Charlotte’s Chocolate-Toffee Popcorn

Tags

chocolate, chocolate and toffee popcorn, chocolate popcorn, Fiesta Friday, Fiesta Friday #2, kids make popcorn, party popcorn, popcorn, toffee

I’m invited to a party over at The Novice Gardner. I LOVE parties! Angie is hosting Fiesta Friday, and what fun is a party without popcorn? And not just any popcorn. I walked into the kitchen last Sunday and found my girls making this sweet treat. It was Charlotte’s idea and of course where popcorn is involved, Emma is sure to be there! Foraging through the pantry, Charlotte came across some Belgian milk chocolate and toffee bits. She told Emma her idea and off they were, making a mess in my kitchen. Do you recall when I mentioned that all I wanted for Christmas were little elves to follow me around all day, picking up after me? I neglected to mention that I’ve already got my little elves, only instead of cleaning up the messes, they create them! So, drop by Angie’s Fiesta Friday #2 and enjoy the party!

Charlotte’s Chocolate-Toffee Popcorn

Popcorn kernels

Belgian milk, or dark, chocolate

Toffee bits

Sea salt, optional

Pop the kernels and spread the popcorn onto a couple of baking sheets. Melt the chocolate using a hot water bath, or bain marie. Using a spoon, pour the melted chocolate over the popcorn. Immediately add the toffee bits, so that they can adhere to the chocolate as it cools. Sprinkle with sea salt for a sweet and salty popcorn. Oh! So yummy! Perfect for any party. Have a great weekend!

No-Bake Cheesecake Even Kids Can Make

Tags

Baking with kids, berries and cheesecake, cheesecake, dessert, Kids in the kitchen, no-bake cheesecake, seasonal

Both my daughters were in the mood for baking. The only problem was that it was 35 degrees C. 43 C with the humidity index. Way too hot for baking! What we needed was a dessert to beat the heat. One which didn’t require baking. A cool dessert, creamy and sumptuous, but no hot oven. We found just the thing here, thanks to Martha Stewart. A no-bake cheesecake, topped with luscious berries fresh from the farmers’ market. Simple enough that it required no help from me… other than to break-up the occasional bickering! Oh, what was I thinking?

No-Bake Cheesecake

2 cups of Graham Cracker Crumbs

1 stick (1/4 cup) of unsalted butter, melted

3 tablespoons of sugar

Salt

2 x 8 oz. (1 lb.) packages of cream cheese, room temperature

3/4 cup of confectioner’s sugar

1 cup of full-fat Greek yogurt

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1 cup of heavy (35%) cream, whipped

Fresh berries

In a large bowl, add the Graham Cracker crumbs, the butter, 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Use your fingers to combine. Press the crumb mixture evenly onto the bottom, and 1 inch up the sides, of a 9-inch springform pan.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer on high, until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, yogurt, vanilla, and a pinch of salt, and beat until smooth. With a rubber spatula, fold in the whipped cream. Pour cream cheese mixture into the crust and smooth the top. Cover and refrigerate until firm, at least 8 hours (or overnight).

Decorate with your favourite berries. Enjoy!

Zeppole di San Giuseppe

Tags

baked zeppole, custard, easter, Easter pastries, zeppole, zeppole di San Giuseppe

San Giuseppe is Italian for Saint Joseph and March 19 is the Festa di San Giuseppe (Feast of Saint Joseph) in Italy. And we know how much Italians love and pay homage to their Saints. They love to celebrate and with all the saints out there, you can be sure that there’s a Saint being celebrated somewhere in Italy probably every day of the year!

Although the Festa di San Giuseppe was first celebrated in Sicily, it has now spread throughout all of Italy. Legend has it that Sicily suffered a terrible drought and famine during the Middle Ages. It destroyed most of their crops and many people died of starvation. The people of Sicily began praying to Saint Joseph, begging for his help, and in return they would celebrate his name day with religious feasts and an abundance of food. An abundance of food is quite clearly at the centre of everything for Italians, isn’t it?  Well, their prayers were answered at midnight on March 19 and the incessant rain that followed turned the dry and barren lands of Sicily into a lush, green, fertile Island!

