There are a few evocative Christmas foods that elicit childhood memories from a simpler time. Christmas and childhood are intertwined and that festive feeling of families coming together to celebrate the season is one that no child forgets. For some people Christmas means roast chestnuts, roast turkey, goose or beef, traditional cakes, tarts and puddings…
The most underrated city in Italy
Forget everything you have heard about Palermo. Erase the memory of every mafia movie you grew up on. Just as we don’t define people by their affliction don’t judge Palermo by its parasitic disease. The vast majority of Sicilians are not Mafiosi and dislike the mafia even more than you. There is a small but defiant group…
The best edible gifts are here
It may be a bit strange but the first time I had these traditional Italian chocolate dipped dried oranges and figs was in Sydney, Australia. I probably passed over these several times before in Italy without realizing it, as I am a bit of a purist when it comes to chocolate. I like pure dark…
Liberty, Equality, Fraternity and Solidarity
This is the new national motto of France. We were all innocent until a few days ago. How long ago it seems. When the news spread of the events developing in Paris, Beirut and Baghdad, every single one of us put ourselves in the shoes of those poor terrorised people and of their families. I,…
And we win the award for…..
My husband and I were discussing hypothetically spending a year living in different parts of Italy. The natural question was, which regions were best at which points of the year? The early summer we decided was best for the beaches of the Amalfi coast in Campagna, Sardegna and Sicily. The late summer we would prefer to avoid…
The freshly pressed olive oil is starting to trickle in
We were back in Liguria again this year just in time for the beginning of the olive pressing season. Last year we arrived to find a depressing situation- olive trees suffering from leprosy with sparsely hung olives, mostly malformed or infected by fruit flies. 2014 was the first year in generations that Italian families that…
Fruit of the dead?
Halloween is approaching. Most people outside of America know about Halloween from the movies but the idea is starting to catch on with varying degrees of success. Last year during Halloween, we were in a small town in Sicily. A small group of young boys were trying to go trick or treating (“dolcetto o scherzetto“)…
A recipe your mouth will thank you for
So we are ostensibly in Piemonte to visit family and introduce the newest addition to the family. Fortune has smiled on me as my husband’s family live very close to the one place the very rare and intoxicating white truffle (tuber magnatum pico) is found. While most people have heard of the chocolate truffle, a few cognoscenti know…
4 unmissable towns in Umbria…and what to eat
Umbria has amazing light. The landscape is a patchwork of green, yellow and brown. The vineyards, fields of yellow sunflowers, hay bales dotting the plains, brick towers and cypress trees jutting towards the sky, white and yellow wildflowers line the country roads and fallow fields lie in between the shimmering olive groves, creating a stunning…
The ancient rediscovered dish of Tuscany that reminds me of Jessica Simpson
The name Jessica Simpson is associated in my mind with the Dukes of Hazzard movie and Chicken of the Sea (arguably the most famous brand of tuna in America). Jessica, having the incredible misfortune to be famous after the invention of the internet and thus have every dumb thing she says replayed over and over,…
6 easy recipes for a busy week
The euphoria of having the kids back in school has worn off and the malaise of homework and the PTA has set in. The premonition of free time has been a mirage. Meal planning looks something like this at the beginning of the week: Monday: braised veal with risotto Tuesday: beef braised in Barolo with…
How I fell in love with a fish
The first time I tried turbot was on a rainy day in England. I passed by a gastro-pub on a cold, wet evening and through the steamed up windows I could see it was packed with diners. My mouth watered at the smell of hot food on a cold night. When I entered, I noticed that…
The days are getting shorter, but here is an autumn dish to cheer you up
We are just getting used to the new school schedule, wearing more clothes and looking ahead to all the autumn and winter holidays. Taking a new baby into the fold means that I am currently pureeing first foods and have started with butternut squash. Since my fear of having a child who only eats rice…
If you love Tuscany and Umbria then you will certainly love Le Marche.
As we enter Le Marche from Romagna, there continues to be hilltop towns, some with forts and the patchwork of green gives way to yellow. We pass field after field of sunflowers interspersed with vineyards and olive groves. My previous post was on Le Marche‘s coastline but similar to Tuscany and Umbria, the region also has historic towns…
Goodbye summer, hello cream puffs
Summer is ending. A sense of melancholy lingers in the air at the thought of putting away the sandals, sundresses and swimsuits. No more sunny days outdoors on picnics, swimming or walks. Strawberries are starting to turn sour, peaches are sold a bit more firm, their luscious perfume lost. But summer turns to autumn, a…
Why the term “walk a mile in my shoes” has suddenly become very real for me
Sometimes I think the man upstairs, the man with a plan, our Holy Father, God, whatever you would like to call him, has a very funny sense of humour. If you had ever said that a glutton like myself who wakes everyday if only to eat and cook, would become part of the gluten free /…
Why visit Le Marche?
