Dutch Baby with Blackberries and Blackberry Honey

Dutch Baby with Blackberries and Blackberry Honey

Welcome to my Sunday mornings. For me it is the only day where I can lie in bed for as long as I wish, have a leisurely breakfast and treat myself or my guests royally. Why not serve up this classic Dutch Baby with fresh from the farmers market picked blackberries, some slices of Canadian bacon and a steamy cup of coffee.

More Than Burnt Toast (The Greek Version) Roasted Vegetables (Briam)with Halloumi

Roasted Vegetables (Briam) with Halloumi

Four years ago I took a cab ride with my driver Christos (a young Greek man who promised me the next time I arrived in Greece his English would be improved, I can't say the same for my Greek) to the port of Lavrio south of Athens. From here I was to catch the ferry to the Island of Kea and the islands capital Ioulis my home for the next 8 days. All had been arranged by Aglaia and Costa my friends at Keartisanal where I was attending a cooking school for the best holiday of my life so far!

During my stay at Keartisanal Aglaia Kremezi taught us many enticing traditional and non-traditional gourmet recipes. Aglaia Kremezi is a noted cookbook author, and with her husband Costas Moraitis treat you to 8 glorious days of history, culture and cuisine at their home on the Cycladic island of Kea. They envelope you in family and local life and serve up dishes with the pure and intense flavours from their gardens. The 5 weeks I spent in Greece changed my life forever in many ways.  With the endless azure of the Agean Sea as the backdrop we danced to the strains of bazouka music, sipped on raki and enjoyed good company and good friends.

Open-Faced Falafel Burgers for Meatless Mondays

Open-Faced Falafel Burgers

It seems that with the abundance of the season at our farmers markets and fruit stands it has become extremely easy to eat locally and support our local farmers and producers. This also makes it simple to participate in Meatless Mondays once again.

 A while back I found this version of one of my favourite Middle Eastern dishes in Cooking Light and it was inevitable that I would be making my own variation sooner or later. I used what I had on hand which included yellow heirloom tomatoes, zucchini instead of cucumber and topped it all off with a garlicky tzatziki sauce.

Potato-Zucchini Skillet Pancakes with Cherry Tomato Salad

Potato Zucchini Skillet Pancakes with Cherry Tomato Salad

With the myriad of recipes in the More Than Burnt Toast Kitchen in late summer it seems that vegetarian is the order of the day. It seems like every day this week has been a Meatless Monday! I have not taken on a new life choice and become completely vegetarian but I do find all the colourful vegetables at our local farmers market and fruit stands to be irresistible!!!!For dinner last night I was perfectly content with these shredded zucchini and potato pancakes topped with a tomato salad bursting with sun dappled garden flavour. Of course you could have these pancakes as a side dish with your grilled chicken or steak, the choice is always up to you! Don't forget the corn on the cob too!!!

Since I am on Greek kick lately I added some chopped fresh dill and mint to remind me of  Zucchini Balls (Kolokythokeftedes) which are a favourite around here. Add some salty feta cheese to either the pancakes or the salad for that little bit of something extra if you like!

More Than Burnt Toast (The Greek Version) Makes Greek Alevropita

Alevropita (Flour Pie)

I don't know how you feel but time seems to pass me by. It is hard to believe that just four short years ago I travelled to Greece on a 5 week sojourn. For two of those weeks I joined Thordis Simonsen of Astra Tours and several American women, who have since become life long friends, travelling extensively throughout mainland Greece. We spent four days in the Zagoria region where you'll find a landscape filled with fairy tale mountain villages linked by stone-tiled trails and humpbacked ancient bridges. From this vantage point you can hike through the deepest gorge in the world in Vikos-Aoos National Park, wander the cobbled streets of these sleepy villages with their preserved old mansions in the unique Zagorian style and feel like time has stood still.

