Nosh: Local Flavor

Thai Farm Cooking: Green Curry paste: แกงเขียวหวาน

The day of the Thai cooking course was one of the best days of my trip to Thailand. Imagine my thrill when I chanced to walk past their booth on a side street in Chiang Mai. I was immediately...

Sicily: Trapani: Sale, Vento, e Male Lingue

My aunt told me that people in Trapani say that their city is characterized by "sale, vento, e male lingue". Or "salt, wind, and bad tongues (gossip)". The salt -- well, you can't miss it. The salinas stretch out...

Sicily: The Ricotta

When I think of foods related to my second home, Sicily, I immediately think of ricotta. So when I found out about Anna's new blogging event, a Taste of Terroir, it gave me a fairly good excuse to spend an...

Sicily: Looking Back

I've left Sicily behind me for now but am newly amazed by its beauty each time I go. I'm sure there are places in the world, your own places, of which you think the same thing. Places where, upon...

Precious cargo

Tiny quail eggs were my prize purchase from the Food and Life fair in Munich yesterday. Perhaps their diminutive size made me feel strangely protective of them; I ran interference as I hand-carried them through the fair. I cradled...

Jamie Oliver

Yes, these are indeed blurry photos of me talking with Jamie Oliver. Unbelievable as it is, he chatted with me for about 5 minutes but it felt like an hour. I was an incredible dork and could barely make...