a few of our favourite things...

Miriam: I've been in Peru for a couple of weeks now and I must say that in general the food has been very disappointing, often bland starch accompanied by miscellaneous meat and far too much salt. However, we're slowly discovering some wee gems, like these empanadas, fresh from a pizza oven in a wee back alley operation in the town of Pisac. Filled with cheese, tomato and olives they were just perfectly fresh and well balanced. We went back for seconds.

Sadly, the coffee in Peru is a world away from the flat whites i'm used to in NZ. It's pretty standard to order cafe con leche (coffee with milk) and be presented with some hot water, a sachet of Nescafe and a jug of milk. I think I'm better sticking with coca tea (used to help with altitude sickness) or this delicious 'happiness tea' at one of my now favourite cafes, Grande Heidi in Cusco.

Becs: I missed Downton Abbey when it screened on TV earlier this year, but after hearing so much raving about it I decided to buy the DVD and have a Downton marathon. I loved it! Pretty dresses, scenery, intriguing storylines and scheming galore, I can't wait for series two to be released.

Libby: The Meyer lemons in the shops at the moment are just lovely - bright yellow and so juicy. I had a go at preserving some this weekend. I packed sterilised jars with coarse salt and lemons (quartered nearly all the way through) and topped up with lemon juice and a little boiling water. I was amazed at how many lemons I could squeeze into a jar! Now they have to sit for a month - fingers crossed they work. {Lurking in the background is my LEAST favourite thing for the week - failed one-bowl-banana-bread that's missing one vital ingredient: sugar! I halved the recipe, but somehow managed to delete the sugar altogether...}