Search Results for: My Travels

Brooklyn & Manhattan: A Savory Rendezvous!

Last week, I was hosting a discussion in a chat room—Blue Sky Book Chat––about friendships and communities formed on-line. This was in the wake of a four-day food and book mash-up in Manhattan and Brooklyn with my son, Zan, and friend, Alison Ragsdale. I met Alison–a Scot’s lass who has written several books set in … Full recipe post »

Culinary Kenya!

The first thing my son asked me and Richard upon our return from Africa was, “What did you eat?” Not, “Did you see all of ‘The Big Five’ animals?“, or “Could you sleep knowing that lions were outside your tent?” No, nothing so pedestrian. He was curious about our culinary options while we were on safari in Kenya and Tanzania. … Full recipe post »

Pintxos––The Backbone of San Sebastian’s Culinary Landscape

Just returned from a journey that I cobbled together with a close friend. Like myself, she’s a food and travel-junky. We meandered through the Basque region of Spain and France, finishing the trip in Fes, the heart and gastronomic capital of Morocco. I’ll let the pictures do the talking in San Sebastian, Spain, sharing with you … Full recipe post »

Chúc mừng năm mới from Hanoi!

Happy Lunar New Year! This marks Richard’s and my fourth week of traveling through SE Asia and every 12 hours of experience is the equivalent of 12 months of my North American day-to day. Which works up quite an appetite. Motto for this adventure: “One should go into the unknown on an empty stomach.” (Abraham Garcia) … Full recipe post »

Home Away in Barbados: Marlin Steaks Bajan-Styled

Traveling pleasures, for me, include exploring food markets and trying my hand at local cuisines. We’ve just returned from Barbados, the most easterly island in the West Indies; a 3 1/2 hour flight south from Miami, and then another hour flight south to Venezuela. When traveling, Richard and I often rent a VRBO, a subsidiary of Home Away,  Flip Key (owned by Trip Advisor) … Full recipe post »

Key West Shrimp Chili Rellanos

Key West has two of the things I love most in life: eccentric characters and shellfish. We’ve been holed up for a few weeks at a VRBO (an excellent find, a rare tranquil spot close to Duvall) as I brainstorm characters and plot for The Maiden Tower, a novel set in Key West, and proofread my finished manuscript for … Full recipe post »

Peru: A Tapestry of Restaurant, Street and Market Food (plus a recipe for Quinoa Soup)

There’s a difference between vacationing and traveling. Traveling removes me from my comfort zone; vacationing amplifies my comfort. The past couple of weeks spent in this marvelous tapestry of a landscape called Peru would definitely qualify as Traveling. Full recipe post »

Dinner Party to Welcome Spring

On Sunday’s journey back from Utah (an impromptu trip utilizing a free AMEX companion plane ticket), while poring over photographs taken hiking Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon, I lamented that I forget to take my wide-angle lens. Still. I could never capture Ansel Adam‘s American West no matter how many strings of cameras I roped around … Full recipe post »

New Orleans: Hey Y’all, it’s Carnival–Laissez Le Bons Temps Roulé!

Whether you’re buried in 10 feet of snow, or basking in more winter favorable climes, February is a great time to inject a bit of heat–New Orleans style– into your kitchen. Here for my niece’s wedding, we’re  spending a week in the Garden District, VRBOing a home built in the 1850’s with a front porch … Full recipe post »

Manhattan: Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Manchego, Marcona Almonds and Fried Shallots works double-time as a salad or appetizer

(Note the gold holiday ball in the right hand column of this blog. Perhaps some of my past holiday recipe blogs can be of assistance to your meal planning in the next couple of months.) Last week was spent with three lady friends in Manhattan soaking in (breathless) as many museums, plays, Halloween revelry, and….of course—food!—as we could inhale … Full recipe post »

Tropical Queensland Fruit Salad (that can be adapted to any fruit available to you)

On our flight from Christchurch to  Queensland, Australia, the passengers on Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 weighed heavy on our minds, particularly when traversing such a large expanse of sea. Skimming above the Great Barrier Reef making our decent into Cairns (the gateway to reef exploration) –   a collective sigh was audible.  Awe, certainly, of … Full recipe post »

New Zealand Lamb Chops with Eggplant and Couscous (Eating, drinking and hiking around the South Island)

( Travels in the South Island of New Zealand, continued; see previous  Mussel post, if interested, for a more information about our itinerary.) Skirting the coast in our Toyota Corolla, we note Farm to Table is not marketing hoop-la, but in your face reality around every bend in the road. Plucked from the ocean seafoods, meats … Full recipe post »

New Zealand Muscles (and Mussels)

Planet Earth flexes her biceps in New Zealand’s South Island – oh those salaciously shifting teutonic plates! The above photo is one of a trillion I’ve been taking on our Oceania voyage, the trip I’ve always dreamed of taking; the landscape more salubrious than the Green Lip Mussels I purchased in a Kiwi run-of-the mill … Full recipe post »

Off-Season Solo in the Redneck Riviera

Hallelujah, praise Jesus! Gospel music and Radio Selma preaching entertained as I descended that Mountain of Configuration towards the Gulf of Mexico, fabled panhandle beaches of Alabama and Florida (a.k.a. The Redneck Riviera). Quoting the guru, Dr. Beach, this sand savant referred to my destination as: “…the greatest strand of white sand on earth.” I was … Full recipe post »

Garfagnana,Tuscany: Farro Soup

A couple of weeks ago I described (in a tiny chestnut shell), my recent trip to visit a friend in Lucca, Italy. I spoke of our hike north of Lucca in the Garfagnana, where the landscape was dotted with chestnut hunters, and made a pasta dish using Michigan chestnuts when I arrived home.  While at … Full recipe post »