The seasons are changing. My garden is preparing itself for a long winter’s sleep, fresh snow has dusted the glacier capped Alps, and the cows have returned from the mountaintop pastures. Also, it is really cold. I realized the other day that I wear a winter coat eight months out of the year. Eight. Months. […]
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Yes, your polenta should be be that thick!
Whenever I make polenta with Americans I often hear the same question…. “Isn’t it done yet? It looks too thick!” People usually say this when the polenta still needs to cook another 45 minutes or so. And here’s the answer: “It ain’t done… it shouldn’t be that thick, it should be thicker!” Polenta isn’t grits. […]
Spring in the Alps and a Tasty Springtime Snack!
Oh, I love spring! Winter in the Alps is hard, long, and cold. This week winter has officially come to an end. Yes, I know that for the rest of the northern hemisphere it ended nearly a month ago, but in my neck of the woods official dates regarding seasons don’t mean much. This week […]
A Polenta Rainbow
Last weekend was my time to shine as an American in Italy. On Friday, I played fiddle in a blues concert dedicated to Mississippi John Hurt-particularly strange given that I’m not a blues musician- , on Sunday I taught an American pie making class to a bunch of Italians (they loved it), and then my […]
Hands in the Dough: Introd Black Bread Festival
I can’t believe I haven’t written about this yet. It was just such an incredible experience that I had to let it marinate for a while so that the words came out right…. but then I forgot about writing it. So here we are, six months later. Seuppa valpellenentze ready to go in the oven […]
Black Bread Adventure and Zuppa Valpellinese
A few days ago I took my mom and her friend Randy up to the village of Ozein. It’s a paradise…there is no other word for it! Well, a paradise for people who love ancient picturesque villages immersed in a sea of wildflowers, with breathtaking views of the tallest mountains of Europe. It’s pretty spectacular. […]
Raw Milk Vending Machine
I’ve mentioned the raw milk vending machine before, but it is so cool I think it deserves a post all to itself. Just to set the scene: I live in a small village across the river from Aosta, a 2000+ year old town nestled in the steepest part of the Alps. So, while I live […]
What makes bread good?
I’m a snob. A bread snob, that is. I won’t let bad bread enter my house. I feel as if it is a food only to be eaten if it is worthy of enraptured lovers falling at its crusty feet proclaiming heartfelt sonnets. I don’t often like to slather my bread in condiments, or dip […]
The Hunt for Edible Things in the Cowfield
The field around my house Yesterday, I was de-rooting some barbaboch (an Italian grass-like herb that I have recently become addicted to) in the back yard when my upstairs neighbor Betti starts asking me what I am doing. She is a spunky lady who is probably in her early sixties, and as of this week […]
Operation Cheese Making Part Something: I AM A CHEESE MAKING APPRENTINCE!
It’s been a while since I’ve posted about my cheese adventures. Ricotta salata, ricotta, queso blanco, panir, and cottage cheese have become a nearly daily operation, so that’s quite good. However, it all changed today. As of today, I am a cheese apprentice, at La Chevre Heureuse. It is a young couple who owns a […]
