Alessandra Zecchini

Saint Valentine's biscuits, and other ideas

2012-02-11T20:34:00.000-08:00

A pot of love

Last year I posted some Valentine Vegan sushi and onigiri (like in this photos, you can find the link here), thinking of my husband being away in Japan for work. And this year, well, he is also going to be in Japan for Saint Valentine, again! So I decided to quickly make some biscuits with the kids before he left. Of course we made a few hearts, and decorated them with rolling fondant icing.

We also made other shapes:

butterflies

Easter animals

And we tried out a little Japanese cookie stamp set that Arantxa got for Xmas from Yosuke. This is great, you just need to place in the hiragana symbols and compose the word/sentence that you like.
We started easy, with arigatou (thank you).

Actually, the set instructions were for using the stamps before baking the biscuits, so we tried, but after baking the biscuits it was a little hard to read the words. Maybe next time we will need to press the stamp harder, or bake the biscuits a bit more, so that the words are legible, but it works fine on icing, since you don't need to bake that! Anyway, here are the photos of the first experiment (I forgot to take one of the baked biscuits though!) to show you what the printing set looks like.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Greens for Kiwi kids

2012-02-10T23:04:00.000-08:00

This month I have a few 'green' recipes for children, toddlers and babies featured on Little Treasures Magazine. If you have little ones and read the magazine let me know what you think!

Last image: not in the magazine, but in the garden, Marameo
likes to curl up inside a terracotta pot. He looks so funny!

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Bangkok, two views

2012-02-09T01:58:00.000-08:00

I think that I have too many photos of Bangkok, so I just made a couple of collages. The first is of The Royal Grand Palace complex, which is more like a walled mini-city of amazing buildings in different styles (about a square mile large, so you can spend an entire morning here) and includes the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Jade really, but beautiful - this is the most sacred place in Thailand so photographs are not allowed inside, and the dress code is strict: long pants and sleeves). Of course The Royal Grand Palace is the "must visit" in Bangkok, and it is impressive with all those colour glass mosaics (glass from Italy), colourful ceramic tiles (tiles from China), colourful frescos... and gold leaf everywhere. And it may not seems so from these photos, but it was packed with visitors!

The Royal Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha

The second collage is, in contrast, busy street life, although colours are not missing here either, and temples and shrines (some really tiny) dot the city with more gold leaf, yellow marigolds, and red incense sticks.

Bangkok, street life

From top left clockwise: the flower market, on this side of the road they sell flowers for temples and prayer. Shops in Chinatown. Hinduism co-exists with Buddhism in Thailand: a Ganesh shrine in the middle of a busy shopping area. A tuk tuk in Chinatown.

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Eating Vegetarian in Bangkok and around

2012-02-08T00:51:00.000-08:00

Young musician

It seems that I left Italy just before the weather turned really cold, I was lucky but I feel so sorry for all who had suffered because of the snow. Seeing photos of Venice full of ice in the paper this morning was quite shocking, I was there a mere two weeks ago and it all seems so unreal! And even more unreal thinking that my posts these days are about Thailand, where it is quite... hot! But I hope that these images will bring a bit of warmth to my Italian friends.

By the hotel's pool and Sala Thai restaurant

We stayed in this hotel in Bangkok, and on the same evening of our arrival we went to the Sala Thai (the Thai house restaurant) for a traditional dinner and dance. The setting, food, music and costumes were all a joy and an experience for the kids, who had never been here before, and thus enjoyed a first taste of Thai style! An hour prior to dinner I requested a vegetarian meal for us, and they obliged happily.

Actually, the meal was almost vegan, or so I think, but if you are vegan it would pay to specify that. We had a soft tofu and vegetable soup, vegetable spring rolls, potato red curry (actually, a piece of tofu in this one would have gone down well, never mind), steamed vegetables, rice, and some strange sweet and spicy caramelized cereal balls, which I guess were more than a snack than anything, but they probably had to fill the sixth plate.

Dessert was fresh fruit and traditional Thai sweets. The pink one is Woon Krob, or crispy gelatin (a paradox!) I tasted it but then wasn't sure if it was made with agar agar or not so I left it there. The green one tasted dry and floury and I had not idea of what it was and then I found it here (Ahloa, or sweet jems!), and the yellow one is Kanom Foy Tong, and it is not suitable for Vegans as it is made of sugary strips of egg yolk (to be honest it was the best tasting out of the three!). On a different day I also tried Pandan Noodles (Lod Chong Nam Ka Ti), which are quite ... photogenic, and of course I forgot to take a photo, but you can have a look here. They were on a 'fruit salad' buffet and I also had water chestnuts and palm seeds, plus nata de coco, but everything was too syrupy for me. And of course there is mango and glutinous rice (like in the floating market photo) but I prefer my mango sans rice.

We then tried coconut ice cream (which had some pandan pieces in it and was ok) and a few other 'sweets', but I don't think that I will return to Thailand for dessert.

After dinner the dancers came out, and they entertained us for an hour or so. It was a good evening, I loved the settings, the triangular cushions and low tables, the food (minus sweets) and entertainment, and I guess that if you have only a few nights here, a formal Thai dinner with music and dance, even as touristic as it may sounds, should not be missed!

We had 3 more Thai meals in another of the hotel's restaurants, where they did have a vegetarian menu, but they offered just more spring rolls, fried noodles and fried rice (with eggs) so it got a bit tiring, but as we were sight-seeing most of the time, we were generally too tired to go and look for interesting eateries, and a couple of times we stayed put just to avoid torrential rain. For a break we had Indian, as we found a really nice Indian 100% vegetarian stall in the food court near the hotel (they even had veggie burgers, Indian style!). We ate there twice, and one evening we went to a nice Indian restaurant for a big meal of all the kids' favourite curries and naan bread. It may seem strange to have Indian food in Thailand, but it was easy with the kids who could even order the food by themselves: all Indian caterers spoke English (even in the food court, where most other locals didn't, once I ordered a green curry in the Thai Vegetarian stall and I got... fried noodles!). Of course there is more vegetarian food available, I remember this from when I first visited many years ago, but at that time we travelled there for a few weeks, we didn't have kids, we were young and more adventurous about street food or small hut restaurants by the beach. For mainstream eateries it may be difficult because fish sauce seems to be averywhere, even in salads. When we visited Ayutthaya (I will write about it later, wonderful place!) we discovered that the area is mostly patronized by Japanese tourists, and we ended up eating from a buffet where the chef informed us that all the food had fish sauce except for the.. vegetarian sushi and vegetable tempura! So lucky that the kids love Japanese food too!

