World On A Plate: Raw Kale and Risoni Salad

The cumquats have absolutely nothing to do with this recipe. There was a tree nearby, they looked pretty - they ended up in the photo.

I'm looking for the kale? Where is the kale? Kale? KALE!

I'm not kidding you; on two separate occasions at two separate farmers markets on opposite sides of the Bridge this is what people were talking about. My friend pointed this out to me before I actually heard it for myself. This is because I was probably one of "those people".

Kale is not a new thing; (according to Wikipedia) it was the most common green vegetable in Europe until the end middle ages, and early varieties existed in Greece in

the 4^th century. Your grandmother probably mixed it through your mashed potato when you were young.

Hot Apple Toddy

Ok, here's the situation where I live. 

It's cold, and until yesterday (or the day before that depending on when I post this) it was raining as though it was going out of fashion. 

I have a couple of questions about that expression; "going out of fashion"- why would you want to have a lot of something if it was going out of fashion? If you loved it enough, why would you care if it was going out of fashion and just keep having more of it regardless? And if you didn't like whatever was going out of fashion, wouldn't you be anticipating something new and not want a lot of whatever it was that was going out of fashion?

Coconut Oil Roasted Sweet Potato and A Nomination

The reason why I started this food blog was because I was stuck in a rut, feeling uninspired and in dire need of some creativity in my life - I also wanted to learn to cook properly and develop a healthy relationship with food and cooking. Mostly, I wanted to tell stories. 


Fast forward one year and I can honestly say that I have surprised myself with how much happiness this blog has brought me. I feel creative and I love putting something out there into the world. I can also say with hand on my heart that I am proud of what I have made. That is a big thing for me to admit - especially for a person who has suffered from the odd bout of low self esteem throughout their life.

You can imagine how happy I was when my friend David from the divine blog Cocoa and Lavender told me that he had nominated me for a Food Stories Award for Excellence in Storytelling! David had been nominated for the award and in turn, nominated me along with four other amazing blogs whose stories inspired him and made him happy.


I have found that with my own blog, telling a story to go with my food and photos is one of the most important elements to each post I make. I simply couldn't send a recipe out there without a story to go with it - I just love it.
Part of my nomination involves me, in turn, nominating five blogs who I feel show excellence in storytelling. 

The posts and stories that these people write never fail to entertain and inspire me in so many different ways: 


Miss T from The Pink Leopard: http://www.thepinkleopard.net/   
Leaf from The Indolent Cook: http://theindolentcook.blogspot.com.au/
John from He Needs Food: http://heneedsfood.com/
Thanh from Eat,Little Bird: http://eatlittlebird.com/ 
Rachel from The Food Sage: http://thefoodsage.com.au/


Head over to their blogs to see why I feel they deserve the Food Stories Award for Excellence in Storytelling.

In other news; the other day I discovered coconut oil.... 

Miascia

Miascia.

Miaaaaa-sci-a (whisper it - it’s fun). Or do you pronounce it Mias-chi-a? My tenth grade Italian is a little rusty. However you pronounce it, this rustic Italian cake tastes as good as it sounds. Actually,“good” is a terrible word to describe the amazing-ness that is this cake-like dessert. Three adjectives that came to mind as I ate this are – thrifty, curious and crispy.