Tag Archives: cooking

The Se7ven Link Challenge

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The duck population are partying today!

Time for me to stay inside and enjoy a virtual vacation visiting all of you, and catching up with what I’ve missed. Everyone has been busy in the kitchen, I’ve been visually overindulgent soaking up all the new recipes and fresh and seasonal produce that I’m seeing around the country, and I never have enough time to catch up with all the great photographers and their textured Art.

As I was unable to acknowledge the last award I was given,( Versatile Blogger) I thought I might acknowledge this person in this the Seven Link Challenge, so you could all visit her and see her talents. She’s number one on my list of bloggers.

Initially I learnt about this challenge from Mandy over at her blog                            The Complete Cookbook, her knowledge and cooking has inspired her book, with the second edition available soon. Her Seven Link Challenge can be found HERE.

What’s this challenge all about? With SEVEN different categories, each blogger nominates a single post, then nominates up to 5 more bloggers to take part in the challenge and on it goes…it’s a great way to personally look at how far your blog has travelled from when you started and look at your great achievements and maybe even remember some of those forgotten posts. So come on…join in, rattle your archives and show us your posts of pride…

Seven Categories:

  1. Most Popular Post
  2. Most Controversial Post
  3. Most Helpful Post
  4. Most Beautiful Post
  5. Most Surprisingly Successful Post
  6. Most UnderRated Post
  7. Most Proud of Post

These are my entries to these seven categories. How many do you remember?

1. Most Popular Post

This post being popular on traffic numbers..Salted Eggs – Easter Tutorial

I had fun creating these salted eggs for an Easter display to the entrance of the house.Tutorials do take abit of extra effort and time, but they seem to catch everyone’s eye…and who can resist a bit of added colourful fun to have with their children over Easter break.

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2.Most Controversial Post

I really don’t think I’ve written anything too controversial…I have had a personal conflicting comment thrown my way…but all in all ‘it’s not worth it’…is their glass half empty?

Maybe there might be conflicting views over this post: A Hunting we will go…however this post was an introduction to a wonderful recipe called Chicken Cacciatore.

3. Most Helpful Post

Summer Tutorial: I so enjoy changing each season throughout my house, and in the garden for those outside entertaining evenings.

This post was my first tutorial…This particular post took a lot of preparation time and was helpful for me as a learning process of how best to achieve precise instructions and photo’s for any other tutorials in the future

4. Most Beautiful Post

There have been many ‘ beautiful’ posts, I love capturing the romanticism of my heart, my feminine side and all those dainty and whimsical moments.

For me, Springtimes Laughter  I so enjoyed taking an overload amount of photo’s and creating for me  a picture book  of Springtime emotions.

5. Most Surprisingly Successful Post

This post received an extra amount of traffic, and it’s the simplest recipe, however one of those old favourites…Lemon Meringue Pie…I really believe it’s so important to have a new original and catchy title to your post…a little intriguing ‘Citrus Gold’ !

6. Most UnderRated Post:

This post was a ‘way back then’, I was so enthusiastic about this dessert and in awe of the magnificent colour of the mulberries that I still get an adrenalin rush…I’ll have to do a ‘revisited’ on this one and see whether I can get you all enthusiastic as I was back then!

7. Most Proud Of Post:

I’d have to say Sandy’s Tea Society it’s the first time I contributed to Food for Thought which is an edible book review. I’m so appreciative of Mary over at her blog ‘Home is Where the Boat is’ who introduced me to this link. Although I haven’t found time now to do another book review of this type…I hope to contribute in the future. You seem to take on a masters hand with creativity…and I was just bursting to style and create interpretations of this book through my photography and food concepts. I’m very proud of this post.

So, the next step in this challenge is to tag another five bloggers…

Here’s where I introduce some new amazing bloggers to you and be sure to visit them…

1. Rita from The Culinary Taste.

Rita passed on the Versatile Blogger to me some months ago and I was unable to acknowledge with appreciation this award. So she’s first on this list. Her blog is amazing with her latest contribution Stewed Rhubarb with Honey Mascarpone. Living in Italy I relate to many of her troubles finding ingredients which are all too common in other parts of the world. She’s also writing for Honest Cooking, so she’s busy, busy! Take a peak…She’s even written storybooks…

2. Alexandra from The Art of Afternoon Tea.

Alexandra is a talented illustrator/ artist. She illustrates her favourite past time of afternoon tea, cooking, and teacups. Her detailed illustrations of fancy afternoon teas of biscuits,cakes,teapots and pearls just jump out of the page to the reader. And she doesn’t leave any details untouched. A pleasant surprise.

3. Kiss my Spatula is a visually impressive blog full of new ideas, cooking and photography. Take a look at this blog, I know your reaction to some of the photo’s will be instantly ‘WOW’…

4. Crustabakes is a great blog and has been freshly pressed a couple of times. ‘G’ is a donut and nutella lover and loves her time making magic in the kitchen, you’ll find some great recipes and clear, up close photography.

5. The Klutzy chef…OH! this woman has a sense of humour…and will make you smile at her kitchen antics and travels.Always a great idea to be found…

So I hope you take some time out and go visit these new and exciting blogs and meet some new friends,

Have a great week, friends

Yvette…x

Sgroppino

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Two lemons, one whole and one sliced in half

Image via Wikipedia

So what’s Sgroppino? Is it ice-cream or sorbet?

Sgroppino is served between courses or at the end, even as dessert. It’s original to the Veneto region of Italy. An alternative to lemon sorbet, and it’s delicious! An Italian milkshake with a little kick!

