Romanesco Cauliflower/Broccoli soup with almonds and cheese

Yesterday at the market I couldn't resist buying Romanesco cauliflower. I remember that the first time I bought years ago I did so because it looked so beautiful. I discovered since then that also tastes really good and is a super healthy vegetable!

One of my favourite recipe with this cauliflower is a simple soup that I think is perfect for the first days of autumn when the weather starts to get colder and you just want to eat something comforting.

You'll need:

vegetable stock (better if home made)

a large Romanesco cauliflower/broccoli cut into pieces

1 large diced potato

a few pealed almonds

some soft cheese, I love something like Swiss cheese in this.

olive oil

salt and pepper

It's pretty simple: 

Put a bit of olive oil in a heavy bottom pot and trow in all the cauliflower and potato. Stir and let cook for a few minutes on a medium heat. Cover the vegetables with the stock and put a lid on it.

It should simmer for about 25 minutes or until the veggies are cooked.

Meanwhile chop the almonds and the cheese in small bits.

When the veggies are done put them in a food processor. You want a creamy texture. Put it back in the pot and add the cheese and almonds, put the lid on so and let the cheese melt. Add salt and pepper and it's done!

It's very nice served with hot bread and some extra almonds.

Let me know how it goes :)

Quick and healthy Italian pasta recipe

During the past weekend we spent most of our time at food markets. I did quite a bit of cooking and we read and relax a lot.

On Saturday for lunch I made one of my favourite pasta dishes for summer using aubergines (eggplants for my American friends) and fresh tomatoes. It's perfect in summer because both main ingredients are really tasty in this period and I love to eat "in season" food.

To make it for 2 people simply chop 1 red onion, one aubergine,  3/4 tomatoes and put them in a non sticking pan with a bit of extra-vergin olive oil for 20 minutes. If it looks it dries a bit to much add a bit of water. Cook the pasta in plenty do salted boiling water and when ready but still al dente add it to the sauce pan. Mix it together, add a bit of grated Parmesan cheese (or chopped mozzarella), a few olives and plenty of fresh basil. Ready!

A little secret: never cook Mediterreanean basil, add it always at the last moment and don't chop it with a knife. Simple tore it with your fingers. This prevents it from turning black and loosing some of the taste.

plum and spearmint jam

Hello!
This is my first post about food, I'm very excited and a bit afraid.
I love food and I love cooking, especially reinvented and modern Italian recipes.
Here you'll find some quick recipes for a light meal or snack and some more elaborate ones to prepare for friends and families.
I cook following the seasons and try to use local products as much as I can.

The other day I noticed we were out of jam and I had lots of plums, so I decide to make some jam!

It's the easiest thing ever. Chop some plums (they need to be nice and riped) and put them in a pan with some brown sugar and let it cook at a very low temperature for one hour.
During that time check consistency, the fruit should start to break and you my want to add a little bit of water.
At the very last moment add a bit of finely chopped mint (I grow lots of different kinds and my favourite for this jam is spearmint).

There you have your super natural plum jam!
If you want you can add some chopped almonds, they're lovely with the acidity of the plums.

a post about broccoli

Hello!
Lately I've been very busy settling down in the new studio and packing Christmas orders, so I had a little time to prepare dinners. As some of you know I love cooking, I find it relaxing and I love having people over for dinner enjoying a home cooked meal. This morning I was looking around on Pinterest for some recipes and I fell in love with a few, so I decided to shared two with you.
These are based on my favourite veg: broccoli.

Broccoli by Ryo Takemasa

The first recipe is Broccoli Parmesan Fritters: quick and easy and a perfect way to get your kids eating vegetables! You can serve these as finger food at party, too. The recipe is by Smittenkitchen, an amazing food blog!

Broccoli Parmesan Fritters by Smittenkitchen

The second recipe has a strong Asian influence and it looks beautiful, perfect to get the wow factor at special dinners! This is by Mynewroots, check the link for more recipes and amazing photos.

Enoki, broccoli and kimchi by Mynewroots

Links to recipes in the captions

weekly round up and vegetarian recipe

I want to start to write little round ups showing some of the stuff I did or happened weekly.
This week was all about sketching new patterns, buying lots of fabric samples to make new accessories and do little happy things like playing with Lisa and have a glass of sangria on my birthday!

wearing my fav shoes on my birthday

sketching with a new fish friend on the desk

Lisa playing under my armchair

Just got these amazing zucchini/courgette flowers from the local food market close to my studio.
My favourite way to eat them is stuffing them with some goat cheese and then fry them in a batter with olive oil. I make the batter using very cold light beer and some white flour.
Little trick: add salt only when they're ready so they don't go soft.
You can also add a light pesto made with mint and pine-nuts, mint goes super well with zucchini.

Can't wait to cook these guys tonight!

tasty flowers!