What more could you ask for on a Summers day, this flan can be served hot or cold accompanied by a tossed green salad, a glass of chilled white wine over a little chat with girlfriends. The flavours of sweet eggplant,garlic and cherry tomatoes, magically combine in this flan, a real Summer treat. Read on for the recipe…
An hearty recipe. Sausage,Sun dried tomatoes and Potato flan….win over your man tonight with this delicious flavoursome recipe.
Well….Wednesdays Word for today has become Thursdays Thought!!!!…Just didn’t get around to it yesterday…but here it is… Panzanella Don’t you just love the sound of this word…Pan – za – nella…I’m sure you know what this is…it’s a Summer salad made with stale bread. Traditionally from Tuscany…there are many versions of this recipe around…however I’ve changed it a little, I love the crunch…of croutons more than the soaked bread texture. This works for one day old bread, if it’s any more best go for the original recipe… Recipe: Panzanella Ingredients for 2 servings A bunch of rocket 10 basil leaves 2 garlic cloves 1 purple onion juice of 1/2 lemon salt and freshly grounded pepper 1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard 5 tablespoons Olive oil 4 thick slices of bread – (ciabatta) 3 tomatoes Preparation: This is the type of bread I used, a crusty outing with a well cooked centre…a ciabatta or cob would be great to use also. Firstly, thinly slice the red onion and soak in water and white vinegar for …
STUZZICHINI The term stuzzichini is any type of food which can be served in mignon. Hors d’oeuvres consumed in one mouthful, maximum two bite sizes. Served prior to a buffet,party,dinner,or a happy hour after work. “Stuzzicare” refers to a little snack, when we can hold a glass in one hand, and we’re free to pick up an hors d’oeuvre in the other, usually without using a piece of cutlery. When entering a bar,here in Italy, after a certain hour…ordering a drink, stuzzichini are served free of charge. Capturing those taste buds with mouthwatering bites, however you nearly always go back and purchase another plateful. Usually a small plate with a variety of 3 or 4 stuzzichini. It’s all in the preparation,eye-catching,colourful and always tempting.The variety is unlimited and you can have fun creating your own.Stuffed meat rolls,salmon with cream cheese, stuffed capsicum strips,prosciutto stuffed with asparagus cream,zucchini strips with gorgonzola,devils on horseback,angels on horseback,rice balls,puff pastry swirls. The photo below, basil leaves,julienne carrot and fresh mozzarella… …pastry boats filled with tomato and green olives,with fresh …
Make a cup of tea and stay with me for a few minutes, relax and enjoy. Sometimes a cup of tea, just does the trick. A soothing cup of tea relaxing with a book, or these days in front of the computer,with fellow blogging friends.Or finishing off an evening combined with five minutes of solitude. A winter warmer, a summer iced treat. A fragrant favorite of mine is “Tisana Meditazione” – Meditation Tea. It’s a combination of mint, cinnamon, sunflower petals, rose petals,chamomile and lavender. The fragrance of lavender is known to relax and soothe the mind and body. Lavender tea is known to ease insomnia, help calm nervousness and anxiety. Alleviate colds ,coughs,bronchitis and similar respiratory problems. Fatigue and headaches. Funny enough two of my favourite teas both have lavender in them. Meditation Tea is very fragrant, sweet and soothing if you can find this combination I recommend trying it. Another favourite is “Tisana Dolce Sonno” meaning Sweet Dreams or Sleep, so I guess the title says it all. It’s ingredients are passionfruit leaves, …
With the harvesting of wheat at the moment, I should be doing a feature bread section, but my friends , no bread baker challenge for this hot weekend So I turn to Pasta… A great Pasta Salad. Recipe: Pasta Salad – cavatelli with rocket pesto. Cavatelli is a pasta originally from the region Puglia, Italy.It’s hand made, forming a hollow rod shape about 3cm long with curved edges. This hollow form is great for capturing sauces,it can be purchased fresh or in dry form.As I’ve used for this recipe. Ingredients for 4 serves 350 grams dried form cavatelli pasta 100 grams cherry tomatoes 100 grams smoked ricotta (grated) 100 grams parmesan (grated) 100 grams fresh rocket 3 tablespoons pine nuts 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 garlic clove, (optional) 1 jar pitted kalamata olives Prepare the pasta, as directed on package, this pasta in dry form, usually takes 9 minutes to cook, drain and wash with cold water immediately to stop the cooking process, leave aside. Prepare the tomatoes. Slice long ways,cleaning out the centre,this takes …
