Yeah, really cool stuff! Congrats guys I'm actually not into collecting flags myself, but I still think its awesome what you guys are doing here. Stuff like this truly makes the Empire an international server, even though it is located in the US and most of its players live there But... As other posters mentioned above: what is Italy without some good pasta? Instead of talking about it, why not go the extra step? This is a recipe which I picked up during my teens, I slightly altered a few things over time and right now I make this dish every once in a while and so far no one has died on me. Worse yet: they even keep coming back asking me to make it again Which is all fine and cool, but when I make this it's not uncommon for me to spend 2 - 3 hours in the kitchen, the flavoring of the sauce alone is taking its sweet time. BUT... your mileage may vary, as is the saying. Now, lets not go too off topic, I'll just hide that recipe here, then no one will notice it Do note that I'm used to Dutch ingredients (names anyway) so while I'll do my best to be as specific as possible it is possible that I'm mentioning ingredients which may not be as common at your place than it is here. Ingredient requirements: Lasagna leaves (duh). A plate / dish to eventually put the lasagna in. 1 - 1.5l milk (approx) approx. 20gram of flour. approx. 160 - 200gram of pork ("a slice of ham (pork)"). approx. 50gram of butter. 1 - 2 pieces of leek. pepper (I'd recommend using a pepper mill / grinder). "Italian herb mixture". Collection of pre-collected herbs which can give your dish a more sweetish flavor. Usually consists of (Google translated): marjoram, oregano, thyme, basil, chive and parsley. Hm, I learned some new words today Alas, in Holland this is a readily available mixture. Garlic (1 - 2 pieces) Lemon juice (squeezed lemon is preferred, might even want to use some part of the fruit flesh as well). approx. 150 - 180gram of raw vegetables. Usually such collections are sold pre-made here as well. But anything goes; carrots, radish, onion, etc. Cheese (grated or used as small slices). (optional): 1 teaspoon of sambal "oelek". This can help to spice the sauce a bit. Pepper works too, but this also adds a bit of an extra flavor. (optional): a bit of ketjap "manis". I often use this to flavor the baked meat a little bit. Also known as soy sauce, but this variant is flavored with a bit of a more sweet taste. Optional extra ingredients (I started using these, but... it may or may not work for you): Anjovis You really need to be careful here because anjovis is a very strongly flavored ingredient. If you never tasted it or aren't sure then I'd recommend against using it (esp. if you're trying the recipe for the first time) because it can heavily influence the taste of your sauce. Also: always add this last, because once you tasted a more pure anjovies then you can forget about keeping a "non-biased taste" in your mouth. I prefer to taste the sauce from time to time so that I know that everything 'works'. Corn This works extremely well when you make the sauce more spiced (which I often do). Sambal & pepper spice up your sauce a bit whereas the corn cools it down a little. Tofu I can't really comment here because this was my gf's idea last time I made lasagna. All I can say is that I was a bit hesitant at first but adding some pieces worked out quite well in the end. We thought it was very tasty. With all (extra) ingredients: never overdose. The idea is to make all ingredients "work" together, and not have one "dominate" your whole sauce. This is also why the use of anjovis should be regulated and done very carefully. Also: if you don't know how tofu works then I'd also recommend against using this. According to my gf it "enhances the overall taste and adds some of its own" which I assume makes this pretty tricky to use. This is also where my expertise ends because I never used it in my dishes myself. Approx. amounts of ingredients: I often use approximate values. Thing is: the original recipe got lost a long time ago because after making this a few times myself I started doing everything from mind. So I always use varying amounts which also results in my lasagna never tasting the same as the last time I made it. Also: if you never / hardly cooked before and figured you'd just try this yourself then I definitely suggest to ask someone who cooks more often for their opinion and their tips on the whole thing (like those approximate values). Your SO ("significant other") or your parents perhaps? Its better to ask & avoid mistakes than ending up with a not-so-tasteful lasagna dish Finally: make sure your pot / pan is large enough to hold approx. 1l of sauce (most likely a little more). Recipe: Cut the meat (ham / pork) into pieces and bake (with a bit of butter obviously), also chop up the leek and add those pieces as well. When the meat is getting ready you could optionally add a small bit of ketjap ("soy sauce") to flavor the meat / leek a bit. Now add the 40 - 50grams of butter, stir and wait for it to melt, then add the 20 - 30 gram of flour. Make sure to stir a bit, and don't worry: this is going to turn into a sticky "glued up" piece. It's all good. (You use the flour to 'bind' the sauce a bit, making it thicker. Using butter first is a well known trick to avoid any lumps from forming in your sauce) Now its time to add the milk but don't add it all at once. Add enough to make the whole thing more liquid again and start stirring. Eventually it'll get thicker, then you add more milk. The idea is to end up using approx. 