I love festivals. Italy really knows how to party. Huge parades, lots of lights, often fireworks and costumes, but mostly FOOD. I was in Catania February 5th, Saint Agatha’s day. She is the patron saint of Catania. It was HUGE. They celebrate for three days. It coincides with the Candelora, which is the festival of…
Change of Seasons- Fall
Returning from Sicily where the temperatures were still hot, Tuscany was a little cooler and fall is starting to show it’s colors. The wine harvest has started and the roads are full of trucks bringing grapes to be crushed. The roads are stained with grape juice and the fragrance fills the air. …
Sicily is DIVINA
I have never been to Sicily in September. Usually, I come “off-season” in March for the St Joseph’s day celebrations , in May, just before the tourist season starts or in Fall when the new oil is being pressed. This trip has been so incredible. We saw the salt being harvested at the salt flats. The…
Celebrate: San Giuseppe March 19
I adore celebrations, especially in Italy as that means some special food is always being prepared. San Giuseppe, St Joseph’s day in Italy is especially important as it is Father’s Day (St Joseph, married to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Jesus’ Dad).Can you tell I went to Catholic school for 14 years? One of my favorite…
Liquid Gold- video
Liquid gold? Perhaps because of the price, but the color should always be a deep green, never gold. I have a dream. I want to share my cooking classes online with video. I don’t want to do “live classes” so thought that the best way was to do a fun light recipe video and…
Sharing the Love- plans for 2015
This season has flown by, there has been no time for blogging. I am in the process of changing how I work and it is working well! I have been offering more week-long programs in Tuscany and in Sicily and this year I added Puglia to my list. I don’t write about it online much,…
Simply Divina- Sicilian Swordfish
Swordfish is a beginner’s fish. One of the least fishy and more meaty fishes. There are some recipes which just grab you the first time you eat them and remain in your memory. This is one of them. When we go to Cantina Siciliana for our cooking class, Pino is more than generous to share…
Sweet Home Sicilia- Planeta Foresteria
I adore returning to a place I love, like Sicily, when it starts to feel like home. That is one of the reasons I began bringing my students. When I ask an Italian who has been to America, how their trip was, I adore hearing exciting tales of the fabulous time they had, sites they…