Monthly Archives: November 2009

Castellina in Chianti

11/26/2009 | Topic: places to go, wine

I love this town. We only visited because I had an interview—to write articles on all that is available to tourists in Tuscany. It looks promising; sign me up to research on the art, history, food and culture of Tuscany. Castellina in Chianti is a small, quaint hilltop… [more]

Carbonara

11/24/2009 | Topic: Italian food

All summer while we cycled across Holland, Belgium and France—and even during our stay in London—we sought out Italian food. Sure we would try new food, but part of risking adventure means finding some comfort and familiarity in the crevices. Sure we sold our house, our cars, left our… [more]

snacks revisited

11/18/2009 | Topic: food spotlight, snacks

It is interesting when you revamp your environment (e.g. going abroad for a year), to see what adjustments we make in our eating and cooking habits. In Florence, I find myself converting measurements such as kilograms, pints, liters and grams, Celsius. In the states I relied on cups, teaspoons,… [more]

my fashion faux pas meal

11/16/2009 | Topic: just talk, menus

As in: no white shoes before Easter, loose the leg warmers and satin is out. This meal is all wrong. I learned in cooking school that it is important to consider the combination of foods on a given plate. In other words, what are the varying textures? Are the… [more]

Nuovo Olio in Tuscany (new oil, old oil and oil tasting)

11/12/2009 | Topic: dip, sauce & syrup, places to go, reviews

Sigh. I have been smiling since yesterday; we went to a frantoio. A frantoio is a an olive-oil pressing facility/palazzo. It is the olive oil version of a winery. October and November represent the time frame where olives are shaken or combed off trees—into nets—and gathered for pressing. It… [more]

I can do it in 3 ingredients…

11/10/2009 | Topic: default dinners, entree

I didn’t want to cook tonight. I had gone on an interview, cleaned the house, plugged away on the computer, hit the grocer, enjoyed the Florentine sunshine… and it was just ‘one of those nights.’ I am finding my rhythm includes one night a week where I like to… [more]

sangria, and the pitchers they live in.

11/03/2009 | Topic: Italian food, libations

The truth is, sangria was a recipe that landed on my blog a few years ago. I make it often, as it adds a festive punch (ah, love the puns) to any meal. AND since I am in Italy, it is an appropriate twist on a… [more]

my italian kitchen

11/02/2009 | Topic: just talk

Ciao! It has been awhile, I know. I confess, I have been blogging more on our family blog (www.familyfrolics.com) than I have here. Mostly because my chatter has been more about travel—from our year abroad—than about food. Most of my posts on this… [more]