Blueberry, basil & lime yogurt cheesecake

in Desserts, Taste -

A light and fluffy blueberry, basil & lime yogurt cheesecake, made with cottage cheese, yogurt and the pretties blueberries.

I spent many of my teenage years dreaming of making the perfect cheesecake; the inspiration was Miranda, a friend of my parents. Everything she made, and still makes, was delicious, beautifully presented, utterly satisfying and warming, the way only a meal made with lots of love and attention can be. My favourites were her cheesecake and tiramisu. I marvelled at them for years, their perfect shape, layers of goodness and flavour- my god, so much flavour! [READ MORE]

Food for thought

in Food for thought, Inspiration -

Food for though filled with summer dresses, summer dreaming, traveling for coffee, a very royal cake and my current favourite dish.

Happy Friday y’all! This week has been busy (mostly in a nice way) and almost exhausting and the weekend is looking quite similar. Still, I can’t wait: we’re catching up with friends tonight and planning to spend Saturday and Sunday mostly outside. I hope your plans are similarly fun! In the meantime, here’s a couple things I’ve been into lately: [READ MORE]

Baked chickpeas with capers, olives & orange

in Savoury, Taste -
These simple and delicious baked chickpeas with capers, olives & orange only need friends to share with and lots of crusty bread. 
Baked chickpeas with capers, olives & orange
Of all pulses, chickpeas are easily my favourites. Their smooth taste makes them irresistibly versatile and a great addition to so many dishes from silky hummus and veggie burgers to chunky soups and fragrant curries. Possibly my favourite way to cook them has been tossing them with olive oil, lots of spices and herbs and cook until very crispy and utterly irresistible. Like so, they add texture and lots of flavour to fried eggs and veggie wraps- though to be honest, I mostly just eat them straight from the pan, while they are still almost too hot to touch.

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Strawberry, basil & lime cream cheese tart

in All recipes, Desserts -

Celebrating this year’s Mother’s Day with this a dessert as sweet and pretty as my mom: a strawberry, basil & lime cream cheese tart!

Strawberry, basil & lime cream cheese tart

Mother’s Day(s) are always bittersweet for me; they are a celebration, of course, but also a reminder of how much I miss my mom. It’s been many years since I left home, I should have been used to the distance by now; I haven’t. Instead, the longing to see her and my dad has been lingering, at times mellower and others stinging as hard as that first night I spent alone in my first apartment.

I’ve written here about my mom time and time again. The impact they’ve have on me in general and my cooking and eating habits specifically is very lasting and one I carry with great pride. Even though my childhood and adolescence have not been idillic (and I believe they rarely are, to be frank),  they have been full. Of experiences, stimuli and opportunity, discipline and freedom, tension and drama- but also lots of love. [READ MORE]

Pea, pesto & egg salad with radishes & sourdough

in Savoury, Taste -

A pea, pesto & egg salad with radishes & sourdough as colourful as spring and as beautiful and fresh as the seasons inspires. 

Pea, pesto & egg salad with radishes & sourdough

Somewhere between spring and summer (as it usually is the case in London- the weather jumps from winter to blasting heat and back again and again), I find myself overwhelmed, inspired, too hot to cook, too enamoured with all the beautiful fresh produce available (strawberries! asparagus! baby potatoes! peas!) to choose. In the last few days, I’ve been mostly gravitating towards tartines, eggs and salads; some are simple and hastily tossed together with extra virgin olive oil, a touch of balsamic and fresh torn basil. others are a tad more elaborate, still however following my basic rule for spring and summer cooking- and eating: spend as little time in the kitchen, and especially over a stove- as possible. [READ MORE]

Food for thought

in Food for thought, Inspiration -

Wishing you all a great weekend with Food for thought that’s all about books towns, unexpected plants, a must-try pasta sauce and the best cookie.

Happy Friday y’all! This very busy, very stressful week is finally coming to an end and I couldn’t be more relieved. I am so looking forward to a relatively lively Saturday spent with friends and a Sunday working on a couple recipes with juicy Medjools, marvelling at my new favourite book and finish watching this. In the meantime, here’s a few things I’m really into: [READ MORE]

Strawberry, coconut & lemon cake

in Desserts, Taste -

Enjoying the season’s prettiest fruit with a delicious strawberry, coconut & lemon cake, dusted with way too much icing sugar.

Strawberry, coconut & lemon cake

When I spot the first strawberries of the season, shinny, chubby and pinkish red, I can hardly contain my joy; as much as I love citrus and their juicy flesh and irresistible hues, strawberries for me signify the beginning of spring; they bring to mind sunshine and time spent outdoors, not to mention all sorts of delicious desserts. I cherish everything about them, from their beautiful colour to their taut sweet flesh, so I always first have them on their own, with a few drops of lemon juice. Then comes the baking. [READ MORE]

Food for thought

in Food for thought, Inspiration -

Today’s food for thought is very season appropriate: strawberry love, the future of food keeping cool in tiny house and ice cream macarons!

Since the beginning of the week, the overwhelmingly beautiful weather has all of London flooding the streets, all smiles, few clothes and refreshing drinks and nibbles on hand. I’m following along, barely able to stay indoors to do some work (which I should be doing), instead lunching al fresco in parks, drinking outside till it gets dark and going to bed happy to dream of strawberry and ice cream recipes.

Hope y’all have great plans for the weekend- ours will be a mixture of outdoors shenanigans and lots of work- tomorrow  we’ll go here and on Sunday I’ll be at home cooking and snapping away from early morning, to catch all the beautiful light. [READ MORE]

Quinoa, red bean & mushroom veggie burger

in Savoury, Taste -

Generously flavoured with chipotle honey and herbs, these quinoa, red bean & mushroom veggie burger is delicious and a damn looker too!

Quinoa, red bean & mushroom veggie burger

Inspired by the promises of delightfully warm, hot even, weather and bright sun at last, I’m sharing my favourite veggie budget recipe yet; as much as I love beef burgers, I so much prefer a veggie version: I find that there’s infinite possibilities for improvising, adding a variety of ingredients, spices and herbs, depending on what I have at hand, cravings and flavour profile I’m after. [READ MORE]

Feta, spring onion & dill pie (tyropita)

in Savoury, Taste -

This feta, spring onion & dill pie (tyropita) is always one of my favourite things to make from scratch. Bear with me, it’s so worth it!

Feta, spring onion & dill pie (tyropita)

As I’ve mentioned here, making Greek pies from scratch is my favourite thing and the one ambition I’ve had since I clumsily, impatiently started cooking. For some it’s a soufflé, the perfect omelette or an elaborate cake with many layers and fluffy, smooth frosting. I certainly wouldn’t mind perfecting all of the above, especially a cake (my impatience usually gets the better of me and I somehow end up slathering the frosting on and hope for the best). [READ MORE]