a taste of italy...

but still swiss!

we couldn't wait until july to see a bit of italy, so for our 4 day easter break we took a train ride to lugano, just near the swiss-italian border. lugano is located in ticino is the italian speaking part of switzerland, located in the south eastern part of the country. on a map it doesn't look so far from lausanne, but in reality there are some huge alps between here and there. even though it is quite a long journey to get around those mountains, it is well worth it. let me tell you about our 4 day journey to the city (and lake) of lugano and maybe you'll understand why everyone who inquired where we were going always responded with "ahhh, nice!"

*italian eats, gelato and coffee were all amazing. i'd recommend the -9° for amazing gelato (apparently an italian chain?). we also loved Bottegone del Vino for great italian style dishes and good local wine, Mary's for pizza, and Cucina di Alice for some more italian dishes. mmmm...

gummy bear truck. i could not be stopped.

octopus pressed together,
then thinly sliced. 

*the town of lugano has a great atmosphere. lots of small piazza (plazas) with cafes galore. there was also an outdoor market the entire weekend with stands set up along all of these public spaces, adding plenty of action and charm. the geography is quite nice, with the surrounding hills diving right into the lake, it definitely felt more mediterranean. the walkway along the lake is also spectacular with parks, places to sit and enjoy the water and the views.

Lugano rooftops

Lago di Lugano

Mario Botta is all over this town.

*we spent a day hiking- we took the funicular (howie's most favorite word!) up to the top of San Salvatore, one of the two closest peaks to lugano. it was rainy and misty so we didn't see so much from the top, but decided to take a 3.5 hour hike to morcote, a small town on the lake. the hike was mostly very easy to follow with these yellow signs everywhere (these are all over switzerland). we were hiking along a ridge for quite a while until we found steps that just kept going down...  while descending into morcote you first find the beautiful old bell tower of a church built high on the hill. at this point we were also very glad that we didn't have to walk up all of the steps, which then took us down to the lakeside town. morcote is such a well preserved place- a very old style town with surprisingly new looking buildings!  i loved how the buildings were all different shapes to accomodate the spaghetti-like arrangement of streets.

couldn't see very far that day...

*we took one day (Easter sunday, actually) to hop across the border to como, italy. we found a fantastic market (did not buy any turtles, though) and after about 12pm the streets and lakeside started to fill with people, despite many of the restaurants and most shops being closed for the holiday. we enjoyed an extremely leisurely lunch alongside the lake at L'Antica Riva. many sea and lake foods were enjoyed- octopus, lake perch, clams, along with some risotto, a local fave. highly recommended although lunch took long because it was sooo busy!

Como's Duomo

Lago di Como

took 2 guys to turn the wheel.

our weekend was great- while there wasn't soo much going on because of the holiday, lugano is definitely a great town for relaxing, hiking, enjoying the lake and great eats! good thing we had a 5.5 hour train ride home for howie to catch up on some schoolwork and for me to work on planning our summer trip to italy.

hope you all had a wonderful easter!

summer vacation!

19 nights at hotels: booked!
1 teeny manual car: booked!
1 easyjet flight back from rome: booked!

let the summer fun begin!   wait... its only May 5th.

ok, maybe i'm a little too excited about our summer trip to italy but i finally finished booking all of our hotels, etc. so its been on my mind. other reasons to be excited:

1. i get to see howie for 3 weeks straight with NO school!

2. we have a pretty sweet itinerary that was developed with the gracious help of our "real-life" italian friends.

