Miniature Sushi, every piece is a grain of rice

I find it very relaxing to make miniature food, and I particularly enjoyed making this. 

Could it be the smallest sushi in the world? Each piece is exactly a grain of rice! But it is easier that you may think, just check the video out.

I made the rice like regular sushi rice (recipe here) and for the toppings I just used a variety of Japanese pickles, plus nori and bamboo shoots, so this is actually a vegan sushi. It looked super cute!!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Roasted onion 'lily'

I saw this idea on Pinterest and loved it! Just peel and cut whole onions from the top into 6 or 8 slices, but leaving the end attached. Then, when you roast the onions they will open like lily flowers.

Of course the Pinterest photo had onions that looked brighter and … raw, yes possibly more photogenic, but surely not as tasty! Roast your onions properly, until they are soft and sweet. I roasted mine with potatoes, adding olive oil, salt and spices (also, I cannot digest raw onions, so I do prefer to cook them anyway). Next time I will try to boil them first and see what happens :-).

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Naturally green ideas for St Patrick's Day

Happy St Patrick's Day! Around this time of the year I see a lot of pins and posts full of green food which, sadly, tends to be full of… green coloring! Why? I like to take advantage of this celebration to propose that we eat more greens, and I mean natural greens! So, here to a healthy St Patrick's Day!

I'll start super healthy, with this super green juice with cucumber, celery and silver beet.

or more green juices if you like to add some fruit too:

Celery lemon and green apple

Cucumber, celery and green apple

And here one to detox if you drink too much Guinness!

Celery, Rhubarb, cucumber and apple

For a starter I love a Garlic and cilantro guacamole, vegan and gluten free, and the kids love it too!

Garlic and cilantro guacamole

For a green main I love pasta with green sauces, like this Pasta with chive sauce

And here some more delicious vegetarian and vegan recipes

Spanakopita

Cous cous with Broccoli romani

Palak Paneer 

And for for dessert

Agar agar Feijoa jelly, vegan and gluten free

Or this Green Frangipane Tart 

These little homemade marzipans are colored with spiraling, and topped with pistachio, a lovely green, vegan, raw and gluten free treat for a special occasion, or for a edible present. So here we are, lots of naturally green suggestions, Happy St Patrick's Day!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Royal icing Christmas decorations

I made some royal icing (or fondant) decorations last year and they still look good. This is a good and inexpensive way to make your own beautiful decorations, and very little skill is required (just a few cookie cutters!). Last year my decorations were all white (I had a all-white Xmas tree). But this year my main tree is white with a touch of red and a South Tyrol/Scandinavian look (lots of reindeers and Alpine motifs), so I also made a few red decorations, and painted some of the white ones with red reinders (you can use a craft stamp for the outlines and a little red jam diluted with water and a fine paintbrush). I also made a little tree with royal icing white and green decorations, I will post some photos in the next few days. In the meantime if you like you can find out how to make royal icing decorations by clicking here, or here.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Asparagus and Halloumi filo rolls

These are much better than asparagus rolls (although I confess that I don't like asparagus rolls, I only eat them if I have to, i.e. I go to a 'high tea' and the only vegetarian sandwich are... asparagus rolls! High teas are not very imaginative in this part of the world). So yes, I like to boast that these are 100 times better than asparagus rolls made with buttered white bread! 

I got the idea after doing this (another invention of mine :-)) and I though of adding a lightly steamed asparagus to each roll, and just a little Halloumi. For each roll you will need only one sheet of filo pastry, roll it up like a spring roll (closing the ends), brush with water (you can use melted butter or olive oil, but water is fine and no fat!) and bake until golden. Easy to make and I can assure you that these will go like hot cakes!

Photos and recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Cutting nori seaweed with a pasta machine!

I had an idea! Instead of cutting nori seaweed with scissors (like I usually do) I tried with a pasta machine, with the tagliolini setting. And it works really well! Next time I'll show you how I used it, but for now I just wanted to share the idea! Anyway, great to top rice, soba, soups, salads... so pretty too!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©