Food is such a great way to tell stories & recipes more so! This is a little tribute to a wonderful sunshine-soul of a friend we lost recently. Vicky loved food. It was his life. He also touched everyone else’s life with his innovative & creative recipes; from sizzling mushroom & ricotta pan-pizzas to candied fruit cake & coconut coffee; Vicky had a wonderful way of adding the most unique twists to the simplest of recipes. This is an illustration celebrating life, Vicky’s wonderful life - ‘Vicky’s vegan coconut ice-cream’ & our final conversation together x

This Chickpea Meringue recipe is perfect when you don´t have much stuff at home but need to make yourself a treat. Eat it as it is or have it on ice cream. If you have some fruits home, you can turn this easy meringue as an beautiful pavlova. Don´t forget to make a sallad on the chickpeas after using the broth!

This is a recipe that my Mom makes all the time. The ingredients are always in her pantry and this moist cake requires no eggs. It's super easy to make and really quick, especially when she gets the urge for cake on Sunday afternoon!

A simple but sweet recipe! Cupcakes were always too much for me, so muffins were the perfect happy medium. They also make excellent pick-me-ups for the holidays!

Mead is a wine made with honey as the sugar source--a melomel is a mead with fruit added. This recipe creates approximately 5 gallons of melomel.

I'm a student at MassArt and had a lot of fun working on my first illustrated recipe! Kouloudia (or Koulourakia) is a Greek cookie popular for Easter (Red eggs at Easter are also a Greek tradition.) Having a Greek grandmother and being a picky eater as a kid, Kouloudia has always found its way to my plate any time of year.

Celebrations in the Philippines are never complete without the Leche Flan. Even just the thought of the Leche Flan gives a warmth feeling and brings back lots of fond memories growing up in the Philippines.

30 years ago a little girl with wild red curls flung sprinkles and red hots all over a cookie tray and was filled with pride at her creations. Every year since, her friends and family have looked for these cookies in the mail on holidays. This melt-in-your-mouth sugar cookie recipe has been in my family since the 80's, and I'm thrilled to finally have the illustrative skills to share it with the world.

Christmas pudding is a type of pudding traditionally served as part of the Christmas dinner.

For the Global cuisine challenge.

Fave Memory. Snow Ice Cream! My granny lived with us when I was growing up in Ohio and we would have snow days, she'd say go get me some snow and I'll make ice cream. So I'd fill up a big bowl and she'd whip it up. I'm not exactly sure what was in it- maybe vanilla, milk, perhaps an egg, chocolate sauce on top. It was cheap and good and I remember if fondly. Hoping for a snowy winter here in Portland this year!

Biancomangiare is a typical treat of my little and colorful Sicily. It's a poor sweet, quick and easy to cook but very very tasty.
Still today I remember the smell. My home smelled like milk and vanilla. My mom has no head for sweets (she just loves eat them!), but with the Biancomangiare she was able to gain my brother's mouthfeel and mine, making us to think she was an amazing pie maker and storming the medal "What a Godness!" :)
Today the recipe passed down to me and every time I'm enjoying this cake I go back in my mind to that kitchen that smells of milk and vanilla and I'm a child again.

One Day a neighbor posted a notice for a cake decorating class. It was the 70’s, we were living in the Alps in Germany. 5 of us signed up, all young new moms, all thousands of miles from home. Each week we’d eagerly pile into her tiny kitchen, bumping hips& elbows, stirring bowls full of sugar & cream. We’d share the frustrations of all new moms, colicky babies& sleepless nights while we practiced making rosettes, ribbons, stars& letters, licking our fingers & eating our mistakes. Leaving on a sugar high, we were happy for a night out. I baked& decorated cakes for years. It was that time in life with lots of baby showers, christenings & kids birthdays. Looking back it reflects the times& the trends: lots of Barbie bundt cakes, R2D2, Bert & Ernie, Cookie Monster & Holly Hobby. Cars & trains were also popular. I loved baking, creating & “painting”with icing. I loved the little jars of food coloring &, ok, I loved licking the leftovers. This is the original recipe from that class. I still have my notebook!

I never got to have coffee with my grandmother, she passed away when I was 10, but I can imagine that this would be a regular thing for us if she were here.

The Bunny family is having a Birthday Bash. Mom bunny is whipping up some Chantilly Cream. Yum. This recipe is inspired by memories of my mom whipping cream and dolloping on plain chocolate cupcakes. Yum.