Culinary Adventures
Once again, this weird and out-of-place Ice-Cream-in-Cold-Weather craving came knocking at my door today. Well actually, at least this time, it wasn’t all that out-of-place, come to think of it… You see, I don’t live far away from the largest and most beautiful park in town, so whenever I need a whiff of fresh air, some peace or simply a bit of nature to power up my batteries, I go for a walk through that park.
Continue reading “Tangerine Sorbet”
For some reason, while everything else in the stone-fruit department has been gone for a while already, apricots have been available for a really, really long time this year, until about 2 or 3 weeks ago, in fact. The problem with these freaky late stone fruit? They’re… tart, to say the least. Pretty much inedible in a raw state to be honest. The good side of the deal? I’ve got no qualms about throwing them into the pan whatsoever~! That’s the perfect(-ly late!) opportunity to cook up one of my favorite end-of-summer dishes and share it with you guys.
I guess, if you’ve followed my posts for a while, this one might just raise an eyebrow or two. Potatoes really are a rare sight in my kitchen – and that’s exactly why I actually have quite the number of leftover-potato-recipes up my sleeves. You see, the fingerling/baby potatoes I always use, for Papas Arrugadas, Lemon-Confit Potatoes or the humble Potato & Herby Fromage Blanc dinner every once in a while, always come in 1kg packages. Since 1kg of potatoes is a lot for two people and the next potato-gig is at least a month or two away… Well, you get the picture.
I’m not entirely sure why, but whenever I see, hear, smell or think “honey”, I get that warm-and-fuzzy-blanket-around-my-shoulders kind of feeling. As I’ve recently discovered, that feeling works the other way around, too~! Last weekend I woke up in one of those moods… you know, the good kind of comfy-mode-mood that instantly calls for such a blanket, a good book, a steaming cup of tea and something mmmmmh to go along with it.
Continue reading “Honey Panna Cotta & Blackberry-Rosemary Curd”
With the apple harvest season slowly coming to an end in our region, you can’t swing the proverbial cat without hitting a raucous apple/wine or apple-wine festival around here once you stick your nose outside of town. Anything edible or drinkable you could possibly turn apples into – including the trees themselves, I might add (Keywords: applewood chips, smoker, piles of meat and veg) – is cozying up next to other seasonal goodies on carry-around plates, carried around by happy people indulging in the festivities (and the cider…).
Continue reading “Veal T-Bone Steaks, Cider Apples & Spicy Parsnip Purée”
As promised, here’s the savory twist on last week’s “quince bread”! I’ve actually been waiting to share this one with you guys for almost a year~! You see, while we were on Madeira last year, we came, more or less by accident, by a Hotel Restaurant we just couldn’t pass on for once. As you guys might know, usually Hotel Restaurants are a last resort for Hubby and me while we’re traipsing across the island, but at that point we’ve actually been driving around that silly hotel in circles, looking for the Wine Harvest Festivities that, according to several sources, were about to go down somewhere in its general vicinity.
Continue reading “Madeira-Onion Jam, Quince Bread & Goat’s Cheese Parcels”
September, golden September~! While the sun is taking a very well deserved break right now, the month is still a golden one for me, my kitchen and our dinner plates. Wine harvest time, grapes and all the goodies that always tag along in their wake, forests brimming over with game, the first pheasants, mushrooms, and, amongst many other delicious seasonal things, enter the first representatives of the only “Golden Globes” I care about – quinces~!
Continue reading “Quince Jelly & Sweet “Quince Bread” Fruit Bites”
Since this year’s berry seasons were completely out of whack thanks to what sunny meteorologists with a rather cruel sense of humor called a “Summer of the century”, farmers, biologists and botanists called a “severe draught” and sane people called “Hell’s Doorstep”, I had to wing a couple of berry-related cookoffs on the spot. On one particularly exhausting Saturday, for example, my favorite fruit & veg vendor at the Farmer’s Market grimly informed me that the batch of blackcurrants in front of me was all he had for this year.
Ah, relief~! Meteorologists say “The worst is over”. 27°C to Low 30°Cs coming up the next couple of days, and evidently we’re done with the almost-40°Cs for this year. “Around 30°C” means it’s finally time for some outdoorsy… actually any sort of activity again. A hike perhaps and a picknick somewhere in the woods, feet hanging into a bubbly stream, birdsong filling the fir-scented air… Oh yes, I can’t wait for the weekend to swing by!
Continue reading “Lamb & Fig Wraps with Ras El Hanout Spiced Hummus and Grilled Zucchinis”
Hubby and I had a “Cherry Galore” dinner two weeks ago to close off this year’s cherry season with a yum- and photo-tastic menu celebrating cherries in each of the four courses. While I was going through my notes on previous cherry season-feasts in preparation for the gig, I immediately zeroed in on this recipe, sporting a few blotches and a between-stirs-scrawl reading: “re-do for blog!!! 1.7.2017”.
Continue reading “Scallops, Black Cherries & Crispy Pastis-Kissed Potatoes”
