Saturday market in Accra

Today is the first Saturday of the month, which means the monthly craft market at the Goethe Institute. Clothes, carvings, baskets, bagels, jewelry: perfect time to get some Christmas presents.

Afrisocks were back in stock, some new patterns but socks for women are not available yet. When traveling for the holidays, lightweight gifts like these are very handy. I love the colours!

Not from the Goethe market but from Global Mamas: a picture book I hope my niece in Ireland will enjoy, with great Ghana photos.  Now I just need to see who gets what of Ghana chocolate, cocoa nibs, batik bags and local coffee.

Toys in local fabric. Lovely things, but it was hot and sticky  (32C, and very humid) so we escaped to Cafe Kwae for a cold drink.

The “God is Able” food joint, in Cantonments.  Next Friday is Farmer’s Day in Ghana and a public holiday, so we might go away for the weekend. Good to get most of the holiday shopping out of the way, and done locally. Now I just need to dig out my small bag of warm clothes and thermal underwear, and imagine how cold Norway will be in two week’s time.  Brrrrr………..

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No-knead November loaf in Garbatella

Heading back to Accra after some days in Rome, in our neighborhood of Garbatella. In Caro Diario, Nanni Moretti drives through this archway on his Vespa. Garbatella is getting trendier, which still seems odd, but is still a great place to live and visit.

Piazza Eurosia in sunshine, with Roman fragments.

Via delle Sette Chiese. Oh yes, and I baked! I actually doubled this and made one big and two small loaves, but here is enough for one.

No-knead loaf in Garbatella

5 grammes fresh yeast (or 3 grammes dry)
425 grams water
100 grammes wholewheat flour
400 grammes white wheat flour
a handful of sunflower seeds
8 grammes salt

Mix all this up, to a shaggy mess and  leave it on kitchen counter with bowl covered for a few hours while you go for apertivi.  When you are back, fold the dough over itself with a spatula for a couple minutes, until you have a firmer dough ball that can be tipped over into parchment paper. Lift that into a bowl or baking tin, cover it and leave in fridge overnight to rise. Next morning, heat oven to 250C and bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool before slicing, and enjoy!

A few days in Garbatella, and a lemon/blackcurrant curd tart

I’ve been in Rome for a week for work, and despite the rain it has been lovely to amble round the neighborhood (Garbatella), drink coffee, meet neighbours tut-tutting over the weather, grafitti and state of the roads, and of course enjoy fall food.

Cavolo nero at the market. And artichokes, broccolo romano, cicoria, mmmm….

Friday night apertivi at the butcher’s up the hill, on Via delle Sette Chiese.

Artichokes at the market: we were on our way to Eataly to see their new IKEA section, interesting. At least a good place to get ziplock bags without going to Anagnina.

Alberto Sordi commemorated on Via Antonio Rubino.

The lemon/blackcurrant curd tart

One shop-bought pastry crust (here, gluten-free pâte brisée)
One jar lemon curd
One jar blackcurrant curd

Blind bake the pastry crust for ten min or so at 200C. I used baking beans. Then pour in the two curd jar contents, and cool until serving.

We bought the blackcurrant curd in Maldon, and it was very nice. The artistic swirl foreseen did not quite work, but this was delicious. Also super easy.