What I have learned after all these years is that the vegetarian traveller has to adapt: yes it was great to have some vegetarian Thai cuisine, but when that wasn't available, well, other cuisines and foods were fine too. Mostly I enjoyed the tropical fruit, and the buzz of being in busy places where people seems to eat at any time of the day or night. We also drunk tons of watermelon juices, and I tasted fresh palm sugar (I saw it being made, I didn't know that it came from the collected nectar of palm' flowers, I wonder if it could be made with the New Zealand Nikau palms too!).

And now, completely off topic but I found this link today and wanted to share the news, I was happy to learn that Party Food for Girls has won the national rounds of the 2011 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in the Best Children’s and Family Cookbook category (in New Zealand), and apparently Arantxa is the most youthful recipient of the award! To be honest with you I have no idea of how many Children’s and Family Cookbook entries there were in NZ, which is quite a small country after all, nevertheless, it is all great for exposure for us, and it is always lovely to receive and award, so thank you Gourmand!

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

The Floating Market at Damnernsaduak, Thailand

2012-02-05T20:46:00.000-08:00

Air travel is amazing: one evening you are in the airport in Venice, and the morning after you are 'catapulted' into a completely different country. And yet even here there are some similarities: people living over the water and managing their lives with thin long boats.

This is my third visit to Thailand, but I have never made it to the famous Floating Market that you see in all the postcards and photographic books. This time it was a must, in fact it was the first place that I wanted to visit. Of course in the postcards and books the boats look more 'orderly' and pretty, the reality is that mostly it looks like a traffic jam in water, there are about 5 tourist boats for every market boat, and they don't just sell photogenic and colourful fruit and veggies, but also hats and souvenirs, and most of all cooked food, cooked on the spot, that is!

Gas bottles aliment improvised open kitchens on the slender wooden boats, and you can see big pots of water or even oil boiling, while women (there seem to be only women paddling in the floating market) chop food and make hot dishes on the spot, all sorts of food really, from noodles to meat and fish curries, from 'pancakes' to fried morsels, or more simply some glutinous rice with fresh mango. Seeing those big rusty gas bottles and big hot pots really makes you wonder if they ever tip over into the water! Or if sometime they could collide a bit too roughly, and blow up! But they certainly didn't on the morning that we were there: these ladies must be multi tasking experts!

If you travel through Thailand for weeks or months it probably pays to get used to street food, but as we were there for just a few days we didn't want to risk a belly bug, so we only got fresh coconut to drink, and tropical fruit to peel (like banana, rambutan and mangosteen, in the picture below). It is better to have fruit that can be peeled rather than washed, as even the water can be upsetting at times. And I have to add: being a vegetarian can be an advantage when you travel in many countries as you don't have to worry about bad meat!

The Damnernsaduak Floating market is about two hours drive South of Bangkok, you can take a bus or there are many private tours for all pockets. Tourism is a very important income for this part of the country and I feel that this traditional market (which still is very much a Farmers Market) is thriving also thanks to visitors who come to this very original 'Venice of the East'. For me it was a great experience, and the kids especially enjoyed the ride on the long tail speed boat (we took this one before entering the market, of course), which was a very fast, bumpy and mildly wet experience (yep, keep your mouth shut!) through winding canals, mostly lined on both sides with wooden houses on stilts. Near the village the houses started to be connected to each others by long pedestrian 'bridges' that are only slightly larger that a gymnastic balance beam. We didn't see a single tourist walking on one of them :-).

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Venice: signs, masks and Spritz at the Florian

2012-02-04T01:13:00.000-08:00

Since there are no cars or bikes in Venice, there are no traffic signs either. But there are other signs, and some are quite funny! I hope that Aussie blogger Red will appreciate these (she always post great images of cool signs!). BTW, the signs above weren't in San Marco, but in a small calle (Venetian street) near a pub.

We visited Venice before Carnival, but there were already coriandoli on the streets (small colourful paper confetti to through at people during carnival). And of course we went to a mask shop and laboratory and bought a couple of masks. Fun to notice that the mask maker was sporting a cardigan with the same pattern of Arlecchino, the most famous Venetian mask and Commedia dell'Arte character.

From the Trieste's post (and probably older posts too) you probably have noticed that I love historic cafes. My favourite in Venice is the Florian (although the Quadri is also magnificent) and I know that it is expensive, but for a treat it is unbeatable! First of all I like to sit inside, while most tourists go outside, maybe they like to be in the square, but I rather look at the interior decor, since most cafes in NZ tend to be rather modern or retro (sorry, my Italian blood needs a little dose of history now and then - btw, the Florian opened in 1720, so it is the oldest cafe in Italy!), and then there are too many pigeons outside! As a plus the service at the Florian is great: formal yet relaxed, the waiters (all men) are professional but can talk informally if you like (in a few languages), and they all seem to be pleasant and handsome. And you are allowed to take your time: you can sit for as long as you like in there, use the beautiful clean toilets (instead of the public toilets in the square, for which you have to pay for anyway), they have great chocolate and coffee, and make a good spritz too (my favourite aperitif).

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini and Arantxa Zecchini Dowling ©

Murano

2012-02-01T01:39:00.000-08:00

A few photos from Murano, also to let you know that the best meal that we had during our stay in Venice was here on this island, in this trattoria!

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Venezia in gondola

2012-01-26T02:53:00.000-08:00

I really really really love Venice, I have written a few posts about it (here is one), and my dream is to live there for a year (or more, or less... whatever time I am allowed!). Usually we do day trips as Venice is only 85 km from my Mum's town, but this time we spent three nights in the city, in the lovely and quiet area of Cannaregio. We stayed in a lovely B&B, but I will tell you more about it in the future, today I only have the time to post a few photos, mostly from a gondola (yes I admit it, I love gondolas too!) as we are off traveling again, slowly towards home... So I'll see you soon, and sorry again if I don't have enough internet connection these days to visit you all!

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Trieste

2012-01-24T07:53:00.000-08:00

Trieste in the evening and night

It is unfair to write a proper post about the city of Trieste after such a short visit, but the city is truly lovely and I wanted to share a few images. I always wanted to visit Trieste, but it seems a bit out of my usual routes, so this time we decided for a detour on our way to Venice, even if for just one night! This is the view from our hotel room's window.

