today is blogday!

blogday is when bloggers around the world are encouraged to get to know other bloggers and recommend 5 new blogs to their readers. this way everyone has the opportunity to find new and interesting blogs that would otherwise have remained hidden to them .

my 5 recommendations for broadening your reading are:

annie rhiannon – annie’s blonk regularly has me laughing out loud. when i started reading it she was living in iceland but since then, she has moved to dublin via her home in wales. annie’s photography is as fabulous as her writing – i think this self-portrait is my favourite.

pandagon – i found pandagon when i was looking for feminist blogs and although the content is more broad i’ve grown to like this liberal blog. it’s perfect for moments when i want to spend more grown-up time in the blogging world.

back to the world of food blogs i think, for my final three:

matt bites – again, it is the combination of photography and humour that keeps me visiting this blog. i also like matt’s posts about latin food which i’m hoping to use one weekend to give me an insight into a world of food i don’t know much about.

lucy’s kitchen notebook – this is my newest discovery. lucy is american but lives in lyon, my favourite french city which i hope to continue visiting regularly. this chinese dumpling tutorial post is what lead me to her.

vegan visitor – this time it was dayna, the vegan visitor, who found me and i’m really glad she did! i now visit her blog regularly for its creative and imaginative approach to vegan food as well as the mouth-watering photos – dayna’s food stylist/photography background really shines through!

ok, i need to ‘fess up – until this week i’ve never cooked runner beans. somehow that confession makes me feel more than a little embarrassed so no laughing in the back row, all us foodies have our embarrassing little secrets!

i don’t know why runner beans created such a mental block for me. perhaps never eating them as a child and only ever encountering it in restaurants was to blame. although, having said that i’ve always been perfectly happy to use other types of beans.

however, the gift of some runner beans from a generous gardener friend meant i had to tackle my fears. i turned to hugh fearnley-whittingstall for this recipe which prepares runner beans according to a traditional french method.

they were delicious! a gentle garlic flavour which contrasted with the green beany flavour. i’m no longer scared and will be adding this bean/garlic combination to my existing favourite green beans with a shallot and garlic vinaigrette.

this is my contribution to grow your own (or in my case, get someone else to grow it for you!) which andrea, from andrea's recipes has organised to celebrate the bounty of the summer garden.

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we’re off on holiday to italy next month and somehow i think i’m already there. i keep indulging in baking sessions for random italian biscuits and other sweet fancies. today’s delight was panpepato which, according to the recipe i found, is a darker version of panforte.

panforte is one of david’s christmas favourites but the panpepato , despite it’s similarities and wonderful xmassy flavours, is just fine on a bright summer afternoon, washed down with some wonderful tokaji and shared with friends.

and, having been made with brockwell park honey, which is made from bees who live just down the road from me in south london, despite its italian roots this pudding is a local food of sorts. at least i hope so as this is my submission to johanna’s sugar high friday which has the theme of “something local.”

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muesli (as i now know it is spelt) is a peculiar word. it’s not similar to other words, it’s a little odd to say and i always spell it wrong - check the photo label which was set before i checked the dictionary!

regardless of this it’s a very easy thing to make at home. and is a great way to add an instant dose of healthiness to your diet. it’ll encourage you to eat breakfast (always top of any nutritionist’s hit list of eating sins) and, if you make your own, its full of natural and healthy ingredients.

my muesli varies every time i make it but there are three ground rules which i always follow:

1. toast your oats – toasted oats are incomparably nicer than those straight out of the package. they have a better flavour and the texture is slightly firmer meaning your muesli won’t be based around a soggy oaty mess. i also stick to large oats as they keep their shape better.
2. add a good variety of dried fruit, nuts and seeds – exactly what goes into my muesli varies depending on what has been lurking in the cupboard for a bit too long, but i always make the effort to track down some of my favourites (dried peaches is always top of my list!) so that it’s not just leftovers.
3. add milk powder – skimmed milk powder is a really nice way to add a slightly luxurious feel to your muesli as well as some extra vitamins as it’s often fortified (vitamins a and d in the case of the one i use).

i don’t add sugar to my muesli, finding the dried fruit sweet enough but if you do want something extra, drizzle your oats with a couple of tablespoons of honey as you toast them.

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well, when i say traditional, i mean the sort of lasagne that a lot of people would expect to be served if they just saw the word “lasagne” on a menu. to me this involves a rich meaty ragu, layered with pasta and topped with a béchamel sauce. is that what you would expect?

i find this sort of lasagne hugely comforting and i often turn to it if i want to make something that is guaranteed to deliver the foodie equivalent of a warmth bath, a hug from david or a long lie-in.

if you’re a fan of lasagne, or have an equivalent comfort dish, and haven’t had it for a while, treat yourself. you know you should…

this dish is my contribution to presto pasta nights, as hosted by ruth at once upon a feast.

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