When I travel I often am struck by how similar each county is to my own. On every corner there always seems to be the familiar circular green and white lady telling me that a Starbucks frapachino awaits below. Golden arches and a happy meal are never far from a main street. But wandering through a supermarket in portugal's algarve I spotted these two piglets, shaved gutted and shrink wrapped they jarred against the shelves of processed chicken and sliced ham. As a vegetarian it made me wince of course. I've become use to seeing meat in its pre packed sanitised form. But this reminded me why I'm a vegetarian in the first place. These little piglets (about the size of my little dog Mojo) shrink wrapped in plastic had skin so human like in it's colour and texture that it made me shiver looking at them. Maybe if we displayed meat like this more often. Showing its true origin ,with face and feet and tail more people would be veggies!

Location:Pigs in a bag!

Summer fruit Pavlova

Depending if your a Kiwi or an Aussie the Pavlova was invented in New Zealand or Australia in the 1926. It was named after visiting ballerina Anna Pavlova of the Russian ballet and the light white swirls of the meringue were said to have been inspired by the movements of the graceful Prima Ballerina as she danced on stage. One thing is for sure, there are few deserts you can make easily that look as fancy as Pavlova.

The trick to making the perfect Pavlova is to be brave and trust the heat of your oven to slowly bake your meringue and resist the temptation to check if its set every ten minutes.


For this you will need the following:

1 cup (200 grams) superfine (castor) sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch (corn flour)

Topping:

1 cup (240 ml) heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 tablespoons (20 grams) granulated white sugar (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Fresh fruit - strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, passion fruit, peaches, pineapple, kiwi or other fruit of your choice (I've kept it simple this time with just strawberries and blueberries)

Step 1


Separate the whites of 6 medium sized eggs (Freeze the yolks for another day) Make sure your bowl and whisk are clean and free of grease.

Step 2



In a food processor or mixer beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks, then slowly add the castor sugar one table spoon at a time until fully incorporated and the mixture forms stiff shiny peaks. Once the sugar is mixed in fully add the vanilla and beat in. Now using a spatula fold in the corn flour, vinegar ( this will help make the typical meringue crust on the outside with hopefully a soft chewy centre.

Step 3


Use a 7 inch cake tin to mark a circle on some parchment paper, then place the parchment on a baking tray and carefully spoon the meringue mixture on the parchment keeping within the circle you have just drawn. Use your spoon to make swirls and texture in the mixture and try ( unlike me) to make a slight well in the centre foe the cream to sit later.
Place in to a pre heated oven at 230 degrees (210 for fan assisted ovens) for 60 - 70 minutes then turn the heat off leaving the oven door ajar and leave to cool down completely. The residual heat will bake the meringue perfectly.

Step 5


Once cooled completely remove and place on a cake rack. You can store for up to 10 days in a dry air tight container. Or add toppings straight away.

Step 5


While the meringue base is cooling wash the strawberries removing the stalks and deciding into quarters.

Step 5



Mix the chopped strawberries with the blueberries ( blackberries or raspberries are also a nice substitute if your not crazy for blueberries but the contrast in colours makes for a better presentation) .

Step 6


Spread the whipped cream generously on the meringue base then scatter the mixed berries on top. Sprinkle with icing sugar just before serving and garnish with a sprig of fresh mint leaves.

Enjoy

When in Rome

So many wonderful things to see in Rome, The Colloseium, The Vatican, The Roman forum. And of course their wonderfully colourful sandwiches. Every corner deli has window filled with beautifully crafted sandwiches filled to bursting with fresh ingredients. Puts our cuisine de france rolls or ham and cheese bab to shame.

Location:Rome

Basic tomato and basil sauce

Basic tomato sauce
This is the easiest sauce to make and it's ready in about 15 minutes. Like the best Italian food it's simple in its structure but tastes rich and full of flavour.

You will need the following ingredients
4 cloves of garlic ( peeled and Finley chopped)
2 x 400g can of Plumb tomatoes
1medium sized red onion
Handful of fresh basil leaves
Sea Salt and ground pepper to season

Step 1


Finley chop your onion

Step 2



Peel and finely chop the 4 garlic cloves
Step 3



Add a generous amount of olive oil to a hot pan and gently brown the garlic to release the flavour (be careful not to burn it as it cooks quickly) add the chopped onion and keep on a medium heat until golden and translucent.

Step 4


Next add the cans of plum tomatoes along with the basil and bring to a gentler boil seasoning with salt and pepper. Once it reaches a boil strain through a sieve pushing any larger chunks of tomato thru with a wooden spoon. Discard the remaining pulp of tomato , basil and garlic left in the sieve and return the sieved sauce to the pan and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add a half teaspoon of sugar to the sauce as it simmers to bring out the flavour of the tomatoes.

Season again with salt and pepper to taste if needed and add some more fresh basil leaves just before serving..

Perfect for pastas, pizza or lasagne .. Tastes even better if left to cool and stored over it in a fridge to be served the next day.

Enjoy