We arrived in the afternoon, which quickly turned into evening, softened by what we were told was an unusual fog. The city is elegant, and the evening stroll was great because the walks by the sea, the main square Piazza Unità d'Italia, the Roman theatre, and all the historic centre, have a beautiful and well thought lighting system.

Trieste is also famous for his historic cafes (and its coffee), and I wanted to visit at least one! I referred to this beautiful and informative post by blogger Chiara, and seeing that we were quite close to the Caffè Tommaseo, (Piazza Tommaseo 4/c), I dragged my family in. Also after reading Chiara's post about the different ways Triestini call their coffees (like nero for espresso, and nero in B for an espresso in a glass, not so common in other parts of Italy) I was keen to ask for a Goccia in B (a macchiato with hot milk in a glass). The kids had hot chocolate in B (glass).

And to top the great experience I called an old friend of mine who lives in Trieste to tell her where I was, and she came over to meet us. It was quite incredible for the kids to realize that I hadn't seen this friend for over 25 years!!!!! Bentrovata Milena!!!!

Meeting Milena at the Tommaseo Cafe

The morning after we visited the Miramare Castle, which was fun for the kids who enjoyed all those royal portraits, lavish wallpapers and elaborated furniture! Photos are not allowed inside, but have a look at the link for a virtual tour, quite decadent and eclectic! The park is also lovely, as is the view, and we promised ourselves to come back in Summer one day.

So for now...

Arrivederci Trieste!

Castello di Miramare

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

after many problems connecting I decided to get one of those internet cards that you can use in cafes, and this is my first post written in a cafe! Wonderful, I wished I did this before, I think that I will drink lots of coffees in the next few days in Italy (leaving on the 27th).

Beans, gas, and embroidery

2012-01-22T09:54:00.000-08:00

The most famous borlotti beans are from the village of Lamon (not far from my Mum's place).

Fagioli in Padella

Soak the borlotti beans overnight, rinse and then cook with plenty of water and a bay leaf. Usually I add salt only at the end of cooking, then I keep the broth and a few beans for soup, and drain the rest to cook separately or use them in salads. Here I made them 'in padella' (in a skillet).

Sauté a shallot (sliced) or a couple of peeled garlic cloves with two tbsp of olive oil. Add the cooked borlotti beans, then about one cup of Italian tomato sauce (passata) and one cup of bean broth (or vegetable broth). Simmer on low for about 20 minutes, when the sauce thickens add half a tsp of smoked paprika (or some black pepper), adjust for salt and then finish everything with some more olive oil and plenty of fresh chopped parsley.

In the past I didn't use chopped parsley with the paprika, but I do now, if I can: I find that parsley makes the beans easier to digest without... gas! Do you use parsley agains the 'effects' of beans? I also know that kombu seaweed, and bay leaves, are supposed to help, but if you know any other trick do let me know :-).

And now for something completely different!

A while ago I wrote a post about embroidery, i.e. what I used to do before blogging! Well, I didn't have much time for my own project, but in the meantime my Mum managed to finish the embroidery that I designed for her, and had it framed (you can see the pictures of the 'working process' here). She is quite happy with it, and it looks great (better that my photos that are not so good, sorry, but I hope that you get the idea :-).

Photos and Recipe by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Afternoon treats in a Northern Italian Patisserie

2012-01-18T05:17:00.000-08:00

Photo by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Taken and edited with an iPhone for Black and White Wednesday, organized by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook. Actually, this has been over-edited... I like to see my pastries and mini cakes all nice and colourful and inviting, so what to do with Black and White for those lovely raspberries, luscious chocolate, creamy ricotta cake and brilliant meringues??? Maybe make them look like they have been draw with a pencil?? Or photographed a long time ago, with a daguerreotype!

I am putting the Wikipedia link above, bud did you know that today it is on 'Strike'?

Have a look!!!

AAA: Aunt Alice's Artichokes

2012-01-17T05:33:00.000-08:00

I have to say that the ingredients and cooking method are very similar to mine (and my mother's). We call it Roman style, possibly because both my Mum and my Aunt learned to make this in Rome (and I learned from them). But there are two main differences between my usual recipe which I always make in New Zealand (recipe here) and this one, simply due to ... availability!!! In NZ artichokes are still rare and quite expensive, so when I get a few I cook them with all the hard outer leaves (to be scraped with teeth at the table until you reach the heart) while here in Italy artichokes abound and so we can discard the outer leaves and cook only the tender hearts.

The other difference is that while I cooked the whole artichokes "flower side up", the artichokes hearts with stalks are cooked "flower side down", and in this way you can leave a bit of the stalk in too, they are yummy and tender!

All you need to do is to:

Clean very well the artichokes discarding all the hard outer leaves. Also peel the stalks and keep up to 5 cm attached to the floret. As soon as one artichoke is cleaned drop it immediately in a bowl full of water and lemon juice or lemon slices. Keep the artichokes in the lemon water until cooking time.

Finely chopped Italian parsley with garlic and salt, and then use this mixture to fill the centre of the artichokes (so far the recipe is like for the upside up artichokes) but then place the artichokes upside down into the pot (like in the photos, I only turned one up to show you what the inside would look like at the end of cooking), add a little extra virgin olive oil, a few more slices of garlic (if you like), another pinch of salt, and a couple of fingers of water. Place on the stove on low, cover with a lid and simmer for about two hours, adding water from time to time, if needed.

Now there is one last thing to be said here: Aunt Alice had a wood fire stove (stufa, a bit like an Aga, I should remember to take a photo sometimes!) and in this way you can cook the artichokes (and many other dishes) really slowly, all they long... so the ones that she makes always have a special taste. Plus she has the patience to clean over 15 artichokes!

Photos and Recipe by Alessandra Zecchini and Aunt Alice ©

From Canazei to Trento with an apple break

2012-01-15T08:56:00.000-08:00

Skiing together

Our week in Canazei ended nicely, I was very happy to have done a 5 days ski course, and so were the kids. The five days course consisted in a 3 hours' lesson in the morning for the first 4 days, and then a whole day with the teacher on Friday. We moved to a different ski area and had a great day. The kids also went with their teachers and other kids to different parts of the mountains (they already ski much better than me) and we all returned tired but happy.

