Category: Recipes

A Taste of Summer!

I thought I would take advantage of the delicious Sicilian blood oranges which are abundant in the supermarkets here in Italy. They are citrus fruits born of contrasts grown in a dry climate with strong temperature fluctuations which creates the red pigmentation of these oranges. This cake contains no flour, just ground almonds and 9 eggs! Once baked, you gently heat some honey with the orange juice and dribble it over the surface letting it sink in. An absolute treat which reminds you of the warmer days to come.

Italian alpine weather (again)!

It’s one of those glorious days (most days are) when you really appreciate the mountain climate; the middle of winter with the doors open and warm sunshine streaming in. Sitting in shirtsleeves on the balcony, mind you the locals are dressed as if they were in the middle of Scotland!

It’s a fact that unless you have lived in the mountains probably escapes you, and we only discovered it when we moved here, the mountains break up the clouds giving a largely dry and clear climate. The valleys are sheltered so little, if any wind, and dry air because the air has warmed and dried as it drifts down from the peaks a phenomenon known as the foehn effect.

We appreciate it even more when we get reports from the UK that is the usual grey and damp story from there!