May 26, 2018

Shaved spring vegetables salad with creme fraiche and dill

My last trip to the market yielded two bunches of beautiful turnips, one very young and white, the other just turned red exteriopr and creamy white interior. They were so fresh that I didn’t want to cook them so I made this little fresh salad, adding a couple fo other veggies for colour. Turnips at this stage are very much like radishes, they have a peppery bite and the same crisp texture. I slice the... View Article

May 24, 2018

Peru – Plaza de Armas (Plaza Mayor), Lima

    Continued from here. After lingering over lunch we left the restaurant and our trusted taxi driver was waiting outside. We asked him to drop us off at the Plaza de Armas (aka Plaza Mayor) in the old city, about half an hour drive from Milaflores through not particularly scenery highway. The Capital, Lima, is a sprawling city with population of 9 million, one of the largest cities of South America. Like other cities... View Article

May 22, 2018

Peru – Milaflores

Peru is situated on  the west coast of South America between Chile and Ecuador. Its has a diverse landscape that includes rugged mountains, beaches, desert, sand dunes and lush river valleys. It is best know for Machu Pichu, a reminder of its Inca heritage and the Nazca lines of mysterious origin depicting large illustrations of birds and plants spread over 300 miles in the desert in south Peru. The Peruvian culture reflects its ancient Andean... View Article

May 20, 2018

Israeli couscous with cauliflower “rice”

  Israeli couscous is not really a couscous. Real couscous is made with crushed grains of durum wheat and what is known as Israeli couscous are tiny little toasted pasta balls developed in Israel in the 1950s to replace rice which was then unavailable. Israeli couscous is easy to cook and good on its own or combined with other vegetables in salads or warm dishes. I like to brown the couscous in a little olive... View Article

May 18, 2018

Fennel salad with parmesan croutons

  A good lunch salad is an art and takes a little imagination but it doesn’t have to be complicated. I was leafing through a Donna Hay cookbook last night when saw a fennel and chicken salad and decided to translate it to a vegetarian version and change the dressing. I liked the croutons idea so went with that. The fennel has to be sliced thinly, like they do in Italy, and then marinated for... View Article

May 17, 2018

Chile: Food and Chileno Gourmand Poet Pablo Neruda

    A long and slender sliver of land, Chile stretches along the west coast of South America, clinging to the continent between the Pacific Ocean to the west and the rugged Andes to the east. To the north, at 3500 meters elevation, lies El Norte Grande: the stark and desolate Atacama dessert, known as the driest dessert in the world. Vast salt flat, geysers and star gazing are some of the extraordinary features of... View Article

May 15, 2018

Warm beans and garden Kale salad

Beans require soaking before cooking so when I prepare them I usually soak and cook more than required for a particular dish and keep the rest for another recipe. The other day I made a lovely bean soup and only used half of the beans, keeping the rest in the fridge for a couple of days and today used them to make this warm bean salad. Beans are nice on their own with a splash... View Article

May 13, 2018

The Argentinian Gaucho

I have always had a thing for cowboys, you know, the rugged, romantic image is appealing. My interest is theoretical though, so no cowboys need apply….. So, it goes without saying that when we were travelling around South America I wanted to see these guys at work, umm, I mean, I wanted to see their horses.     Cowboys are referred to as Gauchos in Argentina and Uruguay, Vaqueiro in Brazil, Huasus in Chile, Morochuco in... View Article

May 12, 2018

Bread Pudding

If it has bread in it I love it. Here is an easy and very rich bread pudding recipe that you can also make into a French toast. I made it with challah bread I bought at the market and didn’t get to use   until a few days later, so I thought it would make a good a bread pudding, and it did. Challah bread is a little like a brioche, rich, eggy and sweet.... View Article

May 11, 2018

Amalia Glacier, Chile

After leaving Punta Arenas the ship headed south and then west in the straits of Magellan towards the Pacific Ocean. Once there we turned north and continued until we reached the the Nelson Straits which we entered and begun going east. Still under the guidance of a Chilean Fjord Pilot the ship navigated inland through the various channels towards the Amalia Glacier. The glacier came into sight in the Sarmiento Channel and the Captain positioned... View Article

May 10, 2018

Forbidden black Rice, Baby Basmati, Black Chickpeas, Fava beans and Cauliflower

I was looking around the pantry for things that I haven’t used and found a jar with baby basmati rice and another with shiny black rice called Forbidden rice. Forbidden rice is a small grain black rice that in the past was reserved for Emperors of the Chinese dynasties. It was forbidden to be consumed by the common people, hence the name. The Emperors  believed that it had special health benefits and now we know... View Article

May 9, 2018

Punta Arenas, Chile – the magic of Patagonia

After cruising the Beagle channel with its majestic glacier avenue (aka glacier alley) we continued to cruise along the various fjords of southern Chile under the guidance of a Chilean Fjord pilot who boarded the ship to navigate us through the narrow channels. Early morning we were abeam the large Isla Dawson and headed north along the Straits of Magellan to Punta Arenas. We dropped anchor across from the port and the tenders were lowered... View Article