Mr Cipriani My little village Certaldo has two market days. Wednesday is the larger day when they close down the main road around town by the pool, and have a huge market, the kind with clothes, food, housewares and plants. It was fun to be off work and catch up on town action and gossip….
Wild Boys and Boar!
Yesterday when I was passing by Trattoria Mario’s on the way to the market with my students for class, as we read the menu, we had to go in and see the special of the day. Whenever possible, Romeo Colzi, chef and owner, has something special on the menu. It was Cinghiale, wild boar! There…
Market leftovers- turnip greens
Saturday’s Turnips from the market, had such beautiful greens, I followed Roberto’s advice and cooked them twice. This is quite common for any leafy green in Tuscany. Overcooking by boiling in salted water, tenderizes even the toughest stems. Draining the greens and squeezing out all of the water and creating little balls is the base…
Soothing Soup Minestrone
There is nothing like a soup to soothe all. Winter this year has not brought on the chill’s which are relieved by soup until now. So as soon as the first chill came in, soup’s on! After being in a sort of Summer in Florida, the Tuscan winter called me back to the roots of soup,…
Puglia….Tiella with mussels
I LOVE PUGLIA Last trip we visited the more famouse towns, Lecce, Alberobello with it’s trulli, Ostuni and Otranto. This year I wanted to see the other side. We headed over to Gallipoli and our trip was cut short due to my bad back….. but Egullet is talking about the cuisine of Puglia and I…
Shop Local… Eye Candy
In my cooking classes in Florence, Italy where I moved in 1984, there was no other way to shop than daily… and local. Florence has two fixed market places, built in the late 1800’s when Florence was made the capital of united Italy. The Central Market, which is right outside my kitchen-studio window, is a…
Getting Ready for Mother’s Day
My mom loves anything Rose…perhaps because she was born in Portland Oregon. It was odd as her parents lived in Shanghai! The story goes that my grandmother got on a steamship at 9 months pregnant and had my mom in Portland and 10 days later was back on the boat to Shanghai. This is my…
Divina Cucina…on the Road
Last month I spent three weeks… on the road. It is always hard for me to leave Florence, I have really become more Italian and more a homebody instead of the wandering gypsy I was. First stop home, then up to Sonoma to teach at Ramekins, I taught 4 classes, here are some shots of…