Rhubarb and berry custard bars to celebrate When I first planted my rhubarb, I placed a few pebbles under its roots in order to give it a well drained soil, I chose a shadowed spot, as to avoid too much Tuscan sun. At the beginning I used to water it every day, even twice a [...]

Posted in Desserts, Pies and Tarts 39 Comments »

I just realized that although I had promised you this long ago, I still haven’t told anything about our weekend among friends in Cecina, San Vincenzo and Livorno, travelling the length and breadth of the beautiful Etruscan Coast, in Tuscany. Yet three weeks have passed already, the tan and the salty tang of the sea [...]

Posted in Travel 15 Comments »

I have a recurring daydream: I leave my house, close the red door behind me and I step in a green scenery crammed with earthenware pots and old repainted wooden boxes, where flowers, herbs and berries grow luxuriantly. Then I walk along a tiny path and I reach my well-cultivated vegetable garden, where I put nice [...]

Posted in Desserts, Summer 18 Comments »

The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee. Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc. So people who don’t know what the hell they’re doing or who on earth they are can, for only $2.95, [...]

Posted in Italian Table Talk, Tuscan Recipes 20 Comments »

My summer is slow and drowsy, I spend my time in the kitchen, cooking and baking early Autumn recipes for the September issue of Dolci Tentazioni (the only refreshing aspect of this baking galore is the thought of the moment you’ll savour them in a few months from now, with a cup of tea, in a [...]

Posted in Quick Recipes, Summer, Vegetarian Recipes 18 Comments »