Breakfast Loaf

by Diana 

Being on maternity leave for a second (and last!) time around, is slowly filling me with energy and creativity, which I am sure will reach its peak as soon as I have to return to work…

My biggest food critique is of course the toddler we decided to inhabit with. As challenging as cooking for him can be (and he has a good appetite when the chef is not mamá), there is also lots of excitement, as he embraces surprises and changes in routine and, as ever, when there is an element of playing involved. Sometimes adding a straw to his juice, from the local coffee shop, or having some carefully cut parchment  paper underneath his croquettes it’s enough to provide him with a little dine out feeling. But what does the ultimate trick is always to offer him something completely new and as long as there is not spinach involved, we all win!  

This super easy savoury loaf was an absolute delight for a Saturday morning, tantrum-free breakfast. It was devored and adored and I even managed to get a couple of early, spontaneous cuddles from the 3 and a half year old. Undoubtedly, a mother’s recipe for success. Enjoy! 

Citron Salad

by Diana

Back in November when booking our Easter holidays, we naively imagined that going hiking in the Dolomites was going to imply green pastures, drinking fresh spring water and the ocasional barefoot walk alongside the shores of the lake. And thus, we reached mid April and arrived to a little hotel in the middle of the mountains completely surrounded by the purest white snow.. freshly delivered for us. Our tropical selves managed to survive for a few days with our very unprepared luggage and the unmanaged expectations of the 2 year old we are responsible for, whom we convinced prior traveling that the little hiking trip was going to be just like the one we read in his book, not the Christmas one though. Next time we’ll just trust that the weather app was not just miscalculating our location (otherwise called pre holiday denial!).

So we gathered all our resilience and replanned our trip, returning to Verona where very springy 20C were brightening the city of pink roofs. And from there, we took a round trip to Sirmione, a beautiful town in Lake Garda, where a tulip festival, the sound of non hibernating birds and the discovery of citron fruit were awaiting us. After an idyllic lakeside and almost summery atmosphere, we contemplated the view one more time and sighted of satisfaction whilst tasting citron for the first time, from the touristy fresh fruit stand in the entrance of the old town. We bought one of those oversized lemons to take home and tried, as instructed, its truly delicious salad application. I hope it brightens any weather spoiled holidays to you too. Enjoy!

© The Teaspoon   

Patacones

by Diana

Patacones are a twice-fried plantain snacks typical from Latin America and the Caribbean. In Venezuela, where I grew up, they are the normally sold in 'chiringuitos' or beach bars at the seaside. But as my family was always quite peculiar and followed its own 'traditions', when going on beach holidays mum always packed snacks for us so it was unusual to buy any other than empanadas then. Some Saturday mornings we would have patacones at home for breakfast, topped with grated carrots, fresh white cheese and drizzled with 'pink sauce'. I loved those mornings when we would seat at the table, Tom and Jerry or Top Cat in the background and not much else to worry or think about rather than looking forward to visiting my grandma, doing errands with mum or going to a birthday party. 

As an adult, it's funny how I now associate patacones with going to the beach. I blame Jung's collective unconscious. So when craving a beach escape but then realise I am trapped in an urban jungle, I would recreate Saturday's breakfast at home. Some dishes have that ability to transport us, not only to places, but to people, to memories, to my mum, and they allow us to hold on to our culture and to somehow strengthen our identity.  Maybe it's not so much about the beach after all, but a way of going back home and be a child again, and remember there is nothing to really worry about. Enjoy!

© The Teaspoon   
 

Blackberry Goat Chees Bruschettas

by Diana

I never thought that reading stories to a toddler would bring so much joy and tenderness to my life. When not trying to build a big Lego train to wind down a busy day (at both work and nursery of course), we usually spend some time before dinner going through some books. Some of them are actually a great meal preamble and act as an enticing appetizer. Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit always makes reference to what the little bunnies are having for supper and the 'blackberries, bread and milk' quote never fails to make me regret having cooked my mistaken idea of a toddler appealing menu. So to celebrate February I am going to reinforce my son's affection by recreating a version of the mischievous hare's dinning feast. I hope it does too transport you somewhere charming. 

