After not updating last week because there was little to report aside from the steady growth of small vegetable plants, this week has been much more productive.… Read more “Garden diary w/e Sept 16”
Category: Food
Garden diary w/e 29 July 2018
Inaugural garden post! I decided that coming up with a clever title each week might put me off posting so I’m keeping it very simple and boring… Read more “Garden diary w/e 29 July 2018”
Change is afoot
Oh my goodness, so much has happened since I last blogged that I feel like a year has gone past when really it’s only a couple of… Read more “Change is afoot”
Loving our farmers’ market
After my last entry I thought I would this time write about something that makes me happy. I think it’s important to take time to think about… Read more “Loving our farmers’ market”
Is it that time of year already?
I have been a little envious of all those people who have managed to blog through the Christmas and New Year period. Finally today I feel like… Read more “Is it that time of year already?”
Christmas food trial #1
It’s the first of December here in New Zealand! That is crazy. Having been away for so long I am mentally two months behind which means I… Read more “Christmas food trial #1”
And so it ends…
And so to the final week of our journey. Still behind in my writings as we are now home. I think I have a theory that if… Read more “And so it ends…”
Galileo said it perfectly
A low-key but lovely morning was spent getting our sleeves rolled up and cooking our own lunch. We did this in the midst of the most breathtakingly beautiful landscape – it was almost impossible to tear our eyes and cameras away from the scenery stretching out in front of us to go inside.
A simple menu of bread salad, pasta with vegetable ragu and tiramisu kept us concentrating for the morning. We got to keep the recipes as well, so once I am home I’ll probably make some of the menu again and post the recipes if they still taste this yummy!
It’s easy to forget how easy it is to throw together perfect silky smooth pasta, even without the help of a pasta rolling machine. We were a mixed group cooking skills-wise, so the cooking school did well to keep everyone happy and also make sure we served ourselves edible food.
The meal was matched perfectly with accompanying wines as the cooking school was (surprise surprise) attached to a vineyard. We treated ourselves to a beautiful red and I also bought myself a tee-shirt with this beautiful quote from Galileo Galilei.
Wine is sunlight, held together by water
Perfect!
A vineyard with serious history
The beautiful villa where Machiavelli was under house arrest, spending his time writing , fuming and plotting – now a wonderful vineyard. The house still has much still intact from Machiavelli’s time including some magnificent furniture. For us it was a chance to absorb yet more history, check out some local wine, sample some local food, and relax in the perfect afternoon sun. Not quite sure how I am going to go back to my ordinary existence!
(A very random aside. Those of you who are Black Books fans will appreciate my photo of the cheap and dusty wine! )
A bridge, a prison and a reunion
We departed Santa Cruz with the intention of checking out both Apple and Google HQs. We were stymied by the road system around Apple, ending up on… Read more “A bridge, a prison and a reunion”
This Much I Know 