Then yesterday we travelled back to Feltre via Trento. We entered Alto Adige/Südtirol and stopped in one of the many apple selling huts that can be found on the road sides (which are lined with apple orchards) to buy the local apples, some apple juice and some super yummy dried apples (the best I ever had, in fact!).

Apples in Alto Adige

Trento

This was my second visit to Trento (the first was when I was only about 19 years old), we only spent a few hours there, visiting the city centre and having lunch (pizza with radicchio for me). Trento is interesting, eclectic I would say: the architecture is from so many different time periods and styles all compressed together into a walkable city centre. In fact you just need to turn your head to move from Romanesque-Gothic to frescoed Renaissance buildings to Late Baroque and then back to Late-Medieval, perhaps with some Germanic influences. Below is my "photo collage" of the city, I hope that it gives you an idea of what I mean!

Trento

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Skiing in Canazei

2012-01-13T08:24:00.000-08:00

Panorama

Arantxa and Max

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Today our ski instructor asked us if we prefer the mountains or the sea. What to say, I love them both, in different ways, but my heart belongs to the mountains... in fact Arantxa and I are dreaming up our very own chalet and, in our fantasies, we are filling it up with red and white tablecloths and Südtirol style wooden furniture :-)!

And you? What do you prefer: the mountains or the sea?

Canazei via Agordo and Moena

2012-01-12T09:23:00.000-08:00

Agordo

Last Saturday we left Feltre for a week in Canazei, via Agordo and Moena. It has been almost two years since we had a skiing holiday (in Bormio), and we are loving it! This time I am also doing a 5 days course, 3 hours every morning, and for the last day, tomorrow, a whole day on the slopes with the teacher and the other students. There are six of us, three Italians, two Russians and one Serbian, all keen to improve!! I will post some more photos during the rest of the week, and so far I greatly recommend this place as there are a lot of slopes for beginners and also for advance skiers, and the mountains are stunning!

Moena

From top left clockwise: on the slopes, Canazei, coffee break, Alba di Canazei

From top left clockwise: getting ready for a steep descent, Canazei, hot chocolate with cream, on the slopes.

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Walnuts in black and white

2012-01-11T09:13:00.000-08:00

Photo by Alessandra Zecchini ©

We saw these big bags of walnuts in a supermarket in Feltre, walnuts are common here, there is even a noce feltrina (Feltre walnut). I don't think that these were the Feltre ones, but they were local, and we bough a few just to have after dinner.

And today's photo for Black and White Wednesday, organized by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook, is entitled: walnuts!

Castagnaccio: the easiest cake ever for Sweet New Zealand???

2012-01-10T09:03:00.000-08:00

This month Sweet New Zealand is hosted by Arfi of HomeMadeS (click here to enter), and because Arfi is gluten free I am offering a typical Italian treat from my childhood: castagnaccio.

First of all I have to inform you that I was raised on chestnuts, and chestnut flour. We made many things with the flour, mostly fritters (you can find the recipe here) and castagnaccio. There are so many versions of castagnaccio, the main being just chestnut flour and water, with a pinch of salt (optional) and a sprig of rosemary on the top. The best thing is that chestnut flour is naturally sweet, and that you just need water to mix it, making it the perfect low fat (chestnuts are the only low fat nuts) high protein, gluten free and vegan treat!

I mixed chestnut flour with enough water to make a batter, and this time I added 2 tbsp of cocoa (cocoa also go well with chestnuts) and a very small pinch of salt. No sugar needed. Pour the batter into a large baking pan lined with baking paper and bake everything at 180°C until the cake is ready (about 20 minutes, check with a toothpick). Let it cool down before serving. Unfortunately I forgot to take the photo on the first day, so this was the morning after and the top of the castagnaccio had cracked like a dry desert... but it was still great for breakfast :-).

Photos and Recipe by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Frances sent me some photos of the article on Your Home and Garden

2012-01-09T09:50:00.000-08:00

This month I am in the magazine Your Home & Garden, and since I am in Italy my friend and food blogger Frances from The Bake Club has sent me some images of the 9 pages (plus cover and index - so I know that I am on page 15!). Thank you Frances, it is lovely to see the magazine before coming back to New Zealand!

There are a couple of photos with Arantxa too, working in the kitchen with me, and the photographer, Melanie Jenkins, was a pleasure to work with.

And of course there are a few extracts from the book Party Food for Girls (here the link for Amazon Italy, ecco il link per Amazon Italia!!!) with the photos by Shaun Cato-Symonds.

Photos of the magazine pages by Frances Chan ©

Belluno

2012-01-08T09:28:00.000-08:00

Photo by Alessandra Zecchini ©

I have already written about Belluno here, it was Summer then (still, have a look, it is a very charming city!), and as I did post quite a few photos already, today I will just post one single photo, one that expresses how cold it was!

Cortina D'Ampezzo

2012-01-06T19:00:00.000-08:00

This is not a post about the recent Blitz in Cortina (in the news in Italy, fraud office - guardia di finanza - looking for riches who don't pay taxes), but just a few photos from a recent visit.

Cortina is beautiful, the mountains are beautiful, some of the houses are charming, and some of the tourists are ... interesting. Anyway, this must be the first place where I saw the greengrocer selling Champagne!

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

This morning from my window...

2012-01-06T08:01:00.000-08:00

Feltre 6 January 2012, finally a bit of snow.

Photo by Alessandra Zecchini ©

First taste of snow in the Dolomites Mountains

2012-01-05T05:27:00.000-08:00

The frozen Welsperg lake, and horse sleigh ride (with added wheels!)

No so much snow in Italy so far, nothing here in Feltre, but a little further up the Dolomites, here we are in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, a Tonadico (lovely and quiet) near Fiera di Primiero (busier and more touristic).

Just enough snow for a snow ball fight!

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Hot chocolate in Italy

2012-01-04T09:46:00.000-08:00

After a longish break I am back for Black and White Wednesday, organized by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook. Today's photo is of hot chocolate, with cream. It seems that a lot of cafes now serve cream on the side, and not on top of the chocolate (btw, in Italy hot chocolate is very dense and strong, yum!), this café even gave us a dark chocolate tablet on top of the cream! Triple calories!!! But real hot chocolate is a bit of a weakness of mine... do you like hot chocolate??

