Is it possible more flavour and less fat? Yes!

Italian cuisine is known for its’ simplicity and high-quality ingredients. Gelato is one such example. The Italians have been perfecting this frozen desert since the days of the Medici family of Florence. In 1565, a Florentine chef, Bernardo Buontalenti, served his frozen concoction to Catherine de’Medici. Since that time, the popularity of the dessert and the wide variety of flavours has exploded. Today, gelato can be found all over Italy and many places around the globe.
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Recipes & Travel:
Easy healthy desserts, Easy Italian Recipes, food info, Gelato, Travel in Italy

Ginger and Nutmeg have had lots of visitors in Provence this year. Nutmeg likes to think that her blog posts planted the “seed” that enticed them all to book their plane tickets. In reality, her friends are well travelled and do not need her help to convince them that Provence is exceptional in the summer.

G&N love all the foreign visitors, it is a marvellous chance to show off the region, discover some new towns and introduce new friends to old ones. One such occasion happened last week at a cooking class with Nutmeg’s talented friends Ghyslaine and Jacques. You can read last year’s post here.
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Recipes & Travel:
Cooking Classes in Provence, Crespeou, Provencal Food, Provencal Traditions, Travel in France

Eygalières is a beautiful village located in the heart of the Alpilles in Provence. The town has a population of barely 1,800 souls, most of whom live in another locale on a regular basis. The number of residents swells in the spring and summer months as the homes and hotel rooms fill. Owners and staff at the local cafés and restaurants work hard during these months serving the throngs of visitors.
The setting for Eygalières is idyllic; a medieval village perched on a hill offering views of the Alpilles and Mont Ventoux. The hamlet has one bustling main street filled with three cafés, two bakeries, a butcher, two groceries, several restaurants and too many real estate agents.

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Recipes & Travel:
Alpilles Mountains Provence, Camargue, Cowboy Culture in Provence, Provencal Traditions, Provence Travel, Travel in France

Think Sex And the City; Think Eating & Drinking; Think Shopping; Think Fun and what do they all have in common? Things that friends love doing together. All the essential ingredients for a home party!

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Recipes & Travel:
Canadian Rockies, Canmore, food info, Spice Sanctuary

Summer is short-lived in Calgary.
The dying days of May are often peppered with pelting snow flurries.
June can show early promise of the warm days ahead – or a month of misery sheltered under rain gear.
Finally, by August hardy residents are able to enjoy a few warm days and the mosquitoes have even started to drop off.
Then the letter arrives…Winter is not far off.

 
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Recipes & Travel:
Backcountry safety, Backcountry Skiing, Canadian Rocky Mountains, Lake O'Hara Lodge, Travel British Columbia

Anne Trager is an American who has been living in France for more than 25 years. You could say she’s had many lives there. She first trained to be a chef and a wine taster and, of course, learned to speak French. For several years she worked in restaurants and also as a private chef for a collection of famous people. Then she decided to do something completely different and started an editorial career, first by translating, writing and creating recipes of course, followed by any number of other topics. Another change and she used her writing and creative skills doing marketing and image development for communication agencies and some of the biggest companies in the world. Her last move is without a doubt the boldest of them all: she created her own publishing house, called Le French Book. But as she puts it herself: “it’s just the result of all my experiences put together: this is what I…

Recipes & Travel:
le French Book, Travel Book Reviews, Travel in France

What Would the Romans Think?

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Recipes & Travel:
Groupe F, Light Shows, Pont du Gard, Provence, Travel

Don’t let your mother tell you that the Internet is a scary place! Nutmeg has met so many interesting people via Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest that she has decided to start a Guest Blog Thursdays, so they can share their stories. Volia:
Aidan Larson is an American mom of three navigating her way through life in France and writing about it on her blog: Conjugating Irregular Verbs. She writes from her dining room table in the south of France in between motherhood, French lessons and perfecting her oeuf en croute. If you want to read more from Aidan she can be found on her blog site Conjugating Irregular Verbs (letters from my dining table in the south of France).

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Recipes & Travel:
French Food, Provencal Traditions, Savoury Tarts, Soup, Travel in France

Delphine the owner of Crêpes, Cidre et Companie, in Aix en Provence, is a lovely blend of Spanish roots and a childhood spent in northern France. Her Bretonaise heritage is recreated daily in the tiny kitchen at 23, rue de la Cépède in Aix. Her crêpes and galettes (savoury crêpes) are made with love, and she does not skimp on ingredients – lots of butter, whole milk and eggs. You can read more about her crêpes here.

Delphine serves some other traditional treats from her hearth. There are usually (if not sold out) delicious, buttery cookies and sometimes if you are very lucky a slice of her traditional Far Breton. This dessert from Brittany is a tasty delight somewhere between a flan and a pudding. A Far Breton is similar to a Clafoutis or a Fiadone from Corsica. The key ingredient, much like for perfect crêpe batter is flour.
Far is the word for flour in Brittany. With origins as a…

Recipes & Travel:
Far Breton, Food from Brittany, Food in France, French Food, How to make real French crepes

Due to his sojourn in France, Ginger missed the Calgary Stampede in 2011. He barely survived the separation anxiety, and certainly would not have made it without the heavy dose of local, Camarguaise ranching heritage. Surrounding Arles and Nimes, there are a plethora of regional events within a vast geographical area. Every small town hosts a summer celebration in honour of the local patron saint. These events typically include lots of entertainment for all ages. Space permitting, in the villages, there are usually rides and games for kids. Daytime and well into the wee hours there is plenty to amuse the older folks; village meals, rocking musical acts and numerous displays of horsemanship with the bulls.

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Recipes & Travel:
Calgary Stampede Rodeo, Europe, French Rodeo Circuit, Rodeo, Travel Alberta