Every so often, the boys and I trek to the Paperback Exchange—an English bookstore—near the Duomo in Florence. While their books are a bit overpriced, it remains a gem as it is full of paperbacks, cookbooks, school books and more. Plus you can turn in already-read books for pennies on the dollar (we are big [...]

I was super happy to find My Sister’s Kitchen via Twitter; and how lucky to land on Barb’s website when her recipe for homemade tortillas was front and center!
In Italy, if we have a penchant for tortillas we end up buying overpriced American tortillas or too-thick-and-crumbly Italian ‘tortillas.’ The latter come with a caveat: although [...]

Geez, I didn’t realize I was in such a starch craze. Might trim off a few pounds if I start focusing on greens instead!
Why the starch-fest? Well, 1. it is part of my culinary repertoire that I still want to master, and 2. it is cost-effective to make your own [bread, focaccia, pizza]. Therefore: starch-forays [...]

It makes me so happy that Erika and I (aka Gina and Gina) made ravioli. Pasta has been on my list of ‘things to make’ since I landed in Italy 9 months ago. I even bought a very cool ravioli tray in December (it is a tray where you lay the pasta sheet on top, [...]

I don’t bake bread. Or pizza dough, or croissants or cinnamon rolls. I don’t DO yeast. Until now.
I always stood on the stage of ‘cooking.’ But I knew at some point I would have to tackle my fear/avoidance/aversion to baking-with-yeast. To part the curtains, and brave the unknown. If you are a bread baker, you [...]

I feel like I am making up New Year’s resolutions as a I go. I seem to have sidestepped the pressure of December 31. But the things I want to accomplish continue to hit my mental temples and I feel the need to organize. No surprise there.
One of the things that keeps showing up in [...]