Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Black and White Wednesday #128

Susan from The Well-Seasoned Cook is hosting Black and White Wednesday and this week I think I have eggs-actly the right shot.

four eggs© by Haalo
Four Eggs
We have, from the top, a goose egg, a quail egg and two chicken eggs - the one with a dark shell is from the Padovana (Paduan) chicken and the other with a white shell is from the Livornese (Leghorn) chicken.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Weekend Herb Blogging #431 Hosting



This week we welcome Terry from Crumpets & Co will be hosting both the Italian and English versions of Weekend Herb Blogging.

If you're new to Weekend Herb Blogging or haven't joined in for a while, here's a quick recap of the rules.

You have the week to post about any herb, fruit, vegetable, seed, nut, flower - in fact if it is plant based then we'll love to hear more. Your post can be informative, spotlight a particular ingredient and/or include a recipe where your chosen ingredient is one of the primary ingredients in the recipe.

Entries must be submitted by:
  • 3pm Sunday - Utah Time
  • 10pm Sunday - London Time
  • 11pm Sunday - Rome Time
  • 8am Monday - Melbourne (Aus) Time

Send your posts to abbbella74 AT gmail.com
with WHB#431 in the subject line and the following details:
  • Your name
  • Your Blog/URL
  • Your Post URL
  • Attach a Photo: 400px wide

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Friggitelli in Padella

Simona from Briciole is hosting both the English and Italian editions of Weekend Herb Blogging and this week I'm featuring these Italian green peppers - Friggitelli.

friggitelli© by Haalo

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Black and White Wednesday #126

Lynne from Cafe Lynnylu is hosting the Easter edition of Black and White Wednesday and in my family, Easter means making and then enjoying a few bowls of these lovely cappelletti.

cappelletti© by Haalo

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Weekend Herb Blogging #430 Hosting


This week Simona from Briciole is hosting both the English and Italian editions of Weekend Herb Blogging.

If you're new to Weekend Herb Blogging or haven't joined in for a while, here's a quick recap of the rules.

You have the week to post about any herb, fruit, vegetable, seed, nut, flower - in fact if it is plant based then we'll love to hear more. Your post can be informative, spotlight a particular ingredient and/or include a recipe where your chosen ingredient is one of the primary ingredients in the recipe.

Entries should be submitted by:
  • 3pm Sunday - Utah Time
  • 10pm Sunday - London Time
  • 11pm Sunday - Rome Time
  • 8am Monday - Melbourne (Aus) Time

Send your posts to simosite AT mac DOT com
with WHB#430 in the subject line and the following details:
  • Your name
  • Your Blog/URL
  • Your Post URL
  • Attach a Photo: 400px wide



Saturday, April 19, 2014

Ricciarelli

Marta from Mangiare รจ un po'come viaggiare is hosting both the English and Italian versions of Weekend Herb Blogging and for an Easter treat I've made Ricciarelli - an almond based biscuit from Sienna.

Traditionally you would make this with a base of ground almonds but I've used Liz Franklin's method which uses marzipan. These are super simple and quick to make and I guarantee, you'll be hard pressed stopping at one!

Ricciarelli© by Haalo


Ricciarelli
[Makes 26+]

250 grams marzipan, chopped roughly
100 grams caster sugar
grated rind of 1 orange
1 teaspoon orange juice (or orange liqueur)
1 egg white
150 grams almond meal


Place the marzipan into a food processor and process until it forms a paste. Tumble in the caster sugar, orange rind and juice and continue to process until amalgamated.

Add the egg and pulse to incorporate before finally adding the almond meal - process just until the mixture comes together.

Scoop the dough out into a bowl - it's going to be quite firm but a little sticky.

I used a small ice-cream scoop to portion the dough into roughly 20gram balls. Dust your hands with icing sugar and then roll these balls to form little finger sized logs. Place these logs on baking paper lined trays and then flatten slightly - leave room around each as they will spread a little when cooking.

Let these rest on the trays for about 30 minutes before baking.

Bake in a preheated 170°C/340°F oven for about 10 minutes or until golden. Let them stand on the trays for 5 minutes before generously dusting with icing sugar. Move them onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

Ricciarelli© by Haalo

Monday, April 14, 2014

Weekend Herb Blogging #429 Hosting


Marta from Mangiare รจ un po'come viaggiare will be hosting both the English and Italian versions of Weekend Herb Blogging.

If you haven't taken part or it's been a while since you last joined in, here's a quick summary of the rules.

You have the week to post about any herb, fruit, vegetable, nut, seed, flower or plant. Your post can be informative - spotlight a particular ingredient and/or include a recipe where your chosen ingredient is one of the primary ingredients in the recipe.

You can post any time during the week but remember to send your email by the following cut-off times:
  • 3pm Sunday - Utah Time
  • 10pm Sunday - London Time
  • 11pm Sunday - Rome Time
  • 8am Monday - Melbourne (Aus) Time
Send your entries to martarin AT alice.it
with WHB#429 in the subject line and the following:
  • Your Name
  • Your Blog Name/URL
  • Your Post URL
  • A photo: 400px wide



Sunday, April 13, 2014

Hazelnut Coffee Cake

Lucia from Torta di Rose is hosting both the English and Italian editions of Weekend Herb Blogging and with Easter just a week away I thought I'd bake one of my favourite cakes that uses one of my favourite ingredients - Hazelnuts.


