Only Recipes, by Alessandra Zecchini ©

This is so easy and simple that I wasn't even sure if it was worth publishing, but then the other day I was reading  this post from Sue  and I though yeah, why not! I have been making instant frozen berries sorbet for years, but at first I used to make it with the frozen berries blended with a little sugar. It was good, maybe a bit watery, but good. I also tried with yogurt, but still needed sugar. But then I tried to add a banana, and I never turned back! A banana makes the sorbet creamy like an ice cream, and you don't need any sugar! I made it a few times and then the other day I discovered frozen banana slices, and for this I have to thank Sue. Yes yes of course I heard about froze banana before, but the way Sue made  her ice cream  was inspiring and really made me think that maybe frozen banana slices were what I needed all along to 'upgrade' my recipe! And yes, I can confirm that it is better to use frozen bananas! The sorbet/ice cream stays 'froz

Ingredients spinach feta egg breadcrumbs Olive oil for frying thyme (optional) Wash and cook a big bunch of spinach, then chop as finely as you can/wish. Place in a bowl and add some feta (about 100 g for each bunch of spinach), one egg and as much breadcrumbs as you need to make a mixture that can be shaped into small walnut size balls. Pan fry in olive oil turning them often until cooked. Place on some kitchen paper lined with fresh thyme (if using) to remove excess oil and give the polpettine a hint of thyme flavor. Serve hot, or even cold. My kids love them! Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini  ©

Quinoa with flowers Ingredients 1 cup quinoa 2 cups water 1 small carrot 1 small cucumber 1 bunch onion weed (or spring onions) 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil juice from half a lemon salt and pepper to taste edible flowers Cook one cup of quinoa with two cups of water for 20 minutes. In the meantime chop very finely a small carrot, a small cucumber and a bunch of onion weeds (or spring onions). Put the still hot quinoa into a serving bowl, add two tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, the chopped vegetables, the juice of half a lemon and salt and pepper to taste. This dish can be served warm or cold (yes, even if it has cucumber it can be served warm!). Just before serving add edible flowers: I used onion weed flowers, marigold, violets and bok choy flowers. Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini  ©

This didn't start as a brownie, it started as a vegan chocolate-hazelnut spread. I had some hazelnuts to roast, and after doing that I decided to use a few for a nutella like spread, but vegan... and more chocolaty :-).  Vegan chocolate-hazelnut spread 5 tbps roasted hazelnuts (remove all skin too!) 3 tbps rice bran oil 100 gr dark chocolate (72% and dairy free) 50 ml hot water Blend the hazelnuts and oil with an immersion blender until you get a cream. In the meantime melt the chocolate with hot water at bain-marie (nothing bad will happen, just keep stirring!). Mix everything together. If the hazelnuts are not fresh or oily enough you may need a bit more oil. But my problem is that when I have a chocolate spread I don't spread it, I eat it all with a spoon! Too dangerous, I had to make something with it. What about a Vegan chocolate slice, a bit like a Vegan chocolate brownie... Vegan chocolate brownie 6 tbsp of Vegan chocolate-

Lemon Soy Butter mushrooms, Japanese Mountain Style Now, I say "Japanese Mountain" because once I went for a hike in the mountains in Japan and stopped in a lovely wooden tavern for food. The mushrooms were fresh Shitake, so the taste was different, but I liked how they were cooked so much that I do it often with portobello mushrooms (or portabello??? The  producer's website  uses both spellings, maybe they are two types but I cannot tell the diffence), to give them more taste. 1 x 250 g pack breakfast portabello mushrooms 1 tbsp rice bran oil 2 tbsp Japanese Soy Sauce (not Chinese, only use the Japanese one) Juice of half a lemon Lemon slices to decorate 20 g butter, cubed Clean the mushrooms removing the outer skin as much as possible, and brushing them with a paper towel. Heat a skillet or a frying pan with 1 tbsp of rice bran oil and then add the mushrooms, cap facing down, stalks up. Make sure that you move the mushrooms around with a s

These are the final dishes of my  Vegan Japanese dinner . For those of you who missed some 'episodes', the antipasto was raw  avocado sashimi , and the main  Fried tofu puffs simmered in vegetable broth , and by clicking  here  you can find the side vegetables,  Broccoli and cauliflowers with easy miso sauce , and  Quick Japanese Cucumber and Radish Pickles . So, how do you finish a Japanese meal? Usually with soup and rice (dessert is optional really, a little seasonal fruit is preferred, like in  this Autumn meal , where the fruit was persimmon,  this fancy Japanese picnic basket , with mandarins - they are easy to carry, or  this Summer meal , where dessert was... berries).  But not fruit tonight, we just finished with rice and soup. Rice is served at the end to fill  the stomach, and diners eat what they need according to their body mass (this, I was told by a Ryokan chef in Kyoto,  Nami , is it true?). By the time I served the rice and soup the light was gon