Organic meatballs

Dear Bloggies, the cookbook project is back on and above is a pic of Momma Dolce's secret meatball recipe made with organic ground beef. That is the only way I like ground beef!

The lovely Jake spent a day with All Things Dolce to take photos of 14 dishes I whipped up for him. He left with a bag of food and a full tummy as usual and we in return got some amazing shots (the above is from my dinky camera).

More photos to follow and more blog posts to come now that a very busy period has passed. Le Dolci has been very busy, we just had a fantastic Cupcake Masterclass this past Friday - see photos here   

It was a wonderful evening with cappuccinos and cupcakes and lots of lovely ladies making cakes for their children and husbands (who were babysitting!). Another cupcake class date will be set shortly. Thanks to our lovely friends at our favourite Italian deli in London - we heart Alimentari!

Off to bed bloggies. I hope Londontwon is less soggy tomorrow for my mini purple broccoli plants to get some much needed sunshine.

Home made pizza for Frenchy's farewell dinnerPics of the pizza I made for Frenchy's farewell dinner Sunday night. She is moving back home to Paris after 6 or so years in London so we had a little dinner for her. I think she may be back sooner than we think so it wasn't a big farewell....If she does go back we are going to go visit her in France and do a culinary tour of the region around Biarritz which is situated on the Atlantic coast (and I will get to try surfing again!).The pizza bases were from Alimentari, where I got a ready made mix and all you have to do is mix the flour, water and yeast - let the dough rise and voila! - fresh pizza dough in 25min.
I think I need a rolling pin now as had to use the end of a wooden spoon to spread it out, which wasn't too flash.

We had lovely prosecco that 'the little purse' brought over when she was in town and some lovely Marks and Sparks apple puddings...mmmm. I think the 5lbs that I gained over Christmas is enjoying itself and not wanting to leave me!

Yogalates and more Pilates is on the menu for this week.

Alimentari Alimentari is a new deli/café in Queen’s Park, London. My friend Clara and her two partners set up shop in December - it is a quaint and fabulous little place to pop in for an espresso, cappuccino or a latte, a light sandwich or some freshly made lasagne or gnocchi. They also sell salumi e formaggi (deli meats and cheese) and some great food products direct from Italy to take home. I bought some traditional northern Italian pasta for dinner –and Guido, who works there, gave me a recipe on how to make it- he was very helpful as we walked through the shop he would say, ‘oh that is good if made with a little olive oil and chilli’ or ‘that is my favourite, all you need to do is boil some pasta and add those spices’ it was like a personal shopper for food! And the lovely Italian accent made it even better (I wish I had one). With Clara’s style and dedication to quality the shop has every detail right. I met up with the Kirsten’s there and we all chatted to the main ‘supporter’ while Clara busily served the incoming and outgoing customers with cute kids and dogs in tow.

Alimentari’s website is great with tips on how to cook pasta, how to order Italian coffee and more on Italian life and eating habits. I love the design – great work Andrea!

I recommend popping in for some traditional Italian hospitality and food if you are in the neighbourhood! Auguri on the new shop opening, it looks wonderful.

Baci x (and they sell my fave Baci chocolates too)