Hazelnut Coffee Cake© by Haalo

Hazelnut Coffee Cake

250 grams plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 eggs, separated
200 grams raw caster sugar
220 grams melted butter, cooled
¾ cup brewed coffee, cooled
80 grams ground hazelnuts
Topping:
Pure icing sugar
Dutch Cocoa
ground hazelnuts
brewed coffee

Sift the flour and baking powder together and set to one side.

Place the egg whites into a bowl and beat until stiff peaks form - set to one side.

Place the yolks and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until light and fluffy. With the motor on a low speed, slowly pour in the cooled melted butter - beat until it has all been absorbed.

Now with the motor still running, pour in the coffee, followed by the sifted flour before finally adding the ground hazelnuts. Stop as soon as the mixture has come together.

Take a large metal spoon and scoop in a third of the beaten egg whites - fold this through to slacken the mixture before adding the remaining egg whites. Carefully fold together until just combined.

Pour the batter into a lined 22cm springform tin - smooth out the surface and bake in a pre-heated 170°C until golden and cooked through - this should take between 40 and 50 minutes.

Let it cool slightly in the tin before unmoulding. When cool, smother the cake with the topping.

Make the topping:

I have made this to taste by blending pure icing sugar, dutch cocoa and hazelnut meal with a little coffee to make a spreadable mixture.

Hazelnut Coffee Cake© by Haalo

You could also use this mixture to make individual cakes - they only need about 15 to 20 in the oven to cook.

Tuesday, April 08, 2014

Black and White Wednesday #124 - Gallery


Many thanks for joining in this week and sharing your wonderful photographs - next week our host is Sanhita from Pocket Full of Spices.


Wine Glasses in Good Company by Simona from Briciole


Piloncillo by Lynne from Cafe Lynnylu


Last Citrus by Cinzia from Cindystar


A Brooding Onion by Priya from The Humpty Dumpty Kitchen


Rice and Quinoa by Serendipity of Spicy, Quirky and Serendipitous


A Classic Pairing by Rosa from Rosa's Yummy Yums


Quail Eggs by Me

Sunday, April 06, 2014

Weekend Herb Blogging #428 Hosting


Lucia from Torta di Rose is hosting both the English and Italian editions of Weekend Herb Blogging.

Now if you're new to Weekend Herb Blogging or haven't joined in for a while, here's a quick recap of the rules.

You have the week to post about any herb, fruit, vegetable, seed, nut, flower - in fact if it is plant based then we'll love to hear more. Your post can be informative, spotlight a particular ingredient and/or include a recipe where your chosen ingredient is one of the primary ingredients in the recipe. I'm sure you'll easily find a post that will be perfect for WHB.

Entries should be submitted by:
  • 3pm Sunday - Utah Time
  • 10pm Sunday - London Time
  • 11pm Sunday - Rome Time
  • 8am Monday - Melbourne (Aus) Time
Send your posts to tortadirose.blog AT gmail.com
with WHB#428 in the subject line and the following details
  • Your name
  • Your Blog/URL
  • Your Post URL
  • Attach a Photo: 400px wide

Saturday, April 05, 2014

Strawberry Chocolate and Banana Bread

Lynne from Cafe Lynnylu is hosting the English edition of Weekend Herb Blogging and this week I'm featuring strawberries.

strawberry© by Haalo

With daylight savings finally coming to an end I think it may to safe to say that summer is over and it's time for autumn to begin. The markets may be full of well-priced strawberries but they are lacking in flavour so I've decided to add them to banana bread, along with a bit of dark chocolate as an extra treat.

Strawberry Chocolate and Banana Cake© by Haalo

Strawberry, Chocolate and Banana Cake

250 grams mashed banana
120 grams soft brown sugar
75 grams yoghurt
2 eggs
25 grams melted butter, cooled
200 grams plain flour sifted with 2 teaspoons baking powder
250 grams strawberries, halved
50 grams dark chocolate bits

Place the mashed banana and sugar into a large bowl and whisk until the sugar has dissolved. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, yoghurt and butter, then pour into the banana mixture. Whisk to combine before adding the sifted flour. Use a spatula to stir in the flour and once it has been absorbed, fold through the strawberries and chocolate bits.

Pour the mixture into a greased and lined loaf pan and bake in a preheated 170°C oven until golden and cooked through - about 45 minutes.

Let it sit for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. As strawberries release a lot of water when cooked it's important that you remove the baking paper and rest it straight on the wire rack - the presence of paper inhibits the heat escape and can cause the cooked loaf to become softer as the strawberries stew in the trapped heat.

Wednesday, April 02, 2014

Black and White Wednesday #124 Hosting

This week, I have the pleasure of hosting Black and White Wednesday, now managed by the lovely Cinzia.

quail eggs© by Haalo

If you would like to take part, it really couldn't be easier. Your photo needs to be of a culinary nature or show anything related to food - any effect can be used as long as the image is black & white, sepia or cyanotype.

Please send your photos (500px wide, height open) to
haalo AT cookalmostanything.com and include
Your name - Blog Name - Photo Post URL and Photo title

I'll be accepting entries through to midday on Wednesday 9th April.

Happy Clicking!
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