At special occasions, a family dinner or with friends, a glass of Sgroppino is a smooth, creamy drink, icy cold and a sharp lemon taste, that I know will send everyones taste buds tingling. There are a few variations on the flavour, liquorices,coffee but my preference is stick to the original lemon flavour.  Easy to make, try this one at your next gathering of friends.

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Mulberry Cream

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View mulberry cream

This was truly a colorful cooking experience. This cream is made with fresh mulberries, a little messy, but hey all in the fun of cooking.

Mulberries are in season at the moment,from May until September, a dark grape nearly black colour, shiny, with a mixed taste of sweet and sour flavour, wonderful for making jams, jellies and ice –creams. Always best to eat this fruit straight away as they’re hard to conserve.

There are many wild mulberry trees along the walkways around our place and our street at the moment is stained a dark violet colour. We have four large mulberry trees along the side of our house, planted nearly fifty plus years ago, they were planted to divide not only the vineyard, but used in silkworm farming.

Recipe: Mulberry Cream

Serves 4

300 grams fresh mulberries

2 tablespoons liqueur (optional)

3 tablespoons sugar

250 grams mascarpone

500 ml fresh liquid cream

Preparation

Wash and pat dry mulberries. Pass through sifter collecting the juice.

misto 12 010To the mulberry juice add sugar, liqueur and mascarpone, mix until creamy. It creates a wonderful lilac, violet colour.

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Can’t resist but add another photo…

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Beat the cream until soft peaks form, delicately add to the mulberry cream. Serve in glasses, and garnish how you wish…I used mulberries and mint leaves.

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A great Summer treat. Enjoy!

Can’t live without basil…

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herbs

I have to admit I’ve grown to love and adore Basil. He’s great to work with flavouring my summer salads, ratatouille, and my pesto sauce for my pasta. He’s always on hand outside my kitchen door or in the veg patch, not much looking after needed, baking up the full sun and a little water. I remember basil growing in my grandmothers herb garden, and from a young age picking fresh basil leaves and watching my grandmother make pesto sauce and tomato sauce with basil.  

Basil is associated with love rituals in some cultures. In Italy when a woman placed a pot of basil on her balcony, it meant she would be receptive to her lover. I placed mine outside my kitchen door, so that its only a dash away to add to any dish that I’m making at the time. I’m also not sure about the burning of basil, as noted by Bruce Burnett who is the author of the book – Herbwise:growing cooking wellbeing – a book about the creative use of herbs.  

“When two lovers place two basil leaves into a fire and the leaves are immediately consumed, it signals that the relationship will be harmonious.If the leaves sizzle,there will  be some quarrelling, and if the  leaves crackle fiercely and fly apart, the relationship is doomed. ” Bruce Bennett  

There are countless types of  basil the most common used in pesto – genovese basil, and sweet basil preferred for cooking.  The Italian cuisine is full of many recipes using basil, one of the royals, up there with oregano and rosemary. 

I don’t always have the time to make my own pesto sauce, but good quality pesto can be found in most gourmet delicatessen’ s, although if you have the opportunity to make your own..try it..your kitchen is filled with a cloud of a divine sweet basil aroma.   

I’ve said before that Italian style recipes are simple, mainly using 3  or 4 ingredients. These ingredients are the same used in Eggplant flowers. Eggplant, tomatoes, mozzarella and the all important basil pesto. 

Recipe: Eggplant Stacks 

Ingredients: for 4 serves 

eggplant stacks

1 Eggplant (round type) 

6 cherry tomatoes 

1 mozzarella 

generous helping of basil pesto 

Preparation:  

Slice the eggplant into medium size circles, grill on barbeque hot grill, slice cherry tomatoes into circles and also the mozzarella. When the eggplant has been grilled on both sides, start stacking…eggplant, tomatoes and mozzarella, doing only two layers. Add the pesto sauce on top in abundance.

eggplant stacks

These are quick and a great eye pleaser, easy entertaining!  Serve as a side dish with grills or as an entrée.

Enjoy!

Warm salad of grilled beef ,vegetables and basil pesto

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warm salad

Sunday nights are usually a easy tea time treat  for me…the last thing I want to do is spend my last minutes of my weekend in the kitchen, easiest thing… heat up the grill….  

Jazzing up plain beef steaks and making a delicious warm grill vegetable salad is my choice..and you’ll impress all who have the chance to try it!  

warm salad

 

   

Ingredients: Serving for 4  

800 g  lean beef steaks : ( 2 thin steaks for each person)  

Marinade   

2 tablespoons dried oregano   

1 tablespoon olive oil   

1 clove garlic, crushed   

Vegetables   

1 bunch white or green asparagus   

6 small artichokes   

3 vines of cherry tomatoes   

basil pesto   

Preparation:  Mix marinade ingredients together in a bowl, add beef steaks, turning to coat thoroughly, cover with plastic wrap and leave to marinade in refrigerator for up to 30 minutes.  

Preheat bbq grill to medium/ high   

I used white asparagus, grilling that  first, slicing each one in half..turning continously on grill,  followed by the artichokes,( I pre-steam mine for about 8 mins).   

Next grill the beef, around 2 minutes each side - or until cooked to your liking…finally the cherry tomatoes.   

Arrange firstly the asparagus and artichokes on serving plate…slice the beef into thin slices…cover with a lavish amount of basil pesto and cherry tomatoes on top.  Lightly season, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.   

Other grilled vegetable suggestions: Eggplant, Zucchini, Red bell peppers. 

Enjoy!