Always on the move, today I took a hike in Sicily with Nanni, a nature and walking guide, through the Cava D’Ispica reserve, a deep gorge that follows a now, usually dried up river. Fresh, young, and emerald green Acanthus mollis plants (known in English as bear’s breeches) covered our trail, and scores of caves…
Tag: modica
Start The Day With Dessert
LIVE Day 2: Experience Sicily 2018 Stirring Sicily East tour with Zest! (Lititz, PA) and Chef Nino Elia in Modica, Sicily… Today, we were with loveSicily, where in our cooking class, we learned about the centuries-old traditions of chocolate making specific to Modica. How awesome to start the day with dessert!
Cooking in Sicily with LoveSicily
I was supposed to rest yesterday, but I couldn’t resist the pull of the stone gardens of Modica and Scicli, nor the opportunity to meet with the fantastic Katia Amore of loveSicily cooking holidays. We’ll be spending a day in Modica with Katia during our September Stirring Sicily tour. My cousin Giulia and I had…
Patron Saint George
I was so excited about Cerda’s artichokes yesterday, I failed to recognize Saint George’s feast day, which was 23 April. But, don’t despair! All week in Modica, where he is the patron of the town, there are events leading up to the annual procession and celebration, which will be on Sunday, April 29. Here, you’ll…
Chocolate, Chocolate Everywhere
In honor of Modica’s ChocoModica Festival, which has its last day on Sunday, Dec. 10, at our Feast of Santa Lucia in New York City (see previous posts for details, we have a few spots left!), we’ll be raffling off artisanal chocolate from Modica. For those of you in Sicily, drive as fast as you…
Sicily’s Modican Chocolate
You may be aware that chocolate, or at least cocoa, came from the Aztecs, a great civilization that for centuries before the end of 15th century, dominated what is modern-day Mexico. When the Spanish colonized Latin America, they brought the cocoa bean and an ancient form of chocolate (called Xocoatl, a drink) back to Europe….
Go Baroque in Modica
Baroque architectural detail, photographed in Modica
Old Door in Modica
Old door, photographed in Modica.
The Feast of Saint George
This image of Saint George is from my father’s toy Sicilian cart from the 1950s. The hand-painted miniature is a prized family possession. You’ll see Saint George on many carts, especially the back support, because he protects the cart drivers and their horses. This weekend in the town of Piana degli Albanesi in Palermo province,…
My Sicilian Chocolate Problem
I promise to break my daily Modica chocolate habit after I get over jetlag. Today, however, I need the buzz it gives me (both emotionally and physically). Yes, I have a problem!