Exploring life through food and travel
A few months ago, I woke up and realized how much I missed writing this blog. My editing newsletter took its place for a while, but it was time to separate the two. This blog is for pure fun and allows me to release my inner spirit for the joy of it. It’s summer love…
Now starring . . . drumroll, please. The lovely eggplant: cloaked in the deepest jewel-tone purple, satiny, with unblemished skin, sleek in figure adorned by an evergreen crown cap. She is royalty and commands a striking presence in my garden. I’d almost rather leave this bowing beauty as a decoration than cut it. But it…
Despite the pandemic daze I often find myself in, being cooped up has reignited a flame in my cooking life, using seasonal ingredients in imaginative ways. My over-grown garden of veggies nudged my palate to explore new tastes and combinations that permeated further into Italian bread, stone fruit, and a deep dive into wood-fired oven…
The cooler fall days encourage a shift in my cooking. After a binge on vegetable soups in all stages, my taste buds are hungry for something I can sink my teeth into. Enter phyllo dough. Most people know it as the thin layers of dough between ground nuts and honey in the Greek pastry baklava….
I’m interrupting my travelogue of Sicily to tell you about yet another fantastic paella party I hosted on Saturday. This was our 4th annual party and my mom and I decided to take it to the next level. “I saw this interesting Garcima Paella Burner at Pata Negra,” my mom said enthusiastically. Pata Negra is…
A Pistachio Inspired Pranzo A review of Il Fiorentino, Bronte, Sicily Another lovely blue-skied day in Sicily. Today’s adventure and culinary find takes us from the aquamarine sea to a mountain top and then half-way down the other side. All this to reach our lunch (pranzo) destination, Il Fiorentino, in the paise (village) of Bronte….
Step 1 For me, the most important thing is starting with a great guest list. I choose family and compatible friends who have met before. This creates an intimate, comfortable atmosphere for all, and you, the host/hostess, need not worry about guests feeling left out because they don’t know anyone. You will be focused on…
“I Love LA!” I sang, Randy Newman style, as I drove up the I-5 toward a city you either love or hate. To me, Los Angeles is a polar opposite of San Diego, offering everything from the glitz of Hollywood, and the Getty Villa, (my favorite LA hangout), world-class restaurants, and diverse neighborhoods brimming with…
Mushroom risotto. The flavor is so sublime, why complicate it with too many other ingredients? The essence that is the mushroom carries the flavor with the assistance of shallots, dry white wine and parsley. Watch carefully. Do not overcook. Do not overstir. It’s a lesson in patience – a zen experience. Let the risotto evolve…
Lately I’ve been having fantasies – of Spain. Spanish tapas, Spanish olive oil, Spanish wine, the people, the music, the romance of it all. My feet have only touched the airport in Madrid and now they dream of dancing the flamenco in Sevilla. This sudden enchantment was Anthony Bourdain inspired by his visit to bewitching…
Are you interested in learning some authentic Italian recipes from a bona fide cooking school in Lucca, Italy? If so, read on. Davino, my host from La Mimosa, had arranged for me to attend a cooking class at the International Academy of Italian Cuisine in Lucca, just on the other side of the hill from…
A tavola non si invecchia At the table with good friends and family you do not become old. This last weekend, I enjoyed one of the finest stress-free parties I’ve ever thrown. What’s my secret? Read on for clues! Recent trips to Italy have inspired me to excavate my pasta machine and crank it up….
My friend Nicola is a cook, gardener, artist, historian and proud Lucchese – a person born in Lucca. Angela, of La Mimosa, introduced us while gathered around her rustic wooden kitchen table, a fire blazing in the open-hearth to warm us during a fall rainstorm. She was in the midst of preparing rabbit stew for…
This morning Angela is cooking rabbit – coniglio- for lunch. I hear Bob Dylan’s “Knocking on Heaven’ s Door” before I even enter and find Angela and her friend Nicola at the large wooden kitchen table, each with a glass of homemade wine in hand. At first my eyes popped. Wine at 11:30? Then I…
I love Herbs de Provence. I use it regularly and cannot get enough of it. Every time I visit France, I purchase the herbs at the open air Saturday market from local vendors. Packaged so sweetly in a small paper bag and hand labeled, I try to make it last for a year until I…
Do you remember days when you set out on a mission to do something but you end up somewhere completely out of your range? Well, that happened to us. My friend, Bonnie, had fallen the previous week, while visiting our beloved Cathars and injured her hand. Our hostess at Moulin de la Roque, Gaby, had…
Bonjour! It is a gorgeous sunny day, and the birds are chirping out melodies of joy. Today, I am excited to share my cooking lesson with you. As you know, we four women ate at Le Sixieme Sens earlier in the week and were charmed by the “cave” experience and the owner, Lionel. He invited…
Bon Soir Mes Amies, It is very late and yesterday my camera broke, yes, really broke, so I did my best with the iPhone which really does take very good photos but not so good at close-ups and a bit more difficult in bright lights. This morning I found a Monde (world) camera shop in…
Bonjour mes amies! To celebrate my friend, Liz’s birthday, we dined in a tiny restaurant with a downstairs cave or wine cellar. So intimate, and uplit to create a warm glow, Le Sixieme Sens was about to become one of my most memorable meals ever. The combination of rustic stone, bright green place settings,…