posolite, smanjite vatru, i kuhajte dok riža ne upije svu vodu (oko 10-12 minuta).
Istresite kuhanu rižu na veći tanjur ili pladanj, dodajte malo ulja i miješajte vilicom da bude rastresita.
* Dodajte rižu u tavu sa šparogama, umiješajte jagode.
Poslužite toplo ili mlačno.