My dreams of a blue and white country style kitchen are still playing in my mind…until that one comes true! Not fun ripping out the entire kitchen to start again! I’ll play around the theme of blue and white, where I can add accessories and have fun with table settings, bathroom accessories, shells, sand, lighted candles and creative starfish giving a Summer ocean blue hue to my home.My Summer ocean blue table setting can be found in detail here Accessorizing in the bathroom, is made easy by changing coloured hand embroidered ocean motif hand towels and shower towels, add some shells and scented perfume bottles giving freshness to the room. The talents of creative hands, just couldn’t resist him! Inclusion in any ocean theme, of course is fresh seafood. For the summer months the availability and variety of fresh fish and crustaceans is at it’s best. Passing the fish market today, I purchased some fresh prawns.Too hot,weather wise today for anything else.I thought I would make a fresh prawn salad. Recipe: Strawberry and …
Introducing Wednesdays Word. I thought it might be interesting to introduce you to some unknown and known words of the Italian language. Words which we may use already without realizing they’re part of the Latin Italian language. In the cooking world of language there are so many universal words coming from different parts, French, German, Italian…and I know you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how many you do know from the Italian language. Today’s Wednesdays Word: Affogato al caffè Why start with this word. Believe me you’ll want to remember it. For all you coffee lovers, this is a caffeine blast. A strong “hot” espresso coffee, with a drowning, floating scoop of vanilla ice-cream. There’s the meaning of the word Affogato – “drowning” You’ll find this coffee based beverage or dessert on every restaurant or bar menu. It’s your choice what you want to put in your espresso. A scoop of vanilla ice-cream. A white or chocolate “tartufo” which is white or chocolate coated ice-cream. A touch of rum, whiskey or how we like our affocato al caffè with …
I’m glad the hot weather has arrived…and I mean hot. Lunchtime again, what’s on the menu today? Although, I cook a hot lunch for my working man,usually pasta or rice with varying homemade sauces. I’m still use to having my salads or sandwiches. Today I thought I’d try this recipe. And I’m glad I did. It’s light, different and with added vitamins in disguise. Recipe: Open Sandwich – Fantasy Ingredients: for 4 servings There was only me…so I more than halved the quantities… 1 tablespoon walnuts 2 tablespoon parsley 100 grams cream cheese or ricotta 3 tablespoons of lemon juice salt and pepper freshly grounded 1 whole meal bread roll or 4 slices of bread 2 carrots 1 granny smith apple Preparation: I used cream cheese, because that’s what I had available, but I think this would work well with any soft cheese.Cut the walnuts and parsley finely,add the cream cheese and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Salt and pepper to taste. With a peeler, slice long strips of carrot,(6)and grate finely the rest of …
This recipe is a variant from the normal Greek style moussaka. The main ingredient used in traditional moussaka is aubergine, or eggplant parmesan here in Italy. This moussaka is light,and a pleasant change, to the normal heavy tomato based moussaka. Recipe: Potato and Zucchini Moussaka (serves 4 people) Ingredients: 2 potatoes 3 zucchini 2 garlic cloves, grated 200 grams minced ground beef 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 can cherry whole tomatoes 3 tablespoons lemon juice grounded nutmeg 1 tablespoon dried oregano parmesan cheese, grated 90 grams butter 3 tablespoons all purpose flour 500 ml milk Preparation: Preheat oven 200°C. In a frying pan, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil, add garlic, cook until transparent, add ground mince and cook for about 15 minutes until brown. Add cherry tomatoes, oregano and a generous amount of ground nutmeg, simmer until cooked about 30 minutes until liquid has evaporated.Turn off heat. Steam the zucchini for 2 – 3 minutes, slice long ways.Slice also the potato (raw) in thin slices. Prepare the béchamel sauce. Heat the butter, …
Yvette's Twistedvines 