Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, Ruby!!- As The Kaiser Chiefs put it

Today is Eid al-Fitr, or to most of us, the end of Ramadan in the Islamic calendar. After a   month of fasting between the hours of sunrise and sunset, which in the times before clocks was determined by the Imam being able to tell the difference between a black thread and a white thread, …

When God grants you lemons….make lemonade!

If you read my last post you'll have a good idea what this one's going to be about and, provided I haven't had a brainstorm in the intervening days, you'd be right. Firstly an apology. I'm going to (un) wax lyrical about a lemon that only grows in one place on earth and, unless you …

Villa Maria – Italian for Heaven

I wanted to write a little bit about the place we stay in Minori. It's an agriturismo called Villa Maria and it sits in the hills above Minori town The owners, Vincenzo and Maria, are the perfect hosts and, I'm honoured to say, also our friends. Maria's cooking is well known in the area and …

Cucina Povera??….Not Likely Mio Amico!!

Mi piace MOLTO l'Italia. OR...I like Italy....A LOT. Italy is changing though. But in many places, and especially if you keep off the well mentioned "beaten track", the old traditional Italy is alive and well, even in places like Venice, Florence and Rome. I've just got back from my annual trip (or should that be pilgrimage?) …

The Bleak Forest Gateau

Reading the post from fellow blogger Martin Dawes about the wholesale ethnic cleansing of the prawns that live in glasses, prompted me to think of the other end of the typical 70s restaurant meal at Bernis...namely Black Forest Gateau. Let's face it, for those of us who remember it, the meal ran: Prawn Cocktail, Steak …

Beaujolais Nouveau?-Thankfully Not

Wine fads are a fact of life. If you're a miserable old git like me and you can remember the eighties you'll remember Lambrusco, Chardonnay, and the daddy of them all, Beaujolais Nouveau (henceforth BN for brevity). I swear that the nervous tick I develop each year in November is caused by BN as it (the …