Zeppole is, basically, deep-fried dough and sprinkled with sugar, much like a sugared doughnut. Zeppole di San Giuseppe, made specifically on Saint Joseph’s Day, can be either fried or baked and are then stuffed with either a custard or a ricotta cheese filling. They are everywhere in Italy on March 19, which incidentally also happens to be Father’s Day in Italy. Here in Montreal, these specialty zeppole can be found in Italian bakeries just before the 19th of March and right up until Easter. Come Easter Monday, and they vanish!. Just like the Easter Bunny!

So to pay homage to my father and to keep my girls rooted with our Italian traditions, I made some for my family. They love these things! The girls were super excited! Peter was questioning why I was baking them instead of going the deep-fry method. Can you guess his preference? I wanted something not so heavy and oily on this day of homage. Besides, I wanted to be able to have two and not feel guilty!

Pastry Dough for Zeppole  makes 8

4 eggs

80 g of butter

200 ml of water

120 g of flour

1 teaspoon of sugar

Pinch of salt

Using your fingers, break-up the butter into small pieces and put them into a small saucepan. Add the water, salt and sugar. Heat over medium heat until butter has melted. Remove from heat. Add the flour, sifting it into the butter mixture and whisking until smooth.

Return to heat and with a wooden spoon, keep stirring until the dough comes together and forms a ball. Remove from heat once you see a white film on the bottom of your saucepan. Place the dough on a plate to cool.

Place the cooled dough into the bowl of an electric mixer. You could also use a hand-held mixer or do this by hand. Beat in one egg at a time, ensuring that each egg has been incorporated into the dough before the addition of the next egg.

Scoop the batter into a piping bag. I find this easier to do with the bag draped open over a glass.

Place parchment paper on a baking sheet. Using a star Wilton tip #20, pipe a circle, about 8 cm in diameter. I made my zeppole 3 circles wide (go around in circles 3 times). I then repeated this procedure with a second layer on top.

Bake in a 375 degree F/190 C oven for 35 minutes, until golden on top. Leave in oven for 10 minutes. Once cooled, cut the zeppole in 1/2 and fill with vanilla custard. You can sprinkle some confectioner’s sugar over the zeppole if you wish. You can also add a little splash of colour with a candied cherry in the centre.

Vanilla Custard

500 ml of whole milk

50 g of flour

6 egg yolks

150 g of sugar

1 vanilla bean

Pour the milk into a small saucepan. Slice open the vanilla bean, scrape the seeds and add both to the milk. Heat over medium-low, until it just begins to simmer. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar. Add to the hot milk mixture. Whisk in the flour and return to heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until it begins to boil. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl and cool completely.

Frugal Feeding with Moroccan Meatballs

Tags

beef, Cooking with kids, frugal cooking, meatballs, Moroccan dish, Moroccan meatballs, North African cooking

I came across this great recipe from a blog that I follow, Frugal Feeding. A young man living in England, Nick inspires us with an array of delicious, wholesome foods while striving to remain thrifty about it. His fabulous photos of Moroccan Meatballs enticed me to give this recipe a try.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 300g ground beef

• 3 tbsp chopped fresh herbs

• 1 egg

• 40g breadcrumbs

• Salt, a pinch of

• Pepper, a pinch of

• 2 tsp cumin seed

• ½ tsp ground cinnamon

• 3-4 tbsp olive oil

• 2 cloves of garlic, mashed

• 1-2 chillies, finely chopped

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 1 stick of celery, finely chopped

• 3 bay leaves

• 1 green bell pepper, roughly chopped

• 1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped

• 1 28 oz/796 ml can of peeled plum tomatoes

• 1 tbsp tomato purée

• A large handful of raisins

• 200g chickpeas

• 1 tbsp honey

I started with about 450 g of ground beef and just upped the ingredients a little. I love leftovers. The fresh herbs I used were cilantro and mint. Very Moroccan. Cilantro and parsley are the most popular herbs used in Moroccan cuisine, with mint a close second since it is used to make Moroccan tea. I did not have fresh chillis therefore I used harissa, a North African red, hot chilli paste. I minced the garlic, used fresh bay leaves because I had them and used a yellow and orange pepper, also because I had them. Trying to be frugal, right?

