Adventurers with artistic sensibilities and curious appetites board Antonio’s 54-foot sailboat; drifting somewhere along the Amalfi coast. It’s a visceral voyage. Sun rays bounce off the iconic jade-blue hues of the Tyrrhenian Sea. There are eight of us on deck. In a shared space, we unite as willing victims of foreign seductive charms: the joviality inherent in the sea, in the sun.
Slipping into Morocco from India, I wondered how I would feel. Would it still hold the same fascination for me? After all, India has her charms, and they are similar in exotica.
Poached eggs in spicy tomato sauce are the ultimate comfort food – and a great dish to make for brunch when tomatoes are ripe and juicy. The secret, as shared by our cooks in Essaouira, lies in grating the tomatoes. You will be surprised how easy it is, and what …
There are a million wonderful Moroccan desserts. I happen to enjoy the simple ones, such as fruit. Here’s a one with spices and honey sauce. The name reflects the outlying area of Marrakech called ‘Le Palmeraie’ where Jnane Tamsna is located. 6 cups cold water (separated) 6 pears, not …
As part of our Tasting Royal Rajasthan Culinary Adventure we are fortunate enough to be invited to a home for a cooking demonstration and lunch. Amma is the family’s matriarch and she makes the best lemon rice, taking care to cover each grain with the delicious seasonings . Base: 1 1/2 …
One of my favorite dishes to make in winter is polenta. It’s hearty and warm and heats the inner fires. I found a great local source from Aspen Moon Farms in Hygiene, Colorado called, Organic Biodynamic Red “Floriani” Cornmeal. It has a rich yellow color with red flecks inside. It’s open-pollinated, non-GMO, and heirloom..out of Italy, which is why it is also great for making polenta, not just cornbread. For those who may or may not know, the Italians use “flint”corn for their polenta, which I recently learned is the same as native American calico corn, which surprised me. Each kernel has a hard outer layer to protect the soft endosperm, it is likened to being hard as flint; hence the name.
We can learn the ways of the old ones by going back to how they ate before the Industrial Revolution, back when there was integrity, family and story involved in producing an artisan product by hand. With the help of Slow Food and other movements, there is a global resurgence …
The Aeolian Islands off the coast of Sicily have a culture of their own, an archipelago of 8 islands clustered in the Mediterranean just north of Sicily. Fascinated by islands, I like to explore how each island expresses itself, out in the wild on its own, with a rich sea life to draw from and the ingredients at hand that have given us the Mediterranean diet — wild plants such as fennel, oregano, rosemary and the cultivated citrus, olive and hot weather vegetables. Their gardens are often protected by rock walls to protect from the wind and ensure a good harvest to put up for the winter.
The morning’s light brought the sight of a smoking, flaming Stromboli, after an overnight sail on a 54 foot Hanse schooner from the island of Procida, which lies off the coast of Napoli. I was traveling with my son and another family, and our captain Antonio. It was a voyage …
Improvisation is the mother of invention. A friend from Canada dropped in on me, quite sick. I know my chicken. He needed a stiff single malt, but that was out of the question. He wanted tea. What was the next best thing? A hot toddy. That way you can have …