healthy nut snack

Another great recipe from Beatrice Peltre {la tartine gourmande}. Not received her new cookbook yet. Nor for my birthday. Nor for Valentine's day. I still have some hopes. It's almost mother's day.

happy easter pasta dish

A simple pasta dish I'm in love with: Spaghetti  + pea pesto* + 1 poached egg. 

Serve with some fresh peas, toasted pine nuts and Parmesan. 

Happy Easter.

sesame almond brown rice balls

When I first read Heidi Swanson's post, I knew these rice balls would soon become a favorite of my daughters' lunch boxes. I was right. 

purple kale chips

I was skeptical. I shouldn't have been.

baked rhubarb/raspberry bliss

It's not pouring anymore. But the sky is grey... (... comme dans la chanson). I need something sweet and spring(ish).

cocoa/hazelnut/banana muffins

It's pouring. I need chocolate. 

cream of {purple} cauliflower soup

"An understated soup, Alice Waters' style, where not even the stock interferes with the taste of the cauliflower", from Living and eating, by John Pawson and Annie Bell. 

riz-au-lait {golden rice custard}

Believe it or not, it's actually the first time I succeed in the making of riz au lait. I'm not kidding. In the past, I tried several recipes, but the final result was either undercooked or burned. The cooking process was also very painful: infinite minutes stuck to the stove, milk all over the place, burned pans good for the trash... The following recipe is simply miraculous!

spring vegetable timbale

Kind of a huge frittata. Without the delicate (and too often messy!) flipping-over part!

ideas?

Lots of great veggies in my CSA box this week. I already made a winter minestrone using part of the carrots, leeks, collard greens, rutabaga, .... I made a cauliflower and sesame tart, a kale pesto, a salad with roasted beets and fennel. What should I do with the fresh garlic and the green cabbage? Any idea?

wheat berry salad + roasted beets, kale, toasted walnuts & Meyer lemon dressing

It is about time to post a healthy salad after all the desserts i've posted lately!

pecan nut rolls

Remember the Tassajara cinnamon rolls posted on table.etc nearly 2 years ago? So good, huh? If you liked them, you will love these pecan nut rolls too. All you have to do is this:

1. use the same recipe as the cinnamon rolls, but add some nuts to the filling; 

2. opt for a slightly different shape,  by putting the rolls in 2 buttered/sugared pans 8 inches square, instead of lining them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Et voila', le tour est joue'!

ciambellone al limone di Luciana

My in-laws know that I am a lemony-ish person. So they thought of me when a friend offered them this "ciambellone al limone". They asked her the recipe and sent it to me. How cute! The term "ciambellone" refers to the shape of the cake (a big donut). Its texture is somewhere in between a cake and an angel cake. Anyway, the "ciambellone di Luciana" was well appreciated by the lemony-ish person and by all the other members of her family.

Thanks beloved in-laws for being so thoughtful & Thanks Luciana for sharing your  awesome recipe. (Grazie Cesare&Luciana per essere cosi' gentili & Grazie Luciana per la tua ottima ricetta)

hazelnut + carrot cupcakes

 

The last time I talked about Beatrice Peltre (author of the bog La Tartine Gourmande), it was on January 23th. Back then, I mentioned the fact that it was almost my birthday, hoping somebody would understand and offer me her new cookbook. Obviously my hint was not clear enough, because I did not receive it! So I'm giving it another try. After all, today it's Valentine's day, isn't it?

pomegranate banana smoothie

For the taste. For the texture. For the color. Blend together 1/2 cup plain yogurt + the juice of 1 big ripe pomegranate + juice of 1 orange + 1/2 banana, previously sliced and frozen. 

tiny butternut squash + some leftovers...

I love leftovers. They allow you to make delicious (and pretty!) dishes in a very small amount of time. They  also allow you to be creative. For this "recipe" for example, I used leftovers of cooked rice and wilted kale. I added some Parmesan cheese, mozzarella, and tiny pieces of baked butternut squash + some salt&pepper. But of course you can use whatever leftovers you have and use whatever spices or herbs you like. Before stuffing the butternut squash, take off the seeds, brush the inside with some extra virgin olive oil, salt&pepper, and bake in a preheated oven at 375F for about 30-35' or until the inside is soft. Then put it in the oven again with the stuffing for another 10 minutes or so. Done!

crepes

It's not too late. You can still cook some crepes today. February 2d is "crepe day" (in French: la Chandeleur). But you'd better hurry up. The batter is better if you let it rest at least 2 hours before using it.

* For a savory version: see this old post.

tofu shiitake/leeks soba bowl

Bowl inspired by Harumi (for the shiitake/leeks part; here, p.182) and by Heidi Swanson (for the soba/tofu part; here and here).

lots of apples in one cake

Lots of apples, a handful of "fruits and nuts", a hint of Grappa, and no fats. Coup de coeur! Recipe from the "apple cake project" of the blog il cavoletto di bruxelles. I love apples. I love cakes. So I love this  project.

baked apples + {nuts + spices}

{La Tartine Gourmande} has published her first cookbook. Yeah! 

