Monthly Archives: February 2010
Martedì Grasso or Mardi Gras means ‘Fat Tuesday’, and both sound to me much more fun than Shrove Tuesday. ‘Shrove’ is the past tense of ‘shrive’ which comes from an Old English word meaning to impose as a penance. In … Continue reading
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No words are adequate to describe the atmosphere of Carnival celebrations at Viareggio — crowded, boisterous, convivial, noisy, hilarious… Photos say more. Better still: go! There are two more days of festivities left: Sunday 14 February and Tuesday 16 February. … Continue reading
Posted in FESTAS, Versilia
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Artisan or traditional style?
Last week I went with Debra Kolkka to the Mostra Internazionale dell’Artigianato at Florence. You can read her views o ...
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Weeds for Lunch
Guest blog by Penny Barry
I had an adventure last weekend. Heather returned to Cambridge leaving me with a sub-contra ...
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Use Your Nose
So what did I learn at the first sommelier course lesson? Apart from the party trick of how to open a bottle of champagn ...
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7 Shades of Orange
Blood oranges have character and flaunt their diversity; every morning as I cut open two of them, I watch with anticipat ...
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Meaning in a Glass of Wine
I’m about to embark on a three-month wine sommelier course at Lucca. It’s not that I want to become a wine expert, b ...
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Another Zuppa
I've written about zuppa alla frantoiana, a typical seasonal soup of Lucca, so many times that you'd think I'd be bored ...
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Snow Patterns
The travellers' image of Tuscany is all sunshine, olive trees, vines and cypress-lined roads, and if you come in spring, ...
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Seasonal Eating 5: Pimpinella
L'insalata non è bella se non c'è la pimpinella!
The salad isn't good (beautiful) if there isn't any pimpinella!
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Weaving a life of happiness
If you come on my Tastes & Textiles tour, you’ll meet Romeo and Nadia, two of my local heroes. Not love-struck tee ...
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Orto in February
It takes some willpower to go down to the vegetable garden on a cold, gloomy February day. But as soon as I'm out the do ...
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Moments of Glory
Three times every winter we organise an Advanced Salumi Course. During the course participants learn the theory of Itali ...
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Fare La Scarpetta
Scarpetta means slipper, but fare la scarpetta doesn't have anything to do with making slippers. It means to wipe your ...
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