I have to say that preparing dinner during the week is a true demonstration of my multi-tasking talents. As I was reading and preparing this recipe, giving Emma her English spelling bee and answering Charlotte’s math questions, I inadvertently mucked the recipe up. Just a tad. They say you should always read a recipe through first. I say, if you’re using delicious ingredients to begin with, does it really matter what order they go into the dish? The end result will be delicious regardless.

Mix the meat, herbs, egg, breadcrumbs and seasonings in a large bowl. Which I did, including the ground cumin and cinnamon. Only they weren’t supposed to go into the meat mixture. The end result though was a delicious Moroccan meatball. If you have children, do have them make the little meatballs. Nothing better than little hands rolling out little meatballs! Or any meatballs, for that matter.

What actually needs to be done with the cumin seeds is to toast them in a pan until they release their aroma, 2 or 3 minutes over medium heat, and then crush them with a mortar and pestle, or an electric spice grinder. Which I went ahead and did anyway. The tomatoes will welcome these spices and give it that Moroccan flare. So, heat the oil in an oven-proof pot over medium heat and fry the ground cumin and cinnamon in it for about a minute. Add celery and onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic and chllis, or harissa, and cook for a couple of minutes. Add bay leaves, peppers, tomatoes and puree. Cook, covered, over a gentle heat for about an hour. Turn the oven on at 325 F. Add raisins, chickpeas, honey and meatballs to the sauce. Earlier that day, I mistook a can of cannellini beans in my pantry for chickpeas…so, no chickpeas for me! And I forgot to add the honey! I was doing homework, remember? Although Nick did say to fry the meatballs first, I did not. At this point, I was just too frazzled! You can go ahead and fry them first in a little oil, or just do as I did and throw them into the sauce raw.  Cover the pot with foil and bake 30 to 40 minutes.

In the end, this recipe turned out to be quite delicious. I served it over a bed of couscous, which the girls absolutely love. Hope you give this a try. And remember, don’t be doing any homework with your children!

Comforting Cabbage Bundles

Tags

cabbage rolls, comfort foods, Cooking with kids, stuffed cabbage

With the new year comes my least favourite month. January. Just the sound of it makes me cringe. I might feel differently if I lived in the Southern Hemisphere. Or even New Mexico or Arizona. But alas, I live in Canada. Montreal, to be precise. And if I could hibernate for the months of January and February (shudder!), I would do so in a heartbeat. Well, not so much hibernate but more like enshroud myself in my bed with books and movies. And my wee little kittens. Seeing as I have young children who do require the assistance of their mother for their daily existence, I turn instead to comfort foods. Foods to warm and sooth the soul. Foods to nourish the spirit throughout these dark and cold days.

So I begin with cabbage rolls. I asked Emma to help with this one. Anyone who has ever made stuffed cabbage rolls before knows what a time-consuming endeavour this dish can be. And besides, cooking with Emma by my side is a comfort in itself. With comments like, “This cabbage looks like a brain!”, how could it not be? Cooking and baking with either of my girls helps lift my spirit during these dreary winter days.

The Cabbage Brain Hmm…This gives me an idea for next Halloween!

I started with a recipe which I came across in a magazine a couple of years ago and adapted it slightly, making a few changes of my own. Here’s what you’ll need.

• 1 savoy cabbage
• olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup pearl barley
• 1 1/2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 French shallots, finely chopped
• 250 g ground turkey (I used pork this time…that’s what you get when you send your hubby out to do groceries! You can also use beef, chicken or veal.)
• 1 cup ricotta cheese (I used light)
• 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tsp red-wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp salt

I like to use Savoy cabbage for the tenderness of the leaves. You can use a regular green cabbage if you prefer. Core the cabbage and leave it whole. Bring a large pot of water to boil. When I say large, what I really mean is make sure the entire cabbage will fit into your pot comfortably once it is filled with boiling water. My pot wasn’t quite large enough and once I added the head of cabbage to it, the boiling water spilling onto my stove made quite a mess of it all. So, add the head of cabbage and boil for 8 minutes. Remove from water and let cool in a colander.

