To celebrate the release of this year’s Foreign Language Film Academy Award Winner The Great Beauty (La Grande Bellezza) the Dante Alighieri Society of Auckland has five double passes to give away. To enter just click here and read the instructions. Competition ends Sunday 15 March, winners will be announced on Monday 16 March. NZ only.

Watermelon juice with lemon grass and mint

I posted my first entry with the announcement for Sweet New Zealand, and because these days I am really into juices it had to be one!

Amaretti macaroons

But then I also posted something a bit more decadent… still, these Italian macaroons are dairy and gluten free, so I almost feel saintly!

Banana & chocolate chip loaf

by

Frances from the Bake Club

Me again, this had to go in, it was so delicious, a real summer trifle, and I used agar agar for the boysenberry jelly (as well as my husband's good - but not the most prized, whisky)

Chocolate Cookie Ice Cream

by

Marnelli and Christienne from Sweets and Brains

Attention all food bloggers and friends of Sweet New Zealand:

Remember to enter your sweet recipes this month (info here - I am hosting so you will need to email me the entries) by February 27th and you will be in the draw to win two delicious packs of Fresh As products: Raspberry Powder and Strawberries slices. You can enter old recipes as long as you add the SNZ logo. You can enter as many times as you like, winners will be chosen with Random.org, so you just need to be lucky!

Amaretti Macarons 

After the marzipan here are some amaretti, also made using apricot kernels together with almonds. These are the perfect gluten free biscuits, maybe next time I will make them without blanching the almonds (for a darker colour) except for the apricot kernels: these must be blanched and skin removed as it is poisonous. I add apricot kernels because they taste and smell delicious, like Amaretto liqueur.

Ingredients:

200 g almonds

A few Apricot kernels (up to 20)

200 g raw sugar

3 egg whites

Blanch the almonds and apricot kernels in boiling water to remove the skins, then grind in a food processor with half of the sugar (100 g). Whip the egg white until foamy with the remaining sugar (adding one spoon at the time). Fold in the almonds. Spoon on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake at 100°C for an hour or until the bottom of the amaretti comes off easily from the baking paper. Let them dry for a night before eating. They last a long time (if you don't eat them first!).

This recipe is for Sweet New Zealand #31, the blogging event open to all Kiwi bloggers (living in NZ or overseas) and expats blogging from NZ. I am the host for February, so if you like to enter a sweet recipe please contact me, or click here for the instructions. Also let me know if you are keen to be a host in 2014, and book a month!

This giveaway is now close, you can find out who the winner is by clicking here

Thank you for entering, and see you at the next giveaway!

This week I have a wonderful give away to New Zealand readers, a beautiful book by Sarah King:

The Family-friendly Gluten-free Cookbook  (RRP $39.99), courtesy of New Holland Publishers NZ

I have a special bog candy for you this week! You may remember that I talked about this plum powder from Fresh As a while ago? Well, since then I have tried a few more products by the same maker, some I used to make desserts (recipes will follow in due course), some to make smoothies, others just sprinkled over cereals, ice cream or yogurt. I  love the fact that they flavors are so intense, and that they provide natural food coloring, something I am always looking for. But most of all I am delighted to inform you that Fresh As has offered me some products for you to try!

Two lucky readers will receive the set as shown in the picture: 1 pack of strawberry powder, 1 pack of strawberry slices, and 2 packs of mandarin segments (plus recipe cards). You can also see the products here.

To enter:

- You must be in New Zealand, sorry to all the other readers.

- Just leave a message at the end of this post, with your name.

- For a double, or triple or more entries just share this post on FB, or Twitter, or your blog, or any other social media, then come back and leave me another message (one for each social media share) telling me where you shared this post. Twitter and FB buttons are at the end of this post. 

- You don't need to be a follower or subscriber of this blog to enter: follow this blog only if you like it, (and that will make me happy :-)!

But, I will give you an extra entry if you will follow the Dante Alighieri Blog (this is a charitable organization, so thank you for helping!). If you do, just come back and leave me another message.

- Remember, the more messages, the more chances to win!

- The 2 winners will be chosen with random.org on April 29 (my birthday!), after 12:00, so you have one week, until Sunday 29 April, 12 o'clock, to enter.

- Remember to come back on the 29th to find out if you won (especially if you are not a blogger and I cannot get in touch with you via the net). I will send each winner the 4 packs as shown in the picture.

- Good luck to all.

Alessandra

This week I have another sweet giveaway kindly offered by New Holland Publishers NZ: Sweet Feast (RRP NZ$45) by New Zealand food author Julie Biuso. Over the past six years Julie Biuso has shared some of her favourite and most popular dessert recipes with Taste Magazine readers and this is a collection of her very best sweet treats.

To win a copy of this book simply leave a message to this post (with your name please :-) by November 16. The winner will be picked with the random.org generator on November 17th 2011. This competition is open to NZ residents only.

Also, there is still time to enter the