There are tears of joy, sorrow, disappointment, anger, crocodile tears and even chopped vegetable tears. These are traditional tears, a subtle alchemy given by chopped onions, wooden cutting board and a sharp knife. Before blenders there was this ancient ritual of hand-made battuto - vegetables minced by hand on a cutting board that year after year [...]

Posted in Books, Vegetarian Recipes 11 Comments »

Being a country girl, in my eyes Florence is a city, it is great and wonderful. The view from Piazzale Michelangelo takes my breath away in any season and at any time of the day. Every time I walk around the city centre I can not help but take a picture – real or mental [...]

Posted in Desserts, Italian Table Talk, Tuscan Recipes, Winter 7 Comments »

Extra virgin olive oil, or just olive oil. Hard to say what it is for me, what it means for our gastronomic tradition without falling into an elegy or writing a mini encyclopaedia, with cross-references and footnotes. Perhaps, more simply, I would say that olive oil is for me daily life. It is the bottle [...]

Posted in Italian Table Talk, Preserves 19 Comments »

Here we go, these are the most controversial moments in our calendar. Do you celebrate Halloween today or do wait until tomorrow to celebrate the religious holiday of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day? Do you team up for tradition or for innovation? or more simply, being a gourmet, you just take what both [...]

Posted in Desserts, Italian Table Talk, Muffins and cupcakes 9 Comments »

In the last week I have spent more hours than usual thinking, thanks to many travels by train and by car: first a busy day though rich in discoveries in Turin for the Salone del Gusto, then a weekend in Umbria with my good foodblogger friends, cooking and eating in a villa in the countryside. The [...]

Posted in Cakes, Chocolate, Desserts 10 Comments »