Add olive oil, about 1 tablespoon, to a medium pot or deep frying pan. Heat on medium and add garlic. Cook for about a minute and add the barley. Toast the barley for a minute or so and then pour in the vegetable broth. You can use chicken or beef broth if you prefer, I just used what I had in the fridge. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 25 minutes. After 20 minutes I needed to add a tad bit of water, seeing as the barley was slightly undercooked. Remove from heat and let cool.

I then proceeded to make a quick tomato sauce.

• 1 can whole plum, peeled tomatoes (796 ml)
• 2 French shallots, minced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• sugar
• a little salt

Heat olive oil over medium-low heat and add shallots, cooking for a couple of minutes. Add garlic and cook for a minute. Add  tomatoes, salt and about 1 tablespoon of sugar – my sugar bowl is filled with brown sugar, so that’s what I used. Go ahead and use white if you prefer. Give the tomatoes a quick mash-up. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes.

Now add the remaining ingredients for the stuffing to the cooled barley. Give it a good mix.

Remove leaves from the cooled head of cabbage. You’ll need anywhere from 12 to 18, depending on the size of the leaves. Remove the centre vein. You are now ready to stuff! Place a leaf on a board and overlap the centre where the vein was removed.

Fill with about 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup stuffing. Roll tightly and place in an oven dish with a little of the tomato sauce on the bottom.

Cover the rolls with remaining sauce. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour.

Enjoy…and may they be as comforting and soothing for you as they were for me!

The Famous Norwegian Boller

Tags

Baking with kids, buns, cardamom, Norway, Norwegian, sweet

My Norwegian buddy spoke to me about a little bun which is one of the most traditional  and beloved snacks of Norway. Much like the croissant is to France, the boller, or bolle, is to Norway. They are eaten for breakfast, lunch, tea, snack and dessert. They are a milk-based bread, not overly sweet and with just a hint of cardamom. I just LOVE cardamom, such an exotically fragrant spice. They come with or without raisins, although from all the recipes I’ve read, you must be crazy not to want the raisins in them. Baked fresh daily in all bakeries, available in grocery stores and, apparently, even in gas stations. Sadly, only in Norway. Or you can make your own, as Charlotte and Emma did. I wanted to surprise my Norwegian buddy, so rather than ask him for a recipe, I did some research and landed on Mor’s boller by fiveandspice.

Makes about 12-14

• 2 1/2cups warm whole milk (about 100 degrees F)
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 5 1/2cups of all purpose flour (I use unbleached)
• 1/2 cup raisins (this is optional, but recommended) *I soaked the raisins in some warm water until ready to use.
• 1egg white, for an egg wash

In a large bowl mix together warm milk, melted butter, sugar and yeast.

Remember to check that the milk is around 100 degrees F.

Let stand 10 minutes, until yeast is good and foamy.

In the meantime I had the girls remove the cardamom seeds from their pods. You could buy already ground cardamom but I like to grind them myself for the freshest taste possible.

Stir in the salt and cardamom. Begin to stir in the flour, one cup at a time, stirring until incorporated. Stir in the raisins, drained of their liquid.

The dough should be pretty sticky, making it difficult to handle, but this is key to getting a properly soft and pillowy texture in the buns. Cover the bowl with a cloth and allow to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, until about doubled in size.  

Grease 2 cookie sheets. Punch down the dough, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it briefly, a couple of minutes.

Break off pieces of dough and form into balls slightly bigger than golf balls. Place them on cookie sheets. The recipe says it will make 12 to 14 buns; we were able to make 24.

Cover and let rise somewhere warm for 30 to 45 minutes. We let ours rise for 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350F. Brush the buns with the egg white. Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown on top. Allow to cool on cookie sheet before you dive in.

The enticing aroma that wafted through the kitchen as these little buns were baking had the girls running into the kitchen, asking if they were ready. As I took them out of the oven, they again came running, begging for a taste. How I managed to hold them back for 15 minutes while they cooled was a task in itself. When the time came, we pried them open to release their fragrance and took a bite. Still warm, soft and chewy, a slight touch of sweetness…and then the cardamom. You don’t taste it at first. And then suddenly it’s there, lingering at the back of your throat. Just perfect! Emma had the brilliant idea of slathering on some butter. Oh my word! Even better!

