Summer vibes

Hey Folks,

hope you are well!

Here is an update on how my summer is flowing!

I have been super busy with my 

new Calendar 2021 

which is already available for Pre order..

A true labour of love, 

that features not only my sweet art,

but my love for cookery

and healthy food.

There is a recipe for every month of the year, 

curated by me, and all vegetarian!

Being Italian , cookery has always been one my dearest interests!

In the spring I started some Arty videos

about cookery and storytelling, and in the calendar 

you will find some of the characters I take with my 

on wild foraging walks

You can find more sneak peeks on 

my Etsy shop

I finally took a much needed holiday break in July

and went on a wild camping holiday

in the Scottish Lochs

It was much colder than where I live, in the South of the Country,

but it was truly magical to be alone in nature

without electricity, people and wi-fi around.

I washed my clothes in a stream ( with eco friendly soap!),

 had showers using a bucket with water heated on the fire, 

did long paddling meditation sessions, 

and walking to see waterfalls and magical landscapes.

I cooked the most tasty meals on the fire,

and enjoyed wild swimming in the Lochs,

(the water was super cold, but with a wetsuit it was bearable, 

even nice I say!)

One thing I said to myself

coming back from this epic trip,

is that I live in a wonderful part of the Country,

the Isle of Wight, 

which is also full of nature and sunshine...

and it is worth enjoying it more!

Hullabaloo Art and Science Festival 2020

Good news!

Lucy and her woodland chef's crew

has been selected

to take part in this year AT HOME edition

of Hullabaloo Festival,

a colourful event that happens every year on the Isle of Wight

and this year will celebrate 

the Island as the Unesco Biosphere Reserve

Many creative workshops will be free for everyone to attend online,

and we will explore the Island more stunning landscapes

to discover with my animal friends,

 some summer edible wild food,

 and the colourful magic gifts of plants!

I will host a live demo on making colour as well,

on Saturday 20th June at 1 pm (Uk time).

Find all the makers here

Join us for a celebration of nature and its gifts!

Elderflower risotto

I have been diving deep into nature lately,

as in Britain we are having a wonderful weather..

Thanks to a course on natural ink making with Flora Arbuthnott

I have been inspired to start wild foraging, 

and to discover even more the magic of plants!

In this post I want to share with you a recipe that

I literally invented out of inspiration..

yes, because cooking is an art,

and it lives on inspiration too!

ELDELFLOWER RISOTTO

Ingredients for 2 serves:
4/7 elder flower heads, picked in a dry day
1 leek
200 gr risotto rice (Arborio, Carnaroli, or similar)
500 ml Veg stock
half cup of cream
A pinch of grated Parmesan cheese to finish
Organic lemon zest (just a bit)

First, wash the elder flower, cut away the thicker stalks,

and dry it on a natural fabric cloth.
Wash and slice the leek, cook it gently until soft,
add the rice and toast it a bit,
then start adding the veg stock ( not all at once).
While stirring, check that the rice doesn't stick to the pan.
Add a bit of cream (I use soya cream)
At about 10 minutes in,
add the elder flower,
continue adding the stock every now and then.
Taste the rice and when is nearly "al dente",
add the lemon zest (less than half a lemon is enough for
this quantity of rice, as it is very strong flavour ).
When ready, if you wish,
sprinkle the cheese on top
and decorate with one fresh elderflower head and few lemon zest swirls.

ENJOY!

Lucy's Magical Woodland

Lucy's Magical Woodland
is my new project
where I  share with children and young at heart,
my love for cookery, art and storytelling!

This is my woodland chefs crew,
they are experts in natural and tasty food!

The videos are free , published on
a dedicated Youtube channel
(here)
and all updates are also posted in the Facebook Page 

In the first episode we made a nettle risotto , and
homemade hedgehogs.
It makes me so happy to teach kids what I know
about food and its beauty, qualities and arty uses !

I hope you will enjoy,
 and experiment along with me!

Stay at home ...cake!

At the time of writing this post,

all the world is stuck at home.

Plenty of positive sides of this, 

including more time for creativity!

I have been experimenting with more food illustration, and new recipes, 

in particular I fell in love with this vegan cake

that can be made not vegan too

( just swap agave for sugar, coconut oil for butter, et voila' !)
You can find the all recipe here

Also, I have been creating pencil cases, 

with hand painted illustrations,

and they are very popular on my Etsy shop

Last news, but the biggest probably!

