South of Salerno, curvy wooded coastal roads rim rugged cliffs that plummet to the pristine sea below. Tiny towns hug the rocky cliffs hanging over hidden coastal inlets of aquamarine water. Superb…
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I’ve been offering cooking lesssons of Umbrian rural cuisine in private homes since 1998 – when Cathleen from San Anselmo invited me to bring Umbria’s flavors into her kitchen. I’ve never yet…
Onions and salt to predict the weather in the New Year? Over our years on the land, I’ve learned how farm women can take off il malocchio, how St. Anthony’s image in…
In a bustling narrow alleyway in downtown Naples, Neapolitan life and Naples’ highest craft traditions merge. I can’t imagine Christmas without a walk in Via San Gregorio Armeno, nor any visit to…
On the tables, the silverware flanks the menus: laminated plastic cards listing the full array of Ciancino goodness, though not all dishes are served each day. Black magic marker rings the dishes…
Children certainly do need to learn maths, literature, history and geography in school. They also need to learn about an important means of communication, necessary for their health and well-being: cooking -…
What’s my favorite late fall day? The day or two when we pick our olives or the day the olio novello comes back from the mill? In every Umbrian farmhouse, stainless steel…
Our final tour together, the Rural Life Revisited tour, might have been the highlight of the Italy stay of this San Diego family. Chiarina won over little Van when she made us…
Who could ever imagine that a quiet medieval Umbrian hilltown- not even on the railroad line – would merit a place in the Guinness Book of World Records? Gubbio did it with…
In Italy, la buona forchetta is not a favorite eating utensil, not a special serving fork: it’s a person who knows and relishes good food. For any buona forchetta, the cooking of…