I've spoken before about my love of quinoa, but never about my obsession with okra. Unless you are from the south or the tropics, you have probably never heard of okra. Okra is a long green pod that looks like witches fingers, yum appetizing! It is a summer vegetable meaning it should be available in [...]
Did you know that saffron is more costly than gold? Saffron, a spice derived from the saffron crocus flower, gives dishes a rich warm flavor and a yellow color. Why is it so expensive? When it takes over 75,000 flowers to produce and single pound of spice, well you can get the picture. Although costly, [...]
Catania, a city famous for its fresh sea food, pasta alla norma, and the glorious cannoli! Instead of wandering the streets hungry for a reliable restaurant, check out the restaurants that have impressed me. FOR DINNER Biscari Expensive http://www.ristorantebiscari.it/ Though quite expensive, I may have had the best meal of my life at this restaurant. My [...]
Have you ever bitten into a tomato as you would an apple? I developed this habit when I was living in Catania cause the tomatoes are really as good as apples. Where I'm from in California, we have good produce, but a Sicilian tomato cannot be replicated and American tomatoes are tasteless seed balls in [...]
Weird as it is for an ex-vegetarian, I get extremely excited by the word burger. Even stranger, plain old burger doesn't do it. It's only the burgers accompanied by another type of meat: Chicken, Veggie, Black bean, Tuna, Turkey, Salmon, Portabella, Lamb, Horse? Much as I like to think I am Italian, I am not. [...]
Ingredients: 2 medium eggplants 2 cloves garlic (optional) 2 tsp cumin red pepper to taste pinch salt 1 tsp paprika 2 tbsp parsley 1/4-1/3 cup olive oil 1/3 cup water Directions: Rinse and chop eggplant into 1 inch cubes. Place eggplant, garlic, spices and oil into a large pan over medium heat. Cover and cook [...]
Tuna-isia with a dollop of Mayo, a set on Flickr. Over a fine dinner of orange glazed salmon and saffron quinoa, my friend Jessica mentioned something very profound about my traveling choices. She said, "Most people choose their destinations by the sites they want to see or the resorts they want to stay in, but [...]
A Big Brunch, a photo by julahooper on Flickr. There are few things I miss about America living in Italy. Other than my family and friends, I do miss brunch. Italians are not creative when it comes to breakfast. Breakfast is coffee and maybe a brioche (croissant). Fortunately, I have my own kitchen, so I [...]
zucchini carrot bread, a set on Flickr. I have been wanting to make zucchini bread all week, and so on Friday I bought four small-sized zucchini. Unfortunately, by the time Sunday rolled around I was left with only two. Two small zucchini is really not enough even for a small loaf of tasty zucchini [...]
Whole Wheat Challah alla Italiana, a set on Flickr. Passover has just ended. Being the terrible Jew that I am and living in northern Italy where jews don't exist, I didn't even realize it was passover. Anyways, I am celebrating the end of passover with a giant loaf of leavened bread. Even if I could [...]
TYPE 1 TRAVELER 