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Cruising Memoirs of a Wanderlust Soul. A Food And Travel Blog

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chilli con carne vegan gluten-free healthy 55

Mexican / Savour the Flavour

Easy to Make Vegan, Gluten-free Chilli Sin Carne

Mexican Food Adapted to Various Dietary Needs Chilli sin carne is an adapted, vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free version of the world-famous Mexican dish chilli con carne (simple disambiguation for non-Spanish speakers: sin=without, con=with, carne=meat.) In Spanish, el chile means hot pepper, which would be the prominent flavour of this dish (in slang, it has a more offensive meaning, but we’ll keep with the cooking side!) Please do not mistake it for the South American country Chile, though! This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will receive a commission if you purchase through my links at no extra cost...

almond flour blueberry muffins 51

Savour the Flavour / USA

Almond Flour Blueberry Muffins | Easy and Healthy Recipe

Life’s Sweet Delights And A Cuppa Coffee Almond flour blueberry muffins are healthy, delectable and easy to make. What is better next to a steamy coffee cup than a fluffy muffin packed with tasty flavours? This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will receive a commission if you purchase through my links at no extra cost to you. Please read the full disclosure for more information. Thank you! Muffins have quickly become internationally adopted treats with origins in American cuisine, typically served at breakfast or coffee/tea break. The use of blanched almond flour in preparation makes these muffins gluten-free. Choosing...

Easter 42

Easter / Holidays

Why Do Christians Celebrate Catholic and Orthodox Easter On Different Occasions?

Why is Orthodox Easter celebrated at a different date than Catholic Easter? Well, it is almost impossible to grasp the intricacies of a two-thousand-year-old religion, especially when there is so much controversy around it. There is an ocean of written information for those interested in more profound diggings, but I will attempt a simplified explanation. Christianity is not the first monotheistic religion. Allegedly, Zoroastrianism seems to be about 12.000 years old and has lasted a few thousand years (even until today in some areas). In contrast, Akhenaten’s attempt to impose a monotheistic religion by instating Ra as the sun god...

orange and ricotta upside down cake 49

Italy / Savour the Flavour

How to Make Upside-Down Caramelised Orange Cake With Ricotta

An Italian Inspired Delight for Your Morning Coffee Orange and ricotta cake in endless variations is a famous desert around Italy, especially in the south where orange trees grow everywhere, not only in orchards, and cheesemaking has become a true art over the millennia. This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will receive a commission if you purchase through my links at no extra cost to you. Please read the full disclosure for more information. Thank you! I often look for inspiration in the incredible Italian cuisine when cooking or baking, and each time I congratulate myself for the result...

Easter bunny sponge cake 40

Easter / Holidays

How to Make a Fluffy Easter Bunny Cake

Chocolate and Mascarpone Easter Cake There is great fun for kids of all ages (going up to 45!) to pinch chocolate eggs and cut a chunk of this fluffy looking chocolate and mascarpone Easter bunny cake! I speak from personal experience. This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will receive a commission if you purchase through my links at no extra cost to you. Please read the full disclosure for more information. Thank you! For a long time, I searched online for a bunny-shaped cooking mould. As I am a bit picky and hard to impress with the available offers,...

Traditional Easter recipes 55

Easter / Holidays

Traditional Easter Foods For A Special Celebration

What Traditional Easter Foods Do You Have on Your Festive Table? Before listing a few traditional Easter foods, let’s take a minute and recap why a big part of the world celebrates Easter. Easter – Meaning and a Brief History Easter is the Christian celebration of Jesus’ resurrection three days after his horrific killing by human fellows. Chronologically (according to the Bible), Easter or Passover in Hebrew has been celebrated 1500 years before Jesus’ time, since the Israelites’ liberation from Egypt. Etymologically, the Latin word for Easter – Pascha, of Aramaic origins – is at the base of the names...

