Welcome to my blog. I document my adventures in travel, style, and food. Hope you have a nice stay!
All in Italian
A few summers ago, I spent days wandering around Naples, Italy, the world’s pizza capital, in search of the real deal. Pizza is everywhere in Naples and countless pizzerie claim to make the original Margherita, a classic combination of tomato, mozzarella, and basil named after the 19th century Italian queen.
I am fully aware as I start this post that there’s pretty much zero possibility of me getting through it without making at least one ball
I’m not an asparagus person. There’s something unpalatable to me about the stringiness, the taste and the smell that pops up hours – days! – later when you least expect it
Instagram is a wondrous thing. It’s definitely my social media addiction of choice (@leannekilroy)
It’s summer in my mind. Sydney is still graciously warm, though the days are distressingly short.
Sometimes summer gives way to rain. The dog refuses to go outside and the thirsty plants explode upwards.
All I can think about is making cookies.
Okay, no, that’s not true. But most days it’s too blustery to take little Stella outside for more than a short walk to the park
In the few occasions each year I find myself far from my husband, I take full advantage.
I have written and rewritten the opening line to this post three or four times because whatever I say sounds too dramatic.
Who doesn’t like pesto?
Even picky eaters – “what’s that green stuff?” people – love it. My basil-hating brother would eat his own arm if it was slathered in the stuff.
Every so often a dish comes around that is so perfect, so unbeatable, that I don’t bother trying to make it at home. Usually it’s something that I couldn’t make anyway, like fish and chips or tempura or deep fried anything.
This is one of those things I was totally expecting to hate. I mean, it’s nearly entirely made of nuts. And nuts and I, for reasons unexplained, have never been friends.
A few weeks ago, while perusing our local specialty (i.e. overpriced imported goods) shop, we happened upon a few perfect little black truffles from Western Australia, hermetically sealed in plastic marked with their weight in grams.
As I near the end of my pregnancy, I’m starting to hit all the positive pregnant boxes. For example, I clean for fun. Every day.
As promised, here is the recipe for pasta maritata con cozze e ceci – fresh pasta with mussels and chickpeas – as interpreted by my stepmother-in-law (after many a painstaking meal at bustling seaside restaurants in the Salento region of Puglia).