Only Recipes, by Alessandra Zecchini ©

I was not sure if you post this or not... I roasted some veggies, pumpkin, potatoes (previously boiled but not too soft) and orange kumara with red onion... everything was drizzled with olive oil and the first two were seasoned with salt, smoked paprika, garlic, cumin seeds and just a little chili. The kumara and red onion just had salt and olive oil, and once baked I added some Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena. Everything was so yummy, but ... by mistake I must have deleted the image with the roasted veggies! I looked for it on my phone, it was gone, completely gone! I think that these days I am taking far too many photos with my iPhone, and to make space I need to delete a lot of them, and sometimes I delete them before downloading them!!! Yes, it is not the first time that something like this has happened :-(. Does it ever happens to you? And does anyone know how many pics I can have on my iPhone at any moment? I am so scared of overloading it... thank you and enjoy the...

Photo by Alessandra Zecchini© Kawakawa  tea!!! I have many kawakawa plants in the bush around the house, the leaves are beautiful and make a lovely tea, and even an infusion used in  Māori medicine for several ailments. The seeds can be used as  long pepper  (the plant is related to the pepper family) and if you like an extra tip, New Zealand bush inspired but created by an Italian (me :-), I use kawakawa instead of vanilla to flavour cremes and custards and panna cotta and so on. To give you an example have a look at my  Flan with Kawakawa crème and Kahikatea berries ! But mostly I like to go into the garden/bush, pick a few leaves, wash them and pour hot water over them. One or two leaves per cup will suffice, the smell is truly delicious, and this is foraging at its best because everyone can do it!  And of course I like to add a teaspoon of NZ  honey .

My silverbeet is not big enough to be picked, but I was working in the veggie garden and I broke one entire little plant by mistake. Well, I cut it right back, and maybe it will grow again. I  saut é  the leaves with olive oil, some  onion weed  (again) and a few black olives. A pinch of salt and pepper and some grilled bread for bruschetta, and lunch for two was ready, maybe unplanned, but ready! Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini  ©

More than a recipe this is a serving suggestion for breakfast! We like to have (free range) eggs and soldiers on Saturday morning, but even better if instead of 'soldiers' made with toast strips, we have thick grissini (Italian bread sticks). Just dip the grissini into the soft boiled eggs and enjoy! Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini  ©

Lots of people know by now that I eat flowers, but still, some think of it as a bit of a freak thing to do. But if you have a few edible flowers in your garden (absolutely organic, no sprays allowed) they just make your dishes look so pretty, and they are not merely a decoration, they can have flavour and fragrance too! I used onion weed flowers, which have a mild garlic/oniony taste, and nasturtiums, which are probably the only flowers that the general public in New Zealand seem to consder edible (some claim to use them in salads, but in all these years here I have seen more trendy talk than action, and still far too much coleslaw). My first borage flowers and a few little violets added perhaps little taste, but they are eye catching with their blue hues, and welcome on my plate anytime. On a large plate I prepared a bed of baby spinach leaves and then I steamed some asparagus. To save time and gas I steamed the asparagus over the vegetable soup that I ...