Monthly Archives: June 2011

This has got to be one of the easiest sweet-toothed treats one can make, brought down to us from childhoods of long ago, when households had to make do with what was available in the pantry.  I heard, and have … Continue reading →

The word for snail in Italian is ‘lumaca’ … and the large snails I found at the fishmonger’s are called ‘lumaconi’, i.e. ‘big snails’.  The advantage that lumaconi have over snails that hail from the earth is that they do … Continue reading →

Saying that tabbouleh is a ‘salad’ is like saying that ice-cream is frozen milk, eggs and sugar … everything about tabbouleh is special and it has to be lovingly made.  Its colour is red (tomatoes), white (bulgur) and green (parsley … Continue reading →

Hummus must be one of the most popular dips world wide … and it’s so healthy too … made from chick peas, tahini paste and garlic.  One can soak dry chick peas overnight (in three times their amount of water) … Continue reading →

Baba Ganoush You know how you can mash potatoes?  Well you can mash cooked aubergines too … you then add garlic, sesame paste called Tahini, some lemon juice and chopped parsley and you end up with a yummy ‘dip’ called … Continue reading →

Tahini is a paste made out of crushed sesame seeds and is chock full of vitamin E.  It is used as an ingredient to make both Hummus and Baba Ganoush, adding a nuance of nuttiness to these two dips. It … Continue reading →

Darling daughter enquires whether I would help her cook a meal full of Eastern promise on the occasion of her birthday … a dinner for six or eight.  Sure!  why not!  what a great idea! I respond enthusiastically.  I adore … Continue reading →

This is my son’s favourite pasta during the Summer.  I can understand why: it’s filling, it’s tasty, but it’s not overwhelming.  It’s eaten at room temperature as opposed to hot and so it doesn’t make you sweat more just by … Continue reading →

This recipe is a labour of love.  There is a whole slew of ingredients, there are quite a lot of steps, there is frying to be done and there are no short-cuts.  It’s the sort of recipe that is best … Continue reading →

There is a recipe for courgettes that we all think hails from the Naples area called “zucchine alla scapece”.   I say ‘think’ because when I went to look into the meaning of ‘scapece’, I was quickly engulfed by the … Continue reading →