Rosemary Olive Oil Cake

One of my favourite food bloggers and creative people around is Heidi Swanson, the brains behind 101 Cookbooks and founder of Quitokeeto. I have been following Heidi for a long time and I just love the minimalist look of both the blog and her photos. They are both examples of the saying that simple is best, which I totally am a fan of. As it happens, she together with a handful of other excellent bloggers, gave me that much needed nudge to start my own blog. I don’t know them but I still consider them to be my mentors. They truly show us how it’s done.

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Roast Courgettes and Tomatoes

I am feeling better today, enough to be able to sit for a while at my desk editing a bunch of photos accumulated on my camera during March. There were quite a few and thought I would post one of my favourites. I have been absent from C&T and have missed blogging a lot. I find myself constantly thinking about how I can improve my writing and perhaps upping the frequency of posting new content. My cooking style is simple, the simpler the better, for various reasons. I don’t like to send people browsing for strange ingredients which are hard to source. The litmus test for this is myself. If I can’t find something at my local supermarket/grocery shop I discard the recipe. Running all over the place for a handful of ingredients is not my thing. So I try to find ways to make easy-to-find ingredients as interesting as possible.

Minty Chicken

This is definitely a Throwback Thursday recipe. I promise I didn’t plan it on purpose. What’s true is that I’ve been thinking about writing about it for ages. I never did until now because the photo isn’t good at all. It almost went in my not-to-publish file, but I’ve changed my mind. This recipe turned out well so why not?

It goes back to the first month or so in my kitchen here in Malta, when I was barely doing any serious cooking. We moved back in the middle of the summer months, when being in the kitchen, I think, is totally unbearable. The heat is just too much for me, so I either cook late in the evening or very early in the morning, although those two options don’t always work for me either. We end up eating loads of salads and the likes instead, and there’s no need to say that baking stops almost to a complete halt.

Carrot and Pineapple Cake

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday. It’s all about family and friends, and everything that should be celebrated about life. My year has been full; to be honest I really don’t know how quickly it passed by. Someone once told me that the older we get, the more we feel that. I think it’s true. For me it’s so important to stop once in a while and appreciate all the good things that come my way. My year has been like a yo-yo, like everyone else’s I guess, but still I feel thankful for the dearest people in my life. Especially those friends with whom I reconnected. You know who you are. Also a special shout-out to Sadie from Sadie’s Nest, Julie from Hostess at Heart, Anna from Life Bellissima and Sarah from Sarah’s Attic of Treasures. Four lovely ladies right there!

Penne with Pancetta, Mushrooms and Bechamel (#PastaFriday)

I think the day has finally come. The day when I can dare to say that the air is crisp and fresh and autumn is here. Can this be true? I don’t know about you but to me this kind of weather makes me want to eat mushrooms. And pancetta. And pasta. Thank goodness these three stars go so well together. All they need is some kind of sauce. Now I’ve got a little confession to make. When I’m in a hurry I make a simple tomato one with a few other ingredients thrown here and there, but I’m not a huge fan. I will eat it because I like it. That’s all. What I really really like is a good cream sauce. Alas, that’s not the healthiest thing on Earth (what a huge disappointment) so instead, that is when I have the time I make bechamel.