Ligurian Easter Savory Tart Buona Pasqua, Happy Easter, Passover and April Fool’s Day! This year it seems like we are always having something to celebrate. Spring came in on March 21 and in Florence we celebrate Tuscan New Year’s on March 25th. This year Easter is early. April fool’s day. I am wondering how…
Celebrating Fall| Non-stir Polenta
October is my anniversary of arriving in Florence, in 1984. If you have ever been here in Fall, you will know how easy it is to fall in love with Tuscany with the Fall light. The countryside is turning gold, the vineyards and hills covered with chestnut and oak trees are vibrant. Weekends are filled…
Eating in Summer| Shopping not Cooking
This summer we are having a drought and record breaking heat wave. The hills around my house we have a lot of hay for the animals, which turns the them golden. A touch of green from the woods, chestnut and oak trees and then grape vines and olive trees. This year the grapes and olives…
Tuscan Fried Baby Artichokes | Carciofi Fritti
Certain recipes bring me back in time, to cooking in Andrea’s mom’s kitchen. Tina was great. She was a simple but fabulous cook and I learned a lot from her and her sister Vivetta who owned a restaurant at the sea. I do several of her recipes often and the Tuscan fried baby artichokes are…
Dining with the Diva | Spinach and Ricotta Flan
Here is one of my first FB live cooking classes making a traditional Spinach and Ricotta Flan,a sformata.They are commonly made with a base of bechamel instead of the ricotta. In Tuscany, we have such lovely ricotta and it is used in many ways, Crespelle alla Fiorentina, Ravioli Gnudi or a Torta Pasqualina. On this…
Market Day Menu: Chickpeas and Beets
Creating a market day menu for me is like being on one of those cooking shows every time I shop. In my own village, Certaldo, we have our large weekly market on Wednesday. They bring it all in, not just food. This is like the mall coming to you, you can get almost anything you…
Day Tripping from Florence- Prato- #eatPrato
The Medici family always knew a good thing. 300 years ago, they created the wine producing region of Carmignano. Carmignano is part of the province of Prato, just outside of Florence. I have several favorite restaurants and bakeries, shops and wine producers in the area I love visiting in Carmignano, but the town of Prato…
Tuscan Fall Pleasures- Chickpea Pancakes
Old recipes are new again, Cecina, a gluten free crepe,is popping up all over again. I am always thrilled with I get return students. This past season, I hosted a student from 10 years ago, that has now found a new path. For her program, using food to heal people, gluten-free cooking is a large…