When in Spain, nibble as the Spanish do – that’s my motto. I figure the locals are in the know and I’ve never been proven wrong, my theory has only been validated. Turrón (Spanish), torró (if you are in Barcelona), or torrone (Italian), also know is nougat is a candy mostly made of honey,...
When I was last in Vienna, high on my list was taking my husband to one of Vienna’s justly famous kaffeehaus to sample a Sacher torte. Isn’t that what you are suppose to do? The Sacher torte is to Vienna what chocolate chip cookies is the US, or gelato to Italy – it defines...
You know how you discover something, and then you suddenly its as if by magic you see it or references to it pop up everywhere? Or maybe you become hyper sensitive to it once you heard about it, well that’s pandan leaves for me right now. I had heard of pandan leaves before but...
Wandering around the Cancun airport, struggling to find a way to spend my last pesos on some worthy souvenir that would stretch the memories of my time with family in Isla Mujeures, I kept coming face to face with bottles of Mexican vanilla next to the sombreros and colorful rain sticks. While I did...
Its Christmas time and the mind wanders to fruit cake. No? Not so with you? Hmm, well trust me, this one is good, after all there must be some reason that fruit cake has been around for ages. I know some folks think that applies to Grandma’s cake, but seriously, the fruitcake or panforte...
Hands down, one of my favorite herbs is basil, there is just something about it that adds a bit of zing or flavor that I never get tired of, and I am a firm believer that just about anything you add basil to is better as a result. Having only married into a family...
I recently had a revelation – We’ve been robbed! Robbed of some incredibly tasty opportunities, I know I am not alone in that for most of my life I ate one kind of dessert banana. Oh yeah, I’d sampled other bananas when I traveled, and was blown away by how sweet and tasty it...
One fortuitous discovery for me was that I learned I like dates. Wait!… make that I L-O-V-E dates! You see before sampling the fresh succulent varieties available to me in California, I associated dates with that desiccated stuff that ended up in my tapioca pudding and annoyingly clung to my teeth. It was sticky...
This question has been on my mind: ”Why is the pineapple so appealing that people want to use its image all over the home?” Don’t get me wrong, I love pineapple, with a passion, but I also love bacon, and I have no desire to dress my home with porcine images. So I decided...
The custom of eating pork on New Year’s is based on the notion that pigs symbolize progress or prosperity for many cultures – not a connection that may immediately come to mind. The animal pushes forward, rooting in the ground before moving, symbolizing progress. In Italy, the fatty meat also symbolizes the fattening of...