Pasca Romanian Easter Cake 50

Easter / Holidays

Easter Pasca: A Traditional Cheesecake for A Special Occasion

The Romanian Traditional Recipe Easter pasca cheesecake is a specific Romanian dessert made at Easter. In essence, it is a baked cheesecake cake filled with sweet cheese and raisins. The recipe consists of a basic Romanian cozonac dough or the Italian version of it, Panettone, with added sweet cheese filling.  Pasca has a deep religious symbolism that revolves around Jesus’ resurrection. The name of the cake itself has prehistoric roots. It is associated with the Christian feast commemorating the miracle of resurrection for over two millennia. Pasqua in Italian means Easter, and derivates of the word mean the same thing...

rustic roasted potatoes with game sausages 69

Romania / Savour the Flavour

How to Make Rustic Roasted Potatoes With Game Sausages

A Cosy Winter Dish Rustic roasted potatoes with game sausages or traditionally prepared meats are a regular dish in any Romanian restaurant, especially in Transylvania. This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will receive a commission if you purchase through my links at no extra cost to you. Please read the full disclosure for more information. Thank you! I grew up in the magnificent city of Brașov, surrounded by mountains. The ski resort was only fifteen minutes away, so I would go up to the slops even without the intention to practise winter sports, but only for a hearty meal...

homemade chocolate bits 58

Christmas / Easter / Romania / Savour the Flavour / Valentine's Day

How To Make Homemade Chocolate From Scratch

The Best Chocolate Is Always Homemade! Homemade chocolate is the most delicious treat mom used to make when I was a child. Using simple ingredients and requiring little time and effort, homemade chocolate is easy to make from scratch, and the taste is divine! The velvety softness and aromas will make you fall in love with it and prefer it over the classical bars, guaranteed! This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will receive a commission if you purchase through my links at no extra cost to you. Please read the full disclosure for more information. Thank you! Mom always...

Valentine's day dessert recipes 88

Holidays / Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day. Why and How Do We Celebrate It?

We do this every February 14th, but have you ever wondered what is Valentine’s Day, why and how do we celebrate it? A bit of research shows that the world celebrates Valentine’s Day – the winter holiday of love – as a religious reminder of St Valentine, a Roman priest who married couples against Emperor Claudius’ order. Claudius was involved in endless wars with the enemies of the largest ancient empire and needed soldiers. In his vision, a soldier who had a wife and family was unreliable. So he declared marriage illegal. Valentine, a young priest in Umbria (Umbri, in...

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Holidays / Valentine's Day

Easy to Make Rolled Oats Pancakes: A Healthy Breakfast for Your Sweetheart

A Special Breakfast for A Special Occasion How does spoiling your loved ones with flourless, refined sugar-free and fruity, healthy rolled oats pancakes sound? If not often – on special occasions, such as a birthday, Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day? But we do love to spoil the ones we love, from young to old, and don’t even need special days for it! Whenever you feel like showing your love on a healthy plate, this breakfast recipe will do just that. Be assured that the beneficiary will appreciate and enjoy your effort! Healthy rolled oats pancakes are an excellent substitute for...

pear and almond chocolate cake 64

Italy / Savour the Flavour / Valentine's Day

How to Make the Softest Italian Pear and Almond Chocolate Cake

Valentine’s Day Delight or Daily Coffee Side? This Pear and Almond Chocolate Cake is a delicious and versatile dessert that works wonderfully as an indulgent dessert to finish a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner AND as a side for your daily coffee(s). This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will receive a commission if you purchase through my links at no extra cost to you. Please read the full disclosure for more information. Thank you! To the Italians, it is in most cases the latter, but that does not mean this pear and almond chocolate cake cannot make a perfect special...

walnut snails 53

Christmas / Easter / Romania / Savour the Flavour

Walnut Snails Recipe Inspired by a Famous German Pastry

How the Walnut Snails Recipe Made It to Mom’s Recipe Book Mom’s walnut snails recipe is an adaptation of the Nussschnecken desert which is basically a sweet bun of Saxon origins, filled with nuts and cinnamon. Schnecken is the German word for snails, which suggests the unique shape of this finger-licking delicious walnut filled treats. Given Transylvania’s Saxon heritage, our cooking and especially baking have seen a tremendous German influence over the centuries.  When I was a child, mom’s best friend was a German lady who used to bake weekly. She would always invite us to keep her company while she was dancing...

menu dinner table 32

Holidays

What’s On Your New Year’s Eve Dinner Table?