I am creating some free video tutorial for kids,

about food, stories and art,

soon I will share the details, but for now

I leave you with the introduction of these series, which will happen...

in Lucy's magical woodland!

Seasonal picking

Hey!

While the world is upside down,

the only way to calm my mind is stay in nature,

and at this time of the year,

I wanted to share my best findings with you...

With the corona virus pandemic, people are invited to self isolate

and animals really seem to like it!

We could lay down 4 metres from this sleeping fox!

I saw owls, and other woodland creatures around more than ever.

I imagined that the world could have been just like this

hundred years ago, and people knew animals, and

animals knew humains, much better!

That's how all our fairytales come about...we knew

the personality of our woodland friends, because we lived close

together, without a sea of noise..

One of the things I always liked, from

when I was small,

is to find little trails in the woods, and follow them, 

imagining to be that animal.. and finding myself in the most 

peaceful places, away from humains.

I often sit there, still, and feel at home.

In one of these ramblings, I saw new nettle was coming out.

Did you know that nettle is a forgotten treasure?

It is good for our mood, our sleep, blood iron level and the stinging hairs

contain serotonin!

I picked the new leaves tips, and cooked them,

you can use them just like spinach, and together with them

in soup, risotto, and as a filling of pies and tortelli.

Nature is a Mum, no doubt,

she gives us all we need to be healthy and happy!

Why do I draw food?

Food illustration is a "thing" I came to love just recently.

But there is a longer story.

As a young adult, I spent nearly 10 years battling with food disorders and, why not, depression. 

At 15 I was in my town hospital, 32 kg and a iron will to not to let me talk out of my decisions.

Well, one simple decision:

 food is bad and I am not dealing with it. It makes me feel heavy, 

look fat and not be wanted.

A long way I have come from that, and thanks God I am totally recovered.

Yet, a few years ago, while deep into my art practice, I noticed some curious

  traits of my personality: if I was deep into my work, and I felt thirsty or hangry,

 I wouldn't let me follow this needs, and carried on in my job. 

Eventually, I realized that this was another sign of lack of care, 

and I began a long journey of self love.

And here, food played again a big role:

 Cooking for myself even the simplest meal had the impact of a big act of care.

Plus, if I felt some how uninspired that day,

 cooking was a real creative 

(and almost always rewarding ) go-to activity.

You see, I am Italian of origin, and food culture runs in our veins... 

Our parents (and specially older generations) are people who think of a meal 

not as a pre-prepared food, but as a time spent in a place ( usually the kitchen) 

with a certain atmosphere and certain people around, 

taking raw ingredients and let them mix and emanates the most delicious flavours, 

which memory will never forget.

I always thought this was normal, but living abroad,

 and considering the lack of time that many of us increasingly experience, 

I came to treasure this aspect : more than a mere need, food is an experience.

Now, as I am interested in illustration related to kids, and I started asking myself :

how is the food experience for them?

Soon I came to the conclusion that too often it wasn't the best, 

not even healthy, and that most of the kids I could approach, 

hadn't been even enough lucky to see an adult properly creating a meal.

No memories of how an onion becomes a delicious flavour, 

or how is better to prepare the filling of tortelli the day before, so the dish will have a greater flavour.

All this said, it has been very clear to me that I had all the elements

of setting off for the journey

to make food become again the great adventure it really is.

I try to draw stories, and the fun, quirky combinations that I love

  around food, and I think this theme

can lead to so many different connections...

to self care, tradition, innovation and mostly, 

appreciation for what the Mother Earth gives us:

life together with the chance to be creative in a healthy and respectful way!

NOTES:

Interesting books about food: 

Foraging and Feasting, an inspiring book about how to find and use wildfood
Baking day at Granma's, a lovely picture book

Blogs ( I am sorry , but I love Italian ones !):
Giallo zafferano, the best of Italian cooking
Mi piace mi fa bene, healthy and tasty food
L'Araba felice in cucina, recipes and funny stories

Instagram accounts:
They draw and cook, the best collection of food illustration
Thabhita Hawkins, an Instagram account of a food stylist photographer

Creative approach :
Erica Liverani, italian chef that often cooks with her little daughter
Andrea Animates, amazing felt art

Well, by now you must be feeling a bit hungry!