It will be released on February 7th. Darn!

However, in ante prima, here is one recipe from the book. Yeah! 

No, I don't have the book. Darn! 

I found the recipe on a blog I love {Sprouted Kitchen}.

PS: By the way, it's almost my birthday....

falafel (from sprouted chickpeas)

I was intrigued by this recipe using "sprouted" chickpeas. I gave it a try and it turned out very successful. Do not be intimidated by the length of the recipe. You'll need to wait 4 days before eating your falafel, but you'll spend only a few minutes in your kitchen working on it.

homemade chai latte

I've made a chai latte. I never thought you could make your own before! But when I discovered it, I did not hesitate one second. It is so easy (especially if you have - like me - all the spices you need in your pantry), so good, and so inexpensive that you should not hesitate one second either! Another advantage is that you can customize it according to your taste. The recipe that suits mine best is this one (published only a few days ago by Christelle is flabbergasting).

gateau des rois (en pate cougnou)

On January 6th,  in Belgium and France, we celebrate Epiphany by eating the "gateau des rois". In general, the cake is a "galette" with almond cream inside (frangipane). In my hometown though, the  recipe for this cake is different: it is exactly the same as for the cougnou I already wrote about. We all love it. Do not forget to hide a "trinket" inside the dough before baking it. Usually it is a porcelain figure, but a dried bean will equally do the work. The person who picks the part of the cake with the trinket inside will be king or queen for a day (and wear the crown). 

apples+pumpkin+walnuts cake

A fall cake loaded with good stuff:

(pumpkin+apples+walnuts) + (eggs+sugar+soy milk+olive oil) + (flour+baking powder+cinnamon).

You'd better try it!

leeks/chards/ricotta quiche

I know... I already posted a similar recipe. But 1: it was at a time I did not  always write down the recipes in details. And 2: you might have not tried it yet. So I'm giving you a second chance!

apple tart (alice waters way)

A simple apple tart with lots of tart apples. Heaven! Why complicate matters?

red cabbage + apples + spices

A red cabbage - Flemish style - recipe, where cabbage is slowly cooked with apples and spices. Traditionally eaten with mashed potatoes and sausages, but also very good on a slice of pain au levain w/ walnuts, some good cheese, and a glass of high quality beer. Belgian of course!

la torta verde della rina

I miss Italian food. The food I eat when I am back to Italy for a vacation. With family and friends. In their houses or at restaurants. I did not use to prepare it myself though. But I have no other options... I'm doing my best to duplicate the recipes Italians prepared for me. The "torta verde" - especially the one baked by Rina (ciao Rina!) - is among the food I miss the most. Basically it's a veggie pie covered by an irresistible olive oil crust. The typical vegetable used in the "torta verde" is called "trombetta". It's a special kind of zucchini grown in Liguria, Northern Italy (and also here in my Californian garden!). But you can use whatever in-season veggie. Here, I used a mix of butternut squash, English peas, and chards. Make your own combination and let me know how it worked for you.

goat cheese + fig/rosemary jam + filo dough

My favorite finger food at the moment: 1) goat cheese + fig/rosemary jam* over some filo dough sheets (thawed and lightly oiled), 2) shaped into rolls (see here for example), and 3) baked in a preheated oven to 375F for about 15' to 20' minutes. It's as simple as that. And it's so good. And it's so addicting!

* I made the fig/rosemary jam of D.I.Y. Delicious (p.55), but every fig jam will work of course.

homemade flour tortillas

Forget everything you've heard or read about homemade flour tortillas and give this recipe a try. You won't be disappointed. 

espresso banana muffins

Moist, so moist! Irresistible for breakfast with a cappuccino.

Claire's rhubarb pie

Here is one of my favorite pies. I usually eat this "tarte a' la rhubarbe" at Claire's house. My friend Claire bakes it because -1) it's her recipe, and -2) she is a wonderful baker. All her pies are always delicious. But Claire is on vacation... She has been on vacation for almost 2 months now... And I'm really craving for that pie... So I did not have any other choice than baking her pie all on my own. Good thing that Claire gave me her "secret recipe" a few years ago and that I did not lose it. Precious papers do not get lost! 

mix not match beets salad

Mix not match beets salad anybody?  Raw chioggia beets (sliced) + cooked red beets (diced) + avocado (diced) + lettuce leaves + lemon Meyer dressing + chives. An interesting mix of textures, colors, and perfumes.

vivalafocaccia.com - 2

Variations sur le meme theme..... Same recipe as the one posted 2 weeks ago + some cherry tomatoes on top. If you like focaccie, you have to try one or another recipe from vivalafocaccia.com: a 100% reliable blog.

fried zucchini flowers

I have been growing some Italian zucchini  in my backyard this year (a special type called trombetta). The zucchini are still too tiny to be eaten. However,...  there are the flowers! Eat them raw, eat them baked, eat them fried, whatever you like, but EAT them! They are too good to let them go. And by the way, you don't have to grow zucchini to get flowers, you can buy them at the Farmer's market when they are in season (now).

