Lemon Posset
It’s almost impossible to believe that lemon posset, a silky soft dessert, shares a name with a medieval cure-all of hot curdled milk and ale. Prescribed as a cold remedy throughout the 14th and 15th centuries, the original posset was more medicine cabinet than dessert bowl. Thank the ingenuity of 19th-century British chefs for rescuing…
Be My Valentine!
Yes, in 11 days people from all over the world will be scrambling to shower loved ones with greeting cards, chocolates, flowers, candy, dinner, presents and some will choose this day to get engaged or be married. Valentine greetings have been popular since the Middle Ages, a time when prospective lovers said or sang their…
Whoopie Pies
This dessert is something I used to make when I was a teenager which brings back some fond memories. I lost the recipe and the one below closely resembles the one I used to make many years ago. Whoopie pies are considered a New England phenomenon and a Pennsylvania Amish tradition. They’re one of Maine’s…
Chocolate Dipped Cherries
My last posting I referred to antioxidants and how the eggplant helps fight off free radicals. Right now, cherries are abundant in Bangkok even though they are flown in from other parts of world. I’m a big fan of fresh cherries and I’m even happier to learn that the cherry is being touted as the…
Red Bell Pepper and Eggplant Dip
I’m always looking for new dips to try and this has two of my favorite vegetables. Bell peppers (capsicum), whether green, red, orange or yellow are rich sources of some of the best nutrients available. They are an excellent source of Vitamin A and C which are very powerful antioxidants. These antioxidants work to neutralize…
Caponata (Aubergine Salad)
Caponata is a Sicilian eggplant (aubergine) relish and has been around since the 1700’s. It’s usually served as a side dish or appetizer. Many Caponata variations contain celery but celery is not common in Southern Italy. What’s more likely is that the celery is a substitute for fennel. Some of Italy’s cooking stems from specialties…
Balsamic Roast Vegetable Salad
The best balsamic vinegar comes from Italy in Modena or Reggio. True balsamic vinegar has a syrupy consistency and a sweet and fruity flavor. It is also characterized by its unusually dark color. Balsamic vinegar is made from unfermented juice from white grapes known as “must” which has high sugar content and is typically found…
Restaurant Snobbery!
Over the past year I have posted a few restaurant reviews and tend to only post the ones that I felt were good. However, this post isn’t the case. I made reservations for four at Vino Di Zanotti (part of Zanotti restaurant which is down the street from Vino Di Zanotti) on Saturday night as…
Stovetop Chicken and Rice
I have been making this dish for years and it’s a simple one to prepare when you don’t have much time or you’ve run out of ideas on what to make for supper. Having made this for many years, the original recipe is no where to be found and likewise, the exact amounts are a…
Fresh Lasagna with Chili Crab
The ingredients in this dish mingle surprisingly well with each other and not one flavor over powers the other……not even the chili! Chili peppers contain a substance called capsaicin, which gives peppers their characteristic pungence, producing mild to intense spice when eaten. Capsaicin is being studied as an effective treatment for sensory nerve fiber disorders,…
Sant’ Eustachio’s – The Best Coffee in Rome!
My husband and I were in Rome during the Christmas holidays and on the first day we enjoyed a cappuccino and panini at Caffè Portofino located up the road from where we were staying. The panini were very fresh but it was the cappuccino that I enjoyed the most! We have had many espresso’s and…
Dr. Weil’s Carrot Cake
Dr. Andrew Weil has been a favorite of mine for the past 10 years. He has written many books, of which I have two, Spontaneous Healing and 8 Weeks to Optimum Health. I’ve always been interested in ways to keep your body healthy by learning all about our body’s natural healing power. Part of the…