When you travel to Croatia, make certain that you seek out traditional food, as it is certain to delight your tastebuds. Sailing around Croatia, I was very lucky to have been invited to many a home, where I truly began to understand the uniqueness and flavour of the...
This is a wonderful Moussaka recipe from Maggie Beer which is found in her cookbook Maggie’s Kitchen. This is a lighter version of the traditional moussaka as it uses a really good chicken stock in the béchamel sauce, and the chicken stock really does work and this version is...
Modest in size, the Corsi Annalena Garden is laid out in terraces overlooking the Via dei Serragli, terracing undoubtedly being the best way of organising a garden when there is little surface area. The result affords a panoramic view of the countryside around Florence, extending from the urban...
Because of a notorious remark by Don Abbondio, a character in Allessandro Manzoni’s novel I promessi sposi (The Betrothed), Carnielo has become synonymous with the “perfect nobody” in Italy. By analogy, Florentines can be heard exclaiming: “Carnielo? Who was that guy?” Such being the case, it should be...
The Oratorio del Santissimo Crocifisso (Oratory of the Most Holy Crucifix) in Rome is a beautiful and but not well known large chapel which was built in memory of a miraculous event. On the night of 23 May 1519, the church of San Marcello al Corso was destroyed in...
Gioachino Rossini was born in 1792, just a few months after Mozart’s death, in Pesaro. HIs father was the town’s horn player and his mother was a singer. He entered Bologna Conservatory in 1806 and by 1813, when he was 21, he had written 10 operas, all of which...
As someone who has sailed extensively in Croatia, the islands of the so-called Zadar archipelago are really close to sailing heaven. The archipelago consists of some 300 islands, and it is charaterised by the same haunting beauty that pervades the Kornatis. Dugi Otok (Long Island), north of the...
Pastis gascon is a superfine puff pastry dessert, inherited from the 8th century Moors while en route through Gascony to Poitiers, but it is now considered to be native dish of Gascony, and as such, must be made with Armagnac. It you love dishes with filo pastry, then...
I recently shared with you Maggie’s Verjuice Cookbook, but here I want to share with you Maggie’s Kitchen – a cookbook of pure country delight, celebrating good, fresh, simple food that has become so much a staple of the way that I cook today, thanks to Maggie. The first thing I...
By way of an introduction into some more history pieces I am going to write, I thought I would give you just a little history on the Croatian language…… there will be some more on this in a coming post!! The Croats speak and write Croatian, which...
Welcome to my love affair with the food, wine, history and culture of the Mediterranean, past and present. Here you will find not only recipes, drinks and fabulous products, but the history of the food and culture of the Mediterranean.
My purpose is to get you to explore and experience new tastes and along the way to immerse yourself in the wonderful history of this diverse and wonderful region – from Venice to Istanbul, Rome to Dubrovnik, Athens to Crete and all places in between and in the surrounds. Be prepared to be surprised, delighted and enthralled as you take this trip with me.
