The other day I was at the Mediterranean Wholesaler stocking up on some olive oil, Parmesan, tins of San Marzano tomatoes, Limoncello and Marsala. I have been shopping at the wholesaler for the last ten years or so and both Hoover and Fussy often tag along as they love it there. They especially love to sit down at the café mid-shop and have a slice of pizza or a bombolini filled with chocolate custard.

On this particular occasion I was unencumbered and child-less so I was able to chat to Mario in the wine section about how I could get my hands on some Sicilian Cannellino (thanks Mona I can't find it anywhere hint hint) and I was also able to have a decent, uninterrupted conversation with Sandra from the cakes section.

I went on a bit of a door and balcony photo frenzy while I was in Malta and Spain. This photo was taken one afternoon while walking around the El Born district  - it's such a great place!

I was recently gifted with a kilo's worth of fresh raspberries from Rena's farm as she has had a bumper crop this year and I was fortunate enough to get my hands on some - for free! If you were from Melbourne you'd know what an amazing gift that is as the current price for a measly 200g punnet of fresh raspberries is close to $7.00.

Rena is my neighbour's aunt and she makes the most divine raspberry jam and plum sauce that I have ever tasted. Although the children love Rena's plum sauce they're not that keen on fresh raspberries as they find them a little too tart.

Rather than make a Semolina & Raspberry tart I decided to make some Sorbetto di Lamponi - Raspberry Sorbet. Can I tell you, both my two children and my neighbour's children for that matter, could not get this sorbet down their necks fast enough.

So I guess there's no question as to what I'm going to do with the other half a kilo of raspberries sitting in my freezer drawer!

Earlier on in the year when we were planning our trip to Europe we found it incredibly difficult to decide were to go to after Malta. The two real contenders were always Barcelona and Umbria. Hence, the pull towards Umbria was huge, as Deb from Italian Food Forever had invited us to come stay with her and her husband at their glorious farmhouse in Umbria.

Have you not seen their amazing farmhouse? Go take a look and then you can appreciate the dilemma we found ourselves in trying to decide.

Yet, long before my friendship with Deb there was my love and intrigue for beautiful Barcelona. That's not to say I don't value and cherish our friendship Deb, but in terms of 'bucket lists' Barcelona, Gaudi, Picasso and the Mercat de la Boqueria have been high up on my list for well over two decades. So after much debating and to-ing and fro-ing we decided that Spain it would be!

As you have probably gathered by now, tomatoes are a favourite of mine. Thankfully I had a couple of weeks in Malta in September so I was able to indulge my tomato compulsion - and how I indulged! I could eat tomatoes on their own as one would eat an apple and I also love to add them to all manner of things. Well at long last tomatoes are here!

Well they've been lurking around the supermarkets for the better part of winter, but we don't need to go there do we?

Anyway, this quick and easy lentil tabbouleh is a current favourite of mine. Hence, if you are anything like me you'd probably eat a bowl of this as is. Or you could be a little more civilised and serve it alongside some grilled fish or meat.

I know there has been a fair amount of gelato making here of late, but with the recent spike in mercury in Melbourne I think my actions are now perfectly justified. If you happen to dwell in the Northern Hemisphere please do forgive my recent kitchen antics and by all means feel free to bookmark this recipe for a later date. Or, better still, why not peruse through the 'Sweet Tarts & Pies' section of my recipe index and find something that suits your current season?

But if you're anything like Denise and I you'll agree that gelato needn't be limited to the warmer months of the year and can (and should) easily be enjoyed all year around.

There are a lot of ugly reviews about Pizza Meine Liebe, but our experience has always been good and I suppose that is why we keep going back.

For starters it's child-friendly, which is always a bonus considering we have two young children. Hence, upon arrival both children are offered a piece of pizza dough to play with instead of the usual broken crayola crayons and tattered old colouring books.

The Pinotxo bar is probably one of the best tapas bars in Barcelona. It's located to the right of the main entrance of the Mercat de la Boqueria. The ever-jovial Juanito runs the front of house, so to speak while his nephew Albert cooks up a storm in the narrow kitchen behind the bar.



If you get there early enough and are fortunate  to nab yourself a prized stool order a cortado and a xuxo de crema and spare a thought for me - sigh!

