Cooking Up a Storm

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Here you have it, kids:  a new weekly feature on travel.taste.create.  Each week, you can look forward to a little glimpse into the taste portion of this blog.  Little bites, morsels, something to whet your appetite, Nibbles! Each of these posts will be short and sweet… or savoury; I don’t want to limit myself too much.

Cooking Up a Storm

Trying new food isn’t restricted to tasting something new at a restaurant.  More often, it involves making something I have eaten and loved, but never actually tackled.  It might be something I’ve seen Jamie Oliver or some other tv chef whip up, and I need to try it.  They always make it look so easy, don’t they?  Well, a few notes scribbled on a scrap of paper, the vision of what the dish looked like, the memory of the almost erotic descriptions from the likes of Nigella, and I’m off!

This week, I am cooking and baking my way through Storm Gertrude.  Someone on Food Network made focaccia. Well, you know where this is going, don’t you? Problem: no fresh rosemary at the store. Surreptitiously scoping out people’s gardens on our walks comes up empty.  What about the cute little public garden in the village? A ha!  Please don’t report me. I’m a gardener and that plant needed a little pruning.

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Not bad for a first try. Not bad, but it’s not focaccia nirvana. For that, I will be visiting my 80 year old Italian neighbour, Henry. Maybe he will give me a lesson.

26 thoughts on “Cooking Up a Storm”

  3. Looked good to me too, love your weekly blog. Have you done any quilting. Loved having Georganne here with us we had a great time

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  4. Have you tried Sticky Toffee Pudding? Only had it once over there but WOW!

    On Monday, 1 February 2016, travel. taste. create. wrote:

    > Leah posted: ” Here you have it, kids: a new weekly feature to > travel.taste.create. Each week, you can look forward to a little glimpse > into the taste portion of this blog. Little bites, morsels, something to > whet your appetite, Nibbles! Each of these posts w” >

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  7. Looks delicious to me. You may have to open a focaccia bakery when you get back home.

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  9. Focaccia, the only bread I ever made that was edible, the rest was dubbed “small windowless building” by my nearest & dearest – oh the shame. Your’s is looking lovely and I will be waiting to hear of the tips Henry passes on!

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  11. Bread looks great Leah! I put rosemary and lavender in my focaccia.
    Mondays have just been ramped up with something new to look forward to!
    Grazie!

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  12. As a foodie myself, I know I’m going to enjoy Nibbles. Your focaccia looks wonderful. Just want to tear a little hunk off that and dip it in some nice olive oil. Incidentally, not all ornamental rosemary is tasty. The ornamentals are not the same as the herbs we buy in the store. Hope you got a good one!

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  13. Hey Leah, Think your new feature is a great idea. I can’t wait to see what you wiz-up in the kitchen. I love watching cooking shows too but you are right they never turn out the same but it’s all about the taste I think. That what l tell my family anyway😄 Focaccia bread yum, and your Rosemary adventure really gave me a giggle. Thanks for a great post. Have a great day:)

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  18. Love your banner! Is that an original piece of art you created for your feature? I also find Jamie Oliver a kitchen inspiration. Modifying some of his recipes to be gluten free is my creative time. I also travel with a small pair of scissors. It’s called “wild crafting” when you liberate herbs found along you walks. 😉

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  23. Once I really “nail” something, I promise to share recipes. This turned out well, but it requires a vit of tweaking. Ah, the work ahead of me. Testing and tasting, testing and tasting.

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  26. Thanks for checking it out, Jennifer. I am just waiting for cooler weather so my neighbour can give me some pointers.

    Once he has me making fantastic focaccia, you can bet I will be posting!

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