Posts

how we shop: and lombrichelli pasta with zucchini

, ,
I often wonder whether there is a spike in sales of real newspapers over the summer holidays.  August in Lubriano is the luxury of walking to the edicola (Lubriano still has one), buying a paper, and maybe stopping in at…

ten years: and a recipe for broccoli pasta

, ,
It is May 7, 2015 and I am on an early morning train bound for Milan, on my way to a rather special book launch and to have a look at EXPO, the Universal Exposition running with the theme 'Feeding the Planet; Energy for Life'.  I go with a…

roads less travelled and unique places to stay

,
May 2018.  It is mid afternoon when we pull into the farm hotel.  A deep calm blankets the property and there is no sign of anyone apart from a French couple that pad across the courtyard toward the pool.  The tractors have been shut down…

an Italian reading list

,
Sometimes I think about my final year history teacher, and how nice it would be to bump into him in a random piazza somewhere in Italy. Russel Staiff was one of those stand out teachers who take their students far beyond the standard textbook.…

Itineraries. Ceramics and the South: a pilgrimage to Grottaglie

, ,
The sun climbs as we leave the soft olive hillsides of the Valle D'Itria, where we are staying, for the red plains of the alto-Salento, and the road cuts through carpets of primitivo vines as it reaches out toward the almost irresistible waters…

festive baking: super mince pie pastry

, ,
When I'm in Australia I feel nostalgic for Italy and want to make a batch of Cavallucci di Siena at Christmas time or a Pastiera Napoletana at Easter.  And every single Easter I have spent in Italy I have faithfully made hot cross buns,…

nostalgic baking: candied peel and walnuts

,
Much as I don't want to to admit it, my mum Alison is getting older.  She is in fabulous shape for an 82 year old, but going down a gear as each year passes.  The proof is in her kitchen, and in the gradual slowing of festive production.…