What is Timpano?

This celebratory meal is a drum-sized glorified lasagna, with layers of pasta, roasted veggies, three types of cheese, hard boiled eggs and tomato sauce. All of these layers are nicely nestled in a crust of pasta dough. Once assembled, the Timpano is baked in a Dutch Oven, cooled and flipped over to be cut. When sliced, you should be able to see every layer of cheese, veggies, pasta, sauce and egg inside the crust.

I’ve always thought of my cooking skills as mediocre. While I happily devour, cookbooks, cooking podcasts, and cooking shows, I’ve never considered myself to be an excellent cook. An enthusiast, yes, but certainly not an accomplished cook. Making the Timpano and having it come out almost perfectly, changed my perception of my abilities. I am now confident that I am a very competent home cook. Am I cooking show competition material? Maybe! I am confident I could manage anything with proper time and attention. While 2020 has been extremely rough, stressful at times, and occasionally lonely, I’ve had the comfort of being able to cook by myself and with someone I love through most of it. It’s been amazing to be able to fill part of that creative void I’ve been feeling since the pandemic started with different cooking projects. With this and other cooking successes under my belt, I am questioning whether I will want to return to restaurants again when it becomes safe to. Will I really want to spend $25 on a dish I could make just as good if not better at home? Can I really justify the cost when I could potentially squeeze two or three more meals out of it when it’s homemade?

Here are some pictures from all the steps! The first one includes the sausage and meatballs my boyfriend made for his more traditional version. I cooked this delightful version from The Jolly Tomato here with my own creative flourishes! I encourage anyone reading this to try this out! Each individual step is not hard, the ingredients are not too complicated, it just takes time and patience to put it all together. You can also take some short cuts, buying pre made pasta or meatballs. I hope enjoy the photos and happy cooking!

What it looks like

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Ways to reduce waste, on a budget and in your everyday life

I know, whenever I see blog posts about reducing waste, I can’t help but be skeptical of the advice offered. Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge advocate of reducing waste, however, the advice that is generally offered usually involves buying a lot of expensive containers, or having access to grocery stores that offer their foods in bulk. Well, I am one of those people on a budget and only have a small amount of spending money each month. For those that are in the same boat as me here is some free advice. Do not feel guilty about not being able to follow all of the zero waste rules you see. Not all of us have access and money to buy bulk nuts every week, so we must do what we can to reduce waste in our own small way. There’s no point in feeling bad, even just refusing to use plastic water bottles, or not using paper towels in a public bathroom is an act to reduce waste! 

1. Bring a reusable water bottle with you wherever you go! (to the Gym (obviously), to work in your purse or car!) It makes staying hydrated easier and is not an expensive thing to purchase. I recommend having more than one if you can swing it, because one of the downsides to carrying it with you is that it is very easy to leave it places. 
2. Stop using plastic wrap! Its a dumb product, it is annoying to use, you can’t wash it and its extremely wasteful. Instead try and use tupperware for sandwiches!  Also as long as your roommates let you, cover your food with a plate! You can just as easily pack a sandwich in tupperware and it stays intact when put in a backpack. One great alternative to plastic wrap is Beeswax Wraps! They seem to be everywhere now and are a really great product. Check them out on Amazon or directly from an independent business. I bought mine on Amazon, and they came with extra wax pellets so I can strengthen them when they are old. There are also great videos on youtube about how you can make your own (with cloth and wax pellets!)
3. Collect/ Buy some Reusable Bags for groceries. This is probably the easiest one to do. They’re at most $5 at your local grocery store and are the best investment. Keep them in your car! Or If you really want to be committed, buy a Chicobag. They come in a million designs and fold up into a tiny pouch, so you can fit it easily in a purse or coat pocket! 
4. Save your plastic produce bags! I’m always surprised more people don’t do this. There is simply no reason to throw out produce bags once you put your groceries away. I keep them in a ball that I stick in my reusable bags so that I never forget them at the store. Another way to reduce these bags, is to rethink what you really need to put in these bags. Produce items like lemons, oranges, potatoes, limes, things that you only need the juice for or you know that you will wash, there’s no reason to put them in a bag! It’s amazing how many bags you don’t end up using. 
5. Refuse plastic straws. This is the hardest thing to do at a bar because its so automatic for bartenders to give you those two tiny straws. But remember to mention it to the bartender. You don’t really need them and you don’t need to always have a metal straw on you. 

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Tea is by far one of the best beverages you can reward your body with. Not only does have  countless health benefits, it also gives you the happiest warmest feeling that alcohol could never give you. I generally have about 2 cups a day, one in the morning for the daily jolt, and one at night, after dinner, to calm me down.(Sometimes the long days call for more). I also use tea to heal my body of common ailments, sickness and stress. Are you starting to see why tea is the best yet?  The best way to learn about tea, like most complex things, is just to try everything until you discover your own taste. It is also very helpful (and fun) to stop by your local tea shop,(Teavana, David’s Tea, T2 (if you’re in New Zealand) where you will meet very enthusiastic people who will let you smell as much loose leaf tea as your heart desires! Most tea places will let you buy small amounts of tea at low prices to try before committing to full tins.