The next morning I cut one in half, popped it into the toaster and spread some butter on top. Crunchy, with the cardamom hitting you full on this time. Amazing!

My Norwegian buddy suggested I try one with Jarlsberg, a deliciously mild, buttery and nutty cheese from Norway. So I did. Oh, could this get any better?

So, now that I had eaten one for breakfast, snack and lunch, all that was left was having one for dessert. So I chopped up some chunks of dark chocolate and stuffed them into a toasted boller. Oh sweet heaven!

Guess who’s cooking dinner

Tags

Cheese, Cooking with kids, Main Meal, pasta, Vegetarian

Emma has always loved baking.  She started  baking with me when she was 4 years old.  This past year she started coming into the kitchen while I was cooking and ask if she could help.  I always obliged.  I think that one of the best ways to get kids eating new and different foods is to get them involved with the cooking of it.  I know it works with my kids.  Because Emma gets involved with the ingredients that go into a meal and with the whole preparation of it, she becomes more familiar with those foods and therefore feels more comfortable trying them out.

I picked her up from school yesterday and said, “Guess who’s cooking dinner tonight?”  “Who?”, she asked.  I replied very excitedly, “You!”  She was equally excited, asking what she would be cooking and stated that she wanted to do it all by herself.  Fine by me!

I did have to do one thing which I thought she was just a tad too young for. Cook the giant pasta shells in boiling water and drain it.  They look like sea shells, don’t they?

Emma was on her own from here.

Empty one container of ricotta cheese into a bowl.

Chop 3 tomatoes and add to cheese.

Finely chop some parsley and basil leaves and add to cheese mixture.  

Grate some parmesan cheese into the mixture.  Add a little salt.  Mix it all up and stuff the giant pasta shells.

 

Place into a baking dish with a little olive oil poured onto the bottom.  It’s o.k. if they’re snug in there, just squeeze them in.

Pour a little olive oil over the pasta and grate some parmesan over them.

Into the oven they go.  350 degrees for 15 minutes or so and voila!  Don’t they look good?

If there are any pasta shells left over, do what Emma did.  Put them in a small baking dish, add a few dabs of butter with grated parmesan and throw them in the oven.  You know what?  They were pretty tasty! Emma even took the pictures herself and said, “You can put them on your website.”  She’s only 9!

Bountiful Basil

Tags

basil, dinner, pasta, sauces, Vegetarian

If you grow your own basil like I do, now is the perfect time to preserve this fragrant herb for the winter months.  The Birri Brothers at the Jean-Talon Market sell it by the basket, even by the bushel.  They are my go to guys for everything veggie.  Emma asked to make pesto the other day – she loves it!

Pesto originated in Genoa, an Italian port city in the region of Liguria on the Mediterranean Sea.  Aromatic basil, garlic, Parmigiano Reggiano, pine nuts, extra virgin olive oil and salt.  That’s it!  You could store it in the fridge for at least 3 weeks, or store in the freezer in small containers so you can savour that summer freshness throughout those dark and cold winters.  I also freeze some in ice-cube trays and then in freezer bags.  I throw a couple of cubes in my minestrone soup, or even steam up some veggies and then mix in a pesto cube or two. I don’t just use it with pasta.  I love to slather it on my pizza dough and then just add some cherry tomatoes and fresh mozarella.  A taste of summer in every bite!  It’s great on roast chicken, sliced tomatoes, or drizzle more olive oil into it and use it as a dipping sauce for vegetables. Or melted over some fish. The possibilities are endless.

Traditionally, pesto is made in a mortar and pestle.  “Pounding fragrant things — particularly garlic, basil, parsley — is a tremendous antidote to depression.”   (Patience Gray, British cookery and travel author.)                 If you feel the need to let out some of your frustrations, by all means pound away.  If not, use a food processor.  That’s what Emma and I did.  We simply made it by taste-testing as we went along.  Do the same and if you want it more garlicky, then add more garlic.  Or more pine nuts for a nuttier taste.