Ricotta Gnocchi with Cherry Tomato and Olive Sauce

Ricotta Gnocci with Cherry Tomato and Olive Sauce

Welcome once again to Meatless Mondays here at More Than Burnt Toast. Around the blogosphere for some time now I have seen bloggers who are joining the Meatless Monday movement all across the world to show their support for our planet. Whether you join your fellow bloggers, restaurants or chefs like Mario Batali in going meatless even one day a week we have all accomplished something. Cutting out meat and other animal products is the most powerful way for each of us to fight climate change and reduce our ecological footprint as well. Meat free meals are so nutritionally sound and provide proven health benefits. Whether you follow suit for these health benefits or to show your support for your local farmers going meatless at least one day a week will benefit us all in one way or another.

Blueberry Buttermilk Crumpets

Blueberry Buttermilk Crumpets

For those of you who follow More Than Burnt Toast this recipe for tender crumpets, a Sunday treat around here, will be a blast from the past.  You can read about my pikelets in my previous post here. I grew up with savoury versions but last year was introduced to sweet. Crumpets are baked on a griddle in a metal ring. The action of the heat from below on the yeast or the raising agent reacts and bubbles are formed quickly and burst at the surface, giving an uneven, pitted top.

Blueberry and buttermilk crumpets are a great way to end the weekend and they're so simple to make. Crumpets have a firm place in the hearts and mouths of Aussies, Kiwis and Brits and can be served with jam, butter or whipped cream. I usually just eat them with a little butter...OK...a lot of butter... or with a little icing sugar on top. You can use either fresh or frozen blueberries in this recipe. If you are using the frozen kind, keep them in the refrigerator until it's time to mix them into the batter.

Eat, Pray, Love Challenge.....The Round Up

A HUGE thank you to all of you who joined me for our Eat, Pray, Love challenge. We created an inspiring Italian menu to commemorate the opening of the much anticipated movie Eat, Pray Love which opened in theatres on Friday...yesterday. My friends and I are getting together on Sunday so let me know what your thoughts of this much anticipated movie if you have already seen it. Thank you for travelling with me on this journey as we recreated an Italian menu from antipasto to dolce. It's time to put our feet up, hang up our apron strings, sit on the patio with our bellini's and reconnect over some good conversation.With these personally imposed challenges my own culinary skills have been rejuvenated and back on track and I am once again inspired by each and every fabulous suggestion. This is the perfect time of year to pump up our kitchens into high gear!

Since this is a blog all about food I concentrated on the EAT part of the book for this personal challenge to celebrate the opening of Eat, Pray, Love the movie starring Julia Roberts. We began our Italian adventure with an antipasto of Toasted Bread with Burrata and Basil . Next we travelled to the Italian coast for an il primo of Spaghetti con le Cozza. We then moved to the secondo or "second course" which is the main dish with  Agnello Scottadita (Burned Fingers) which is a dish aptly named. Follow this with a contorno of Tiella and add a finishing touch of Insalata d'Arance and your guests will be more that in the Italian mood. For the finale I offered an enticing classic with a cocktail of an Italian Bellini in lieu of dessert. Who had room for dessert when we were stuffed to overflowing?

Join Me for an Italian Bellini for Our Eat, Pray, Love Challenge Finale

Thank you for joining me once again for our Eat, Pray, Love challenge where we have created an inspiring Italian menu from antipasti to dolce to commemorate the opening of the much anticipated movie this coming Friday. After all this delicious food I would have loved to offer you an Italian-inspired zabaglione or smooth, creamy panna cotta but truthfully my guests and I have no room left for dessert. Instead I prepared a traditional Italian drink for you. This refreshing cocktail was first served in Harry's Bar in Venice, Italy, sometime in the 1930s or '40s. Named after the Renaissance artist Giovanni Bellini, this beautifully hued beverage is traditionally made with white peaches. If you can't find white peaches, regular peaches will do. Bellinis make the perfect beverage for our celebration. The frozen version from Joeys Global Grill is my all time favourite summertime cocktail which is one of the reasons my "pen" name is Bellini Valli.

