I attended the Dolcemente Pisa chocolate show on Sunday. I am constantly amazed at the quality and quantity of artisan food producers and their passion. left to right: Spumador, Dolcemente Pisa, Vegetable couscous with chocolate nibsGelateria I Coltelli (Pisa); Tartufo di Pizzo (Calabria-Pisa), Gluten- free pastry shop ( Lucca)Mauro Iannantuoni (Milano), Torrone from Sardegna, Donna…
Pazza per Porcini
When you are lucky enough to find incredible ingredients, with Tuscan cooking, you let them shine on their own. Fresh Porcini are the perfect example. They only grow on a hot day, after it rains, under chestnut and oak trees and you have to get them before they start to deteriorate and get worms inside!…
Piano, Piano- Slowly, Slowly
There is a lot of talk of Slow Food vs Fast Food. Sometimes you just really want to slow down and BREATHE. I am often asked if I would move back home to California. Tuscany has been home since October of 1984 and as soon as I arrived here I knew I was home. I…
Wine all the Time
Living in Italy, wine is a part of everyday life and especially now that we live in the countryside, even more so. Not only do we drink wine, but can watch the vines growing and ripening during the season. Many of our neighbors produce wine for themselves as well as selling to the local cooperative…
How can you miss me if I don’t go away?
ready for the grape harvest My summer was not a happy one, I spent most of August in California with my brother and sister, closing down my mom’s house. We had the burial while I was home, sold everything at an estate sale.It drained me emotionally and physically. I came home empty inside. While I…
Pie for Mikey
Why is it that bad things come in bunches? Most of the time blogging is about food and fun and friends and enjoying life, but then reality sticks in it’s ugly head. News travels fast and sometimes it is just a couple of words on twitter that set off the antenna that all is not right…
Grazie Mille- Kitchen Blessings
Thanks so much for all your feedback on my last post. When writing, I often feel like no one is reading, since there are not many comments on the blog.I do see I have a great list of followers. Mille Grazie to you all for letting me know I am not just talking to myself…
Sharing My Tuscany
What I love about teaching is the surprise element. Since we shop together to plan the recipes for our one day classes- it is always a surprise to me what we will cook. Often it is a clients dream to make fresh pasta or gnocchi or perhaps learning to recreate something they ate and loved. the…