Italian Kiwi – Recipes, Travel, and More!

  • Discovering The Drôme, France

    Discovering The Drôme, France

          Where in France is The Drome? There was yet another long weekend in France last weekend. They come thick and fast in the month of May; so much so that it seems that everyone is on holiday more often than they are at work or school. These are the times in which…

  • Marocchino: A Frothy Chocolate And Coffee Delight!

    Marocchino: A Frothy Chocolate And Coffee Delight!

           The marocchino: a coffee, hot chocolate and foamy milk delight. As I promised you in my last post, here is one of my favourite coffee and hot chocolate combinations to come out of an Italian bar: the marocchino.  I’m sorry this post took a little while to get to you: with two…

  • Turin, Italy: A City Full of Surprises

    Turin, Italy: A City Full of Surprises

        A little wander around Turin I’m so lucky that my parents-in-law live in the wonderful North-West Italian city of Turin.  OK, I would like them just as much if they lived in some tiny village next to a coal-mine, but it’s definitely an advantage that they come from such a beautiful place! We…

  • Bleu de Termignon

    Bleu de Termignon

        An incredibly rare cheese: Bleu de Termignon What you are looking at in the photo above is the Hope diamond of french cheeses (not that if you eat it you become cursed, but because it’s REALLY unique).  Bleu de Termignon is incredibly rare.  It is made by only four cheese-makers in the whole…

  • Salad With Artichokes and Parmesan Cheese

    Salad With Artichokes and Parmesan Cheese

        Waiting for artichokes This time of the year is always very exciting.  As it starts to get warmer, you see glimpses of the bounty to come when peas, asparagus and even the odd punnet of juicy, exorbitantly expensive strawberries start to appear in the shops.  One of my favourite things to eat in…

  • The Cote d’Azur: Secret Ruins in The Forest

    The Cote d’Azur: Secret Ruins in The Forest

    Notre Dame Du Brusc Chapel     Follow a narrow, winding road, crowded at the edges with trees jostling for space, and you will discover the ruins of an ancient chapel, squatting quietly in a forest clearing near the perched village of Châteauneuf-de-Grasse. The stony hills behind the bustling Cote d’Azur hide many unexpected discoveries…

  • Pears In Red Wine Syrup

    Pears In Red Wine Syrup

          The importance of pears I was at the greengrocer (does anyone still actually use that word?) the other day and found some pears that I’ve only ever seen in Italian restaurants: small brownish-green pears called the Martin Sec, which are a very old variety of pear. Apparently the pears were first mentioned in…

  • Pancake Day! Buckwheat Flour Crepes

    Pancake Day! Buckwheat Flour Crepes

        Why eat pancakes only one day a year? Pancake Day has come and gone, but the need to eat them still lingers on…….it was Pancake Day (or Chandeleur) a month ago in France (and I think in a lot of the world), and we did the right thing and ate pancakes that day.…

  • Rainbow Chard With Pine Nuts And Raisins

    Rainbow Chard With Pine Nuts And Raisins

          In my village a new, furtive fruit and vegetable seller recently appeared. A few times during the week, you need to wander through the cobbled streets and, if you’re lucky, you’ll find her and her battered old car full of fruits and vegetables from her garden.  She sells them straight out of…

  • Mont d’Or cheese from France

    Mont d’Or cheese from France

        On the discovery of Mont d’Or cheese This year for the first time, I had a dairy revelation when I took a mouthful of melted Mont d’Or cheese. Mont d’Or has to be one of the most addictively delicious cheeses I’ve ever eaten! You can eat it straight out of its wooden box…

  • Borlotti Bean And Tuna Salad

    Borlotti Bean And Tuna Salad

          An easy meal in just five minutes! I hope you’re starting to be ready to cope with food again now, since a couple of weeks have passed since the excesses of the holidays.  Bean and tuna salad is a great one as it’s incredibly quick to make and tastes delicious (of course,…

  • Sauze d’Oulx, Italy: On The Road To Hell

    Sauze d’Oulx, Italy: On The Road To Hell

        Fresh air is the best medicine Happy New Year, everyone!  I hope you all had a break of some kind over the holiday period and that the whole food/drink excess phenomenon that often happens at this time of the year didn’t make you feel too bad. Just incase, this week there’s going to…