LKL's Blog

Six months ago, my husband and I decided to spend most of September in Italy, though for the most part not together. He wanted to take some intensive Italian language classes, and I wanted to add to my Italian cuisine repertoire – specifically, fresh pasta and gnocchi. After a great deal of research, I found three programs that sounded like they would meet my needs (more or less) and that cost no more than 1,300 euros for the week, including lodging. There were a number of other great-sounding programs that cost upwards of €2,000 – and one that was nearly €5,000! Even staying in a 5-star villa, I can’t see how a week of cooking could be worth the better part of a year’s rent. So I chose from the cheaper end of the scale and, for the most part, I was fairly happy with my classes. I’ve written detailed reviews of the three cooking programs to help out anyone else who is considering a culinary vacation. There were some problems and disappointments, but overall, I loved it.

Program 1: Organic Tuscany (Certaldo)
Program 2: Convivio Rome (Toffia)
Program 3: Apicius Culinary Institute (Florence)

I know this photo looks totally staged, but it wasn’t. I had a bunch of not-quite-ripe cherry tomatoes, so I set them out on the marble table in a strip of sunshine. Then when I glanced at them a few minutes later, I saw this lovely reflection.

I’ve always known that I have something akin to an allergy to caffeine. If I drink one cup of coffee today but not tomorrow, I will get a pounding headache. Lots of people get headaches when they’re used to drinking coffee and then miss a day, but mine is immediate – coffee yesterday but not today = headache. And it’s the kind that doesn’t go away with aspirin – it lasts for at least 24 hours, unless I give in and have coffee. Another problem is that if I have the slightest bit of caffeine within 5 or 6 hours of bedtime, I won’t be able to sleep until 2am finally rolls around.

I can live without coffee, but I’ve now confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt that chocolate has the same effect on me. If I eat a couple of chocolate almond clusters, the headache is waiting for me right around the corner. So the question is, should I just give up coffee and live headache free? Or should I continue to enjoy this wonderful treat and just make sure to have some every single day? The latter seems very appealing, but I’m not wild about the idea of consuming something that my body has made it so clear I shouldn’t. Too bad it can’t seem to get the message across to my tastebuds.

So long 2008! Come on in, 2009! This was one of the best years of my life – I started out in Costa Rica and ended up – after trying to move here for almost 20 years – in France! May all your dreams come true, too.

Here’s some reading material and ideas for New Year’s Resolutions:

New Year’s in France
French New Year’s Resolutions
Veggie Table New Year’s Resolutions

American Thanksgiving dinner, with its traditional turkey as the main course, can be difficult for vegetarians. Here are some ideas to mix and match for your vegetarian Thanksgiving.

This is an interesting site with “A weekly start for a healthier America” (though I see no reason why the rest of the world can’t participate).  Anyway, Meatless Monday is a national campaign to help people eat better by eating less red meat, pork, and poultry. You may not be vegetarian, but that doesn’t mean you have to eat meat every single day, so why not try one “meatless Monday” and see how you feel? The site includes recipes, meal planning, tips, and more to help you make a great meatless meal.
More:  Vegetarian recipes | Vegetarian menus

Good-bye 2007 (does anyone else notice that could read Good-bye to 007 [double oh seven]? Is this a sign of James Bond’s future?) and hello 2008. It was a good year – I spent more than half of it in Costa Rica. But this year will be even better, as I’ll spend the majority of it in France. I hope you too will have some long-cherished dreams come true.

Here’s some reading material and ideas for New Year’s Resolutions for you:

New Year’s in France
French New Year’s Resolutions
Veggie Table New Year’s Resolutions

This is a really interesting essay about how vegans are often viewed as extremists, when in fact it’s meat that is obtained via extreme methods. If you’re a vegetarian-phobe, this article will just annoy you, but it’s interesting reading for anyone with vegetarian tendencies: Veganism Is Not Extreme

Our next stop was Santa Fe, but first we drove through the tiny artists colony of Madrid, which one of my subscribers had kindly told me about. In Santa Fe, we stayed at the wonderful Inn of the Turquoise Bear. (more…)

During my recent trip to California, my husband and I met with a group of adult students who use my French site. In addition to treating us to a lovely lunch (at Nora’s Café, in Palo Alto), they had thoughtfully printed out information about some of their favorite French restaurants in San Francisco. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to visit any of them as we were leaving the next day, but I thought I’d share them here.

• Anjou Restaurant
• Café Claude
• Cornell Hotel de France
• Jardinière