Parmesan Bread Sticks with Seeds

The crunchy breadsticks, called Grissini in Italian, are often served at the restaurant as an appetizer with a kind of dip - tsatsiki, kjopoolu, tirosalata or hummus.  You can also have them with some slices of prosciutto or bacon wrapped around them. I prepared them with grated parmesan cheese and sesame and poppy seeds and they turned out to be a great snack to nibble on. These parmesan breadsticks include butter, but you can not feel it while eating - if you prefer cheese breadsticks with more buttery and creamy taste, I would recommend you these ones. 

Gluten-free Bread

This is a healthy gluten free bread which holds the taste of nuts and grains. Recipe is from here.

Panzanella - Italian bread salad

Do you know what cucina povera means? It is an Italian term for the poor man's food. 
But nothing offensive. Peasant cooking means take the best from the ingredients you have on hand. Fresh ripe vegetables. Cheap cuts of meat and offals. Stale bread. The meaning is  cheap ingredients or ingredients you anyway have at home, simple recipe, rich taste.
In fact, bread and olive oil are two of the fundamental ingredients of Tuscan cookery and stale bread should not be wasted. So, Panzanella is a way to use a day-old bread. Roast or pan-fry the bread. Chop some ripe, but firm tomatoes. Add dressing and some more ingredients and you've got the summer taste in your plate, even if it is late spring outside. Bread soaks up all the juices from the vegetables and dressing and melts in mouth. Most of the recipes call for fresh basil as an ingredient, but I prefer to skip it in my version. I also substitute hot green peppers for the sweet ones used in the original. 

Garlic Knots: green for my eyes and soul

Kissing is important part of life. So is garlic. But they both are not compatible. Along with onion and cigarettes, I find garlic one of the worst kiss-enemies. That is why it is a good idea to decide what is more important on a certain day. I usually prefer kissing, that is why despite loving the pungent taste of garlic I serve it rarely on my table. But there are some days and some recipes I could not resist. On such days I prepare my favorite garlic knots. Since the day I saw the recipe here, I was sure they were worth it. And they did not disappoint me a bit. Of course you can omit the garlic part of the coating and pour only hot butter and parsley. I tried it, but it is not the same.