The last time we were in London, England in October, darned if we didn’t see Halloween stuff all over the place! I couldn’t believe it. One afternoon we saw people in costumes heading into some kind of afternoon event not far from the Victoria and Albert Museum. I think it’s safe to say it was a […]
Tag: Italy
Thanksgiving and Giving Thanks
Over last weekend we were sitting by our little antique electric fireplace with its glowing glass “coals” reminiscing, sipping wine and reading the entries in my Rome journal from last October. We spent our Thanksgiving there wandering the Jewish Ghetto and having lunch at Da Giggetto. Quite honestly, we are missing being there so much. […]
A Canadian Thanksgiving
2008 was our first Thanksgiving away from home! We had travelled to Italy with two friends and our plan was to celebrate Thanksgiving by cooking dinner in the “villa” near Lago Trasimeno in Umbria. My husband and I had grocery shopped in Tuscany and Umbria two years earlier and knew beforehand that Italians […]
Pesto: What’s in a Name?
It seems to be everywhere…and not just the molto famoso “Ligurian” pasta with potato and green beans or with trofie pasta but dribbled or drizzled on anything you can imagine. But is that really “pesto?” Or, has the term “pesto,” which derives from the Italian pestare, meaning to pound or grind using a mortar and […]
Then There Was Cheese!
Have you ever had a thought that keeps popping up every now and again? Well…in my case one of these is “daddy, where does cheese come from?” Or should I say “how did we come to have this wonderful stuff called cheese?” Every time I watch someone making cheese on a T.V. programme I just […]
Me and My Knees, That Thing Called Arthritis – Part Two
It’s now 2015 and I still am not experiencing any pain to speak of. In July it’s time for another visit to OASIS. The physio at OASIS showed me my X-Rays; then explained that my left knee on the inside is now bone-on-bone! She also was surprised that I was not experiencing any pain! She […]
Our “New” Oil
Just got the word…the shipment of extra virgin olive oil from Amelia in Umbria has arrived in Vancouver! And I’ve been told it’s extremely good this year. The 2014 harvest was hit particularly hard. Either the oil was in short supply or not available at all due to terrible weather conditions at the most crucial […]
Cauliflower Italian Sausage Strozzapreti or Casarecce, Da Leo
I was inspired to create this pasta after tasting my husband’s lunch at Trattoria Da Leo in Lucca, Italy. It’s not exactly the same but it’s still damned good. I like to use cauliflower when it’s in season because I think it’s sweeter, but this can be made anytime and will still be a great […]
Cacio e Pepe
This is the best version of Cacio e Pepe I have made so far, although in Rome, where the dish originates, we found that they used tonnarelli, a thick spaghetti, instead of regular spaghetti. I would recommend the Spaghetti alla Chitarra pasta made by either GiGi or La Molisana. I use it as a substitute for the tonnarelli which, I […]
The Rome Food Diary, 2015 – Part 4
La Carbonara 1906 – Via Panisperna, 214 Once upon a time, in 2010, during our very first visit to Rome we were out and about in Monti, we decided to go for lunch…after the usual getting lost bit, we somehow stumbled upon where we wanted to go. And although we arrived 10 minutes after the […]