In Valencia, along with the Flamenco, paella is king, all things citrus, fish and sea food galore. You get the idea, this is a land with plentiful options, and the resulting combinations increase exponentially. Given the bounty that exists due to its location, Valencian cuisine can be said to focus on vegetables and the...
Montalcino is a small, very picturesque hilltop town nestled in arguably some of the most beautiful country around. While Montalcino may not need a lot of time dedicated to exploring; indeed most guide books recommend just a few hours. But that’s rushing things, because when you’re ensconced in the heart of Tuscany – Tuscan...
Isla Mujeres (Spanish for “Island of Women”) is a place to go if relaxing in the sun and surf is a priority. This suited my family perfectly as we wanted to spend Christmas in a place that was warm and friendly for ages between six months and well a lot older. This island...
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...
When we told people we were headed to Rome, I lost count of the number of suggestions of “You must explore Trastevere.” I found out they had good reason for saying so. Trastevere is a former working class neighborhood of Rome, across the Tiber river from all the tourist action at the Colosseum and...
Mendocino County is as breathtaking as ever, but we recently stumbled across something that took us by surprise. My mother-in-law, who accompanied us on this trip, had heard of a restaurant called 10,000 Buddhas that intrigued her and she wanted us to go there for lunch. She said it was a Buddhist restaurant close...
Growing up, a favorite treat for me was the beef jerky my parents made. I loved that delicious, salty snack, but after I moved away I questioned my memory of those meaty treats. My subsequent encounters, left me cold, they were not so much dried as desiccated, tough as nails, so stringy that I...
Hawaii, the United States’ backyard paradise, is one of those places that is almost impossible to define in terms of its cuisine and culture. The indigenous people were devastated by disease and fighting when Captain Cook settled on the islands. Since then, people from China, Japan, Thailand, Korea, the Philippines and points beyond arrived...
See for yourself… April Fools’ Day, or All Fool’s Day is celebrated in many countries on April 1 with practical jokes played family members, colleagues, and neighbors. The origin of April Fools’ Day is obscure. One likely theory is that the term referred to someone still adhering to the Julian Calendar, as opposed to adopting...
“Farm to Table” or “Farm to Fork” was predicted to be a new trend for 2010, but for the folks that have been eating this way for years, they’re wondering what all the fuss is about. Like comfort food was the trend of 2009, how new is it? To me it sounds suspiciously...
