Latest Posts

Blog Post Photo Bunch of Basil on Drying Rack
My Stories

Pesto: What’s in a Name?

It seems to be everywhere…and not just the molto famoso “Ligurian” pasta with potato and green beans with trofie pasta but dribbled or drizzled on anything you can imagine. But is that really “pesto?” Or, has the term “pesto,” which derives from the Italian pestare, meaning to pound or grind using a mortar and pestle, […]

Poached Rhubarb Dessert
My Stories

24 Hours in Ferndale

OK, so it’s not Italy! But what the heck, it’s a trip out of town!  The story began last year before our trip to Italy, when I had become FB friends with Timothy. Tim was planning on travelling around Italy then returning home via Rome and as luck would have it, we would be in […]

Blog Post Photo Nat Bailey Farmer's Market
My Stories

Are You A Food Snob?

Are you one of those who doesn’t pick up ready-made meals or other prepared foods? Yeah…us too! I see shoppers at Wholefoods with their baskets laden with these items.  I was totally blown away by the fridge “walls” stuffed with ready-made meals at M & S Simply Foods in Chelsea, London. It was amazing to […]

Blog Post Photo, Stacks of Cheeses
My Stories

Then There Was Cheese!

Have you ever had a thought that keeps popping up every now and again?  Well…in my case one of these is “daddy, where does cheese come from?” Or should I say “how did we come to have this wonderful stuff called cheese?” Every time I watch someone making cheese on a T.V. programme I just […]

Tomato Zucchini Pie for Guest Post for Roz
My Stories

La Bella Vita Cucina Post

My good friend, Roz Corieri Paige who has a great blog called La Bella Vita Cucina, invited me to write a guest post on her website which I was absolutely delighted to do.  She has a wonderful site with recipes from her Italian American background and is a great cook! We “met” a few years […]

Blog Post Photo Yvonne's Painting, View from 29th Floor, TD Tower
My Stories

Ruth’s “Cook Book”

I’m a cook and not a book reviewer. That said, I recently finished “Ruth Reichl’s my kitchen year 136 RECIPES that SAVED MY LIFE” and discovered that we seem to share some similar experiences. The year in question was October 2009 when “Gourmet,” magazine, where Ruth was Editor in Chief for 10 years, closed down in […]

Blog Post Photo Baci, Perugina Chocolates
My Stories

Happy Easter – Buona Pasqua!

Once again…our lilac tree is bursting forth and I’m up to my little ears in planning Easter Dinner. Even though I’m a lapsed Lutheran, a few religious days have stuck like glue!  For me, those days are wrapped around remembering traditions of making and eating delicious food. We haven’t gotten into dying eggs in our […]

Blog Post Photo Amelia Olive Oil Tasting, Wine, Olives, Crusty Bread
My Stories

Our “New” Oil

Just got the word…the shipment of extra virgin olive oil from Amelia in Umbria has arrived in Vancouver! And I’ve been told it’s extremely good this year.  Fabulous news! The 2014 harvest was hit particularly hard. Either the oil was in short supply or not available at all due to terrible weather conditions at the […]

Blog Post Photo, Joe & Phyllis Vintners Brunch 2016
My Stories

Vintners Brunch 2016

A fitting end to an era for us.  We had been attending the annual Vancouver International Wine Festival’s Vintner’s Brunch for 12 consecutive years and always looked forward to the event.  We had a wonderful time, tasting and sipping for a few hours on a Sunday afternoon…not a bad way to wrap up the weekend […]

Bouquet of Dried Pasta, Rome, Italy
My Stories

Rome Reflections

When you visit a city fairly often, you notice things that may not have leapt off the page before.  For sure the dining season is a’changin! It’s not that we don’t love a great steak or burger. We’ve enjoyed fantastic steaks in Italy, grilled over a wood fire, the Italian way. Eating a good burger […]