Since this is a food blog I concentrated on the EAT part of the book for this personal challenge to celebrate the opening of Eat, Pray, Love the movie starring Julia Roberts. We began our Italian adventure with an antipasto of Toasted Bread with Burrata and Basil . Next we travelled to the Italian coast for an il primo of Spaghetti con le Cozza. We then moved to the secondo or "second course" which is the main dish with  Agnello Scottadita (Burned Fingers) which is a dish aptly named. Follow this with a contorno of Tiella and add a finishing touch of Insalata d'Arance and your guests will be more that in the Italian mood.  I am putting up my feet and apron strings and retiring to the outdoor patio for a glass of this Italian classic Bellini accompanied by good friends, good conversation and the strains of Italian music in the background. I am comforted to know my friends have been fed to bursting in true "nonna" fashion.

Insalata d'Arance for Our Eat, Pray Love Challenge

Insalata d'Arance (Sicilian Orange Salad)

Thank you for joining me once again for my latest personal challenge where I am preparing an Italian menu from antipasti to dolce. We are heading into our final leg of our Italian challenge to celebrate the opening of the movie based on Eat , Pray,Love  Elizabeth Gilbert’s wonderfully crafted book about life changing experiences where she trades in her previously perfect life to travel the world "to find herself. " After a heart wrenching divorce she spends a year traveling in Italy, India and Indonesia. Each word in the title Eat, Pray, Love is expanded by her experiences in three countries. In Italy she indulges in the fabulous food and language. In India she finds new meaning in her life on her personal journey of self-awareness and enlightenment spending time in an Indian ashram. Then as a climax to the book she finally finds love in Bali, Indonesia.

If you have been following More Than Burnt Toast you will know that I have been creating personal challenges based on a theme to infuse new life into my own cooking adventures. At the moment I am not travelling the world on my own personal journey as the author of Eat, Pray Love did but what I can do is infuse new life into my own kitchen. Since this is a food blog I am going to concentrate on the EAT part of the book so my next personal challenge will see me create an Italian menu from antipasti to dolce to celebrate the opening of Eat, Pray, Love the movie starring Julia Roberts. The movie opens August 13th.

Tiella for Our Eat, Pray, Love Challenge

Tiella

Thank you for continuing to follow me on this Italian journey. If you have been following More Than Burnt Toast you will know that I have been creating personal challenges based on a theme to infuse new life into my own cooking adventures. At the moment I am not travelling the world on my own personal journey as Elizabeth Gilbert did in Eat, Pray, Love or realizing my dream of visisting every cooking school from here to Timbuktu but I can infuse new life into my own kitchen. Every day food should be an adventure either with new ideas or experimenting with a new cuisine. Every day we should be excited about what we are eating even if it just means something as simple as making use of a wonderful find at our local farmers market. Travel with me on this journey as we recreate an Italian menu from antipasto to dolce. With these personally imposed challenges I am finding my culinary skills to be rejuvenated and back on track. This is the perfect time of year to pump up our kitchens into high gear! Since this is a food blog I am going to concentrate on the EAT part of the book so this personal challenge to celebrate the opening of Eat, Pray, Love the movie starring Julia Roberts.

We began our Italian adventure with an antipasto of Toasted Bread with Burrata and Basil . Next we travelled to the Italian coast for an il primo of Spaghetti con le Cozza. Next we moved to the secondo or "second course" which is the main dish with  Agnello Scottadita (Burned Fingers) which is a dish aptly named. Now onto our contorno or side dishes.

Agnello Scottadita (Burned Fingers) for our Eat, Pray, Love Challenge

Agnello Scottadita (Burned Fingers)

If you have been following More Than Burnt Toast you will know that I have been creating personal challenges based on a theme to infuse new life into my own cooking adventures. At the moment I am not travelling the world on my own personal journey as Elizabeth Gilbert did in Eat, Pray, Love but I can infuse new life into my own kitchen. Since this is a food blog I am going to concentrate on the EAT part of the book so my next personal challenge will see me create an Italian menu from antipasti to dolce to celebrate the opening of Eat, Pray, Love the movie starring Julia Roberts.

