Author Archive
Scotland: Drum Castle Walled Garden Aberdeenshire
Drum Castle Walled Garden – Aberdeenshire, Scotland Autumn has come to Aberdeen. As winter slowly approaches we’re doing our best to spend as much time as we can outdoors. We recently had a particularly memorable visit to the walled garden at Drum Castle. It’s roughly a 30-minute-drive from our home in the city. The garden...
Eggplant Parmigiana Bites Recipe (aka Party Parma Bites)
Eggplant Parmigiana Bites recipe (aka Parma Party Bites) Eggplant Parmigiana Bites are a celebratory twist on my Mum’s eggplant parmigiana. Rather than creating an entire traybake, eggplant rounds are individually sauced, topped with mozzarella, dusted with Parmigiano Reggiano and garnished with a basil leaf to create individual bite-sized portions. These are so moreish and perfect...
Festive Baking Swap 2026 – Registrations now Open
Festive Baking Swap 2026 – registrations now open! [REGISTER HERE] What is the Festive Baking Swap? The Festive Baking Swap started in 2019 when I was a new mother to a toddler, and living overseas during the pandemic. I wanted to share some joy during a globally dark time. To me there is nothing...
Story – A real happy meal
In this memory I reflect on childhood and the lengths my mother went to, to prepare us real food. A real happy meal By Jen Curcio It was the school holidays. Every single day, my younger sister and I would beg our mother for the smartest meal marketed at children on the planet. Hint: it...
Zuza Zak – Foodie Profile
Zuza Zak is a Polish-British cookbook author and nutritionist based in the UK. In our Foodie Profile, Zuza talks about her journey into food writing and the themes and food stories that inspire her work. We of course also discuss Zuza’s fifth and latest release, The Gutsy Kids Cookbook – a gut-focused cookbook for children....
Baked apples with raspberries and nuts recipe by Zuza Zak
Baked Apples with raspberries and nuts recipe by Zuza Zak I don’t usually like scooping things out and stuffing them (bad experience with an onion), but these apples are an exception. This is the kind of dessert that you could expect to get in the Polish countryside. Stuffed apples come with various fillings, so feel...
Story: Lasagna and last meals
This story is about lasagna but it is also about my dear late Uncle Frank and the memories that dishes carry. Lasagna and last meals By Jen Curcio A few weeks ago I was lying in bed when a memory from my childhood resurfaced. Many years ago, when I was about 10 years old, my...
Sicilian stuffed sardines recipe (Sarde al beccafico) by Rosa Mitchell
Sicilian stuffed sardines recipe (sarde al beccafico) This recipe for Sicilian stuffed sardines was originally published in Rosa’s first cookbook, My Cousin Rosa: Rosa Mitchell’s Sicilian Kitchen. Sarde are sardines in Italian and beccafico literally translated means ‘fig pecker’ – the term given to a type of garden warbler. These little warblers were considered a...
Rosa Mitchell – Foodie Profile
Rosa Mitchell is the face and name behind one of Melbourne’s most beloved, authentic Italian restaurants, Rosa’s Canteen. She showcases and celebrates the food from her regional homeland of Sicily, and champions using local and seasonal produce. Rosa also runs food tours in Sicily, as well as Sardinia. In this Foodie Profile she tells us...
Leek stew with olives recipe from Oltenia by Irina Georgescu (Mâncare de Praz cu Măsline)
Mâncare de Praz cu MăslineLeek stew with olives from Oltenia Every recipe in my books feels special to me, though some hold more weight than others. In my latest book, Danube – Recipes from Eastern Europe, I included one that reaches deep into my roots, a dish from my grandfather’s homeland of Oltenia. This humble recipe, built...
Irina Georgescu – Foodie Profile
In this Foodie Profile I chat to the award-winning, cookbook author and food writer, Irina Georgescu. Irina hails from Romania and though now based in the UK, she is a culinary and cultural champion of her homeland. In addition to authoring three cookbooks, Irina also runs food tours in Romania. Read on to discover more...
Ursula Ferrigno – Foodie Profile
Foodie Profile – Ursula Ferrigno Ursula Ferrigno is one of Britain’s best-known voices on Italian food. A chef, cookery teacher and prolific cookbook author, she has spent decades writing and teaching about the regional cuisines, ingredients and traditions that define Italy’s food culture. In this Q&A, we talk about her latest cookbook, Cucina dell’Emilia-Romagna: Recipes...