Festive Menu Ideas For The New Year’s Celebration On New Year’s Eve, we all stay up and celebrate the end of a year and are hopeful for the new one. As it has been since times immemorial, the celebration always involves a festive menu, music, dancing and a hefty amount of joy. This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will receive a commission if you purchase through my links at no extra cost to you. Please read the full disclosure for more information. Thank you! The New Year’s Eve dinner is one of the most important of the entire year....

festive beef salad 47

Christmas / Holidays / Romania / Savour the Flavour

How to Make the Best Festive Appetizer: Beef Salad

A Romanian Salad, French in Name and Historically Having Almost Nothing to do With What’s in the Title! If it sounds a tad confusing, here’s the disambiguation: Romanians like many things but absolutely LOVE food; therefore, they create dishes that everybody loves to try and often become traditional foods for holidays. A beautifully looking festive beef salad is an appetizer always present on the Christmas, New Year’s Eve and Easter festive table! This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will receive a commission if you purchase through my links at no extra cost to you. Please read the full...

Christmas, Santa picking a cookie 53

Christmas

Christmas: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Magic The First Memories of Christmas When I was eleven, some kids in my class told me that Santa did not exist – I replied that it was the naughtiest thing to say. He very much exists and brings me presents every year! This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will receive a commission if you purchase through my links at no extra cost to you. Please read the full disclosure for more information. Thank you! The kids started laughing, so I turned my back and left them basking in their small, magicless and emotionless bubble. I instantly knew they...

12 traditional Christmas treats from around the world 81

Christmas / Christmas / Savour the Flavour

Twelve Must-Try Christmas Treats From Around The World

Twelve Days Of Christmas “On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me” the idea to bring together a few of the most famous Christmas treats from around the world. This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will receive a commission if you purchase through my links at no extra cost to you. Please read the full disclosure for more information. Thank you! Christmas is indeed the most wonderful time of the entire year. It is a time of reflection and remembering why we even celebrate Christmas in the first place. A time for being grateful for...

British mince pies 61

Christmas / Savour the Flavour / UK

The Most Mouthwatering Christmas Treats: British Mince Pies

A Tradition In Name Only As a migrant who settled in the UK, of course, I got to learn and appreciate local traditions. But I remember staying away from mince pies for several years. The reason? I did not get why a meaty thing would be placed in a pastry sheet and have sugar sprinkled on top! My prejudice wilted when I decided it was time to do some research and get to the bottom of the story!  This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will receive a commission if you purchase through my links at no extra...

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Christmas / Easter / Holidays / Romania / Savour the Flavour

Romanian Cozonac: The Best Treat on Your Festive Table

A Culinary Delight with A Long History A Word About Romanian Cozonac Romanian Cozonac is a beautiful festive delight I grew up with as a child in my country of origin. Each major holiday mom would bake the best treat there could be. Be it Christmas or Easter, our house would smell wonderful, filled with delightful flavours escaping from the oven. And I would wait impatiently for the festive dinner to finally savour the best treat created by humankind! This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will receive a commission if you purchase through my links at no...

Bread Maker Italian Panettone 72

Christmas / Italy / Savour the Flavour

Perfect Bread Maker Panettone – Christmas Made Easy

The Bread of Toni As is the case with everything Italian, the nation’s Christmas traditional dessert, Panettone, has its history that goes back to the fifteenth century.  This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will receive a commission if you purchase through my links at no extra cost to you. Please read the full disclosure for more information. Thank you! A legend has it that one Christmas Eve, while the entire court and guests of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan were sat at the festive table, disaster stroke in the kitchen. The cook managed to burn the dessert accidentally!  Mamma...

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