Photo by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Red radicchio, green cauliflower and the Vegan version of the banana cake

2012-01-03T12:20:00.000-08:00

What do vegetarians eat? Lots of vegetables! Some people call it rabbit food, I don't know why, I swear to you that we are not rabbits! Let's start with the red radicchio, my brother made this: cut the red radicchio into strips and place onto an oven tray lined with baking paper. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, salt and dried oregano (he says that dried thyme is better but we didn't have any). Bake until the red par of the leaves is crispy (and most of the bitterness is gone!).

And what about this lovely green cauliflower? I think that green cauliflowers taste 'sweeter' than the white ones, and this one did! I just boiled it al dente, let it cool down and dressed it with extra virgin olive oil, salt and Aceto Balsamico di Modena. Simple but perfect!

I had more mushy bananas so I made another banana cake, but vegan this time. The original version is here, I just changed the ingredients a little, removed the eggs and added sultana and grappa!

Vegan Banana Cake

2 tbsp sultana

1 small glass of grappa

5 ripe bananas

A few drops of lemon

100 g icing sugar + some for dusting

100 ml vegetable oil

200 g self rising flour

Soak the sultana in the grappa. Mush the bananas with the lemon juice, add the sugar and the other ingredients and beat well, then fold in the sultanas with the grappa. Grease a cake mould and pour the cake mixture in, bake at 180°C for approximately 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Reverse onto a serving plate and serve warm or cold. It will be moist and I think that this cake taste better than the previous one, great with tea or coffee, although it may not be as suitable for breakfast. (Don't worry about the grappa, you can barely taste it and the alcohol is all gone!)

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini and her brother ©

Happy New Year 2012 and secret resolutions

2011-12-31T10:14:00.000-08:00

Aunt's Alice Persimmons. Photo by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Happy New Years to all my blogger friends and readers, I had a wonderful year with you and I look forward to another one. Thank you for all your messages, support, and chats :-).

Do you have any good resolutions for 2012? I have only secret resolutions, and I wonder if that is appropriate: can you have secret resolutions or do they have to be 'public'?

Well, see you next year (if you are down under you are already there!!!) and all the best for your own resolutions!

Ciao
Alessandra

Banana breakfast cake for Sweet New Zealand

2011-12-27T11:08:00.000-08:00

It is so cold that all the bananas in the market turned black, and the stall holder gave me a bunch for free, so I made a dairy free banana cake for breakfast.

Ingredients

4 ripe bananas

Juice of one lemon

100 g icing sugar + some for dusting

1 pinch ground cinnamon

100 ml vegetable oil

2 eggs

200 g self rising flour

Mash the bananas with the lemon juice, add the rest of the ingredients (in the order given above) and mix well. Grease a cake mould and pour the cake mixture in, bake at 180°C for approximately 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Reverse onto a serving plate (I used my Mum's cameo plate), dust with icing sugar and serve. We have this for breakfast with caffellatte.

Photo and Recipe by Alessandra Zecchini ©

This recipe is for the monthly blogging event Sweet New Zealand, this December hosted by Bron Marshall.

Almost Christmas in Feltre, Italy

2011-12-23T09:54:00.000-08:00

We are in Italy, in Feltre, getting ready for a mountain Xmas. Decorations in the streets are really subtle, mostly pine branches, fairy lights, and Christmas trees outdoors, in the gardens, balconies or squares, that light up at night. My Mum put a few decorations on the doors, and we made one too with the little red lanterns that we got in Singapore.

Feltre Winter Bliss: hot chocolate and caramelized fruit from Sommariva (above) and winter vegetables and citrus fruit from the market this morning (below).

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

I would like to wish you all the best for Xmas and New Year, I will try to visit you to send you my greetings, but as I have little internet connection these days it may take me a long time to get to all your blogs... still, you are in my thoughts, have fun and have a good time!

Cheers

Alessandra

Artwork by Arantxa Zecchini Dowling ©

More vegetarian (and vegan) food in Singapore

2011-12-22T00:59:00.000-08:00

One of the best places to eat for vegetarians in Singapore is Waterloo St.: this area is full of temples, Buddhist shops and vegetarian restaurants and grocery stores. All of the food I tried here is also suitable for vegans, since there are no dairy products and eggs in traditional Vegetarian Chinese cuisine.

The dishes are quite interesting, lots of tofu and gluten dishes (first left below is lemon 'chicken' - chicken made with gluten), and there is a Japanese vegetarian restaurant called Herbivore where they make vegan sushi that looks like fish! In the food courts the kids kept going for Indian, their favourite, but I tried Pandan cuisine, (Indonesian and quite spicy), they didn't have lots of vegetarian options but enough to fill a plate with rice, tofu and vegetables).

I also suggest that you try kaya, the coconut curd/jam, but remember that this has egg in it (and it is very sweet!)

Kaya is the typical Singapore breakfast, served with buttered toast, boiled eggs on the side, and coffee. It is green because it contain pandan fruit.

Last photo: my friend Marcella, a talented designer and silversmith, made me this beautiful necklace with black river pearls and a silver pendant with an Amethyst. Isn't it beautiful!!!

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Fish Spa in Singapore

2011-12-19T19:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's new experience was to try to be fish food! There are these Spas around Singapore that offer a special fish spa experience: you put your feet inside big fish tanks and all the little fish rush around to chomp off your dead skin. It doesn't hurt, of course, but at first it is quite strange, as it may tickle! It lasts 30 minutes, the kids loved it and laughed all the time, and since we were the only customers there they moved around different tanks to make sure that they feed every single fish! I stayed still in my initial spot, I didn't want to deprive the fishes that had started working on my feet of their morning feed, I even kept my position when I realize that my tank was in the shop window and passers by could see my feet through the glass! Two small children stopped and observed the strange aquarium for a while, but most passers by didn't even notice. Anyway, I recommend the experience, the fish spa is called Kenko and there are 6 around the city, we went to the 313 Orchard Rd Shopping centre (Tel. 6509 0303).

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

First images from Singapore

2011-12-18T18:03:00.000-08:00

I have been to Singapore many times, sometimes for work, and others because it is en-route to many other destinations. I have blogged about Singapore before and if you are a Vegetarian you could click this one, or if you like just to look at a few quick and colourful pics, click here.

I really like this city, it changes all the time with new buildings and gardens popping up, and changing the skyline! I have uploaded the first photos, just a few, it is raining cats and dogs here too!

