“On foggy days you can stop looking for a moment, you can breathe and listen… close your eyes and concentrate on your feelings because even a foggy day is not by chance.”(sign in Novello, a small town in the Langhe) Well it’s really foggy here today as you can see – or rather not see…… Continue reading FOGGY DAYS & FROZEN LAKES: CARROT FLAN or ‘SFORMATO’ with a MISO ‘BAGNA CAUDA’ SAUCE
BEARING GIFTS: No-Cook Exotic-Spiced Date, Chestnut & Chocolate Truffles
We’re celebrating Epifania here in Italy tomorrow….but first, La Befana arrives tonight! According to Italian legend, the Three Wise Men stopped on their journey to Bethlehem to ask an old lady for directions and if she’d like to join them on their journey. She refused saying she had too much housework to do! …then later…… Continue reading BEARING GIFTS: No-Cook Exotic-Spiced Date, Chestnut & Chocolate Truffles
THE SALT & THE SPIRITUAL: Saluzzo, Ancient Paths & Salted Plums
There’s something rather wonderful about walking on cobbled streets. On one level, you get a free reflexology treatment as your feet are massaged by the smooth and uneven stones. Your walking may not be as elegant as normal – and obviously don’t even think about wearing high heels! – but a foot therapy like this…… Continue reading THE SALT & THE SPIRITUAL: Saluzzo, Ancient Paths & Salted Plums
A Radish Assemblage: Iced Radishes, Italian Tigelle, Herbed Butter & Anchovies
Thanks to an earlier massive storm we no longer have the ondata di caldo or heatwave we were struggling with, and have now been enjoying a more ‘normal’ summer. I found those airless, hot and humid days torturous ….dog days I think they’re called, after the rising of the Dog Star which signals hot summer…… Continue reading A Radish Assemblage: Iced Radishes, Italian Tigelle, Herbed Butter & Anchovies
FOLLOW YOUR NOSE: Rustic Wild Garlic Ravioli
There was a distinct scent of garlic in the air on my walk the other day….and not a restaurant, barbecue or kitchen in sight. Curious! I followed my nose and continued on the path a bit further into the wood until I reached one of the outdoor religious shrines that you often find on paths…… Continue reading FOLLOW YOUR NOSE: Rustic Wild Garlic Ravioli
BACCALÀ MANTECATO and CECI NERI: Whipped Salt Cod & Black Chickpeas
Carnival is over…and after all the excesses it’s atonement time in the Christian ecclesiastical calendar! This year the famous Venice Carnival fell on the 300th anniversary of Casanova’s birth and so celebrations began appropriately on Valentine’s Day. Days were packed with events: street parties, parades, shows, juggling, music, dancing, costumes and masks….and of course eating,…… Continue reading BACCALÀ MANTECATO and CECI NERI: Whipped Salt Cod & Black Chickpeas
KNEADING LOVE: HOME-MADE BREAD
…. “how simple you are bread, and how profound…. from Pablo Neruda’s ‘Ode to Bread’ “Que será será..” I crooned as I popped my well-massaged bread dough into the hot oven and set the timer for 30 minutes “…whatever will be, will be… the future’s not ours to see, que será será”. A bit embarrassing…… Continue reading KNEADING LOVE: HOME-MADE BREAD
AMUSING PUMPKINS & Pumpkin ‘Amuse-Bouches’
‘I love pumpkins’ pronounced the extraordinary Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama….’I love them for their humorous shape, their generous unpretentiousness and their solid spiritual base’. I have to admit that I had never seen pumpkins or zucche in quite this way before, but it certainly started me thinking differently about them….and now I think I love…… Continue reading AMUSING PUMPKINS & Pumpkin ‘Amuse-Bouches’
SMOKY FLAVOURS: Chestnut & Lapsang Souchong Drizzle Cake
The good thing about the New Year so far is that my skin is beautifully hydrated! This is thanks to the fact that I spent the Christmas holidays in the UK countryside where it rained almost solidly for two or three weeks. Despite the weather it was a wonderful trip…. but it was definitely very,…… Continue reading SMOKY FLAVOURS: Chestnut & Lapsang Souchong Drizzle Cake
WHITE TRUFFLES & TOPINAMBUR: Jerusalem Artichokes on Fonduta with Crushed Hazelnuts & Truffle Salt
Early autumn mornings were unnaturally quiet for me this year in the Alta Langhe. They lacked those sudden pistol-like cracks echoing through the silent, misty pre-dawn – not actually gunfire as I had initially thought (well, everything is exaggerated at 4.00am in the morning!) – but nutshells being smashed and shattered on the stone path…… Continue reading WHITE TRUFFLES & TOPINAMBUR: Jerusalem Artichokes on Fonduta with Crushed Hazelnuts & Truffle Salt
EATING CLOUDS IN ITALY 
