September has flown right past, another crazy whirlwind month for S and I! We started our month in Paris, then went to Italy for a week where we had the big Italian wedding (we actually got married in Canada in March, but this was the big reception).
Some beautiful produce from this month...
I have become utterly addicted to the incredibly flavourful heirloom tomatoes
Datterini tomatoes we had in Italy
Fresh walnuts - I never knew they were white before they dried!
On the baking front...
It was one of my rare days when I had enough energy to make this wholewheat challah, I've never made it with 100% wholemeal flour before and the rise was not particularly good...
My friend sent me a picture of a "Purebread cat" so I had to reproduce it... unfortunately my sourdough starter Barney has been struggling in between the new French flours that he doesn't seem to like and my lack of attention, so this was not a very well risen cat... we ate him anyway for lunch.
The last thing I baked was these Shanghainese style mooncakes stuffed with fresh pork. It's become a bit of a tradition the last few years, it's quite fiddly but well worth the effort!
Random meals from September...
We had S' friend over for a make your own rice paper roll party, it was a hit!
Our friend from Toronto dropped by and stayed with us for a night. I love ordering shakshuka in cafes but this was my first time making it, and it was really delicious.
Here I made a vegan mushroom broth with shiitake mushrooms, ginger and spring onions, which we ate with more vegetables and edamame on top of fresh rice noodles. A delicious dinner for us!
The wedding...
We had the reception in S' family mansion in Montagnana where his parents, his aunt and older sister were all married. It belonged to his grandparents but is not used now except for special events. The caterers did an incredible job setting up tables in the backyard and stringing up beautiful fairy lights. Some of his family came from Naples (a 8 hour drive) and I was so grateful for my friends who came from all over!
The canapes table
The pasta course was a risotto with wild chamomile and mountain herbs - the aroma of the risotto was incredible and it had the most amazing creamy texture!
They did an outstanding job with our cake, which was filled with a pistachio creme.
This was our lunch the day after the party, featuring focaccia and fresh prosciutto - the speciality of the region where S comes from
Special baking gifts from my friends who came over from Vienna
These food gifts were also super special - Taiwanese taro puffs that travelled with friends from Toronto, and mooncakes that came with my friends from Sydney
Finally, the curveball this month is a tranquil scene from the forest near the meditation centre Dhamma Mahi where I spent three days at a meditation retreat. I wrote last month that I have been struggling to adjust to the enormity of the life changes we are going through, and I was very grateful for the opportunity to retreat into nature and spend some time with my thoughts. I really loved walking in the forest, and there were the most incredible enormous orange slugs there (up to 10cm!) They lounged around like they owned the forest.
I'm sending this to Sherry who hosts the monthly In My Kitchen series, thanks Sherry and happy October fellow IMKers!
