Happy Australia Day to all my fellow Aussies! In honour of our National Holiday, I thought I’d share with you a special dessert: Peach Melba. This delicious and very easy to make dessert of peaches and raspberry sauce with vanilla ice cream was invented in the 1890’s by the French chef Auguste Escoffier at the…
Green Bean, Tomato and Potato Salad
Today I want to share with you the recipe for a delicious and healthy side dish. This Green Bean Tomato and Potato Salad is very special to me and eating it always takes me back in time. My mum would often make it in summer when we were holidaying in Sicily. It is a very…
CHILLED YOGURT CAKE WITH BLUEBERRY COMPOTE
Today’s dessert is a cold treat and it is one that is actually not too bad for you as it is made (mainly) with natural yogurt. Back in Italy there is a famous pre mixed version of this that is sold in little boxes… you mix in some fresh ingredients and there you have your…
MAI TAI
During my stay at the Hilton Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa, I took part in their “cocktail class”, during which the bartender showed us how to make their signature drink: Mai Tai and I am here to share it with you all! Apparently, even though this cocktail has become famous as a Polynesian classic, it…
OMELETTE TAHITIENNE
I am sure you remember that last Christmas my husband got me The Complete Bocuse as a present. It is a huge book full of recipes by Paul Bocuse which I am going to dig into. There are so many dishes I want to try, even more after making his Sole Meunière! It is one…
SPINACH, ROCKET AND STRAWBERRY SALAD WITH STRAWBERRY VINAIGRETTE
I have seen quite a few recipes of salads that include strawberries lately and I was very curious to try one myself. I usually enjoy having fruits in savoury dishes and I think strawberries (and berries in general) make for fantastic savoury ingredients as they are slightly tart and not overly sweet. I have even…
STRAWBERRY BALSAMIC VINEGAR
I love strawberries, always have and always will! I am lucky enough to live in a country where strawberries are in season all year round. It wasn’t like that in Italy, where fresh and sweet strawberries were only available in summer. The great thing about Australia is that it is a huge country with many…
MATAROCCO
For this week’s Regional Italian dish I am going to take you back to Sicily. Today’s recipe is really easy and really tasty, it is one of those family recipes that we would always have during our summer holidays. It is hearty and delicious, full of “local” flavours as all the ingredients are easily available in…
SWEET AND SOUR TUNA WITH ONIONS
I really enjoy eating fresh tuna. It is very common in Italy, especially in Sicily so I kind of grew up on it. Since moving here, I haven’t seen it often at the stores, but when I do, I usually buy some. Today I will share with you one of the ways my mum would…
WATERMELON GELATO
Today, for my Regional Italian dish series, I am going to take you all back to Sicily with the perfect summer recipe. I know, I know… it’s winter down here and it’s also been quite cold lately, but my family and friends are enjoying summer in Europe, so I thought of publishing this today. I…
CHERRY JAM
I must admit that I was not very fond of jams while growing up… I would always choose crème patissière or chocolate over jam filled sweets. It was way too sweet for me. That was until I went to Normady with my parents and some friends. We were staying at a farm and the lady…
STRAWBERRY, BANANA AND APPLE SMOOTHIE
I won’t lie… my kids, especially my 5 year old daughter, do not like fruits. Yes, I know what you are thinking “you are food blogger, and you can’t get your own kids to eat their fruits?!”… ehm… sort of. But I am working on it and smoothies are a great way to get my…
COUSCOUS AND HERB SALAD
Couscous is one of my favourite side dishes. I love the fact that it is so versatile and that it can be easily turned into a light and healthy main dish for a weekday lunch. I usually make couscous to go with my Lemon Chicken Tajine with Olives or my LambTajine with Quinces and I sometimes have…
COFFEE AND KAHLUA GELATO
Today’s recipe is a spin off of my Bailey’s Ice cream. Actually, I wanted to make Bailey’s Ice cream and got all the ingredients for it… until I realised I did not have enough Baileys! Aaargh! That’s when I looked inside my liquor cabinet and saw Kahlua! Mmmmm I love coffee gelato, it is actually…
CARPACCIO WITH GRANA PADANO AND ROCKET
Summer in Italy can be very hot, though since living in Sydney the term “hot” got a much “warmer” meaning… 😉 Anyhow, Italians tend to eat light in summer. We do not like to use the oven or the stove too much when the outside temperature is so hot, especially when you think that the…
PINEAPPLE & COCONUT GLAZED PORK SPARE RIBS
Today’s post is a “fight-against-waste” recipe! I had a nice rack of pork spare ribs in the freezer, so I gathered all the left overs I had in my fridge and built up a recipe from there. I also did some research on the web and saw I could make something yummy out of these…
STRAWBERRY DAIQUIRI
Today I want to share with you the recipe for one of my favourite drinks: Strawberry Daiquiri. I love the sweet and sourish taste given by the combination of strawberries and citrus juice. I also love rum… I must admit it is my favourite liquor! There are many different recipes for Strawberry Daiquiri out there…
BLOOD ORANGE SORBET
It is time again for the “Secret recipe club” reveal! I am sure you all know what the club is about, but for the few of you who still don’t know about it, here goes a brief explanation. Each month you are assigned a participating food blogger to make a recipe from and in turn someone else…
BLUE BORAGE HONEY ICE CREAM WITH HONEY GLAZED WALNUTS
If you have been following my blog for some time, you will know that a little over a year ago, my family and I went to New Zealand’s north island for a short holiday. During our trip, we came across a great little shop that sold all kinds of honey and honey products: Huka Honey…
AYRAN
After making home-made yogurt, I was left with quite a bit of whey and no ideas on what to do with it! Luckily, I asked my friend Sawsan from Chef in Disguise and she gave me the perfect recipe: Ayran. Ayran is a savoury yogurt and whey drink commonly found in the Middle East. I…
BAKED FETA
After hosting the June 2012 Daring Cooks’ challenge and making a few batches of Cannelloni, I was even more curious to see what this month’s challenge would be! I must admit, I had never thought about what goes “behind the scenes” of one of these challenges, but after hosting one I can tell you… it’s a…
CAPONATA
After sharing with you the recipe for cabbuci, today I am back with the second part of my Italian Regional dish series. We are back in Sicily and I am going to show you how to make one of the most popular dishes of the island: caponata. It could be described as a cooked salad…