Tag: breakfast

To Rome & Audrey with Love + slow travel tips

Art no Comments

There are few things more romantic that I can think of than Rome in spring, or should I say breathlessly charming? Observing Flora’s season exploding with its million colors and perfumes into the timelessness of the city is somewhat unique.
When I think of Rome, and when I go there, my spirit automatically travels back at least to the mid fifties and sixties when Audrey Hepburn had already left her inimitable footprints in the eternal city, first with Vacanze Romane (1955),
and later living there for many years. Celebrating International Women’s Day by getting into her beloved ballerina shoes and tap through her most dear Trastevere neighborhood in the company of the border collie Berta and photographer Danilo Mecozzi.

Continue Reading…

Barley ricotta bread with smoked trout

Recipes no Comments


Icelandic-Italian fusion. Tastes that remind of late summer and autumn. Birch smoked Icelandic trout, barley bread with freshly milled organic barley from Móðir Jörð, Vallanes, Iceland, pomegranate seeds from the amazing autumn fruit, pomegranate, freshly picked in Puglia, sheep ricotta cheese from Staffolo, Marche, a dash of orange Sicilian orange blossom honey and a couple of free range eggs. These fabulous ingredients come together in this “smörrebröd” open sandwich suggestion. The scrambled eggs match heavenly with the trout and the pomegranate gives a great acidity contrast to its slight fattiness. Autumn really tastes good, and this toast is in theme with its beautiful colors as well.

Continue Reading…

Zesty ciambella with extra virgin olive oil inside & out

Food no Comments

Ciambella is such a beautiful word and comforting in a way. The second part of the word “bella” means “beautiful” in Italian, so there’s one reason for the word’s expression for something good. Pronouncing “Ciam“, adds gladness and saliva to your palate in advance. It reminds of the sound of “yum“, meaning something that tastes or looks delicious. This bundt cake, ciambella, or better ciambellone, because of the size of it, is very light (despite the size of it), and extremely fragrant and zesty. An important factor for its lightness is given to the presence of extra virgin olive oil and zest in the dough. Then we exalt the zestiness, almonds as well as the mild olive oil in the dough with a second oil, a fruity Sicilian one.

Continue Reading…

I Love Paris

Art no Comments

I love Paris in the Springtime
I love Paris in the Fall
I love Paris in the Winter when it drizzles
I love Paris in the Summer when it sizzles

And so goes the first part of the lyrics of Cole Porter’s love song for Paris, I Love Paris of which he wrote the music as well as the lyrics. Who doesn’t fall in love with Paris? I couldn’t agree more with Cole Porter, as well as Audrey Hepburn’s classic line from Billy Wilder’s film “Sabrina” (1954), when she says: “Paris is always a good idea”.

Continue Reading…

Simply fried egg in mild extra virgin olive oil

Uncategorised no Comments

Extra virgin olive oil will enhance the taste of almost any dish, and make your ordinary, simplest meals  surprisingly fragrant, plus you will get all the health benefits from this precious golden liquid.
Staying in simple theme, fried eggs are a beloved breakfast of mine…… and I’m sure there are a lot of you sharing the fried-egg passion.
Extra virgin olive oil is especially suitable for that cooking operation, because it heats up very fast, cooking the egg white rapidly and leaving the precious yolk thickened but yet soft. Important of course choosing an appropriate olive oil type.

Continue Reading…

Poetry on the plate

Food no Comments

Poetry is to be found everywhere, you only have to be curious, open minded and look. I see a lot of poetry in food, both when I prepare it, as when enjoying it prepared by others. What brings a very special poetry and joy to the senses, is when your dish is including local food and you can savor it in its natural surroundings.
I always look for these moments, and especially when traveling I already start from breakfast, and take my coffee or tea in a special place at the location that reflects its spirit, and with local specialities when possible.
Here are a some food poems from the beautiful Camogli, on the Ligurian Levante Riviera.

Continue Reading…

Omelette with blue cheese, apples and walnuts

Recipes no Comments

This is my favorite omelette (or maybe let’s say on the top 5-list). It’s simple, easy, cheap, but above all a real feast for the taste-buds. The recipe is good for two as a main course, maybe with a fresh salad or for 3-4 as a starter. I don’t know the origin of it, but it was my mom’s favorite and to be found in her first cookbook “Matur er mannsins megin” (1982). I have made some variations to the theme, “Italianizing” it a bit. I prefer it open rather than folded “à la française”, and I added some walnuts, so it becomes a sort of an “omelette” version of my favorite winter pizza: White pizza with apples, nuts and gorgonzola cheese. The lavender is an optional, but matches great with the apples.

Continue Reading…

A whisky improved Sunday porridge

Recipes no Comments

Porridge is one of those dishes that for me are tightly connected with childhood memories. It’s one of those dishes I was obliged to eat because of it’s nutritional facts like potatoes and tomatoes, and therefore maybe I didn’t appreciate them so much, and the porridge was often followed by a spoon of cod oil. In the memory it remained as not such a great food combination. Fortunately I made peace with those lovely ingredients years ago.

Continue Reading…