What makes you think of Middle Eastern food? For some reason (maybe not even close to being based in reality), plums, cardamom and pistachios all make me think of Middle Eastern cuisine. And I’ve been doing so much reading on Syria and Turkey and such that apparently I have those flavors on the mind. Clearly shortbread isn’t Middle Eastern though! These came out well though; a great combination.
Apple picking starts this weekend in my neck of the woods. I didn’t go, but that means that local apples are available, so when I found some local Honey Crisps, I decided to make this lovely apple cake. It’s not a *pie*, but a *cake*. Perfect for either breakfast coffee cake, or for afternoon tea. The spices are cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and just a touch of cardamom. PS: You don’t have to put the apple rings on the top… I just thought it would look nifty. Now I think it looks a little like octopus tentacles.
There must be a dozen blueberry pie recipes on this here site. Overall, I am guessing there must be at least 50 blueberry recipes in general, but given how much I love them, this isn’t a surprise. Each time I make a new pie, I do a little bit of a twist, whether it be “warm spices” (cinnamon, clove), or with a crumble top, etc. This time I went for a bit of a tart twist, with buttermilk, lemon and ginger. Quite lovely and fresh.
I’m on a bit of an Italy kick. Or rather, an Italian-esque foodie kick. More on that coming up, but I was trying to think of a cookie that was sort of Italian. There are of course Florentines and Biscotti and Baci di Dame, but I thought I would make up a new recipe. I came up with these chocolate cookies with toasted pine nuts (pignoli) and rosemary. I know, I know, it might sound a little strange but they actually turned out really really well. The rosemary isn’t overwhelming and the pine nuts are lightly crunchy. They are also really easy to make. Enjoy!