Buckwheat

Rhubarb Tartlets with Sake Poached Rhubarb, Miso Pastry Cream and Buckwheat Meringue

I did not have any particular reason to make these tartlets other than the fact that this past weekend was a bank holiday weekend and after a few busy weeks at work and weekends away I suddenly found myself not only with 1kg of rhubarb that needed taking care of but also with ample time on my hands. Time clearly best spent making pate sucree, poaching rhubarb, stirring pastry cream and whipping meringue (the laundry always takes care of itself, doesn’t it?). Also, there is hardly anything better than starting your Sunday with a large cup of coffee and a pastry. I don’t follow many rules when it comes to the recipes I share here. But one of my rules is that the recipes should have at least a hint of some inherent logic. So rhubarb is paired with buckwheat, as, botanically speaking, the two form part of the same family (together with sorrel and knotweed). In turn, buckwheat is

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Miso Teacakes with Buckwheat and Kinako Graham Crackers

  Food envy is real and it starts early. For me, it started in primary school. Looking back, I am not sure what I thought I was missing but whenever I caught a glance of the contents of my classmate Victoria’s lunchbox, I was green with envy. Instead of sandwiches made with thick slices of wholemeal sourdough bread, her sandwiches were made with white bread rolls, a once in a while weekend treat at our house. In place of the small Cox apples my mum picked up at the weekly apple stand just around the corner from our paediatrician’s office, Victoria’s lunchbox had candy bars. For Victoria, lunch was washed down with Capri sun orange juice instead of my homemade ice tea (half fruit tea, half apple juice).  At my primary school swapping lunch boxes wasn’t really a thing, but I certainly came very close to considering it when Victoria brought in a sandwich that took my food envy to

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Garam Masala & Coconut Stove-Top Granola

In case you have already made your way through your stack of new-reads acquired over the holidays, I would encourage you to track down a copy of Slow Food Nation, a wonderful read that does not seem to be getting the attention I think it deserves. I picked this book up on a whim when I was present-hunting just before Christmas and it is an incredibly well-written book by Slow Food’s founder Carlo Petrini. For those of you not familiar with Slow Food, the organisation’s mission is to “defend biodiversity in our food supply, spread taste education and connect producers of excellent foods with co-producers through events and initiatives.” Today the organisation counts over 100,000 members across the globe who, among other things, are active in seeking the protection of traditional foods, set up tasting seminars and work with those in the food industry to encourage them to source locally grown food. Rather refreshingly, there is no preaching involved in

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Cacao Nib and Buckwheat Crunch Cookies

  Since moving to Rome in November, Italy has not stoppped to surprise me – while healthfood stores are hard to track down and most Italians think nothing of eating sugar-laden pastries for breakfast, a pile of pasta for lunch and a pizza for dinner (which might also explain the mountain of prunes on offer in most supermarkets!), it is surprisingly easy to find a huge variety of different types of flours and sweeteners. My small local supermarket stocks spelt, buckwheat and kamut flour (in addition to a whole plethora of different types of wheat flours for baking and pasta-making), I know a couple of places where I can buy chia seeds and I can get my hands on maple syrup, agave syrup and molasses with a simple detour during my lunch break. While my impression is that there cannot be a big market for these ingredients in Italy given that I have yet to eat a homemade birthday cake

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