My first post!!

So I guess I am back blogging... hoping that this time I won't forget about it and abondon this activity that lets me communicate my love for food...to the whole entire virtual world out there! Fingers crossed... here's a first post...*holds breath*.

Here I go.

Have you ever had a fetiche for a certain ingredient, or rather ingredients? An ingredient that will always put a smile on your face each and every time? I do. I have many favourites, and to most of them I am emotionally attached. For instance: basil. Fresh basil of course. How I love rubbing basil leaves between my fingers and enjoying it's scent on my skin... But I also love basil because it is my emotional attachment to Italy (which is by the way, a country I dream of living in one day). Another ingredient I love: balsamico. I could almost drink that plain! (and yet another "Italian fantasy" of mine). Sun dried tomatoes! Estragon! Grilled almonds! Olives! REAL feta cheese! (all this reflecting my mediteranean origins). The list of favourites is long...

But there are also cherries (which brings us to the subject of this post)! Oh yes how I love cherries! And ricotta! smooth creamy ricotta that reminds me of sweet cannoli Italian memories... mamma mia!

So not too long ago, I decided to make a cherry-pistachio crumble, accompanied with creamy ricotta.

Since we didn't have any proper summer this year in France (the weather was truly crap, except for a couple of weeks in April), I am finding myself using many "summery" ingredients in my baking... as a way to relive summer in my own very way...in a different way...in a "kitchen way"?

Cherry-pistachio combinations are fantastic (just as cherry-almonds are too). And, let's not forget: their colours complement each other beautifully, fabulously!. This adds a twist to classic crumbles (or "conservative crumbles" as I like to call them) and is a beautiful finish for almost any kind of meal, and all tastes (unless if you hate cherries...but I don't know anyone who does'nt like them!).