© The Teaspoon         

Apple Cider Cookies

by Diana

January is always victimised as a somehow slightly dull month, compared to its predecessor, festive December, the soul of the party. It’s hard to embrace an urban winter without the abundant fairy lights, the ongoing carols soundtracking the busy commute, the decorated (and murdered) Christmas trees and the pre-new-year-resolution food feasts. 

I miss how lockdown gave us thematic weekends to keep us going during those toughest months and I am determined to keep alive the idea of celebrating the every day, reviving traditions and discovering new ones to hold on to and make our lives reacher and more nurtured even though popular December is not here to give us permission to do so.

Continuing with the blog is always part of my list of intentions. As Christians we celebrate epiphany, without the traditional kings cake though, but want to also mark wassailing as a tradition that fosters gratitude to nature, singing and blessings the trees (around the playground at least) hoping for good health and abundant shade in the summer.  Hopefully we won’t go too deep into hell when embracing pagan rituals. We are marking it with a flask filled with mulled cider and warmly packed apple cider cookies, to recover from running around our tiny hyper toddler. 

Have a happy 2022! 

© The Teaspoon

Poke Bowls

by Diana 

Cooking and testing new recipes has been one of those things that has kept us (and yes, also the majority of the population) motivated during the lockdown. It’s easier on the weekends and occasionally at dinner time but weekday lunch excitement is a challenge as time remains threatening. I am not ashamed to confess that poke bowls are a novelty to me and, to be honest, I still don’t get a full grasp of what they are, not sure if I care that much either. I know the recipe below doesn’t make them at all justice as I am using smoked salmon rather than particularly marinated raw fish sitting on a kale and quinoa bed. In my defence, I did research that poke is Hawaiian for ‘sliced’ so I am being truthful to the title by offering a bowl of carefully sliced and chopped fresh and well-seasoned crudités. I found the colours and the arrangement so visually appealing that somehow helps me compensate for the lack of real life visual art exposure at the moment. Maybe it’s just a reflection of my desperation to get some aesthetic nourishment, but an effective one nonetheless. A simple and easy recipe to bring joy to an otherwise uneventful lunch break. 

© The Teaspoon

Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

by Diana

Although I can still almost feel the plenitude of the summer heat when writing my last post for the blog I don’t remember what it was like to have spare time. Everyone said that once you have a baby then time just vanishes but it wasn’t like that for me at all. I was at my most creative during maternity leave, resumed writing, drawing, started gardening (or 'balconing' to be more accurate), learnt to awfully play the guitar, did macrame, visited online exhibitions, documented my daily walks during lockdown, and memorised countless preschooler books and nursery rhymes. All of which took place in our kitchen/living room. It was fun and enjoyable, even in the middle of the global pandemic. Then I returned properly to work and my previously fruitful kitchen atelier has been transformed into my home office and I can now declare that I have formally ran out of time and it’s nothing to do with my 15 month old walking little toddler. I love my job but it’s only one aspect of who I am. These cookies are multipurpose. There are a way of reclaiming my kitchen atelier and with it, my seemly blurred identity. They are meant to healthily energised me too- as the last thing my hyperactive toddler needs at the moment is an energy boost! Enjoy! 

Medjoul Dates Cake

by Diana

When I was a child I learnt to draw palm trees with coconuts on top- and not because I would have necessarily seen them during our frequent trips to the beach - which I did- but only because I was told that coconuts grow on palm trees and I never questioned it. Probably in the same way I then learnt to draw a house, the sun, the stars, trees, mountains, a boat - I adopted a pre-established imagery repertoire from which I produced automatic pictures that were not much different from the ones other kids in my class did. In art therapy I often encounter adults saying they don’t know how to draw but I feel I actually learnt to draw properly when I started university- by giving me permission to contemplate and to challenge preconceptions. Only then I discovered that palm trees also produce delicious dates and, perhaps in Middle Eastern countries, kids draw Palm trees without the coconuts on top. When the time comes, I want to be able not to teach my child how to draw, I want him to discover the world himself through his pencil case and to observe and capture it freely. To make it up for dates I made this cake full of deliciousness-  the best Medjoul dates as ever, are from my friends in Zaytoun. Enjoy!

