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Nonna’s Swiss Chard and Beans
A HEARTY CLASSIC, from NONNA’S KITCHEN… The epitome of peasant food, which we all know is the best food & the Mediterranean diet. This dish is a nod to my Nonna’s kitchen.
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Perfectly Pink Pasta
The colour of this pasta sauce is unbelievable! Vibrant! Almost un-natural, but it is all-natural and despite it being almost too pretty to eat, it’s too delicious not to. With a few simple ingredients, you can make this show-stopper of a dish. I made it for Valentine’s Day of course! Could anything be more perfect?…
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Harissa Roasted Cauliflower with Tahini-Honey Vinaigrette
Cauliflower just got really exciting 🤯. This easy & healthy recipe is so addictive, so flavourful you will have to restrain yourself from eating the whole bowl. The tahini by The Tahini Goddess (truly the best!), makes the vinaigrette creamy add imparts a lightly nutty flavour. We used the Caesar flavour but the Classic or…
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The Best Gemelli with Pesto, Potatoes and Roasted Artichokes
It just doesn’t get much easier than this recipe and it has now become one of my favourite pasta dishes in my repertoire. It doesn’t require many ingredients and is super quick to prepare. Pesto is the main flavouring component here. We love the Kirkland brand from Costco. It just makes everything better, doesn’t it?…
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Christmas Tree Spinach & Cheese Breadsticks
The christmas tree, an iconic holiday symbol! So much so that we even make foods that look like them 🙂 My take is a Breadstick Tree stuffed with a filling that’s akin to a very spinach-ey spinach dip with cream cheese, parm & your favourite melty cheese. So you know it’s gotta be delicious, right?…
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The Ultimate Vegetable Lasagna with Béchamel Sauce.
I want to start off by declaring that this is one of the best things I have made in a while. In fact, at the moment, I can’t think of anything better. It has blinded me. It’s veggie-packed and creamy. Leeks, broccoli and spinach go particularly well with cheese and creamy sauces. The leeks in…
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My Obsession – Calabrian Chili Butter Eggplant & Crispy Chickpeas
The following recipe is my current obsession as stated in the title. I discovered it scrolling through my feed on Instagram and something about it stopped me in my tracks. Part of it may have been the author, Justine Doiron’s calming voice. I could listen to her narrating her posts all day. I tried it…
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Crispy Zucchini Blossoms, stuffed with Mozzarella and Anchovies
 Originally posted on vanillabeanonline.blogspot.com on Sunday, July 31st, 2011 Hello again I made the most awesome fried, stuffed zucchini flowers this weekend! They’re often prepared dipped in batter, deep fried and with a sprinkle of salt.  That’s how my Grandmother, Nonna Rosina made them. They have a delicate flavour that goes well with just about…
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Andre’s Favourite Mushroom Pasta
This mushroom pasta is so perfect for summer. For one, It’s perfectly balanced; the mushrooms offer a satisfyingly meaty texture, you get loads of flavour (umami) from the few choice ingredients and a touch of creaminess from the sauce that coats and clings to every noodle. It’s totally addictive and scores every time! Oh, and…
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Nonna Rosina’s Ciambotta
Nonna Rosina’s Ciambotta A Southern Italian Stew with Potato, Zucchini Stew & Poached Eggs Our version of this classic peasant dish from the province of Potenza in southern Italy where my mother’s side of the family is from. Growing up I loved to tear the thick crusty bread apart and dip it into the stew,…
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Mom’s Quick Poached White Fish with Peppers & Zucchini
You can’t get quicker than this when it comes to making a healthy home cooked meal from scratch. How does 20 minutes cook time sound with 5 minutes of prep? Sounds good to me. The fish is poached in a delicate tomato broth with peppers, onions and garlic. So simple and so flavorful! You can…
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Easy Lasagna Rolls with Spinach, Ricotta and Prosciutto
I love the creamy comfort of the béchamel & nutmeg, the contrast of the fresh tasting marinara sauce and the slight saltiness of the Parmesan cheese and prosciutto. So simple to prepare and can be made ahead. Freeze before baking and then cook from frozen the day you want to serve it or prepare it…
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Eggplant Stuffed with Rice, Dried Figs & Feta
When I try developing recipes, they don’t always pan out because that is the nature of experimentation but then, there are these moments, like today, when I just hit it right out of the park! This puts wind in my sails! The flavours – This dish is savoury because addition of tomato, a little sweet…
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Spanakopita
What’s not to love? Crispy, buttery phyllo, a dilly spinach and feta filling- served warm or at room temp, and sneakily stolen from the fridge as a midnight snack. It’s heaven to me. When I started to develop a passion for cooking in my early 20’s, I asked (begged) my friend, who is of Greek…
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My Go-To Roasted Cauliflower
Print Recipe Roasted Cauliflower Roasting cauliflower transforms it completely. It goes from a tasteless, styrophoam-like vegetable into the most deliciously caramelized, and versatile one – a blank canvas, ready to take on flavour. I love serving this as a side, I also make the best cauliflower pasta with pine nuts and ricotta salata, or I…
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Baked Cauliflower Buffalo “Wings” + Ranch Dip
It sounds crazy to some, I know. What do you mean cauliflower wings??? The thing is, the only way these are trying to be wings is in the sauce and colour. That’s about it. This recipe doesn’t try to mimic the texture of chicken at all. That would be gross come to think of it.…
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Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Cookies
Hello there! I discovered this recipe in my early years of blogging, back in 2012 on a lovely food blog called Just a Taste. Peanut butter and jelly is one of my favorite combos; reminiscent of childhood, but in the form a grown-up cookie. You can make these with a 3″ round cookie cutter as…
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Winter Crunch Salad
A delicious robust salad that can totally withstand dressing and become even more delicious as it sits so it’s an ideal make-ahead recipe! Each ingredient offers its own flavour and contrasting notes; the bright tang from the apples, spice from the dijon, toastiness from the seeds and nuttiness of the parmesan, to name a few.…
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Roasted Vegetable Lasagna with Boursin Cheese and Ricotta
What is it about the process of roasting vegetables that makes them so incredibly delicious. I’d say it’s the caramelization, the olive oil and the seasoning. Roasting a vegetable transforms it and it suddenly it becomes a vessel for any delicious flavours and aromatics you can throw at it! Think roasted potatoes with lemon and…