Monday, November 8, 2010

THE HOT WORD -WHAT IS IT CALLED WHEN YOU CAN TASTE A WORD?

I was one of the bloggers to attend THE WRITE TASTE seminar with Salty Seattle, SippitySup and Food Woolf fellow food bloggers.  We had a chance to up our writing skills: sharing in the  tasting, smelling, and writing about the food at our table!


This was one of the Breakout Sessions that FOODBUZZ sponsored at the Sir Francis Drake.  All of us, good writers, or not, feel that we can always improve. I definitely feel that my ideas, photographs and level of blog content far surpass my writing skills.  Is this why I find it so difficult to sit down and WRITE?   My favorite was the list of foreboden words, we as foodbloggers chose, coupled with the list Brooke reports that are strictly not allowed in her journalist post at a paper.







So, this morning, I'm reading a new book review, "BITTER IN 
THE MOUTH", and one link leads to another. I find this:  SYNESTHESIA -hot word of the day. In one of the condition's rarest forms, gustatory synesthesia, selected words make it possible to taste a word. Now that would be writing a blog! Rustic, smoky, fruity  (adjectives to describe my recent Venison meatballs, glazed with Damson Plum preserves!)


http://www.reference.com/browse/gustatory+synesthesia?




These ideas all add up to my latest quest to better my writing, hence improving my chances of writing my blog at least weekly!! Saluti and grazie to Linda, Brooke and Greg!!

Friday, November 5, 2010

Just back from SLOW FOOD's SALONE DEL GUSTO AND TERRA MADRE IN TURIN, Italy



Just returned from a mouth-watering experience at SLOW FOOD's Salone del  Gusto in Turin, Italy.  Myself and one other 'hungry for SLOW FOOD experience' Italian speaker  tossed out sleeping and opted for a 2 hour train ride from Milan to Turin's Lingotto Fiere.  The eighth biennial food and wine festival is like no other in the world. Coupled with TERRA MADRE,  this year they had over 200,000 visitors,  many from outside of Italia, and from what I gather, a group even from our area Charlottesville division of Slow Food!


To give you an idea of the scope of this incredible , SLOW FOOD  began 20 years ago to battle the fast food beginning to  show it's ugly head in Italy.  Since then, from what I understand, it has grown to be quite a movement.  Now in many other countries, we in the Piedmont of Virginia even have our own brand new group, with my good friend, Christina Ball as one of the directors. I am very excited to become involved in this, since I am also working on an innovative dining project with local produce in our art group; primarily as a sharing of good slow food and artistic recipes!




My take on this 'hurried' 10 hours, was that I couldn't get enough of the tastes, friendships, interest in beautiful slow food, most likely paired with delicious artisan wines and beers. I cannot wait to slow down enough (!) to go back and enjoy the next one for days!! We accomplished only the 20 (twenty!) regions of Italy - each region had over a dozen different offerings, from cheese to pork to chocolate!  After over an hour in our first, Campagnia, we had to regroup and step up the pace, or we NEVER would have even done that.  The Slow WINE had to wait for the next show, and so many different lectures, cooking demos, next time.  We did squeeze in a cooking dem from my favorite region, Puglia, with my new friend Michele Bruno, president of Slow Food Puglia, that brought back dreams of Santa Maria del Sole, and their own slow food.


I've uploaded  a few of the shots I have taken, just on my way out to San Francisco, for the FOODBUZZ blog fest.  More info to follow.






But I will say this in closing:  in 2012 I am  planning on a group to make our way to Italy, enjoying Slow Food as one of the 3 'events' in the jetsetWISDOM trip.  Promise more to come! Meanwhile, savor the feel of this incredible exposition! Divertiti!!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Come with j e t s e t WISDOM .... to Argentina, April 7-17th, 2010 - Mendoza, Buenos Aires, Tango, Malbec


Join me with a small group of like-minded new and old friends.  Arriving Buenos Aires Thursday, April 8 - departing Ezeiza (Buenos Aires) Saturday April 17th, 2010.

 If you've always desired to experience sultryTango (with Alejandro), sip fruity Torrontes and deep dark Malbecs (with Julia), learn a bit of Argentine history at Evita's historical cemetery in Recolleta, discover treasures of San Telmo while practicing a bit of español with Pablo - before dining on mouth-watering LOMO with Chimichurri at world-famous asados and all at incredible value...This is your kind of trip!   And wait, this is only our first stop - before flying off to the ANDEs for a mouth-watering experience in culture and  wine-tasting in the posadas of the Mendoza region for 6 more days - 3 in the middle of the UCO Valley, and 3 more in the Luján de Cuyo in the town of Chacras de Coria.   Oh, and by the way, April is our fall - so the perfect time to discover new leather jackets, vest, boots, and of course bolse (purses) of the region -beautiful quality, outstanding design, and amazing value!
  
SADLY, life has been so busy - I apologize up front for the 'tardiness' of this plan!  I just came back from Mendoza and Buenos Aires late January filled to the top with ideas, new friends and and an for-sure incredible itinerary. 
 Should I wait until next year?  I don't think so!  So please, I ask you to join me this APRIL for 10 days of pure decadence - pure joy - and tastes and smells and beauty that you have never ever experienced.  The peso is at 3.80 per dollar - as opposed to .65 Euro per dollar! How could we wait.  Fortunately, most of you have your own lives and control of stealing away for 10 days - and I count on you to just step up to the plate and savor ARGENTINA!
 This is the launch of my j e t s e t WISDOM travel - and what better place than the frontier of Argentina! Hope you can join me!  





Mendoza is a mere hour and a half from Buenos Aires - and we'll fly into this beautiful little city in time for our first wine tasting at Vines of Mendoza - before being driven down to the Uco Valley, home for the next three days.  Enjoying wine tastings, art galleries and lots of time for painting, yoga, horseback riding in the Andes, and amazing photo ops with the fall colours in full force.  Wine-pairing lunch at O. Fournier, a private tasting dinner at Posada Salentein, all included in your price. Enjoy a bit of relaxing after our four days in Buenos Aires (our first stop - which will be exhilarating and definitely not relaxing - although I have got us booked in for a great afternoon of reflexology and a massage! while in the city)  After winetasting as several of the UCO Vallely wineries - which are deep and sultry compared to Lucán de Cuyo - our next stop!  3 nights in the historical town of Chacras de Coria - a mere 8 miles from Mendoza City -but a world away from the bustle.  We'll enjoy incredible lodging, cooking fresh pasta, drinking special edition wines from the posadas, and have an incredible mix of rural and city for our final 3 nights.  Leaving for Buenos Aires on Saturday afternoon for your evening flight  -or stay with me and fly up to Salta....oh when must this end....I could stay in this country FOREVER!!!!!



The final dessert is this:  Your total cost includes:double occupancy,(single upon request/availability)  10 days, 9 nights including domestic transfers, drivers, tips, 4* accommodations for 9 nights, all tours (city and winetastings), tango, full breakfast every morning, and 7 dinners and 2 lunches (2 full meals per day), leaving you just enough time to enjoy a slice of Italian pizza or an empanada for lunch before or after your lessons (tango, cooking, wine tasting) of your choices.  You will have afternoons free in Buenos Aires, and mornings free in Mendoza - to always let you be you and enjoy the moment -whether it be shopping for those white boots, or napping in a chaise in the library...$2,750 US (not including airfare or transfers to/from Ezeiza)  Email me for a .pdf of a full itinerary and pricing at jetsetwisdom@gmail.com