mini chocolate pavlovas with blueberries

September last year I visited Italy for the first time. I spent three days in Trieste and met some great people there and tried their wonderful food. Sardoni impanati, gnocchi, homemade lasagne ai porcini and frittata, prosecco and gelato, ah Italian gelato. I could go on and on, but today I will go virtually to Italy again. We are celebrating Lab Noon’s first birthday and we are all invited! The funny thing is that after that trip when I got home, in my inbox Lab Noon’s blog address was waiting for me. Sara, a friend I met in Trieste has shared Lab Noon’s blog with me.

Dear Lab Noon happy birthday!!! 

There will be some presents/give away, so go visit Lab Noon's blog and leave a comment (shipping available within Europe only).

Enjoy the party everyone and all these lovely cakes and blogs..

Lab Noon - Lab Noons Fruity Birthday Cake

Twigg studios - Chamomile apricot verticle roll cake

Hortus Cuisine - Apricot crostata with rice lemon curd

Foodistan - Cherie clafoutis

Cocinayletras - Torta della nonna

Celeste Cucina - Ciambelline alla lavanda con glassa alle more

Foolproof Living - Summer Berry Tart

My daily sourdough bread - Sourdough lemon poppy seed bread cake with lemon icing

Gourmet Project - Earl Grey Tea Mousse

La Panificatrice Folle - Syllabub ai frutti di bosco

Rustica Retro - Passionfruit Sponge

Vermilion Roots - Pandan coconut cake with kaya

Gretchen gretchen - Cooling watermelon cakes

Persian Foodie - Orange blossom cupcakes

I am bringing these gorgeous and not difficult to make mini chocolate pavlovas with blueberries.

For six mini meringues

2 large egg whites

100 grams caster sugar

1 tablespoons cocoa powder (sieved)

1/2 teaspoon vinegar

20 grams dark chocolate (finely chopped)

For the topping

150 ml double cream

200 grams blueberries

coarsely grated dark chocolate and/or cocoa powder for decoration

Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.

Whisk the egg whites until they're holding firm peaks and add in the sugar, a spoonful at a time, still beating, until you've got snowy meringue. Sprinkle the cocoa,  vinegar and chocolate and fold in to combine.

Draw 6 circles of approximately 9cm on baking sheet.

Spoon the meringue onto the baking paper into the circles, and spread and smooth to fill.

Put in the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 140°C and bake for 40 minutes. Turn the oven off and leave them in the oven to cool. You can leave them in the oven until you decide to assemble them.

Whisk the cream and dollop it on top of the each meringue. Smooth it with the back of a spoon and place blueberries. Sprinkle grated chocolate on top and/or dust with cocoa powder.

Recipe adopted from Nigella.

potato salad

Easy cooking, easy eating.
This salad is perfect with new potatoes, but if you can not find them choose those small, buttery, thin-skinned ones. I cut them in quarters or in half if they are smaller. Put them in the boiling water with a pinch of salt and cook for about 20-25 minutes. Drain them and return them to the pan with few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Shake the pan so they are all glossy and covered with oil. Place them in a bowl and add chopped parsley, leeks, capers, pink peppercorns, lemon juice and zest and season with coarse sea salt. This is a version of a classic potato salad that we usually make as a side dish with grilled or baked fish. I like this salad warm rather then cold served as a light main dish for a carefree afternoons.

POTATO SALAD with capers and leeks Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

6-7 potatoes (medium) 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 medium leek, chopped about two tbsp of chopped fresh parsley ½ lemon, juice and zest tbsp capers, pickle capers few pink peppercorns coarse sea salt

roasted carrots & spiced up sweet corn

I guess I'm already busy listening the summer buzz as it’s been a while since I visited my own blog.

Season of long hot days officially started a week ago but I still have a need to turn the oven on, especially during rainy afternoons. 

Anyway, I am opening the season of no fuss meals, easy salads and lots of garden greens and sweet berries. 

Roasted carrots and cooked sweet corn as a light side dish. Simple indulgences.

roasted carrots
1 bunch carrots
coarse sea salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 tea spoon dried thyme

Preheat oven to 200C.Wash carrots, I didn't bother to peel them as they were so young. Place carrots on a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with salt and drizzle with  olive oil and dried thyme. Roast until they brown a bit on the outside (about 20 minutes). Let cool to room temperature. Place on a serving platter, drizzle few more drops of olive oil and serve with whatever is your wish. I know spiced up sweet corn is a great companion.

spiced up sweet corn

3 sweet corns in husks

30g unsalted butter, softened

1-2 teaspoons spice mix - Italian potato salad (I use Italian mix for potato salad. It's a mix of dried spices: salt, black pepper, onion, garlic, chilly flakes, thyme, basil and oregano. I buy these in Belgrade, in a shop called spice up). 

Peel back corn husks and remove silk. Place corns in a pot filled with cold water (just enough to cover the corns) and bring to a boil. Cook them until tender, 8-10 minutes. Turn off the heat and using long-handled tongs remove corns from the boiling water on a plate. Place knob of butter on each corn and sprinkle with mixture of spices. 

Simple indulgences it is.