Dark and Dreary months During these dark and dreary months here in the Pacific North West it was like a ray of sunshine when I opened my copy of Provisions a cookbook with roots in Caribbean cooking. Written by sisters Michelle and Suzanne Rousseau, very successful restaurateurs in Kingston Jamaica with their groundbreaking restaurant Ciao Bella, fusing classic […]
Altamura to Matera in 20 minutes
Pulling out Pulling out of Altamura our Fiat 500 was filled with the smell of fresh bread still working its magic sitting in the sun on the back seat. Looking forward to a brisk jaunt of twisting scenic country road to our next destination, Matera, I was sadly disappointed with a new boringly straight stretch […]
Panificio Di Gesù and Altamura’s DOP Bread
Half-asleep or half-cut I awoke to the sound of the shower running. Nat was already up but it was going to take a lot for me to get out of my envelope of comfort and warmth in our cozy hideaway in Altamura. The rain was still pouring down but the weather was expected to improve […]
The Karst, one of Italy’s best kept secrets
The Karst About an hour outside of Trieste is an incredible stretch of land that saddles both the Italian and Slovenian border. Accessible by city bus from the centre of town it’s a winding and fantastic ride along the steep shores leading out of Trieste as you climb onto a plateau above the city. The […]
Tales from the Table: Hostaria La Vecchia Fontanina
Reading menus I love reading menus. Whenever we travel and are staying in town to eat I make it a habit of reading as many menus as I can when walking passed restaurants. Just about every town has at least one dish that shows up on every menu. In Verona, it’s bigoli pasta, one of […]
Laura and the food tour: a food-centric day in Turin
Food tour with Laura If you’ve never taken a food tour when visiting a new city or country, you are really missing out. Faced with the big city of Turin we had some ideas of the local dishes but wanted to get down to the root of the food scene and history and a tour […]
Gorgonzola, Protected Designation of Origin
Otherwise occupied Getting up early, I check the train schedule, grab some fruit and head to the station by myself. Tim being otherwise occupied with a virus that is draining his body of all fluids. The train to Novara is on time and as it makes its way towards the mountains, I notice the frost […]
Picturing Bologna
Picturing Bologna La dotta, la grassa, la rossa (the learned one, the fat one, the red one) Bologna gets called all three because of its university, its delicious food, and its red roofs. We spent two wonderful weeks there in early November, met some wonderful people, found some great restaurants, great markets, wonderful wine & […]