My Santa Lucia
The 13th of December is a special day for children when they wake up they receive gifts from Santa Lucia (Saint Lucy) herself. She comes every year accompanied with her donkey and brings gifts and a plate full of sweets for the good children and coal for the naughty ones.
Piedmont and my auntie’s easy vegetable dishes
Not far from the high mountain plain pictured above lies a small town where my family is from. This is the place where I recharge my energy and soul. A place full of happy memories from my childhood with clean fresh air, silence from the big cities and slower rhythms. I grew up in Verona, [...]
My Easter menu 2011
This might seem a big lunch at first glance but the portions are carefully controlled so my guests won’t explode at the end of the day. There is enough here to choose from that it can accommodate a vegetarian at the table too.
Isola della Scala Rice Fair 44th edition
Every year at Isola dell Scala just outside of Verona there is a famous Rice Fair. I’ve attended quite a few times over the years as it’s a great place for a rice lover to eat a good risotto with literally thousands of like minded individuals. There are two huge exposition areas totaling 130,000 sq. [...]
Origins of rice and its appearance in Italy
The exact origin of rice has not been established yet, however there’s no doubt that it first appeared in East Asia, India, China and Vietnam. Some artifacts appertaining to the VI millennium b.c. demonstrate the coexistence of different kinds of rice both wild and cultivated in the Yangzi Jiang river valley in China. Similar discoveries [...]