Something to consider when purchasing tea: Tea retailers sell loose leaf tea (loose leaves in the tin, must be put into a strainer when steeping) while supermarkets and other food markets will sell tea bags. Loose leaf tea will always be more expensive, it is fresher, higher quality and takes more energy to preserve than tea bags. Tea that is packaged in bags, are lower quality, cheaper and convenient for on the go. I try to buy as much loose leaf as I can, although when I’m counting pennies (which is a lot) I have to stick to tea bags. The great thing about both types though is that they are both compostable! That means less waste to the landfill and giving back to the earth! If you can afford to buy loose leaf tea, do it. It is well worth the money, most loose leaf teas can be strained TWICE and you are producing significantly less waste than with all of the packaging that comes with bagged tea. Here are a few of my favorite teas, a basic list of the different types. 

Black Tea- A wonderful option for a mild caffeine kick! My favorites include English Breakfast, Irish Breakfast Earl Grey and Chai (which is a black tea and a blend of spices). They are perfect, steeped for about 5 mins, with a bit of milk. Irish and English breakfast teas can be kind of smokey, spicy, and bitter while Earl Grey is lighter and floral.

​Green Tea- Personally, I think green tea is fairly bitter on its own, So I like to blend different herbal teas with it  (peach and mint tea are good blending options). Green Tea is more caffeinated than black. It is also great iced!

         Matcha- Powdered Green Tea. Expensive, yes, and when done right (80 degree water, whisked properly) is so delightful, healthful because you are consuming the tea leaves, and a mega caffeine boost! Also worth the money if you like it, because as you use only about 1/4-1/2 tsp of tea per cup so it lasts a long time. 

Herbal Tea– I usually drink herbal teas for their healing properties. So wonderful and so plentiful!

     Ginger- Stronger, spicy, great for digestion and sore throat relief!

     Mint- So refreshing, great for tummy aches, bloating, digestion, relaxation!

    Turmeric- COLD RELIEF. Anti-inflammatory, kidney support, linked to improved cognitive function.. this list goes on! 

   Rooibos-Lovely, fruity, great with Chai!benefits include: relaxation help, eczema, allergies headaches….

 These are just a few of my favorite teas to drink but it is a very limited list  of teas, there are so many more out there to discover and enjoy! I am constantly on the lookout. 

For now though, Happy Tea drinking!!

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1. HUMMUS– A tasty chickpea and tahini based dip with lots of variations, I am a traditionalist and like to stick to the basic recipe, but friends of mine have made some great variations with beets, ginger and more! The most important ingredient you can’t leave out is garlic

HUMMUS RECIPE

HUMMUS RECIPE

1 can of chickpeas (about 3/4 of dried)

1 cup of tahini paste (in a jar or make your own with sesame seeds and a blender!)

3-4 cloves of garlic/ as much as you want

1/2 cup of water 

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp of cumin ground or seeds

the juice of 2-3 lemons

1/2 tsp of coriander ground or seeds

Directions

1. Blend together the garlic, salt and spices in a food processor

2. Add the tahini to the spice mixture

3. Pour in the lemon juice to the tahini mix

4. Add the cooked chickpeas 

5. Add the water

*if the mixture is too dry, continue adding small amounts of water until desired consistency*

2. PEANUT BUTTER/ NUT BUTTER

Such a staple (at least for me) A simple and cheap way to do it is buying the nuts in bulk at your local store and then just blending them up with a little bit of oil! 

3. GRANOLA

A great topping and snack for yogurt, cereal and anything else that fits you fancy, make bars for on the go!

RECIPE (can be altered to your fancy)

Recipe

~about 5 cups of oats, plain, rolled oats

~ 1 cup oat bran

~2-3 teaspoons of cinnamon

~ 1/2 cup honey ( could be maple syrup or agave)

~ 1/3 cup  plain oil, coconut oil works well!

~1 tbs vanilla

~ 1 cup  toasted chopped nuts (your choice!)

~ 1-2 cups of raisins (or dried fruit of choice)

~ 1/2-1 tsp nutmeg

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F

In a small saucepan, heat up the oil, honey/agave on low heat, to thin it

Mix together the dry ingredients, (oats, bran, nuts, cinnamon, nutmeg)

When the honey mixture is thin and bubbling lightly, turn off the heat and slowly pour it over the oat mixture. Stir to coat evenly.

Spread the granola over parchment paper or on a greased sheet pan. 

Place in the oven, to bake for 45min. Stirring occasionally. 

When the granola is ready, place on the stove top to cool, then store in an airtight jar or container. 

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