Azoresgal~Life on an Island

I would be very content to have this be served to me as my last meal on earth.  Fried egg and bacon, on top of crunchy toasted bread.... SERIOUSLY what's not to love !   It is really quite versatile too, serve it for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It is also medicinal...tis´true....perfect for curing hangovers ( so I´ve been told  ). There are really no rules to this sandwich, anything goes, make it your way, just to your liking. Ingredients: 2 pieces of bread 4 slices of bacon ( or more, much more ) 1 egg Directions: 1. In a small frying pan, cook the 4 slices of bacon, when bacon is cooked, remove onto some paper towels. Next fry the egg in the bacon fat egg , to your  desired “over-easy” or “well-done”, it's up to you ! 2. Toast 2 pieces of bread.... ( here you can the SLATHER with butter, or mayo, or jam etc.) 3. Cut the slices of bacon in half and lay on toast. Top with the egg. 4. Again this is your sandwich, you can add cheese, or lettuce, or tomat

This quick little soup, is one I have been making since my kids were toddlers. It so very simple, and tasty, served with some crackers, or grilled cheese, kids love it. So do big kids !.. I prefer to add cream instead of milk, just makes it richer, the baking soda is added so the milk does not curdle. For a more adult version of this,  add some thinly sliced basil, and any other spices you might like. Hope you try it ! Cream of Tomato Soup 1/3 cup butter 1/4 cup flour 4 cups tomato juice ( 1 liter) or V-8 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 2 - 3 cups milk ( or cream) 2 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt In a large sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Then whisk in the flour until smooth. Add the tomato juice or V-8 and stir until it thickens. Next whisk in the baking soda  followed by 2 cups of milk, sugar and salt. Cook until heated though. Taste the soup at this point and if you like it creamier, add the additional cup of milk.  Divide into  bowls and serve with cra

Though fresh pasta might require you to spend a little more time in your kitchen, the effort is so worth it. It is  very satisfying to eat a plate of pasta that you've created from scratch. Yes, perhaps store bought is cheaper, and alot faster, but this really is a labor of love. The tricky part, can be the pasta machine itself, but be patient, once you get the hang of it, things will go smoothly. If you don't have a pasta machine, the dough can be rolled out, and then cut free-style, makes for less clean up too. 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 3 eggs 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon olive oil Directions Put the flour and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a couple of times to combine. Add the eggs and olive oil to the food processor and turn on, letting run for about 30 seconds until the dough comes together around the blades. If it is dry and pebbly looking, add one tsp of water at a time and pulse. If it

 This sauce is a keeper, the meatballs, cook in the sauce for an addtional 25 minutes. Again very quick to make, with pretty basic ingredients. I use passata, so as to avoid tears at the dinner table, the kids are not fond of chunky textures. Just before serving, I added in some fresh chopped basil. Ingredients from here 1 tablespoon good olive oil 1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion) 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic 1/2 cup good red wine, 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, or plum tomatoes in puree, chopped ( I used 2 jars of Passata) 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 1 1/2 teaspoons  salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper  I chopped the onion, the garlic, and the parsley, all at once, in the food processor. Heat the olive oil in the same pan the meatballs were fried in. Add the onion and saute over medium heat until translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the wine and cook on high he

These meatballs are very delicate and moist. Very easy to make and quick, and the best part is you know exactly what went into them. I get my butcher to grind half beef, half pork, for these. I found these in my Ina Garten cookbook, they are a hit. The sauce is also out of this world. I will post that next !  Meatballs : found here  ( I did not use the dry bread crumbs, or the nutmeg)  Ingredients   500 grams ground beef veal 500 grams ground pork 1 cup fresh white bread crumbs (4 slices, crusts removed) 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 2 teaspoons  salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 extra-large egg, beaten 3/4 of a cup warm water Vegetable oil Olive oil In the food processor, pulse the slices of bread, and parsley and garlic gloves. Then pulse the Parmesan cheese.   Place the ground meats,  bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, salt, pepper, egg, and 3/4 cup

 If  " Cooking is love made visible ", than this is one big plate of love. Homemade meatballs and sauce, served with homemade pasta ! I will not lie, I was in the kitchen all day, preparing this meal, but it was so worth it ! I will write up all the recipes as individual posts, so as not to make it one huge long mess. xo, Diana

This soup is oh so very creamy, you would think it was made with lots of cream. It isn't, it's not even made with any potatoes. Gasp, it´s a healthy soup, okay, okay, there is some butter, but you can use olive oil instead. I make this alot for Mr. G, he is the health conscious one in our house, however, I must admit, this is a very yummy. Being the rebel, that I am, I like to add a dollop of crème fraîche (don't judge me) when serving, well , in my bowl anyway ! Try to use smaller, younger zucchini, the skin is tender. If you use older, larger zucchini, the peel will have a bitter aftertaste, peel the zucchini for a sweeter soup. Without the peel, there will be no little green flecks, in the soup. Zucchini Soup 6 tablespoons butter or olive oil 1 white onion, sliced 2 garlic cloves minced 4 medium zucchini, sliced (remove the peel if you wish) 4 cups chicken broth (4 cups water + 1 cube of chicken maggi) Salt and pepper Melt the butter in a pot over medium

You know what they say, "bacon makes everything taste better", and I am not going to argue with that ! These brussel sprouts were so delicous, and very easy to make. In a baking dish, that I drizzled with a little bit of olive oil, I added in  bag of frozen brussel sprouts (still frozen), and a package of diced bacon. Tossed both of them together, and roasted in a 200º C oven for about 45 minutes. Once the were done I gave them a good splash of balsamic vinegar, just before serving. I did not add any salt, but that is only because I always feel, bacon has enough salt as it is. xo, Diana

Peach what ?? Kuchen , is the german word for cake. This is a lovely little dessert, really easy to make, not overly sweet, just perfect with a cup of tea. It has a nice crust, similar to a cookie, and the filling is very creamy almost like a cheesecake. Don't be scared off by the pictures, I promise it's easy peasy. CRUST: 1 cup  all-purpose flour 1/4 cup  confectioners' sugar 1/4 teaspoon  salt 1/2 cup  butter FILLING: 1 can (large can)  peaches, sliced and drained 2 eggs 1 cup  sugar 1/4 teaspoon  salt 3 tablespoons  all-purpose flour 1 cup  (8 ounces) sour cream Directions In a small bowl, combine flour, confectioners' sugar and salt. Cut in butter to form a dough. Pat lightly into an ungreased small baking dish/ pan. Arrange peaches over the crust; set aside. In another bowl, beat eggs. Whisk in the sugar, salt, flour and sour cream until mixture is smooth. Pour over the peaches. Bake at  220/450° for

                                        "Necessity  is the mother of  invention " This certainly was true today, I had no clue what to make for lunch. No clue..... and had not gone grocery shopping over the weekend. So searching I went, in the cupboard I found some penne ( we always have pasta ), next I raided the fridge. Eureeka , half a jar of olives, half a jar of sun-dried tomatoes, and you guessed it, half a bag of basil !. I cooked the pasta, in salted water, then drained it. Then added in, the olives, the fresh basil , and the tomatoes, chopped. Added a great big glug of olive oil, and some minced garlic, and tossed it all together. It was delicious, and the best part, I used up ingredients I had in the house. That's kind of cool ..right ??