June 11, 2015
It’s raining here today as I am writing this, as it did yesterday and as it will tomorrow according to forecast (remember, this is a pre-scheduled post). A perfect day for staying home and cooking. I have always loved rain, the sound of it dripping, the fresh fragrances it coaxes out of the earth and plants, the silvery colour palette of sky and clouds and how everything is more vibrant against the silvery tones. The... View Article
June 9, 2015
By the time you read this post I will be well on my way to Central California driving along the Oregon coast and Route 101and hopefully will write from the road. I scheduled a few recipes to intersperse between the travel posts (that I hope to write) because after all this is primarily a blog about cooking. The experiential travel is fun for me to write and hopefully fun for you to read. So while... View Article
May 31, 2015
Remember these? A few days ago I saw a video online of someone preparing these beautiful pastries and posted a link to the video on my facebook page. You may have not seen it. Thanks to the annoying FB restrictive distribution policies the post reached a grand total of 14 people but I had no intention of paying them to boost the post. I found the link to the video on Divina Cucina facebook page but... View Article
May 18, 2015
I saw these pears at the store the other day. You think of pears as a fall fruit but this honey belle pear variety is only available here for a short time in the spring, from March to May. It’s a New Zealand pear, small and colourful with a pink blush over a lovely green background. It has a sweet flavour and crisp texture and I enjoyed eating it fresh, sliced into salads and poached... View Article
May 10, 2015
This is a cross between a cheese cake and a butter cake, combining the best of both. It’s a very moist and light cake dotted with fresh berries and scented with lemon zest. I saw the recipe in Bon Appetite and marked it to make when the need arise, and it has. I like the look and aroma of a freshly baked cake on the kitchen counter inviting you to slice a piece and enjoy... View Article
May 2, 2015
I am not a huge fan pf smoothies but every now and then I feel like making one, and not just for breakfast. It’s a good thing to make when you are cleaning the fridge and have a little bit of this or that left from your last shopping trip (which in my case was probably yesterday). I am not referring to wilted things, those you can throw out. I am talking about good quality... View Article
April 30, 2015
Foodies tend to divide into two groups: those who love to bake and those who love to cook. I often wonder what category I fit in because I kinda like doing both. I do more cooking than baking though. I love to bake and make desserts but, you know, it’s more a special occasion thing. We don’t have desserts every day. Today I was in the mood to bake something with apples. Tarte Tatin is... View Article
April 26, 2015
I made a bunch of meringues the other day and worked them into two desserts. One was mini pavlovas with lemon whipped cream and berries, and the other was this Eton Mess. Traditionally Eton mess is made with whipped cream into which you fold broken pieces of meringue and top with macerated strawberries. I adapted the ingredients to what I had in the fridge and today it was raspberries and blackberries. I also made rhubarb... View Article
February 22, 2015
I am on a bit of a roll here in the kitchen. I should spend as much time exercising. I had pizza dough that I purchased from a local Italian market in the freezer and took it out last night to thaw overnight in the fridge. This afternoon I rolled it out and made a simple pizza with tomatoes and basil and this little pear and gorgonzola flatbread just for fun, no special occasion. Pear... View Article
February 19, 2015
After enjoying Seville orange marmalade right in Seville, Spain, I came home craving the chunky bittersweet marmalade for my morning toast or croissant. I brought some of the marmalade back with me but it’s now long gone. I planned to get some thick skinned oranges and make a batch of simple marmalade that I can put in jars and keep in the fridge (serious canning is not for me). However, when I went out to... View Article
February 1, 2015
You may have noticed by now that breakfast for me is a ritual. I like to linger over a beautifully prepared and presented breakfast either at home or out and, if possible, by the beach. My internal GPS leads me to all the beautiful places that serve breakfast wherever we are in the world. One of my favourite on the Mayan Riviera, although not on the beach, is breakfast at the Casa de Lago at... View Article
January 14, 2015
Tulum lures eco-conscious travellers for whom the massive all inclusive resorts lining the Mayan coast are not an option. It lures them with the promise of secluded beaches, great food and commitment to sustainability. But do they deliver? Are the beaches still secluded? Are they truly committed to sustainability? Tulum is off the utilities grid and hotels power up with diesel operated generators, wind power and solar panels, each with a different environmental impact.... View Article
