Author: Yvette

Welcome Autumn

Published by

Welcome Autumn. Tuesday here saw the start of Autumn. Falling leaves,changing colours and chilly temperatures on their way. There are so many wonderful changes in the garden.Leaves,seedpods, berries, acorns and with all these wonderful changes to the eye there’s the changing acoustics, the rustling leaves of falling freely, crunching and kicking of leaves underfoot, changing melodies of Winter birds. “Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting  and autumn a mosaic of them all.” –   Stanley Horowitz   This Autumn wreath was made with all the findings of this time of the year from the garden and we’ve just starting harvesting our corn crops. Hence these rustic looking corn flowers,made from corn husks, one hint on making these always remember to spray them with hair spray or fixing spray, otherwise beasties will eat them and the wreath won’t last for the following year. I love the natural colours of the corn flowers, however they can be spray painted also.   Because a garden mean constantly making choices, it offers almost limitless possibilities for …

Pumpkin and Walnut Damper

Published by

Each and every season has its colour palate and Autumn is no exception. Vivacious oranges and reds, yellows and burnt ambers… With all these wonderful warming hues, I couldn’t resist buying some fresh butternut pumpkin and making this recipe of pumpkin and walnut damper. Read on for the recipe…

#3 Butterscotch Pudding

Published by

Handwritten Recipes This recipe was handwritten and sent to me from one of my dear special friends.We’ve known each other from college boarding school days and have kept in touch since then. I have to admit I was a fish out of water with this recipe as I’d never before made a self saucing  pudding…what’s the right dish to use? what should the sauce look like before pouring on top of the pudding mixture?… …but trusting my friend, knowing she had made the effort to write down this recipe and send it over the seas… I continue on her directions… …continuing every five minutes checking the oven, I was thrilled at the result.This is absolutely mouthwatering and I’ll admit it I went back for seconds.Read on for the recipe…

Roasting chestnuts

Published by

Nothing like a change of weather. With a continuous drizzle, windy and overcast grey day we decided to warm our stomachs with fresh roasted chestnuts. Roasting until the skins charcoal and split… An afternoon spent with family, roasting chestnuts a chat and some laughter…   Yvette…x

A Hunting we will go….

Published by

Times passed, imagine getting dressed up like this to go hunting for Sunday’s dinner! The hunting season here is starting soon, the hunters and their dogs have been looking around our area for any signs of rabbit and hare burrows or the beautiful pheasants that they might catch a glimpse of. I dislike immensely the sounds of guns,whistles and hound dogs on a Sunday morning and with that -No further Comment! Why all this?…To explain the meaning behind the dish Chicken Cacciatore… Chicken cacciatore is one of the dishes I remember when I was little, but I can’t remember anyone mentioning this name. After reading the ingredients of this recipe some time ago and making it more than once, and after tasting the flavorsome sauce it all came back in a flash of tingling taste buds. Cacciatore is Italian for “hunter”, and refers to the heavily flavoured sauce that covers the meat. Cacciatore (the original recipe) composed of onions,mushrooms,herbs and chicken or rabbit  and would have been the main dish of the hunters expedition,maybe a …

In pursuit of the slug…

Published by

My friends you can scream run,run, run but snails are just slow! For some there is the night ritual with torch in hand to find and get rid of  these “little” creatures munching on lettuce, cabbages and other veggies ,and finding them on the delicate foliage of freshly planted flowers. However, from the south to north of Italy there are over 400 fairs and festivals where the main attraction is indulging in the “delicate” eating of snails. We too take part in this ceremony, and not once but twice this year we’ve enjoyed with friends a dinner of snails and Prosecco. These “boys” have been friends forever…and each dinner was a race to see how many they could find and later eat…this round fifty snails. However the traditional cook was my sister in law. Who has made her mark as the all round top chef in cooking these slippery little suckers. Her recipe is the traditional “ Lumache alle bourgiognonne” Snails cooked in butter,breadcrumbs and a variety of fresh herbs, parsley,sage,thyme. To be able to …

Harvesting of Grapes

Published by

This week on the land is a busy time for us. It’s the start of our grape harvesting.Our vineyard is divided into two types…so not all the grapes are ready at the same time… Apart from ourselves, a few family friends come to help us out. There’s something about grape harvesting that brings everyone together.The vineyard is a buzz with activity,there’s the continual chatter among the workers, the snipping noise as the clusters of grapes are picked, the hum of bees as they flock to the sweetness of the sugar, the smell of the fermenting grapes and the laughter and smiles of a great harvest, don’t worry about the aching bones… The first part of the harvest taking about two days, is all picked by hand. The Prosecco grapes will be ready in another couple of weeks.Read on for more…

Verona -Italy

Published by

Verona is a wonderful easy one day visit, from where I live. A two hour train trip. Verona is a city of love,music,theatre, art and culture.Taking my Aussie friends, for a look at this special place, it was obvious that one of the first stops would have to be Juliet’s house…Just a bit of romance thrown in to start off the day…Read on for our day adventure…

Baci di fichi *figs dipped in chocolate and hazelnuts

Published by

What’s more appealing than a little chocolate and a love message. All over the world Baci chocolates are given as tokens of love. A whole hazelnut covered with granules of hazelnut and dark chocolate with a magical message of affection. My childhood memories are vivid of these “special” chocolates, everyone opening these petite chocolates and one by one reading the message…nothings really changed in my adult years. I came across this recipe and just couldn’t resist the indulgence! Figs dipped in chocolate and hazelnuts. Divine!