3. this is the biggest trip that i've planned entirely on my own. ok, with a little help, but mostly on my own!  usually howie is the trip planner but now that he is crazybusy, its my job. and

anyway, the exciting part:

Venice + Vicenza (Palladio!)
Agriturismo in Tuscany + Siena
Perugia + Umbria
Naples + Amalfi Coast
Rome!

and now that we know where we're going, its time to plan our agenda and balance food, architecture and fun :)  (of course any food or other recommendations are more than welcome!)

positano, amalfi coast, italy [source anonymous]

cooking adventures: moroccan beef pot roast with honey glaze.

in NO WAY is this a food blog. ha. but since we've moved to lausanne i've been cooking a lot. going out to eat is not really an option. this is huge for me, and why i started to keep track of the dishes in the side column there --->

except that i quickly lost track of what i've made. so i'm going to revise the list a bit, and include my favorites and try to either write the recipes or add links. maybe some of you know a couple of my favorite places to find recipes are smitten kitchen also the 'in the kitchen with' series at designsponge. also, my dear friend shweta has her own real food blog, the vegetarian way.

this recipe came from a surprise issue of 'Lunds and Byerly's: real food' sent to me in a care package from mom. it has been sitting in a pile of travel magazines by my bed for a couple months, but picked it up on friday when i was out of ideas for things to cook.

mine was not quite this beautiful
and we ate it too quick to take a photo!

i was lured by the photo of juicy meat and the word 'moroccan', so i decided to try this pot roast thingy. i had to adapt quite a bit since i don't own a dutch oven, only a tiny covered pyrex casserole dish. also meat is super expensive and speaking of meat... i really have no idea how to ask for a specific cut of meat in french. actually, i don't really know what these things are supposed to look like either- what makes chuck roast different from brisket?!

so, i just bought some "beef" and gave it a try. i'd say it was pretty successful- the beef dried out a tiny bit during the glazing process because i didn't have a 4-6 lb chunk of meat. (i only left it in for 7-8 min) but the dish tasted great with a little spice kick and lots of flavor.

Moroccan Beef Pot Roast with Honey Glaze:
[from Lunds and Byerly's spring 2011 issue of 'Real Food']

Pot roast

3 cups chopped onions

1 Tbsp chopped garlic

½ tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground cumin

1 tsp turmeric

1 Tbsp sweet paprika

1 tsp cayenne

1 tsp dried mint

1 tsp black pepper

2 tsp kosher salt

¼ cup cilantro stems, finely chopped (save leaves for garnish)

4 cups water

1 cup canned tomatoes, chopped

2 Tbsp lemon juice (or more to taste)

1 boneless chuck roast or brisket (about 4-6 lbs.)

2 cups cooked chickpeas (freshly cooked or canned)

4 carrots, cut into 2-inch chunks

3 cups butternut squash, cut into 2-inch chunks

2 cups instant couscous

Honey glaze

¼ cup honey

3 Tbsp braising liquid, reserved

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp dried mint

Garnish

reserved cilantro leaves

1. For the pot roast: Preheat oven to 350℉.
2. In a 6-quart Dutch oven, toss onions and garlic with spices, salt, and cilantro stems until well integrated. Pour in water and stir in tomatoes and lemon juice. Lay in meat, cover, and bake 1 hour.
3. Remove lid and bake 1 hour more. Ensure there are 2 to 3 inches of liquid in pot, adding more water as needed.
4. Cover and bake 30 minutes or until meat is just becoming tender. If not tender, continue to bake, checking every 15 minutes. When it is fork-tender, remove meat to a platter or pan. Add chickpeas, carrots, and squash and place pot over a medium-hot burner. Bring to a light boil and cook until vegetables are fork-tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. remove from heat and degrease the top.
5. Remove the solids and taste the liquid. If too watery, return to heat, bring to a boil, and reduce to concentrate the flavors. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Set aside or refrigerate overnight.
6. Preheat oven to 450℉.
7. For the glaze: in a small saucepan, combine honey, reserved braising liquid, lemon juice, and mint. Heat 1 to 2 minutes to form a light syrup. PLave roast in a roasting pan and brush on glaze. Place in oven and brush on more glaze every 5 minutes until the glaze has become bubbly and shiny, about 15 minutes total. Remove immediately.
8. While meat is roasting, prepare couscous as per directions
9. To serve, mound couscous in  a large, shallow serving bowl. Spoon on vegetables and plenty of braising sauce. Remove strings from meat. Slice or cut meat into chunks and place on top; scatter with cilantro. Pass additional vegetables and sauce.

Serves 8.