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28Oct

Bone shaped macaroons with blood red buttercream

I think it’s amazing that egg whites and almonds can create such a delightful treat. Macaroons is one of the treats I absolutely love and don’t get to have it very often, because although small treats, their price tag is often not so small. I am going to a grown up Halloween party and thought little patisserie bones with a blood red buttercream would be perfect.  This is an easy recipe, however you must follow all the steps carefully to get the perfect chewy macaroon. Bone shaped macaroons with blood red buttercream 125g icing sugar 125g ground almonds 90g egg whites 2 tbsp water 110g caster sugar 75g softened butter 40g icing sugar Red food colouring Method: 1. Print or draw on a piece of paper bone shapes to fit your baking tray. Mine were around 4cm long. Place the sheet with the bone pattern under a piece of greaseproof paper 2. Put the icing sugar and ground almonds in a food processor and blitz. Sieve the mixture discarding any large lumps 3. Add 40g of egg whites to the almond mixture and mix to a paste 4. Put the water and caster sugar in a small pan and heat
3 mins read
3706 Views
17Oct

Apple and caramelised salted nuts ice cream

The freezer situation in our house has caused a few arguments. We have a small apartment and therefore a small fridge-freezer. I am completely in control of all food related things in our household: the planning, shopping and making. Not because the husband is not interested, but because I take so much enjoyment out of it, and he obviously does not mind. Testing recipes for the blog means a lot of non-photographic worthy creations, but still edible. I hate to throw anything away, my husband knows this and to be honest he is often in a bit of awe about it. But having to create new dishes with leftovers is something that gets my creative juices flowing. This week, sick of seeing so many apples sitting in the fruit bowl, I started to panic that they would go off soon as the two of us would not be able to eat it all. I don’t eat apples, but am drawn to them when they are in a dessert. I first tried appleasauce as a substitute for butter on this banana loaf cake, and feel in love with the power of applesauce. I decided to have add this magic ingredient to ice cream, and
2 mins read
1137 Views
09Oct

Watercolour tea towels

We’ve been in this house for over two years now. It’s seen us through a wedding, different colour walls and a lot of sleepovers on our sofa.  We’ve put a lot of effort into making it the perfect little nook, however everyday I stare at the drawers in our kitchen and feel sad to look at the state of our current tea towels. Beyond stained and tatty, I long for the lovely tea towels at TkMaxx but had to restrain myself, because I had already bought the materials to make my own. I love the idea of printing my own fabrics but have put this project off for so long as I was scared of how it would turn out, it did take one trial that in the bin to get it right, and I absolutely love them. Now that I got the hang of this technique here’s what you’ll need for your watercolour tea towels. Materials: Masking tape White tea towels, washed and ironed Green, Red, Orange, Yellow and white fabric paint Medium sized brush Disposable cups Absorbent kitchen towels Cardboard How to: 1. Cover your table with carboard, then line that with the kitchen towels and secure them
3 mins read
1407 Views
27Sep

Chocolate yoghurt cake

It has been more than a month since my last post. It was not planned – I said I was going to do a whole month of Brazilian food to celebrate the Olympics – but it did not turned out that way.  After a break in Cornwall and then a string of family members coming over to stay, it felt like I left life up in the air, and when I arrived back home it all came crashing down. You know, piles of unopened letters, cleaning to do, I couldn’t even start to think about recipes for the blog. In fact this has been the first week in a whole month that I have opened my computer. Then I don’t know why but amidst the chaos I decided to make one of my least favourite baking recipes: cake. I am cake’s biggest fan, just have a look at my Pinterest page and you will see beautiful cakes, frosted like a sculpture, with the perfect rise and colour. I dream of emulating that, however this is rare as I am by nature a chaotic cook. But baking cakes is almost like a science, you need to do things by the book.
3 mins read
931 Views
28Jul

Cajuzinho (almond fudge)

My grandma left Italy in her early twenties to move to Brazil with her fiancé, my grandad. My grandad never stepped foot in Italy again, my grandma only went back a few times.  Although my grandma’s accent still has strong italian vowels, she has immersed herself  into the culture of her adopted country. She loves having papaya for breakfast, tends to her own jabuticaba trees and watches telenovelas. Her cooking has retained strong Italian roots, but most of her original recipes now often take typical Brazilian ingredients. I am now going through that same process, like her I moved to England still young, and I rejected the culture when I first arrived, but after a while I hated being and outsider. I made a big effort to refine the British accent, watch local shows, read the news, ask questions (beans for breakfast?!?!?). I now get the dry sense of humour and how to add just the right amount of milk to breakfast tea. A lot of natives now tell me they wouldn’t even be able to tell I wasn’t English, if it wasn’t for my looks. You would think that after 16 years of effort I would consider this a compliment, but it actually makes
3 mins read
1226 Views
05Jul

Classic vinaigrette

Let’s not talk about Brexit today. Let’s talk about how to make classic vinaigrette.  I have always been confused when I have searched for vinaigrette recipes I get a liquid version of it, like a salad dressing. That’s not the version I grew up to love. I decided to recreate my family’s version of vinaigrette after I got a whiff of cheiro-verde.  Cheiro-verde is what we call the mix of parsley and coriander leaves in Brazil. You’ll often find the market sells this mixture together. The smell is a throwback one for me, if you add cumin and the noise of a pressure cooker, I am right in my grandma’s kitchen. So this is the recipe with the classic vinaigrette I have always known, with cheiro-verde. In my opinion it’s better than a salad dressing, you can add it to anything: rice, couscous, quinoa, salads and even as a side to grilled sausages. Classic vinaigrette (serves 4-6) 100g cherry tomatoes  1 small red onion  Bunch of flat parsley  Bunch of coriander  Juice of 2 limes 30ml olive oil Salt to taste 1. Finely chop the onion, tomatoes and herbs and place it all in a bowl 2. In a separate bowl
2 mins read
849 Views