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Pregnancy Reading

As soon as I found out a little baby was on the way I of course started perusing Pinterest for all the different links related to pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, and baby's first year. I also wanted to get some good books to read to try to prepare me as much as one possibly can.  

I picked out a couple of books that were recommended to me from friends or from other blogs that I follow and I was gifted a few. 

All of these books were great reads and I would also recommend them to any mother-to-be. 

My Pregnancy Journey Part III

On Tuesday June 16th at 10 am I had the first application of the inducing gel. They said if it didn't take effect in 6 hours I would need a second application. The hours passed on by and there was little to no effect and so at 4pm I had the second application. By the time Luca was able to come to the hospital after work around 7:30 pm the gel was definitely having its effect. 

My Pregnancy Journey Part II

After switching from being followed by a private gynecologist to being followed by an obstetrician at the birthing center I felt better about my pregnancy. It was a relief to not have to go in about twice a month and have to wait over an hour to see the doctor. I could call the obstetrician when I needed and our appointments were based only on what was necessary. 

As the months progressed and my belly grew I had to make the proper arrangements for when baby was due. We signed up for a prenatal course. I looked around at the prenatal courses offered at various hospitals and the course offered through the public health care system and in the end we opted for the one at the birthing center, not because I was being followed there, but because it was for couples and involved the father.

By April/May I felt like my belly was quite big (even though I was really quite small) and it was taking me always a little bit longer to walk to work and eventually I ended up taking the bus. I didn't like taking the bus because people should technically offer their seat to you but they never did.  Once I was sitting in the "special" seats for the elderly, handicapped, and pregnant women and an elderly lady came and pointed to the sign and gestured for me to move, and I responded by saying, "oh I'm pregnant, but there's an open seat down there I can go sit there" and it ended in a very awkward "Oh I'm sorry, I didn't see, no, no, no stay where you are" and eventually another person offered their seat to the elderly woman. 

My Pregnancy Journey - Part I

Every pregnancy is a journey and has a story of it's own and a first time pregnancy comes with an added touch of anticipation and excitement of something never experienced before.  

Luca and I discovered that we were expecting our first child right before Halloween. I went to the closest grocery store to buy my second pregnancy test. I was nervous and excited. The first time I went to buy a pregnancy test I bought a 2-pack and didn't looking at the packaging carefully. It was a huge disappointment when I got home and went to take the test and realized that it had already been opened and one of the tests had been stolen. So the second time I double-checked the packaging. 

It was a surreal feeling taking the test and hoping for a positive result and then seeing those two lines slowly appear. After the first test being negative I had just expected that also the second one would be too. 

At a halloween party after discovering a little baby
was growing inside 

So after rejoicing in the good news we had to figure out how to proceed. What do we need to do? Who do we need to call? What appointments need to be made?

Italian Autumn

The seasons are passing quickly and with Christmas around the corner autumn as already flown by and it's now already late to be posting about our fall adventures. However because I've been so incredibly busy with work, and life in general, the blog has been on hold and so better late than never will have to do. 

Luca and I totally fell for the TV show Bake Off Italia. Every Friday night we would plan to be at home at 9 pm so we could catch the latest episode of Bake Off waiting to be inspired to try something new in the kitchen. Luca took on a whole new interest in baking and is starting to become my competition. So we attempted eclairs, bagels, and for Luca's birthday he wanted a play on the rainbow cake so I made a 5 layer pistachio cake.

Bread Project #5

Ravazzata

"'A loaf of bread,' the Walrus said, 'is what we chiefly need: Pepper and vinegar besides are very good indeed.'" --Lewis Carroll

While we were in Sicily we made sure to enjoy the typical foods available to us. A few years ago one of Luca's friends went to Sicily and when he came back he brought some deliciously ragù filled rolls. However Luca didn't know what they were called and as we travelled around the island, he would always try to get one from the bar or bakery when he had the chance. It took over 2 weeks to figure out what they were called.

We also discovered that they are only a Palermo thing and so when we were back there to catch the ferry we stopped and got some to bring back to Luca's family. And of course we had to attempt making them in our own home as well. 

This is no light snack, it's a meal in itself. It's stuffed with meat ragù and the giant roll is made with lard, but what isn't good when it's made with lard? 

 We've tried making ravazzate only once, however we loved the roll recipe which is easy and quick so we've been making batches and freezing them so we can have them with dinner whenever we want. So this a recipe I highly recommend. 

Recipe for Brioche da Rosticceria

8 cups flour

2 cups warm water

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup lard

4 tsp salt

50 grams yeast 

Mix flour, sugar, lard, and yeast. Slowly add the warm water. It's best to use a standing mixer with the hook attachment. Mix until the dough starts to form into a ball. Then add the salt. (DON'T FORGET THE SALT) and mix until the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. 

Once you have a nice round dough ball, rub a thin layer of lard around it. Place it in a covered bowel in a warm dry place to rise. Let it sit for about 20 minutes- until it's doubled in size.  Then you can use this dough to make one large loaf, rolls, or ravazzata.

Bake in the oven at 400º for about 10 minutes. 

I'm not giving the ragù recipe because I didn't particularly like this recipe and there are so many different variations so if you want to make a ravazzata and not just the bread rolls look up a recipe and you'll easily find one!