Although now nearly extinct in the wild, grapes (vitis vinifera) grew throughout the Mediterranean world and in Italy, grapes were cultivated both in northern and central Italy by the Etruscans and in the south…
I hadn’t seen Giuseppa in many months, for I haven’t been guiding visitors through the wonders of Umbria in many months due to global travel restrictions. Perugia/Deruta was always a much loved…
For my upcoming ZOOM presentation (October 10th) on the art and cultural history of wine from pre-Roman times to the present, I wanted to include a vineyard visit in the Montefalco area…
What joy to do the research for my most recent ZOOM presentation, “Sicily’s Age-old Culinary Mosaic.” Such fascinating new tidbits I unearthed as I researched Sicily culinary wonders. I centered my talk…
We’re eating late late late these nights: the only disadvantage to Pino’s goat cheese-making. He milks five of our tweny-seven goats each morning and then again each evening – but with the…
Mamma mia, I am discovering that it will be quite a challenge to limit my upcoming ZOOM talk on the Mediterranean diet to one hour: too much to share. In 2010, UNESCO…
Baked Swiss chard goodness added a tasty side dish to a recent lunch. Not Swiss chard from Novella’s vegetable stand in Assisi this time… …but from our own vegetable garden, although I…
As always, cooking proves a pleasant distraction during this COVID-19 lockdown. Today’s easy, tasty recipe is dedicated to Pino’s wonderful mamma, Signora Vincenza (in the photo below with our Giulia, 1995)…. …..as…
Some of the agretti recently purchased from Novella’s vegetable stand in Assisi …. …have already starred in a pasta recipe: Today, I used some of the remaining agretti in an easy –…
There’s always a bit of excitement at springtime outdoor markets when bunches of the dark green, thin tapered leaves of the agretti appear. Often called “barba di frate” or “beards of the…