homemade buns

My youngest daughter just came back from a girls scout camp. And guess what? She wants to "cook out". I had some sausages in the fridge but no buns. And anyway in the stores I can't find any buns made without high-fructose corn syrup. So let's bake some. The Big Sur Bakery recipe will do the job (even though it's for hamburger buns). And yes, the recipe did it! Deliciouuuus!!!

stonefruit yogurt cake (+cornmeal/walnut streusel)

It has been a while since I posted a dessert recipe. Not that I don't bake desserts anymore, or that I don't eat them (event if I shouldn't). It's rather because I keep on baking the same desserts over and over. But this is a new recipe. So here I come again! This cake is wonderful. And so are all the recipes I tried so far from the book DIY Delicious, by Vanessa Barrington*, a must have cookbook if you are in a "do-it-yourself" or "do-it-from scratch" mood.

carrot almond spread

A quick and easy recipe from "Delicious Living" (Whole Food's magazine, July 2011). A nice addition to your sandwiches, wraps, bagels....

stuffed summer squash

Last Monday, Farmer Pete had too many squashes, so he told us -his lucky customers- to take as many as we wanted. I took a lot. Really a lot. After making a big pot of soup and a good-sized bowl of ratatouille, there were still some left. In fact I kept the cute spherical ones for last. I didn't know yet what to do with them but I was pretty sure that I would end up doing something nice. These "stuffed summer squash" are inspired by the "verdurine ripiene" we usually eat during summer in Italy at my in-laws'. 

vivalafocaccia.com

I love focaccia. Especially the "real" focaccia "Genovese". I used to make a recipe I already wrote about (here, a very quick and easy one). This time around, I tried a recipe from the vivalafocaccia.com blog. It's an exhaustive blog written both in English and Italian. I wanted to try one of its recipes since long time ago, but never found the right moment to do it. The blogger's family used to have a bakery in Genova. He adapted the original recipes for  home use. Most of the recipes have an accompanying video (among them: the focaccia's). Useful for the newbies. The result was very convincing. The only weak point was the crust: a little bit too soft for my taste. But this could have been due to my poor execution.

+ Ricetta in italiano

+ Recipe in English

heidi swanson's baked oatmeal

If you like oatmeal and bread pudding, you'll love this baked oatmeal. 

If you don't like oatmeal and bread pudding, you'll still love this baked oatmeal. 

If you like oatmeal but don't like bread pudding, you'll still love this baked oatmeal. 

If you don't like oatmeal but like bread pudding, you'll still love this baked oatmeal.

le melanzane di luciana

My in-laws were here a few days ago. Like every Italian mother-in-law, my mother-in-law cooks. And YES, she cooks delicious Italian meals. But NO, she doesn't cook the typical ones requiring hours of preparation. She likes easy and fast recipes. So my mother-in-law is not a typical Italian mother-in-law. Her single portions of melanzane are simply delicious. They also freeze very well.

heidi swanson's weeknight curry

Another recipe from Super Natural Everyday, by Heidi Swanson. I'm considering trying them all! So easy. So quick. So good. So different. So veggie. So grains. So healthy. So whole. So diverse. So San Francisco.

meyer lemons + rosemary lemonade (w/ or w/out a twist)

Delicious as is. Even more with the twist: add 1 shot of gin to your glass of lemonade.

the sparkling cake

A cake. The cake. The one that my daughters regularly ask me to bake for their birthday parties: plain, soft, moist, sweet, very sweet. A sparkling cake, as they like to call it. The sparkling cake.

rye soda bread

The easiest and quickest bread I've ever made. And on top of that, it's healthy and delicious. At the first try, my kids were skeptical. I think it was because they were not used to rye flour (which has a strong taste) and also because they ate it when it was still warm. You should wait until the bread cools down completely before eating it. The second time, they loved it. And so do I, needless to say...

orzo+broccoli pesto salad

I couldn't resist. I had to try a recipe from the book right away. And post it here with a picture of the dish (even though I don't have a new camera yet; the picture was taken by my iPhone). And since I'm in a hurry (going to Tahoe tomorrow), I copied and pasted the recipe from another blog I love http://sproutedkitchen.com that posted the same recipe a few days ago. It was delicious! Even my two daughters, who don't like broccoli, loved it. However, for them I didn't put broccoli florets and avocado on top.

super natural every day

I pre-ordered it a few weeks ago. Just got it today. I'm talking about "Super Natural Every Day", by Heidi Svanson (author of one of my favorites blogs: www.101cookbooks.com). So inspiring. Love it.

3-seed bread

Thankfully I still have some nice pictures and recipes to share. Like this one. It's only a variation of the Tassajara Bread I've already written about here. But it is worth to mention again. The recipe is 100% trustful. 

missing

I left my beloved camera in a shuttle last week end in NY. And obviously, never saw it again. I feel empty, lonely. Really. I'll be quieter than ever on this blog until my beloved husband (do you hear me, amore mio?) will forgive me for my negligence and buy me another camera (I'd like the exact same one, honey!). 

mushroom+farro soup

A flavorful and comforting soup to help us emerging from the wet and cold weather.