Food: mostly eating at home with our friends, and in food courts (Vegetarian Indian being a favourite). We tried a new fruit: Salak (snake skin fruit) from Indonesia, but nothing special. Maybe I will have time to post more tomorrow :-).

From top left clockwise: macaroons, Indian vegetarian from the food court, and Salak, snake skin fruit

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

So much rain

2011-12-16T20:26:00.000-08:00

It rained and rained and rained, but Friday there were a few moments of sun and I went into the garden to take some photos to show to my Mother. Well, she will be impressed to see that the garden looks so 'tropical'!! Everything is growing like mad and need a good pruning, but it also looks luscious!

The pink Datura (right) and the yellow Australian Frangipani (top left) smell delicious, pity that we lost so many flowers with the rain. We also had many Alstroemeria flowers for cutting, I am training myself to bring more flowers from the garden into the house, the Alstroemeria is fantastic for this, sometimes it lasts for up to two weeks in a vase!

In the box below, potted blueberries (left), and on the right some blue and purple flower, I only know the chive flowers in the centre, the other I didn't even plant and they grow in the most shaded part of the garden. If you know what they are let me know.

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

I love playing with the iPhone, and Camera +, and I discovered that I can create interesting patterns and designs for textiles and paper with photos from my garden. This reminds me a little of William Morris... now Arantxa has the iPhone, I look forward to see what she will be creating.

It's getting closer....

2011-12-15T01:46:00.000-08:00

Christmas is getting closer, and greeting cards are piling up! Today I received this one from my publisher, and they used a photo from the book Party Food for Girls! They told me that they did ask the photographer first, but not me, as they wanted to surprise me :-). It was a lovely surprise!

From my part, I remember when I was young and made all my cards by hand... now the big bulk comes from various charities, and I only make a few because I just don't have the time. This year I made some with little painted cakes, first with watercolour, then with ink, and to finish gold sealing wax and my Z.A. stamp.

Last Italian class too, my students came in with lots of yummy food, and Linda made this potent little number from my blog, so we were all very merry!
Off to do some more packing for tomorrow, first stop: Singapore!!!

Ah, and this is my 500 post!!!

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Carote al Burro, and Max is Dux!

2011-12-13T20:19:00.000-08:00

It is Black and White Wednesday, organized by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook. Today's photo is Martina preparing carote al burro (carrots in butter).

But I have more news: today we went to Oratia District School Prizegiving, and Max is the 2011 Dux!!! Plus he won his class friendliness award (voted by his classmates). I am so happy (and proud :-) that I just wanted to share the news with you!

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

PPP Panettone Pinguino Pao!

2011-12-12T17:46:00.000-08:00

If you live in Italy (especially in Milan) you may be familiar with Pao, the cute penguin created by artist Paolo Bordino. Last year I posted a few photos about a Milan Christmas tram decorated by Paolo with the penguin Pao for Motta, and the other day I saw this great image on Paolo's FB wall, and I asked him to use it: a panettone iced like Pao! The author is Tiziana Amitrano.

Thank you Tiziana and Paolo for letting me use the image, and Merry Xmas Pao!!!

PS
PPP is just because yesterday's post was a TTT...

Photos by Tiziana Amitrano ©

TTT: Taiwanese Tofu with Tomato

2011-12-11T23:03:00.000-08:00

Ok, the TTT name is my invention, but the recipe is really Taiwanese. Several years ago I had a Taiwanese baby-sitter, she was also vegetarian (in Taiwan there is a strong vegetarian Buddhist tradition) and she didn't cook with garlic, onion, chives and leeks (this is the old Buddhist tradition). She taught me a lot of recipes... no, not recipes, maybe I should say 'ways of cooking'.

This recipe is so basic that I almost thought of not putting it on the blog, but the fact is that it is quite amazing!! In my Italian brain I never thought of combining tomatoes with tofu and soy sauce this way, it didn't feel right, and I was quite skeptical when she showed it to me. And then I tasted it: WOWOWOW, it works!

And not only it works, the kids love it, and it is so easy and quick... and in a way it feels so ... ethical!
Yes, just a few low cost ingredients, not much time or energy needed, and lots of proteins.

I usually used some red ripe tomatoes, but I had some ripe little orange tomatoes to finish, and so they went: cut and placed into the frying pan/wok/pot with a little vegetable oil (olive oil works well) and a small pinch of salt. Of course you could also add garlic, but the original recipe, as I said before, doesn't allow for allium of any type. Cook on high, stirring constantly, when the tomatoes start to mush into a sauce add the cubed tofu, stir and then add one or two tbs of soy sauce (I use only Japanese soy sauce, Kikkoman or Yamasa) and stir until the tofu is really hot (a couple of minutes only). Top with fresh chopped coriander if you like, and serve immediately with rice or noodles.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Terra Madre Day in New Zealand

2011-12-11T00:52:00.001-08:00

Today a few members from Slow Food Waitakere met at the local Oratia Farmers Market to celebrate Terra Madre. We raised the Terra Madre and Slow Food flags at the stall or Terra Madre delegates Terry and Karlene Shaw-Toomey (Earthbound Honey) and talked about ideas for the next TM meeting next year, and projects for our convivium.

We choose the local farmers market because Terra Madre celebrations are about eating good, clean and fair local food, and to support our local producers. Participants received a small eco wooden dinner set and moved on to buy and eat food from the market.

Our sister convivium Slow Food Te Hiku had an impressive kai (feed) of local food, including lots of kaimoana (seafood). Ka rawe Te Hiku, nga mihi nui ki a koutou mo tenei Ra Terra Madre!

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini and Yvonne Johns ©

Sweet Christmas Links

2011-12-09T19:05:00.001-08:00

These recipes/ideas are all suitable for Christmas, take your pick and tell me what you like (or not).

Classic Christmas

From top left clockwise:

Mont Blanc Mille-fuille,

Panforte,

Vegan Panforte,

Strawberry and Balsamic non-alcoholic aperitif

Small Treats

From top left clockwise:

Christmas 'Shapes'

From top left clockwise:

Star Biscuits,

Christmas Origami Decorations,

Christmas Biscuits,

More Biscuits

Chocolate and Zucchini

2011-12-06T17:46:00.001-08:00

Today is Black and White Wednesday, organized by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook.