Having never been a fan for the often underwhelming Italian beaches on the Adriatic side, I was not excited about our trip down the coastline of Le Marche along the Riviera di Conero. I started to cheer up as we passed several metal food trucks selling porchetta (roast suckling pig) along the coast. While it…
The secret delights of Romagna
Driving down towards the Adriatic Sea from Emilia, we enter Romagna and its vineyard-covered hills. We have officially left Emilia and entered Romagna. An obvious indication of this is the rudimentary signs for piadina places. These are informal countryside restaurants with large groups of family and friends sitting outdoors enjoying the local flatbreads, traditionally griddled on terracotta or…
Bologna: A food lover’s heaven
Bologna is a food lover’s idea of heaven. Piazza Maggiore is the heart of the city and ground zero for food sightseeing. Even Eataly (the Italian gourmet food emporium) has opened a branch on one of the major food streets leading off the east side of Piazza Maggiore (Via degli Orefici). Along the streets of…
Why visit Milan Expo 2015?
Having only been to Shanghai’s Expo previously and visiting the ghostly remains of previous expos in San Francisco, Montreal and London, I was not sure what to expect when we visited Milan’s Expo. Milan Expo is currently running from 1 May to 31 October this year. What drew me was the food-related theme, “Feeding the…
What makes Parma ham (prosciutto di Parma) so special? And what is even better?
Prosciutto from Parma is the most famous cured ham in the world but what makes it so special? Also, do you know a very similar product to prosciutto di Parma (Parma ham) which is considered even more prized? Is it its historical importance? Prosciutto is an ancient food whose name means “dried” (from perexsuctum in Latin). It has been…
Looking for a healthy, versatile dish with a long shelf-life?
Now imagine a healthy dish you can pull out of the fridge on a hot summer day with no need to prep. It gets better, you can serve to even your most dietary restricted friend. (You know, the one that is vegan and gluten-free, who has to bring her own hummus to dinner parties.) Now…
Why you have probably never tried real balsamic vinegar
Balsamic vinegar is an ubiquitous ingredient in many houses around the world. The syrupy, dark glossy brown liquid is pleasantly both sweet and sour. Although many know that it is highly prized, few have tasted the rare traditional balsamic vinegar, particularly the “extra-vecchio” traditional balsamic vinegar which is in a league of its own. Traditional balsamic vinegar is the…
What to cook when it’s hot hot hot
Love food but don’t want to turn your home into a furnace during the summer? Looking for quick and easy, healthy ideas for a picnic or dining outdoors with friends? Here are three recipes I created based on dishes I ate in Italy last summer. The first recipe is a summer take on everyone’s favourite…
Why you should avoid “Parmesan” cheese? And what you should buy instead…
Parmesan is one of the most famous cheeses in the world and is an ubiquitous presence on the table of any Italian restaurant. What is less known is that anything labeled “Parmesan” is not in fact Parmesan. In fact the name “Parmesan” is no longer permitted to be used within the European Union. What was…
Need a gift idea for Father’s Day?
Wondering what to give your father for Father’s Day? The recipe below is great for small children (they are great at picking leaves) and adults alike to prepare, does not take much time and is a homemade gift from the heart that will remind him how loved he is each time he uses it. It…
3 tips to choosing the best gelateria (Italian ice cream shop)
A good gelateria is difficult to select if you do not know what to look for. Here are 3 tips to finding which gelateria the locals frequent in Italy. This is still valuable advice if you have gelaterias where you live outside Italy. Signs An artisan gelateria usually says “artiginale” which means “artisan”. It…
My favourite crowd-pleasing mid-week meal
I love watching my favourite television show, Inspector Montalbano (Il Commissario Montalbano), the best detective show since Columbo in my opinion. Set in Sicily, it has the perfect mix of intriguing dealings between typical small town characters, corrupt politicians, the mafia, human traffickers and the Catholic church. The show gives a good flavour of Sicilian life,…
What will the kitchen of the future look like?
We are buying a home. As I am obsessed with food and cooking, in my mind I have always been planning my dream kitchen. Every time we go to a friend’s house and I spy a faucet that can dispense boiling water or stay in a holiday rental which has kitchen appliances which roll out from…
The worst place in the world for a glutton to live
So let’s say by some miracle the doctor told me I had to gain weight, I would get on the first flight to Emilia-Romagna and embark on a gluttonous binge, eating to my heart’s content. Bologna is known as the “land of the fat and learned” referring to both the richness of the land and…
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