Baby Hakurei Turnip Soup

When I saw this beautiful bunch of fresh Hakurei turnips at the store, I immediately grabbed it, as they are not always available. These turnips are quite different from the more known ones: they have finer texture, a delicate sweetish peppery-mustardy flavor and milder aroma.

Oats, Semolina, Yogurt and Sesame Seeds Bread Rolls

These tasty rolls started with some yogurt that was close to expiration date. I decided to use it in the form of a yeast dough, which I enriched with oats, semolina and olive oil. To make it even more nutritious and interesting, I decided to roll the dough in sesame seeds. The seeds added another layer of texture and a nice nutty flavor.

Pecan and Strawberry Jam Mini Bars

During strawberry season, I prepared a few batches of strawberry jam. As with any jam that is prepared with a fairly small amount of sugar, it doesn’t keep as well as the sugar loaded jams. So, instead of waiting for it to spoil, I’ve decided to use some of it to prepare the following tasty mini bars.

Semolina, Orange and Saffron Cake

The following tasty, fragrant and moist cake, is a version of THIS cake, a recipe for which I’ve posted here five years ago. In the version I have here, I’ve decided to substitute the milk syrup with citrus-saffron one.

Almond and Semolina Mini Cakes with Spiced Milk Syrup

These tasty mini cakes are a combination of two favorites: THIS semolina cake with milk syrup, and THESE almond-cardamom Friands. 

Peach, Walnuts and Cinnamon Crumble

Fresh peaches are everywhere now and I find it hard to resist baying them. The ones I’ve found this week were so ripe and juicy, I could see they will not keep for long. So I’ve decided to use some of them in a quick crumble – one of the easiest and tastiest fruit desserts.

Corn and Shrimp Cakes

With wonderful abundance of fresh corn from the farm stand, I can’t help but buy and cook it often. On top of enjoying the corn on its own, I also end up incorporating it in assorted dishes.

Figs and Almonds Cake

Anyone who tried fresh figs in any Mediterranean country is likely to be a bit disappointed with American figs. I’m not sure why exactly, but they never taste the same. Since I’m a big fig fan, this is not to say I’ve stopped trying. Whenever I see reasonable looking figs, which is not very often, I buy them and hope this time it’s going to be different.

Multi Grain Focaccia with Grapes and Rosemary

This tasty, summery focaccia comes from Tuscany, and is believed to have Etruscan origins.
From the first time I’ve tried this unique bread, I loved how the taste of the sweet and slightly acidic grapes, combined with the saltiness of the bread and the wonderful aroma from the rosemary, were just perfect together.

Multi Grain Bread stuffed with Roasted Vegetables

Once again I’ve been experimenting with baking with different types of flour. This time I combined quite a few of them, to create these very tasty breads. The texture came out incredibly multi-layered, where each type of flour brought a unique one.

Zucchini, Carrots and Onion Fritters

Crispy on the outside, soft and bursting with flavor on the inside, these tasty and colorful fritters are perfect as an appetizer, on a sandwich, or as a snack.
You can make the fritters smaller, for a finger-food option, or larger, to serve as a bed for fish or seafood dish, or poached eggs. Different herbs and seasoning can obviously be added, but personally I prefer not to use them here and let the flavor of the vegetables shine.