1l of milk. Also start to keep taste in mind. You obviously don't want your sauce to taste like flour (Maybe you didn't know but flour & milk form the base for many different sauces. Like this, but you can just as easily make an onion sauce, cheese sauce, etc.) At this time you start to 'fill in' the sauce with the rest of the ingredients. Add the herbs as required. So the Italian mixture, the optional 1 teaspoon of sambal, a good dose of pepper, the garlic, and so on. When the sauce is hot enough (temperature) I usually also add a bit of (solid or grated) cheese. This also adds to the flavor and also "binds" / thickens the sauce a bit. I usually add the ingredients from strong flavored to less strong flavored, but that is entirely up to you. So, for example, I often start with the Italian herb mixture (together with pepper and garlic) and then add the other ingredients. And as mentioned before: careful with some stronger ingredients such as the anjovies and lemon juice. I usually use a small squeeze of lemon juice (definitely not a whole lemon!) and optionally add some of the fruit flesh (if that's the right word). Anjovies: approx. 20 - 25 gram, so a few "filets" (small pieces). If you're like us and can't resist the taste of some raw anjovies then definitely start eating that after you're done with the sauce. Because raw anjovies is going to ruin your sense of taste pretty horribly When you're satisfied with the sauce (I recommend you taste often (but not too often) to get a good feel for it) you can add a small bit of the raw veggies. Just mix them through the sauce. Next, time to get your hands dirty: 'butter up' the dish which is going to hold the lasagna, so add a small layer of butter. I normally use my hands because that makes sure you can cover the entire inside of the dish. When done add the first layer of the lasagna leaves. Next add a layer of sauce (not too thick!) and also add some raw veggies. I usually leave the cheese for the top, but whatever works for you. Next: add a new layer of lasagna leaves, and then another layer of sauce, and repeat until you're out of sauce. I prefer using both raw veggies and some cheese on top, the cheese will eventually give it a nice baked look (it also helps you to see if your dish is nearly ready). Now its time to put the whole thing into the oven. 50 - 60 minutes at 180 degrees. Careful, careful, careful!!! This is not just for our younger readers but for everyone: careful when you take out the dish again because that is going to be HOT. Do not take unnecessary risks and when in doubt just ask someone else to take out the dish for you. I'd definitely advice the younger readers to get a parent or other grown up to help them out with this if possible. This is not about being whimpy or anything, this is about never underestimating the major damage which (hand)burns can cause you. It can scar you for life, so this is no time to act 'cool'. No kidding: the last times I made this my gf was staying the weekend, and my oven is in another room than my kitchen. So before I take this out I always check to see where she's at and warn her up front that I'm about to take out the dish. Simply to avoid incidents (like her getting in the way while I'm going to the kitchen a.s.a.p. (my oven gloves can't hold off the heat indefinitely)). Play this safe. Well, and that should leave you with a hopefully tasty lasagna dish! Hmm, now that I typed this all out again. Maybe upcoming weekend . Note to self: mention lasagna later this evening while on the phone
Hey, it's almost my country's 50th birthday. Can you make a flag for it? I would really love it! My country is Singapore, BTW.
Viva Italia! I too am not Italian but have lived in Rome for a couple years in the mid 1980s. I must say... the food, culture and history is amazing. Nothing like going to the market and grabbing a Pizza Bianca as you go about your grocery shopping. I lived right across the street from the Vatican wall and got to see the pope fly over many times as well. Great country, great people....if you haven't been, you must go To borrow a phrase from my favorite Roman, upon finding this wonderful server I said..."Vini Vidi Vici!" Keep up the great flag work, hope to see an easy one like Poland soon
Update: Smp1, 2, and 3 are done. Also adding identification signs for the flags. I found a fix for the workaround that keeps it from taking 25 mins per flag, so I'll get the rest in tonight =)
So happy EMC is finally adding Italian flags! I'm gonna buy eight But seriously, I've been waiting for Italian flags since I first found out about the flag shop. Thanks so much! You just got replied by one!
If you can get me the wool and tell me what SMP, I'll make a flag for you. Won't be an "Officially Licensed Empire Product", but it'll be yours.
