Arugula and roasted red grapes salad with shallot vinaigrette

I've always liked adding fruity notes to savoury dishes and you may find examples of this personal 'culinary trend' here, here and here.

I would now add another item to the list, inspired by a recipe I've recently found on Vegetarian Times. The salad here is a perfect example of the extra-ordinary result you can get combining fresh seasonal ingredients in a perfect balance of flavours.

The decadent sweetness of roasted grapes pairs well with the bitter tang of arugula salad and the tasty parmesan shavings. The scallion - mustard vianigrette adds an extra kick of flavour and turns a simple salad in an amazing starter or side dish.

If you are in the mood for 'fruity-savoury' recipes you can have a look at the following list, which I hope will satisfy both the italian and english speaking blogging community around the world:

 - Insalta di mela, sedano rapa e limone 

by Alice Savorelli@Cotto  e  Crudo (IT/EN)

  - Insalata di tofu affumicato, pere, porri e spinaci 

by Alice Savorelli@Cotto  e  Crudo (IT/EN)

 - Scaloppine di seitan con uva e rosmarino 

by Katy@Girovegando in Cucina (IT)

 - Mint&mango marinated zucchini spaghetti

by David and Louise@Green Kitchen Stories (EN)

 - Pear, apple and fennel salad

by Aran@CannelleetVanille (EN)

 - Cabbage with almonds, blood orange and ginger vinaigrette

by Caitlin@Roost (EN)

And you? Have you got a 'fruity-savoury' recipe to share?

Do autumn flavours inspire your day-to-day cooking?

Feel free to add a link or a recipe here below, I would be happy to try out your ideas! 

Hello, October.

Hello, October.

I have been missing your sober cloudy skies

and their quiet dripping rain

Longing for this cozy afternoon,

for the silence you bring in here.

I have been dreaming of this misty early afternoon

and its silent song of red falling leaves.

Thank you for being back.

 Welcome, October.

 

“Joy is being willing for things to be as they are.” 

Charlotte Joko Beck, "Nothing Special"

Almond milk summer pudding

It has been a particularly hot summer, with temperatures rising quite above the seasonal average and my level of tolerance, which was put to the test for several days.

Don't get me wrong. I love summer:
popsicles and flip-flops
ice tea and orzata
flowery dresses and pinkie armbands

blackberries harvesting in the woods

lavander and watermelon
a path through the pine grove and...
the beach...

Unluckily, this is not the scenery that we find ourselves in most of the time.

We have the details, not the whole pictures - we do drink ice tea and orzata ( a traditional italian summer drink made with almond syrup), we do eat watermelon and blackberries, but the pine grove, the woods and the beach are not always close at hand, and instead we have heat waves, damp weather and weepy children...

and we find ourselves complaining, 
or daydreaming about cosy autumn days...
at least this is my case, to be honest with you.

But still, still.
There's something about summer I really enjoy.
Regardless the weather, regardless hot temperatures.
Regardless the kids' tantrums you have to face.

It is that moment in the early afternoon, those hours when everything seems to stop under the siege of the sun and surrender to the fierce peak of its beaming light.  

That moment when you have an idle chat around a table, sipping an espresso

Or a nap in the dim-light of a darkened room.

The time you have a rest under the shade of a tree.

Or the time you spend with your child, lulling her to sleep.

Those kinds of moments are still magical to me, and I perfectly agree with Henry James, as he says:

“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two

most beautiful words in the English language.”

To sweeten your summer afternoon you can have a refreshing dessert for merenda (afternoon snack) and try this almond milk pudding: it is so easy to make that you can have the children help you out in almost every step of the process. 

I've found the recipe in Elle à Table – May/June 2013 issue, and I was immediately drawn to it. I guess it is the almond milk, one of my favourite ingredients...hope you will enjoy this merenda too!