Hams with tails @ Falorni

Meats on display @ Falorni

One of the best reasons to go to Italy is for the food and Tuscany – especially Chianti – is no exception!  While we were there (and even now, because we brought some stuff back), we enjoyed a range of traditional foods and great produce.  From the simple items that we found at the Coop in Radda to the wonderful meats that we purchased in Greve-in-Chianti at Antica Macelleria Falorni, we never had bad food on our trip!  While we had several very good experiences at local restaurants, my favorite meals consisted of the wonderful prosciutto and salami produced throughout the area. Read more »

To use more of the raspberries that we picked at Medley Manor, I made Raspberry Muffins for breakfast yesterday morning.  I found this recipe online and more or less followed it.  They turned out pretty good, but they are not sweet muffins.  If you like your muffins sweet, then add extra sugar … at least double the amount in the recipe.  Also, you will likely need to add more milk (up to another half cup) because otherwise the batter will be too dry. Read more »

As part of our Sunday dinner with Cliff and Steph, Jill made a Baked Camembert.  It is a very simple dish that tastes great!  You can find dozens of recipes for it online, but here is roughly what Jill did on Sunday.

• 1 Camembert, in box
• Salt
• Pepper
• Small handful of herbs (we used thyme and sage from the patio)
• 1 clove of garlic
• Olive Oil
• Bread, to serve

Preheat the oven to 220° C/gas 7.  Wet the box slightly.  Score top of cheese.  Chop herbs and garlic.  Push them into cheese.  Season. Oil lightly.  Bake for 10-15 minutes or until slightly brown on top and melted inside.  Serve straight out of the oven with the bread.

Enjoy!

On Valentine’s Day, after visiting the Hotel Chocolat in Kensington and having a hot chocolate (okay, Jill had a coffee & chocolate drink), we were looking for some place to have lunch.  So, I had seen this place on one of my previous trips to the Science Museum, and we decided to stop at Le Pain Quotidien in South Kensington (tel – 020 7486 6154).

At heart, it is a bakery.  Their bread is a highlight of the meal … a basket is £5.20.  It comes with a range of spreads (both fruit and chocolate) and organic butter!  The basket and a bowl of porridge (£3.20) makes a great meal!  It was an ideal location for a Valentine’s brunch … and I would recommend it for anyone in the area looking for a place to dine.  If I am looking for a place to have a meal the next time that I am back at the Science Museum, I will stop in here.

They are located at 15-17 Exhibition Road in SW7 2HE (corner of Thurloe Place).  It is just a short walk from the South Kensington Tube stop and only a block or two from the V&A.

(We also got the great pink, heart-shaped meringues that we had on the train back from London on Valentine’s here.)

Originally posted 2005-09-10 22:59:51

Okay, today I have been experimenting in the kitchen … in Alton Brown’s I’m Just Here for More Food is a recipe for Whole Wheat Beer Bread. But, I did not have whole wheat flour or bread flour (and was too lazy to go buy some). So, I searched online till I found a beer bread recipe that I liked … and that I could combine with Alton’s recipe.

Then, the experimenting started … (Note: this is a great way to relieve stress and procrastinate) Read more »