Buckwheat diamonds in autumnal broth / Pasta di grano saraceno in brodo autunnale

Autumn. If you have been following my blog for a few years there is no need for me to stress on how much I love this season. If I had to pick a few words to describe this season those words would be: orange, leaves, perfumes, chestnuts, woolly jumpers, fireplace, home. A few words which are already eight…oh the nasty habit of dwelling that I have! To these “few words” I would just add another one: buckwheat.

No other kind of grain embodies in itself all the scents, colours and flavours of the most beautiful season of the year. Aromatic, intense, hot, buckwheat is very well suited for a variety of recipes ranging from sweet to savoy with the advantage of being a highly warming food (something I learned during my macrobiotic phase), therefore ideal for these months that are slowly introducing us to the cold winter. There is nothing better than a good hot soup to reconcile yourself with the world after a hard day’s work. Just imagine being in the cozy warmth of your house, holding a steaming bowl while sitting on the couch watching one of your favourite tv series.

The dough can be prepared it in advance and frozen laying the diamond shaped pasta on a cutting board covered with plastic wrap. When the pasta is thoroughly frozen you can store it in box to prevent it from breaking.

Buckwheat Bretzels / Bretzels al grano saraceno

Laugengebäck is the whole spectrum of breads that are boiled in a solution of water and caustic soda (in the order of 3% on the amount of water and not more, being caustic soda highly corrosive) before being baked. I simply love any kind of bread that undergoes this process while it gives a shiny crust and a very characteristic taste. Since my early childhood I favoured this kinds of breads which are usually vaguely rubbery and a little sticky on the surface. Bretzels are one of those breads I cherish. Although more or less ten years ago I had a moment of “Sils only bread baking” (here in Switzerland these breads are called silser) only once I tried to bake bretzels. Failing miserably.

MTC Challenge: Piadina Romagnola

This month’s MTC Challenge was a massacre for me…never underestimate what a flatbread can do to your brain. Tiziana (last month’s winner) requested not one but 5 recipes. Yes 5 recipes, and obviously I had to come up with something different, an attitude I have always had and which eventually turns up against me like in this case.

Comfort food: Buckwheat and Hazelnut flour Pie with Broccoli and Walnut filling / Comfort Food: Crostata salata di grano saraceno e nocciole con ripieno di broccoli e salsa di noci

Last week I started working again, part time, after 10 months unemployment. It feels weird, since the blog was born it became a fulltime job for me and it’s hard to let go, even if a little. Still struggling to make my schedules meet, maybe Panettone weekend wasn’t helpful and scrambled my brain a little, I had the chance to bake some bread only once with a semi-failed experiment that turned out nicely (but in the rush forgot to take notes). This is not good.

MTC American Breakfast Challenge: An Autumn Delight / MTC Challenge e la colazione all’americana: Una delizia autunnale

Few weeks ago, in one of my usual daily stroll into the blog universe I stumbled into Cranberry’s blog, drawn in by a very nice biscuit recipe. And as it happens more and more often I got lost into this “dark forest” of recipes (did I ever mention my love for Dante?). What a delight! I discovered raviole del plin and ended my journey onto MTC challenge’s. Nothing like a nice good old challenge to push me into a new recipe! I immediately wrote a mail to Alessandra who kindly accepted my enrollment into the MTC crew.

Buckwheat Lasagna with Scampi and Leeks / Lasagna al grano saraceno con scampi e porri

There are some culinary first times you cannot forget. The first look, the first taste, the first time that you venture into cooking a new recipe. I do not remember the first time I tasted a lasagna but certainly I’ll never forget the first time I made one. I was about 17-18 years old and madly in love with my first boyfriend, Christian, despite on and off and the usual teenage love drama.

Autumn Sourdough Savoury Biscuits / Biscotti salati autunnali, con pasta madre

Autumn has crept in suddenly, without giving any notice. The leaves are still green and strangely intact on the trees, there is no trace of wet foliage on the pavements and its comforting and enveloping scent. Only a bitter cold which caught us by surprise and a leaden sky filled with sadness. The season that I’ve always loved the most is hostile to me this year. The season of chestnuts and wooly jumpers, with its warm colors and the primordial scent of the earth and damp leaves crushed under our hurried footsteps in the evening when we return home with one only thought, turning the kettle on.

Spelt, Semi-Whole Wheat, Buckwheat flour, Wheat Germ Sourdough Bread / Pane al lievito madre con germe di grano, farina di farro, semi integrale, e farina di grano saraceno

Until a few years ago, when I baked my bread with yeast and used AP flour only, it didn’t occur to me that flours could be so different and serve different purposes. In Switzerland we do not have a thing such as AP flour, mostly because wheat flours found in the shops have all 11% protein content, unless semi-whole meal, wholemeal or other kind of grains flour. Yes, how distressing.