Bahija Lafredi’s sensibility for the extraordinary in food, never ceases to amaze me. It comes easy to her. Unpretentious in her kitchen whites or traditional tunics, she is like a neutral book cover to a colorful, classic novel. Full of surprises, her imagination takes something as simple as a sponge …
“Peggy Markel has been leading culinary tours to Morocco since 2002. Her biannual trips mix luxury and rustic authenticity and pair cooking with observation and history lessons with hammam visits.” Top 10 Culinary Tours, written by Matthew Moran Sherman’s Travel Magazine March 2010 Read more.
1 cup chopped dried Calimyrna figs (or one’s you’ve dried yourself) 1/3 cup water 1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, chopped 2 T extra-virgin olive oil 1 T balsamic vinegar 1 T drained and rinsed capers, chopped 1 1/2 t chopped fresh thyme 1/2 cup toasted and chopped walnuts Combine figs …
Florence-Pisa-London-Florence-Barcelona-Mallorca-Malaga I’m in constant motion, and do get around. There’s my work, first and foremost, that takes me around, and then I fill in the blanks on the way. Why not? A London birthday party one weekend stretches into the next, with a sack of things to do and places …
“An early member of the Slow Food movement, Peggy Markel takes culinary tours to numerous parts of Italy but also goes further afield to Morocco.” Top 10 Culinary Guides, written by Bruce Palling The Wall Street Journal October 2010 Read more.
How a quality olive oil contributes to the overall taste of a meal.
I traveled by car again, to the sweet haven of Sharpura Bargh. A private boutique guesthouse halfway between Udaipur and Jaipur. Shaturgeet and Maya Singh, the owners, greeted me like an old friend. Maya’s warm welcome was lovely and personal. (Royal butlers can get a bit much after a while.) …
Devigarh, my favorite place aesthetically, is an 18th century Palace fort that royally commands the valley, looking out over the Aravalli hills. Bo-chic in style, the interiors are minimalist yet traditional, leaving more out than put in. An awesome aesthetic, if you like austere five-star elegance—a bit “Indian Zen. The …
Udiapur is known as the city of Lakes. The Lake Palace Hotel was conceived (in romance?) and built in 1746 by Marharana Jagat Singh II. It spreads across a four acre island, a complete vision of white marble. Somewhat Venetian, the ground is not visible at all. It seems rather …
Arriving in Delhi for the first time is no small thing. India smacked me in the face. It’s everything at once. Chaos, a mixture of classes and faces with eyes eep as the ocean. In my younger years, I always thought I would end up in India as a backpacker, …