Although I can really appreciate its sheer beauty, winter is actually kind of a struggle for me. The cold temperatures, the long hours I have to spend indoors because of the rain or snow, the heavy jackets and boots and, the most important, the lack of sunlight and fresh food – they all contribute to a general state of non-wellness, if I can call it this way One I have to make big efforts to improve: from prolonged yoga sessions and...

Once, I used to imagine that pizza perfection means loads of melted mozzarella and a quality tomato sauce. Well, people change and so do their taste. Today I can make a cauliflower pizza crust, top it with some greens, chickpea and some nutritional yeast and really enjoy it! It's been a while since I ceased thinking of pizza with guilt, as I learned to turn it into a really healthy treat to be enjoyed by everyone in the...

November came today with a real Fall attitude: a very cloudy sky in beautiful contrast with what's left from the yellow leaves, low temperature and a sudden need of comforting drinks. I'm blessed to have huge studio windows that provide a great light even when outside is very cloudy, so I could photograph the pumpkin spice latte I treated myself with in the afternoon. Coffee is simply not enough for me during these dark afternoons and the pumpkin spice latte ingredients are...

My favorite childhood dish was the marinated meatballs in flavored tomato sauce that my grandmother was waiting for me with, when I was returning home from school. I remember having them hot, bathed in that amazing sauce and always responding with "marinated meatballs" when asked about the dish I wanted for the next day. Then my grandmother passed away and as an adult I tried to reproduce her dish, but never got...

As long as the first rain drops start to fall, baking turns into the main activity in my kitchen. Mornings with flavored pumpkin bread and coffee, avocado toast with super seed bread, or a slice of freshly baked no knead bread with rye and nuts in the afternoon after a short walk - all these cozy little things make Autumn beautiful despite the temperature drop and ....

Autumn is finally here and although we planned a summer farewell seaside trip at the end of the week, I can't wait to dive into the fall pleasures! I'm talking pumpkins, cozy hot drinks, afternoon baking and vineyards visits. I also declared open the soup season by making a very easy red lentil and butternut squash cream soup, using the beautiful specimen from the photo.....

The little signs are here - an unexpected row of butternut squashes aligned on a stall, a few yellow leaves in the tree next to my studio window, a subtle drop of the daylight intensity, the sunset hour and all those tones of yellow and orange that slowly replace the pink and red at the farmers' market. The sudden ideas of cooking a stew or having a warm breakfast bowl. All those pumpkin recipes invading....

Summer is almost gone but this doesn't necessarily come with a melancholic mood. Choosing to be thankful for everything I experienced during the last months, getting the best of what's left from this splendid season and looking forward to embrace what Autumn has to give, this provides peace of mind and helps me focus on the things I love to do...

It's almost August but with all the rain and the slowly shortening days I started to sense that autumn is soon coming. Trying to get the best of what's left from summer seems to be the only way to expand the time and prevent myself for getting the summer blues. Stuffing my fridge with fresh, seasonal fruits, herbs and veggies is also part of the process. I love all the fresh wild berries, the peaches and apricots, aubergines......

I love to discover how a classic dish is being re-interpreted in different parts of the world and even in different areas of my country. This crustless blueberry pie is an adaptation of a recipe I tasted while traveling to the lovely Transylvanian city of Sibiu. The local name of the pie is Lichiu, and it is actually a semolina fruit cake combined with a......

Sometimes life can get boring when you get caught in the same every day routine, other times a lot of things happen within short periods, making you feel like a totally different person from a week to another. Although I was away from my everyday routine for three weeks, wandering along the shores of Sicily, sipping Limoncello, eating Pasta alla Norma and turning 37 at some point in between, I don't feel like.....

I just got a notification about our Sicily plane check-in - wow, is it already June? The first half of the year passed so quickly and although I try to fill my days with meaningful actions and live mindfully, it still feels like time is going by so fast. Cooking seasonally is one of the ways to live the moment and it's one of my favorite practices. It already is the tomato season and since I switched my cooking to the Mediterranean mode, I decided to...

Looking back to all my summer holidays from the last ten years, I've realized they were mostly based in different spots of the Mediterranean. Boy we were consequent, and I swear it wasn't a plan, it simply turned out this way. Med flavors had a huge impact on the way I cook and eat, especially throughout the summer when all the aromatic herbs and fresh veggies are in season...

It is that moment again! The one of vibrant colors, splashes of ice cold water, dancing shades of tree leaves, one of inconstant flashes of beauty as Jep Gambardella used to say in my favorite movie, La Grande Belezza. I've been waiting for this moment all year long and although I do a lot of things throughout the year, it's only now when I feel I'm really alive and free...