© The Teaspoon

Sweet Potato and Turmeric Tortilla

by Diana 

With the reopening of parks and gardens we have embraced the opportunity to escape to nature and to restore there all our lockdown wounds. I always reference nature’s containing quality, and the immediacy in which helps you reconnect with everything that goes beyond oneself. For me nature is the place where I feel held as it gives me perspective, reminding me that I am just a tiny element belonging to a much wider landscape. It's hopeful when offering me multiple routes ahead and inviting as there are other challenging mountains to climb out there. Hence nature gives me awareness, balance and tranquility. But peacefulness can’t be found in starvation and hence the need of  making wise choices when it comes to reflective picnicking. As we are not a sandwich fan type of family I have been committed to offer my love ones a cold food solution that will fulfil their tummies whilst nature does the rest. This tortilla was a complete success measured by every mouthful that my little nearly one-year-old food critic kept to himself!

© The Teaspoon

Carrot Cake

by Diana 

Anyone would have thought that carrot cake is just one of those basic, amateur recipes that could blindly be made. I remember it was possibly the first cake recipe that I followed as a child. It was a good recipe though, the one they used to make at my grandma's house. She lived in a place that translates from Spanish as 'The Paradise', and, funnily enough, it may well have been that it was just the abode of cake, baking heaven, where nothing could possibly go wrong in the oven. From a more objective perspective, my grandma had the most extraordinary cook living with her, an Ecuadorian lady blessed with talented skills- my brother even named one of his children after her- so you get an idea of how much we loved her carrot cake!  With the pass of time I lost my ‘little mermaid’ recipe notebook and with it the grace of carrot cake making. Years of carrot cake curse followed and I then gave up and was terrified to use the orange-coloured root to make anything other than bland soup. But the pandemic lockdown have empowered me with courage and I decided to break with the curse once and for all. Apologies in advance to any cream cheese icing fans out there, but I like my carrot cake just at it is, simple, spongy and a bit 'nuts' as I am,  but ‘paradisiac’ as this recipe turned out to be.  Enjoy it!

© The Teaspoon

Preserved Aubergines

by Diana

I am in the home stretch of what seems to has been a fugacious maternity leave. Time has always played a part - either a hero or a villain - and I always dread it one way or another as it represented a beginning and an end of moments where I wanted to stay still and forever capture. But time, as it is, was inevitably going to run out and hence, I raced against it.  Sometimes I wanted to be a sponge and I certainly achieved it by absorbing every possible second of the experiences I planned for me and my baby and, as much as I love my job, I knew these last 10 months were simply temporary. I know there is another journey to embark upon straight after this and I am excited about it but also conscious that the time curse will be looming wherever we go. 

Perhaps these preserved aubergines were just an excuse for me to offload some of these thoughts or possibly they are a way to project my desire of conserving such precious time but ultimately they are indeed a time saver and a delight to keep at hand when running out of moments or when rushing about in the kitchen when the only important thing is just to open the jar and remain still. 

© The Teaspoon

Strawberry Cardamon Traybake

by Diana

As a child I remember no dessert could ever beat a bowl of fresh strawberries. For me they were always a treat as in my house they only bought them a few times a year when we visited la Colonia Tovar, a town located an hour or so from Caracas, founded by a group of German immigrants in the 19th century and well-known for its temperate crops. It still amuses me that my very German sister-in-law, referred to the little Deutsch -Venezuelan village as a sort of Disneyland when we excitedly took her and her family there - but that's material for another story. 

It was complete by chance that my baby's first ever solid food was a strawberry, as it was given to him by a friend of mine during a lunch party - and here I am 5 months later with a boy that seems to be totally obsessed with the fruit. I am glad we can get them for him more than a few times a year as otherwise I am sure he'll be on hunger strike! Our daily walk has a mandatory stop every other day by the supermarket to get yet another package for him to devour. I am convinced they are the reason why he smiles on his sleep. 

This cake was an attempt to treat him with another version of his edible red hearts and I naively thought he would be delighted but, to my surprise - probably not yours- he picked the decoration and my husband and I had to settle with the cake itself - at least it had some cardamom there for us. Hope you enjoy a complete slice! 

© The Teaspoon