A bunch a basil leaves, we used about 4 cups
Garlic, 3 cloves
Pine Nuts, 1/2 cup
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, a little more than 1/2 cup, close to 3/4 cup
Parmigiano Reggiano, grated, at least 1/2 cup
Salt, to taste

We washed and dried the basil leaves and put them in the food processor. We gave it a blitz and then added the garlic and pine nuts.  We blitzed some more and added olive oil with the food processor running.  Lastly, we added the Parmigiano and salt.  Then we tasted, added more Parmigiano and salt and tasted again.  Perfect! We had it with pasta and Parmigiano shavings.

Awesome Blossoms

Tags

appetizers, Vegetarian

One of the things I look forward to during the summer months are zucchini flowers.  We have a garden in the country and grow our own zucchini.  I must admit, I grow zucchini specifically for the delicate, earthy-tasting flower.  It is a pure delicacy!    My dad used to dip them in a batter and fry them up every summer, creating a  crisp,golden and slightly salted fritter which brought out the natural sweetness of the zucchini flower.  An aunt of mine in Italy used to stuff them with a béchamel and then dip them in a batter and deep fry.  There are many ways to enjoy this summer treat.  My way is to do both.  I fry up half of my bounty in their simple yet delectable state and the other half I stuff with cheese.  And not just any cheese.  Gorgonzola Cheese!  A delicious Italian blue cheese.  I use the Gorgonzola Dolce for its creaminess and milder taste.  Emma and I prefer the plain ones, tasting the natural flavour of the blossom.  Charlotte absolutely loves the blue cheese ones, along with Peter.  You can use any cheese you like though.  Mozzarella, Gruyere.    You can also add anchovies and herbs, as they do in Rome.  The zucchini blossoms are either male, which are attached to the stem only, or female, which are attached to the baby zucchini.  When I find female flowers with the baby zucchini attached, I keep it as such and fry the whole thing up.  Yum!  I prefer to remove the stamens (male) and pistils (female) which are found inside the flower.  Take a look inside and by their shape alone, you will know which is which!  But make sure to take a peek inside first… a few summers ago I plunged my fingers right into one of my blossoms and was greeted by a little bee who was just as startled as I was and stung me!

Following is my own recipe fro the batter, which I sort of created this past summer.  My usual method for the batter was flour, eggs and water.  My brother, who serves up these little summer jewels at his restaurant La Vieille Banque, was visiting in the country and suggested I whip up the egg whites and then fold them in gently at the end.  The batter came out lighter and crispier than mine.  Great!  But the next time I fried these little babies up, I happened to be sipping on a beer.  When came the time to add water to my batter, I thought I’d just pour some beer right out of my bottle and see what that would give me.  A little daring, considering I had a house full of guests… but the Brits dip their fish in a beer batter, so why couldn’t an Italian dip her zucchini blossoms in one as well?  That decision turned out to make my batter the best one yet!  Puffed up, crispy little morsels!  Give it a try… and if you don’t grow your own zucchini, you can find them at the Jean-Talon Market and I saw some just the other day at the Atwater Market.  I do believe these delectable little blossoms are becoming the in-treat for the summer!

Batter

1 cup of flour
2 egg yolks, beaten
1 cup or so of beer (or water)
2 egg whites, beaten until light and fluffy
Salt & Pepper
Gorgonzola Dolce, if you’re stuffing
Vegetable oil for frying

Mix the flour, egg yolks and liquid of choice. Add salt and pepper.
Gently fold in the egg whites.

If you’re not stuffing, then you’re ready to dip them into the batter and fry.
If you are stuffing them, gently remove the stamens or pistils from the flowers and add some cheese into the flower, a 1-inch to 2-inch piece depending on the size of the flower. The flowers might tear a little or you might have to tear a small slit down some of them. That’s o.k., the open slits can be stuck back together by the creaminess of the cheese. Heat the oil in a fry pan, a couple of inches or so, on medium-high to high. Fry the flowers until golden in colour, turning over once. Drain on paper towels and enjoy!

Life truly is delicious!