red pepper and dried tomatos hummus

hummus is an egyptian dip and it's basically mashed chickpeas, tahini (toasted sesame seeds paste), lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and salt. it's a delicious way to eat chickpeas and it's also healthy!

besides these basic ingredients, I add to my hummus recipe grilled red peppers, dried tomatos, cumin and a handfull of basil leaves.

it's fast and easy to make and it's amazing!

mango, peach and passion fruit juice

one peach, half a mango and some passion fruits, all blend into one cup of happiness!
topped with chia seeds for even healthier juice!

yummy, yummy, yummy !!
and perfect for a hot summer day !

tomato soup with poached egg

dinner today!

only three ingredients in this soup: onions, parsley and, of course, tomatoes.
about one large tomato and half a onion per person. plus a little bit of parsley, olive oil and salt.
let it cook at medium heat for about half an hour and then blend it, D O N E !!!
for a perfect poached egg, my trick is a splash of vinegar in the boiling watter.
add a drizle of olive oil and some parsley to garnish and delight yourself!

easy, right? can't go wrong with this one!

black forest kind of cake

heaven on earth, right? 

chocolate cake with cream filling and icing and wild berries on top.
what more can anyone ask for? D E L I C I O U S 

 

italian for dinner

last night we had friends for dinner.
I made bruschettas and a tiramisu, both of them, not to brag, were really delicious!

Daniela, my mother's friend, made an amazing risotto and a stunnig beringela parmegiana.
(the risotto is below, as for the rest, no pictures were taken)

In masterchef they call risotto, "the death dish" but, for what I saw, it isn't that hard to do.
I picked up some tips and I think that there are 3 crucial points to make the perfect risotto:

1. different temperatures for different stages of cooking: low heat to soften the onions (1st stage) and high heat to cook the rice (2nd stage), adding boiling watter or vegetables stock to the rice.
2. for a strong flavour in herbs (basil, mint,..) add them while the rice cooks and then, at the very end, fresh herbs to garnish. it will give a wonderfull flavour and an amazing perfume.
3. add an huge (and I mean h u g e ) spoon of butter and a handfull of parmesan cheese at the end, for extra flavour and a super creamy risotto.

It doesn't seem that hard, does it?
As for the flavours, anything you have in your pantry and fridge will do, as long as it goes well together, you can choose pretty much anything you want.

This one had peas, zucchini, basil, watercress and tomato. (and of course lots of parmesan cheese)

chocolate & hazelnuts

( what to do with lots of time and great ideas? a blog.
in my case, a food blog. )

I love to cook and photograph, so why not photograph what I cook and write about it?
I guess that would be a great idea, wouldn't it?
And, of course I need to combine these two passions with my third one, english.

so, a blog. a food blog. an english food blog.

the name?
well... I ate a spoon full of nutella on my way here so, chocolate and hazelnuts !