A grape harvest in Tuscany in the fall… sounds pretty romantic, right? I thought so, too, until every single person I talked to about it said something along the lines of ‘You know it’s really hard work, right?!’ But, thinking strong thoughts, I packed up my backpack and headed to Poppiano, Tuscany for two weeks of […]
The best gelato in Florence
Don’t eat the bright green pistachio gelato. Same goes for the bubblegum-hued strawberry. And if the gelato is piled in beautiful, fluffy mounds, turn yourself around and walk out of that store. Those are the signs of fake gelato. Fake coloring. Fake flavoring. And fake usually comes with a real hefty price tag. But in […]
Olive this life – volunteering on an olive harvest in Italy
Before harvesting olives in Tuscany, I could go weeks without using olive oil. The bottle of cheap-o yellow stuff I got at the grocery store would get pushed to the back of the shelf and go bad before I could use the whole (small) bottle. Turns out… I’ve been using it all wrong! Between the […]
Tiramisu: straight from an Italian kitchen
If the holiday season has you feeling a little tired or overwhelmed, tiramisu is the dessert for you. It literally means “pick-me-up.” Learned in the Tuscan kitchen of my WWOOF olive harvest hosts, this is better than any restaurant-bought tiramisu I ate during my 2 month-stay in Italy. So… from Kirsten’s kitchen to yours… Enjoy!
Sarah’s secret family snickerdoodle recipe
WWOOFing in Italy did wonders for my recipe book. And thankfully, my new friends are generous in sharing their recipes with you, too! As we sat around Kirsten and Pascal’s table discussing the foods we miss the most from home (Mexican, definitely, in case you were wondering), we began talking about family food traditions. I […]
What the heck is a WWOOF?
What in the world is a WWOOF? Let me share a few real-life conversations that have happened recently: Fellow Traveller: What are you doing in Italy? me: well, I’ve been WWOOFing in Tuscany. FT: Wait… What? me: You know.. WWOOF, Willing Workers on Organic Farms? I’ve been volunteering with a grape harvest and learning to […]
Thanksgiving and Travel
I have a confession… I’m a little homesick at the moment. Not pack-it-all-up-and-go-home homesick… it’s just that in a few hours my friends and family will be getting together around their tables with turkey, mashed potatoes, and (if you do Thanksgiving right) the kind of cranberry sauce that comes from a can with the little ridges. […]
Tea that doesn’t come in a bag (2 recipes)
My last WWOOF experience in Italy was at a farm helping with the olive harvest. You’ll hear more about that experience soon, but for today, let’s break for tea time. Each morning (and many evenings), we gathered for coffee and tea around Kirsten and Pascal’s long, wooden table, telling stories, resting, discussing books and sometimes […]
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