As the city empties, locals fleeing to the beaches leaving towns to the tourists, I enjoy the silence that comes from the lack of traffic. Walking through villages it is common to see an older person, in the cool of their house, perhaps too old to go with the family to the beach, watching the…
Can’t stand the heat?
My Tuscan-Russian Salad It is sooooooo hot here right now that it is almost impossible to even think about cooking, but one must eat, so I was inspired to create a cold New Tuscan Style- Russian salad. Insalata Russa was a classic when I first moved here, a vegetable salad bound together with at least a…
Gragnano Pasta- Stuffed Rigatoni
On our day trip to Gragnano, where one of the BEST pasta’s in Italy is made, our lunch was on a working farm. Driving past the village itself, I saw the factory for the Faella pasta company right in the main part of town. The pasta from Gragnano is famous not only because of the quality of the wheat…
I’m Lovin’ It!
small bites at Casa del Vino, while shopping great sandwiches at Casa del Vino I am loving my new life! Just as I am ready to close my space in Florence, my landlord comes back and offers to cut my rent in half! Unheard of ! But I have been looking forward to the new…
Winter or Spring?
Usually winter means less sunlight, dark cold days, warm soups, stews and risotto. This year has only had a couple of really cold spells which have passed quicky. Not enough to get into winter foods. Except two of my favorite winter foods, salads and blood oranges. Here we are in the heart of what is…
Fat Tuesday!
Martedi Gras- Fat Tuesday or in Italy, Martedi Grasso. What is the perfect food to celebrate? Something fried of course! All over Italy, someone is frying up sweets. Often with the same shape, but a different name. Here in Florence, we have Cenci, which means rags, like the shape they have, which looks like torn cloth. In Liguria and…
Comfort food
I have been down and out with a bad case of bronchitis. So instead of pleating dumplings in Shanghai with my mom, nephews and friends as planned, I am bedridden. Not sleeping. Not hungry. But feed a cold, starve a fever? Here in Italy, I have adapted to what Italians feed a cold. Instead of…
The Secrets of Sugo -Tuscan Ragu
The True Test of Sugo, with Tuscan Bread In most Italian households, Sunday lunch is not just a meal, but a major eating event. No work on Sunday allows for the long leisurely lunches Italians are famous for.Slow-cooking potroasts, stews and meat sauces, called ragu, or here in Florence sugo,left simmering for hours on stovetops,…