…is upon us which means that I am often confronted by a table full of pea pods ready for shellers when passing through the cortile on my way out for some errand which gets distracted by the sirens of those bulging pods ready for that days soup, salad, gnocchi, risotto,  pasta – and I find ..

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…today and frequent evenings around 17:30 is the great gift of warmer days, later sun sets, stone pavers that hold the days heat, and a critical mass of friendly yogis – especially newly arrived friend Gaby – willing to hoof it up to the top floor garden yoga studio overlooking the city for an hour ..

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…love it and actually lived in a farmhouse there from 1993-94 – but the local authorities exert such tight control on new development and changes to existing structures having an effect on the landscape – which only becomes truly apparent when you cross into Lazio to the south where it seems anything goes in some ..

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…(for strawberries?) are the cool shocking shiny surfaces wrapping parts of the rolling spring green surfaces of southern Tuscan landscapes as viewed from my very slow one car train gradually heading from Grosseto to Siena – making every little stop on the way – with each quiet sun-bathed stuccoed station seeming to feature a single ..

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…was conducted this morning with Livia and Franco – who met when they were 14 and have been married for 53 years – in their cozy long-time quarters (inherited from previous generations) in the Colosseum adjacent neighborhood of Monti where he used to own the local newsstand, so it’s hard to walk with Franco more ..

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…of 35 planned interviews with five generations of people living in Rome (about how they organize their homes and lives around food, their memories and current thoughts on Cucina Italiana/Romana, and how things are changing) was a fascinating two hour conversation with a distinguished 92 year old Italian film director who recounted amazing tales of ..

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…was a gradual process today as heavy bags of fresh Turkish forest soil, compost, worm castings, and wood shavings (to loosen and lighten the soil) slowly made their way up to our sixth floor roost in the rooftop hothouse at SALT Beyoğlu to fill the large planters constructed with the reclaimed 4×4 lumber previously used ..

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…including lots of beans, corn, lettuce, squash, some rare precious tomatoes, and a variety of fruiting trees and vegetables starts have arrived from a friendly farmer couple who have pulled together most of the materials for the Istanbul rooftop hothouse we are working to finish in time for the SALT Beyoğlu building opening ..

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…are my two favored food places in town – both serving delicious inexpensive basic vegetarian/vegan friendly Turkish plates that I hear approximate what your Turkish mom would have made for you if you grew up here – and since Ficcin has become popular since it started out as a tiny hole in the wall it ..

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…with a seemingly endless Turkish flag flowing down İstiklal Caddesi greeted me out the window this morning and here is what I could glean from Skyturk.com (through the veil of Google translate): Turkish National Police, the public is at the disposal of the public peace and security continues to express to the Governor canıyla mesaisini ..

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