Walking into Gesther restaurant in Xaghra is like walking into your favourite aunt's kitchen - it's familiar, welcoming and honest. Hence, if you're looking for an authentic local meal in Gozo then Gesther is the place to go. The two sisters who serve traditional Gozitan dishes such as bragioli, aljotta and fenek run this tiny, retro kitchenette.

I first experienced Gesther in the late 70's as a seven-year-old girl and I'm proud to say that nothing has changed. The food, atmosphere and service are just as I remembered, both warm and inviting. The décor is quite basic in a retro kind of way, but don't let that put you off as you will be missing out on some of the most authentic, home styled cooking the island of Gozo has to offer.

After the undisputed success of Cipriani's dark chocolate gelato both at home and with you all, I decided to confer with Marcella once more. No I didn't email the darling women again, instead I decided to flick through her book, which just so happened to arrive in the mail last week.

This time I was after a basic ice cream recipe as my fussy son has been harassing me to 'make - some - plain - ice-cream - mama!' I was pleased to find a rather straightforward recipe for 'Gelato di Panna' in Marcella's book. Upon looking at the simple list of ingredients I found myself wanting to add a vanilla bean, or some Marsala or maybe even an orange or lemon peel as it seemed like it 'needed' something more. Then I read Marcella's note where she states that:

'A look at this list of ingredients for gelato di panna may give you an idea of its flavour. No gelato I have ever had has a taste so pure, nor so true a claim to the name ice cream'.

That settled it for me. I was going to exercise extreme restraint and fight the urge to add anything to the cream, milk and sugar. The end result was nothing short of spectacular and indeed it was the most pure tasting ice cream I have ever had the good fortune of tasting.

I served the Gelato di Panna with some fresh strawberries that I had splashed with just a hint of rosewater, as I thought that Marcella would not have an issue with me fiddling around with the berries.

While I was quietly sipping my afternoon espresso at Il-Kartell, I suddenly spotted all these women appear, as it were from out of nowhere. They descended upon this particular street corner in Marsalforn dragging folding chairs behind them. From the depths of their calico shopping bags they pulled out their game boards and proceeded to play Bingo right there and then, oblivious to the world around them.

La Llavor dels Origens offers four gastronomic spaces in the heart of Barcelona and their aim is to take their patrons on a 'culinary and cultural journey through the different parts of Catalonia, without leaving the city'. Hence, their concept is simple - to provide a 'restaurant-bar, take-away food, shop and bakery where one can find authentic products used in Catalonia cooking'.

The restaurant spaces offer a dining area where you can taste traditional dishes from all over Catalonia and learn about the history of their origins through an extensive menu-magazine with descriptions and pictures of all their dishes, wines and desserts. The menu-magazine is printed in Castilian, Catalan, French and English and the staff at Origens are more than happy to give you a copy to take home to read at your leisure.

As well as the restaurant, Origens also provide their patrons with a speciality food store where you can readily buy all the products on offer in their restaurants and other wonderful artisan products from Catalonia. In doing so, Origens aspire to evoke the 'tradition of the old cellars, so alive historically in villages and neighbourhoods in our towns, where at affordable prices, and at ease you can buy, eat and get to know our tradition'.

Well one tradition I was determined to experience was Crema Catalana. And, at the risk of sounding like a broken record - this particular Crema Catalana has got to be the best one I have ever had! You're absolutely free to disagree with me on this one, and as a result we will probably have to part our different ways, but I'm standing my ground here - this Crema Catalana was exceptional!

I've wanted to make loukoumades for some time now, but have been put off because they appeared to be too fiddly and time consuming. To be perfectly honest when I'm craving something sweet, the last thing I want to do is sit around and wait for dough to rise. I'm the first to admit that I don't possess Jamie, Ilva or Deeba's grace and patience when it comes to baking. Where sugar is concerned, I'm pretty much an instant gratification kind of girl.



So when Anastasia happened to mention on the phone the other day that she doesn't add yeast to her loukamades, I suddenly became all ears. Anastasia is one of those annoyingly gifted cooks who improvises and guesstimates her way around the kitchen and gauges quantities by look and feel.