The title for this shot is Chocolate and Zucchini. Thank you Susan, and sorry for missing it last week, I was too busy, my three photo shoots became four and it is a bit of a crazy time of the year!!

For Kiwi bloggers: a little bit of housekeeping for Sweet New Zealand: hey, it is going really well!!! I discovered a lot of new bloggers, and sweet treats! Also, we have hosts until April, and I decided to make a note of their names in the Sweet New Zealand page of this blog so that we all know who is doing what and when. Please let me know if you like to book a month to host the event, or if you have any comments/suggestions. Thank you!

Cooking more artichokes

2011-12-05T18:57:00.001-08:00

The other day I posted this way of cooking artichokes (alla romana, Roman style) because it is the best way for me... and because we only had 4 artichokes :-). Then Sandra and John gave us 14 artichokes, 4 we gave to friends who came to visit us on Sunday, and 10 (a real luxury in NZ) I cooked yesterday.

Loredana suggested that I fill them with bread, egg, cheese and parsley (and maybe garlic) and I wanted to try. I prepared 5 my usual way but also added some fresh basil leaves because I didn't have enough parsley, then I kept a bit of the chopped herbs and garlic aside and added one egg, some breadcrumbs and some grated parmesan. I made 5 'balls' and pressed them inside the artichokes. Topped with olive oil, added water at the bottom, and simmered everything for a couple of hours.

Ready! 5 of us for dinner, so one of each type for everyone, and we really liked them. Arantxa and I ate them early, it was a busy evening for us, first dance show (last one tomorrow), and I wanted to share with you a photo of her in the changing rooms, taping the ribbons of her ballet shoes.

No knead flat bread with seeds (sesame and cumin)

2011-12-04T19:10:00.001-08:00

My motto is "when in doubt bake some bread!" Not cake but bread, my kids like bread over cakes, which is good, since I like it too! This is easy, a mixture between flat bread and focaccia really: place 300 ml warm water in a large mixing bowl, add 2 tsp active yeast granules and 1/4 tsp raw sugar. Wait 5 minutes then add 400 g high grade flour and 1 tbsp wheat gluten flour, plus a good pinch of salt. Mix with one hand (sticky!), then dust with four, cover with cling film and let it rise for 2 hours. After 2 hours flour your hands and then pick up the dough and divide into two pieces which you will pull to make two long loaves (like in the picture).

Place the loaves on a long baking tray (I have a 90 cm oven) or make 4 smaller loaves if you have a regular oven. brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and then with seeds. I used sesame seeds on one loaf and cumin seeds on the other one. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200° C for approximately 20-25 minutes, or until you can see that the bread is baked on top and on the bottom (lift to check). Eaten warm is fantastic, but it keeps well for a couple of days, or at least, it would, but we tend to eat it pretty quickly! The kids prefer the cumin seeds, and so do I actually, but it is nice to have the sesame seeds too, once the cumin seeds is all gone!

Artichokes Roman Style, and Mozzarella Croquettes

2011-12-03T20:56:00.001-08:00

Kazuyo gave me 4 artichokes, so we got one each and I cooked them alla romana, the best way to make a few artichokes go a long way. Cut the spikes off, and the stalks and then immediately put the artichokes in water and lemon (so that they don't become black) to wash them. Finely chop plenty of Italian parsley with garlic and a pinch of salt, and use this to fill the centre of each artichoke. Place the artichokes side up in a pot, drizzle some olive oil in the centre of each artichoke and add a little water at the bottom (about 2 fingers). Cover with a lid and simmer on low for a long time (1-2 hours) adding water from time to time. The artichokes are ready when the leaves easily detach with your fingers.

To eat the artichokes remove the harder outer leaves with your fingers and just scrape the flesh off with your teeth (keep a bowl on the side to discard the used leaves) until you get to the heart, which can be eaten whole. The remaining stock is excellent for risotto. One artichoke per person is enough, but to offer something more on the same evening I made some croquettes with mozzarella. The fact was that I bought a nice big Italian mozzarella that didn't taste 'fresh' enough to be eaten in a salad (but was ok to be cooked). So I chopped it and mixed it with one egg, a handful of breadcrumbs, a pinch of salt and some fresh sage leaves. I made 4 croquettes and pan fried them with olive oil. Very simple really, but I included the recipe because they were so yum!

I got more artichokes from Sandra and John yesterday, what a luxury! Maybe I should move from my usual recipe and make something different?? Any suggestions? This time I have more than 4!!

In my veggie garden now

2011-12-02T00:03:00.001-08:00

Is it ok to just post some photos today??? I had so little time for gardening, so I just need to be proud of what manages to grow even without much intervention from my part :-).

Rainbow Chard (plenty)

Leeks and Carrots (still going)

Caulifower (the last one)

Cavolo Nero (my favourite)

Broad beans (finally)

Strawberries (few)

Wedding cupcakes with fondant bride and groom

2011-11-30T01:14:00.001-08:00

Our friends Fiona and Jonathan recently got married in Las Vegas, a bit of a surprise really, so upon their return (and once we actually found out) we invited them for dinner with other friends. What better excuse for a dinner party? Instead of cake I thought of having some wedding cupcakes, and Arantxa got really enthusiastic about making a small bride and groom to put on the top cupcake, using fondant.

She set to work using white, almond, pink and chocolate fondant, and her miniatures were as small (or smaller) than mini Polly Pockets dolls!!! Just look at her finger next to them!

I thought that they looked so pretty, and the newly-wed cut the cupcake after dinner. What a lovely evening! Anyone else getting married??

Celebrate Terra Madre Day in Auckland, New Zealand

2011-11-29T02:28:00.001-08:00

Dear all,

On December 10 the global network of Slow Food and Terra Madre comes together to celebrate Terra Madre Day and promote local food.

Slow Food Waitakere cordially invites you to celebrate Terra Madre Day

on Saturday 10 December 2011

Where: Oratia Farmers Market, 99 Parrs Cross Road, Oratia, Auckland.

Meeting and greeting, and photos at 11:00 am, at the TM delegates Karlene & Terry Shaw-Toomey’s stall (Earthbound Honey).

Lunch at Artisan Vineyard Restaurant (next to the Farmers Market)

1:00pm.

If you like to attend lunch please rsvp to Gabriella Turek

gaby@dv8.net

Free parking for the market and the restaurant.

