tagged ‘lemon’

Cinnamon & lemon mini apple pies

in Desserts, Taste -

Fall baking can’t get any easier than these cinnamon & lemon mini apple pies with they buttery, fragrant filling and crunchy sweet crust.  

Cinnamon & lemon mini apple pies

Fall is probably my favourite time to bake; after a long summer, which is mostly spent devouring fresh vegetables and fruit, merely tossed with some extra virgin olive oil, fragrant herbs and crunchy nuts, when the days get darker and shorter, I truly crave time spent around the stove. And apples and pears, along with beautiful thick-skinned vegetables, provide just the right starting point for that. [READ MORE]

Anchovy, pea & garlic lemony tagliatelle

in Savoury, Taste -

This anchovy, pea & garlic lemony tagliatelle is the perfect end of summer dish: colourful, delicious and comforting in spades. 

Anchovy, pea & garlic lemony tagliatelle

After a blissful, busy, creative and delicious summer, I am back in crazy, moody London, both happy and sad for my return; I am thinking back to sunny, laid back days filled with the freshest food and the longest nights; and I also can’t wait to embrace my usual routine again and for new exciting food adventures to come. [READ MORE]

Lemonade with lime, spearmint & honey

in Small bites, Taste -

I’ve been making this lemonade with lime, spearmint & honey for about a month now, non stop. It’s sweet and sour, fragrant and utterly addictive!

Lemonade with lime, spearmint & honey

My go-to drink in the summer is always water: cold, but not too cold, a couple tall glasses at a time. I drink lots and lots throughout the day, along with a couple short strong coffees in the morning and crispy white wine some nights. My sister often makes fills big jugs with lemon wedges, cucumber slices, handfuls of mint or basil and water and it’s the most refreshing drink ever! [READ MORE]

String beans with saffron, lemon & mustard vinaigrette

in Savoury, Taste -

Light, simple and delicious, these string beans with saffron, lemon & mustard vinaigrette are the perfect pair to any summer bbq. 

String beans with saffron & mustard vinaigrette

I’ve been in Greece for about two weeks now, hence my brief disappearance. If you’re following along here, you may have seen that the last couple of weeks have been quite the stunner. Visiting Messenia for the first time made my heart beat faster and filled my eyes with overwhelming views: deep blue sea and imposingly towering mountains, separated only by silver green olive trees, proud cypresses and the greenest rosemary shrubs as far as the eye could see. [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]

Honeyed kumquats, yogurt & thyme

in Breakfast, Desserts, Taste -

Honeyed kumquats are a real treat, especially for breakfast, served with thick yogurt & fragrant thyme over crunchy toast. 

I’ve gone back and forth before deciding what to do with the heaps of kumquats from my parents minuscule trees. While your suggestions inspired both research and tremendous appetite, I found it almost impossible to settle on a recipe. While I was trying to make up my mind, I must have eaten a third of them, with no preparation at all, pith, seeds and all. I just find them so very delicious, impossibly fragrant, lightly bitter and with a lovely texture. I’ve added them to salads in place of oranges and in warming, creamy oats and, before deciding anything else, I knew I had to make my mom’s delicious kumquat marmalade. And yet, I didn’t. See, they were so pretty, so bright and shapely I refused to chop them down. Instead, I made a preserve of sorts. [READ MORE]

Cranberry, citrus & pecan brown butter cake

in Desserts, Taste -

Sweet and a little sour, soft and bursting with seasonal goodness- there’s lots to love in this cranberry, citrus & pecan brown butter cake.

Cranberry, citrus & pecan brown butter cake

There was a time when I was oblivious to cranberries and their beauty. They sure are a peculiar bunch: perky and bright red, a sight for sore eyes indeed, yet tart and mostly accessible when they are cooked. Instead, come spring I paid my respects and showed love to other berries: soft sweet blueberries, my favourite of them all, perfect in a summer pie, a fragrant cake or rich overnight oats; also delicate raspberries and the ever so slightly tart and chubby blackberries. [READ MORE]

Brown butter & hazelnut apple cake

in Desserts, Taste -

This brown butter & hazelnut apple cake is a variation of the one my mom’s recipes: simple, unapologetically straightforward and perfect for fall.

Brown butter & hazelnut apple cake

Enamoured as I am with apples, every autumn they are appear on our table frequently and in different ways: roughly chopped, tossed with dried fruit, toasted nuts and folded into creamy oatmeal; sliced thinly or turned into a jam, topping thick slices of toasted bread, along with tahini and sweet honey; cut in big chunks and added last to cider chicken stews; mixed with pears and spices to fill buttery dough for pies. I have experimented with many different recipes in the last couple of years, yet my favourite by far is my mom’s apple cake. The main reason is possibly nostalgia and missing her and my dad a little too much; but it’s also the flavour, simple, straightforward and utterly satisfying, as well as its rustic looks, with thick apple slices, which she cuts in a hurry on her worn wood cutting board. [READ MORE]

Apple, blackberry & cinnamon jam

in Breakfast, Desserts, Taste -

This apple, blackberry & cinnamon jam is thick, as sweet as it should and has made me fall in love with apples all over again! 

Apple, blackberry & cinnamon jam

Ever since I moved to London, every autumn, without fail, I find my self in awe of all the apple varieties available: there’s small, sour ones, with light pink and green flesh; and bigger ones, very sweet and very pink; shinny green apples, crunchy and juicy, perfectly sour and refreshing; and then others, large and brownish, with a subtle sweetness which reminds me of pears. One is truly spoilt for choice and one is hopelessly enamoured every year, all over again.

I buy large quantities and I slice and sometimes peel and eat at least one a day; I freeze for smoothies and grate for spicy oatmeal; they’re added in cakes and pies, often alongside juicy, blushing pears, or eaten hungrily, on the spot, with just a drizzle of tahini and another of honey. They’re set aside to be used in warming stews, with sprigs of rosemary or tarragon and sweet potatoes, or even added to buttery mash for a touch of sweetness. Autumn is for apples, every year, and every year I am without fail hell-bent on celebrating apples as I should: often, repeatedly, enthusiastically, hungrily. [READ MORE]

Blueberry, lemon & pine nut cake

in Desserts, Taste -

This blueberry, lemon & pine nut cake is exactly how I love a cake to be: simple, sweet, delicious, maybe a little messy and oh so satisfying. 

Blueberry, lemon & pine nut cake

I don’t remember when exactly, but somewhere along this weekend, it dawned on me how long it’s been since I last made a cake. I’ve spent the better part of the weeks leading up to Easter trying to make tsoureki and failing spectacularly, time after time. I was left with more flat, dense, delicious yet overall miserable looking sweet breads than I knew what to do with. I was also left with an overwhelming desire not to make a dessert for quite some time- enough for my bruised pride to heal and all of me to stay away from sugar and butter and all them beautiful things I had been struggling with. [READ MORE]