Becoming a Forager: How to Join In on the Latest Foodie Trend

Comments

Once the pastime of eccentric Nonna’s and naturalist types, foraging is trending as the latest pursuit of the food obsessed;  foraging is the act of looking or searching for food, in this case wild edibles. And all over the country enthusiasts are on the hunt:  porcini, nettles, huckleberries, the legendary paw paw. Continue Reading…

Digestivi

Comments

I always wonder how Italians can eat very large twelve course meals and still manage to return to work the next day, or even, in many cases, an hour later. The answer, I found, lies in one potent pleasure: the digestivo. Italians certainly enjoy the ever-famous aperitivi before dinner. Campari, the bittersweet red beverage, goes well with soda. Prosecco (an Italian dry sparkling wine) also can begin a meal. But less recognized are the array of digestivi, which are enjoyed at the end of a meal. Continue Reading…

Host a Pop-Up Show in your community: The Lexicon of Sustainability.

Comments

The Lexicon of Sustainability. What is it? In its simplest form it is just as it sounds. Lexicon, a web. Sustainability, loosely defined as the practice of using renewable resources in a way that does not harm or deplete them for future generations. So essentially, a movement aimed at connecting, spreading the word and truly understanding sustainability practices.

Continue Reading…

Italian Coffee Roasters

Comments

Italian coffee history  begins at the Salerno medical school when texts written between the 10^th and 13^th centuries mentioned the dark brew. Probably due to the high cost, coffee disappeared from Europe completely thereafter. Only in 1615 did Venetian merchants again bring coffee beans to the European continent. Continue Reading…

The Italian Paradox: Fit to Fat in a Generation

Comments

Everyone has heard of the French Paradox. French people have very low rates of heart disease despite covering every meal in tonnes of butter, preferring only the fattiest liver paté and washing each meal down with a good measure of rich red wine. Frustratingly for the fairer sex of other nations, and according to the title of Mireille Guiliano’s # 1 best seller, French Women also Don’t Get Fat, despite enjoying this medley of richness that makes our arteries shudder at the mere thought of it. Continue Reading…

Restaurant Review: Broders’ Pasta Bar & Deli

Comments

In the late 1980s, my husband and I caught what I called “local wanderlust.” We didn’t have a lot of money to travel far; we were busy building our careers and loved our house too much to spend much time away from it. So we spent weekends exploring the upper Midwest.

Continue Reading…

Soul Man

Comments

For some people you can peer deep into their soul by looking into their eyes. If you want to see what lies in the core of every Tuscan, you must look deep into their food. As respectable and even disrespect-able human beings, we are always in search for the greater meaning to it all. The superficial and easy to read exterior answers are fine for some who display identical character flaws. Continue Reading…

Pizza, Pizza, Pizza!

Comments

Who says the Italians don’t have fast food? In fact, they invented it. Pizza has been around since ancient times and today it’s an ubiquitous sight not only in Italy, but throughout the world. Pizza goes back to ancient times when people ate it as a pita bread with toppings. The Etruscans were the first in the country to create what comes down to us as focaccia bread. The ancient Greek colonizers in Italy, then, during the 6^th century B.C. recorded eating a flat bread with herb, onion, and garlic toppings. Continue Reading…

Attention: Coffee Lovers

Comments

Caffeine lovers get ready, it’s finally here. The U.S. Barista Championship or USBC, the battle to the death for baristas nationwide. The USBC is the official United States competition designed to highlight the craft of the barista and takes place today, April 19-22, 2012 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland.

Continue Reading…