We look forward to meeting you there,

Slowly

The Slow Food Waitakere Committee

The Seven Links

2011-11-25T23:27:00.001-08:00

I was tagged by Valentina for the 7 links (Game? Challenge? not quite sure what it is in English, the tag was in Italian :-). I quite like the idea: it makes you think about what blogging is all about, or at least, it made me think. So here are my 7 links:

The most popular post: well, this was easy, I just looked at the statistics! Homemade Halloumi cheese and Ricotta is at the top, it was published on 23 October 2009, and to date it had 5,763 Pageviews. Well, I better post my mozzarella soon!!

The most useful post: ... mmmh, I thought it must have been the Halloumi above, but having to choose a second I thought about the 10 posts about writing a cookbook, and I choose Part 7: styling and the photo shoots because a lot of people are curious to know what happens during a photo shoot.

The most controversial post (????): this is a funny one, I don't think I have enough controversial material in my blog, maybe I need to see to that!! But I found this: Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?

The post that did not get the attention it deserved: another hard to choose post! In the end I went for the Banana Flower Salad Step by Step, Am I the only one really obsessed with eating flowers?

The post that was surprisingly successful: third on my all time pageviews, and I have no idea why. It was posted at the beginning of 2009, I didn't even had enabled the comments then (I posted for about a year without enabling the comments, it wasn't a blog, it was a monologue!), the photos are nothing special, and there is hardly any text... yet every week this page is visited. Mystery!

The most beautiful post: totally subjective this one, but I love it! I was alone with the kids and we made crescentine, the traditional food of my village, all three together, and Arantxa took some of the photos too, what a great evening!

The post I am proud of: this one! A monthly blogging event for Kiwis, I hosted the first, then Allison, then Sue, this month is Mairi, next month will be Bron, and Arfi has booked January... thank you ladies, so far so good, and I hope that everybody is having fun :-).

So now I'll pass the baton to these 5 ladies first, and to two other New Zealand bloggers, of course don't feel obliged to pick it up, do it only if you enjoy doing these things, or have time :-). And no rush!

Allison

Sue,

Mairi,

Bron,

Arfi

Vanille

Shirleen

Friday publicity

2011-11-24T14:01:00.001-08:00

I am sure that some of you are probably getting tired of all the press cuttings being posted here, but hey, didn't I say before that 99% of the 'writing a book business' is promotion promotion promotion? :-)

Well, so far we have been very fortunate. Even if our book doesn't have the budget that other books (and famous chefs) can rely on for publicity, the press has been truly interested, and very keen to cover us. I remember this from the previous two boos too: lots of interviews, lots of recipe extracts, and readers really keen to talk about the recipes. I wonder if this is very typical of New Zealand... the only thing that has changed recently is that the net content is much greater and the radio interviews much less.

Also I find that posting my press clipping on the blog is easy and tidy: most of the press clippings of my pre-blogging era are stuffed in a filing cabinet or on some disks in a box somewhere and I never look at them. This is much better.

And then, how could I not post this! Like I said in this post Arantxa was interviewed by the Dominion Post (just her, not me) and the link is here. But I din't know until I got the paper myself that she also made the front cover of Life. She thinks that she didn't come out that well in that photo though (she always says that, I wonder who she got it from! ;-)) but I like it, it is summery and spontaneous and happy, it was the last photo of that session and the girls were giggling like mad!

The three published recipes are Mimosa Cake, Japanese Lunch boxes and Iced Peach Tea. The Mimosa cake recipe is here.

Beans and flowers, and a morning with the Slow Food ladies

2011-11-23T17:47:00.001-08:00

This salad is really simple: I just chopped half red onion and marinated it for 30 minutes in white balsamic condiment of Modena (FYI, white balsamic vinegar of Modena doesn't exist, it can only be called 'condiment') and then I added one can of Italian butter beans and one can of Italian chickpeas (obviously drained and rinsed...), salt, extra virgin olive oil, and flowers from my garden: chive flowers, borage flowers and calendula petals. Easy but yummy!

On Tuesday I spent a morning with a few ladies from the Slow Food Waitakere convivium making sugar roses. There is something magic about a group of girls in the kitchen chatting and drinking cups of teas... you get lots done, for me it is one of the best way of cooking or preparing things that usually take ages or are very fiddly: together it is fun and not as tiring! Do you like cooking with friends?

Puy lentil, red onion and herb soup

2011-11-22T22:49:00.001-08:00

For today Black and White Wednesday, organized by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook, I have chosen to photograph a soup, and also to write the recipe.

Puy lentil, red onion and herb soup

Ingredients
300 g puy lentils
1 bay leaf
1 pinch of salt
1 red onion
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (plus more for serving)
1 sprig sage
1 sprig rosemary
1.5 l vegetable stock
1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley and chives

Served with homemade onion ciabatta

Rinse the Puy lentils and place in a pot with plenty of water and one bay leaf. Cook for about 25 minutes, then add one pinch of salt and stir. Drain, discard the bay leaf and rinse again. Chop the red onion and place in a capable pot with the oilve oil, sage and rosemary, and sauté for a few minutes, then add the lentils, followed by the vegetable stock. Simmer for about 30 minutes, and just before serving add the chopped parsley and chives and another drop of extra virgin olive oil.

Homemade Edible Decorations for Christmas

2011-11-21T17:08:00.001-08:00

This month Party Food for Girls is featured in Good Magazine with some decorating ideas for Xmas:

Xmas tree biscuits with spirulina icing (the little hand is Max's), meringue wreaths (the hand is Arantxa's friend Yana), and some icing recipes. And the editor told me that the colour palette for this issue of the magazine was based on the same palette of the recipe extracts from the book. 'Good' to hear!

Pairing Chocolate with Rose and Raspberries, and a chance to win Party Food for Girls in Australia and New Zealand

2011-11-20T20:59:00.001-08:00

Just enough time today to post a decorating idea for chocolate cake: I used rose flavoured icing (egg white, icing sugar and rose water) with fresh raspberries. It wasn't exactly planned, the rose icing was leftover from making rose cupcakes, and I needed to use it up. But the flavours worked very well together: chocolate, rose and raspberry, I will do it again :-).

Also a little notice for Kiwis and Aussies: there are 5 chances to win a copy of Party Food for Girls by clicking here. All you have to do is to fill in your details and write, in 25 words or less, whats your favourite party theme. It is good that for once a competition is open to Australian as well of New Zealand residents, so good luck to all!

Ciao
A.