One of those days, I’ve been working in doors and needed some fresh (slightly chilly) air. The afternoons sunrays are those of Autumn, shadows playing games…throughout my garden… Focus is a little strange, but I like this photo of the last roses in my garden… It’s amazing how light changes a photo…really low sunrays…all natural light…
This pita bread pizza has contrasting tastes the sweetness of pumpkin combined with the intensity of the mild aroma of red torpedo Tropea onion. An Autumn seasonal delight. Put some colour into your middle of the week evening meal or that quick dashing lunch. These seasonal colours and vegetables,pumpkin,Tropea onions,silver beet and feta cheese make a delicious combination, Sweet Red Onions Of Tropea One of Italy’s prized onions, it’s super sweet, and has the added bonus ,the lowest lacrimal factor, the onion which dose not make you cry.A great bonus, don’t you think, slicing onions without burning eye’s. It’s grown in region of Calabria, Italy , along the coastline between Capo Vaticano and Vibo Valentia. It has a slightly elongated shape and a deep red, wine color. The onion itself is not only famous in Italy, but is known all over Europe for its unusually sweet and mild flavor. Read on for the recipe…
Why is it called a pound cake, well…originally all the ingredients were equal parts,a pound of butter,a pound of sugar,a pound of eggs and a pound of flour. These days although the same ingredients are used, we’ve diversified the quantities and added a few more. Today’s pound cakes are still buttery, rich and moist with a golden crust. In Italy this cake is called Bussolano or Ciambella Mantovana – Mantovana Ring cake. It’s usually made plain or chocolate flavour and served in the morning for dunking into coffee or hot milk.I found this recipe with it’s twist of using seasonal grapes both white and red and adding a glass of sweet white wine to the mixture. It has a delicate taste, nothing sweet at all to it, moist with the golden buttery crunchy crust. You’ll love it! Read on for the recipe…
The perfume of mushrooms open the Autumn season, as does the season for mushroom hunting through the forest. Rising early morning, with a slight chill in the air, old jeans and long sleeve shirt, boots and double socks, walking stick and woolen cap, ready are those who go on Sunday’s morning stroll in search of mushrooms. Dampness, moss, old leaves and abandoned tree trunks, the perfect undergrowth of the forests environment to find these wonders. Italians call Porcini mushrooms “un trionfo di bosco” meaning the triumph of the forest. Porcini mushrooms fresh with their flavour, perfume and meat-like texture are just an exquisite and overwhelming flavorsome mushroom. These large capped mushrooms are also easily found in dried form available in supermarkets. Dried Porcini with their concentrated flavour and aroma can be added to risotto, sauces and soups. A few facts about Porcini mushrooms.How do know the best of the best for their freshness? Signs of aging are if the undersides of the caps have a yellowish-brown tinge, the mushrooms are over-ripe. Best those ones leave …
So an Italian without polenta in their pantry, not likely! Polenta is the name given to both cornmeal and the dish made from it. This recipe is all yellow my friends, cornmeal, lemons and eggs. I was a bit skeptical about the amount of eggs in this recipe there’s eight…but in the end all turned out fine, and one single piece left for the photo and the rest is crumbs! Polenta is a major Italian staple dish. Dry polenta ( a coarsely ground cornmeal) is added to boiling salted water or stock and stirred using a wooden spoon, until it’s thick and creamy. These days a one minute wonder polenta can be purchased, so it’s cooked in a flash, otherwise the normal grounded polenta can take up to twenty minutes. Read on for the recipe…
This is my favourite of Autumn soups, warming the soul, soothing the chill in the air and giving a wonderful perfume to the kitchen. Capturing the midday sunrays, enhancing the warming colours of this plate,I served it with petite cheese sandwiches… A light creamy texture with a dollop of natural yoghurt and a sprig of thyme…read on for the recipe…
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…
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…
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 …
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 …
Yvette's Twistedvines 