Quick Lentil Salad

Before I start writing a post for this blog, I also browse through my old photos as well as the more recent ones. There’s always a throwback in there which for some reason has either escaped my noticing it, or has lost its turn to be replaced in line with a new recipe or an exciting book review. There’s nothing I like best other than to spend my winter afternoons and early evenings in my study, reading or writing and sipping hot chocolate. In summer I just can’t get my mind to concentrate much. Aprile dolce dormire, the Italians say, dolce dormire roughly meaning a sweet sleep. So while C&T HQ keeps on working on the writing, recipes and other miscellaneous photos, I can spend some time sorting through my archives.

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Vegetable Soup, or a variation on Minestra

Spring has truly arrived on this little island. The Sun was out beautifully this morning and it was a lovely day. Temperatures are so mild during the day, but we still need to keep the jackets out for the evenings. It’s the perfect weather. Not too warm, not too cold.

During the past few days I’ve been feeling as if I had a nasty fall packaged with a good blow on the head, leaving me with a headache and some bumps, lumps and scratches. Said fall could have been a result of a serious lack of concentration. My mind could have been somewhere else. It could have happened…

Restorative Chicken and Vegetable Broth

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had a good break over the past few weeks, and that you enjoyed the holidays. It was a very busy time here of course, and my kitchen worked overtime this year. I’m so happy that it did though. I also had the time for some baking for family and friends. There was no better time for switching on the oven and turning on the heat. It wasn’t that cold in December, but let me assure you that January has started off with a kick. We’re feeling it here in Malta this week. It’s going to be a cold weekend. Some are loving it, relishing it even, others are fuming excuse the pun because they’d rather be sweating it out in August.

Veg Box

There’s not a lot I can say here, except that I bought this beautiful veg and fruit box a few weeks back. I was so happy with it that I snapped a few pictures as soon as it was delivered to me, at around 9.30pm on a weekday night. You wouldn’t think so though because J immediately held up the flash and reflector for me when he saw me reach out for my camera. It turned out pretty well.

Roasted Aubergines, Courgettes and Portobello Mushrooms

I wanted to throw something extra before the weekend, since I realised that I missed a post last week. I’m on a roasting kinda-kick. You’re sharp and you’ve already noticed. Please have patience with me. OK, so I could try to guess what you might be thinking: Portobello mushrooms are nice and big so that we can fill them with all sorts of goodness. Now that, my friend, is my wish for a last meal. That and a good ol’ lemon and sage roast chicken. But I can assure you that it lends itself so well here precisely because it’s large and meaty. I’m sure you know mushrooms – they absorb any flavour you give them but Portobellos don’t need much apart from good seasoning. Then you’re pretty much good to go. The same goes for aubergines.