Eat , Pray,Love is Elizabeth Gilbert’s wonderfully crafted book about life changing experiences when she trades in her previously perfect life to travel the world "to find herself. " After a heart wrenching divorce she spends a year traveling in Italy, India and Indonesia. Each word in the title Eat, Pray, Love is expanded by her experiences in three countries. In Italy she indulges in the fabulous food and language. In India she finds new meaning in her life on her personal journey of self-awareness and enlightenment spending time in an Indian ashram. Then as a climax to the book she finally finds love in Bali, Indonesia.

The Virtual Supper Club Goes Light for the Moon Festival with Salt Baked Chicken

Salt Baked Chicken

We interrupt our Eat, Pray, Love Italian challenge for our monthly Cooking Light challenge! We are so glad you have decided to join us once again for our Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club. This is a monthly event where 5 ladies in two neighbouring countries get together to create a delicious meal with a theme in mind. We are now in our second year and continue to share a love for Cooking Light magazine which has an emphasis on healthy eating and living. The idea is simple because of our common interest in cooking and healthy cuisine. We love to share these ideas with you each and every month through our Virtual Supper Club. This is a team effort where we combine what Cooking Light readers like best...good food with great company!!! This month our menu features dishes for:

A Taste of Chinatown

Every year on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, when the moon is brightest for the entire year, the Chinese celebrate "zhong qiu jie." The August Moon Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most celebrated Chinese holidays. Chinese families celebrate the end of the harvest season with a big feast so what better way for our club to celebrate getting together this month virtually than with a traditional Chinese feast and some great company..don't forget the sake!!

Il Primo of Spaghetti con le Cozze for Eat, Pray, Love Italian Challenge

Spaghetti con le Cozze

Eat , Pray,Love is Elizabeth Gilbert’s wonderfully crafted book about life changing experiences when she trades in her previously perfect life to travel the world "to find herself. " After a heart wrenching divorce she spends a year traveling in Italy, India and Indonesia. Each word in the title Eat, Pray, Love is expanded by her experiences in three countries. In Italy she indulges in the fabulous food and language. In India she finds new meaning in her life on her personal journey of self-awareness and enlightenment spending time in an Indian ashram. Then as a climax to the book she finally finds love in Bali, Indonesia.

If you have been following More Than Burnt Toast you will know that I have been creating personal challenges based on a theme to infuse new life into my own cooking adventures. At the moment I am not travelling the world on my own personal journey as the author of Eat, Pray Love did but I can infuse new life into my own kitchen. Since this is a food blog I am going to concentrate on the EAT part of the book so my next personal challenge will see me create an Italian menu from "antipasti to dolce" to celebrate the opening of Eat, Pray, Love the movie starring Julia Roberts. The movie opens August 13th. Won't you join me in this challenge?

Toasted Bread with Burrata and Basil Antipasto for Our Eat, Pray, Love Italian Challenge

Toasted Bread with Burrata and Basil

Eat , Pray,Love is Elizabeth Gilbert’s wonderfully crafted book about life changing experiences when she trades in her previously perfect life to travel the world "to find herself. " After a heart wrenching divorce she spends a year traveling in Italy, India and Indonesia. Each word in the title Eat, Pray, Love is expanded by her experiences in three countries. In Italy she indulges in the fabulous food and language. In India she finds new meaning in her life on her personal journey of self-awareness and enlightenment spending time in an Indian ashram. Then as a climax to the book she finally finds love in Bali, Indonesia.

If you have been following More Than Burnt Toast you will know that I have been creating personal challenges based on a theme to infuse new life into my own cooking adventures. At the moment I am not travelling the world on my own personal journey as the author did but I can infuse new life into my own kitchen. Since this is a food blog I am going to concentrate on the EAT part of the book so my next personal challenge will see me create an Italian menu from antipasti to dolce to celebrate the opening of Eat, Pray, Love the movie starring Julia Roberts. The movie opens August 13th so I cannot comment from this perspective ...yet!!