The best time to visit a Tuscan hill town is during one of their Medieval festivals.My own village Certaldo holds Mercantia in July , Monteriggioni has theirs in the beginning of July, but my favorite isVolterra A.D 1398, held in August yearly. This year August 19th and the 26th were the dates for the festival…
Free Figs!
our free figs One good thing about living in the countryside is that all our neighbors grow food.Some just for a hobby, others to survive. Our neighbors have a large garden and are never here.They live in the village and just come up to have dinner parties in the gardenor to harvest their olives. Yesterday…
Food: Off the Wall
One of my favorite images in Italy is when I see a car parked on the side of the road,often in the middle of nowhere.I squint my eyes and start to search for the hidden car owners. They know something I don’t; like where to get free food!Laden down with plastic bags or hand woven…
Slow Down!
America look out! Here comes Slow food Nation! Italy’s Slow Food Movement holds the Salone del Gusto in Torino. May 1-4 2008, San Francisco
Virgin gelato
ok.. you got to trust a sicilian when they talk about gelato.My friend Jasper, comes from a Sicilian family and his uncle has been making gelato for ever. I never make gelato as I live in the land of gelato….but this Extra Virgin Gelato sounds great! I think his version is from Mario Batali. here…
5 Minutes of Fame!!!
Food and Wine September issue is out, with their Italy special issue, and guess how is listed as one of the Cooking School Pioneers!Whoppee!!! 20 years later, I guess so, but all I was really doing was creating the sort of program I myself would like. Small groups, market tours, choosing the menu and if…
Fabulous Feedback
I began my cooking school in Florence in 1988, teaching college students on their semester abroad program how to be Tuscan! Shopping the markets,using fresh food and simple ingredients. To spend more time shopping and less time cooking . I am in this month’s Food and Wine special edition on Italy, listed in the cooking…
Tiny Taste of Torino-EATALY
I love Torino!!! We started going up when our friend Antonio started dating Patrizia, now they have a son that is 20 years old. Having friends is a great way to see a city and why we do it slowly, knowing we can always go back. Last time we finally saw the Cinema Museum in…