Cooking and Food

Neapolitan Classics: Struffoli, vegan and air fried

This Neapolitan Classic is a holiday favourite. Struffoli are little fried dumplings covered in honey, hazel nuts and festive sprinkles. They’re a typically Neapolitan sweet, also found all over southern Italy, and generally made around Christmas and New Year. In Naples, their texture will be crunchy. In some places and especially among the descendants of…

Neapolitan classics: Crusty bread

This is a recipe for a classic Neapolitan no-knead, crusty bread with a chewy crumb. You’ll want to eat immediately out of the oven. I like bread that has a significant crust and a chewy interior. It’s a standard in Neapolitan bakeries and it’s often referred to as pane cafone, meaning peasant bread. The basis…

Vegan Panettone Review 2021

We’ve returned for a third edition of our vegan panettone review. We’re doing it differently this year This year, we’re drawing from our 2019 and 2020 archives because there are fewer panettoni available. It seems the best ones have mede it through the wilderness somehow. Choice is more limited this year. Reasons? Ach, I’m not…

My Favourite Vegan Cookbooks and Vegan Food Blogs

A few readers of our book, Think Like a Vegan, sent us messages asking about vegan cookbooks and vegan food blogs to help them learn about vegan food. I’ve written a few of these types of lists over the years. It’s time to pull them together properly.

Vegan Panettone Review 2020

A review of four vegan panettoni, three of which are new products. Plus, links to other available vegan panettoni in case you want even more choices.

Best Vegan Panettone for 2019

When we realised there were six vegan panettoni on the market this year, we knew we had to try them all. Here we will give you our opinion on the best vegan panettone for this winter holiday season. Panettone is a traditional Italian Christmas cake. It originated in Milano sometime in the 18th century. Since…

Neapolitan Classics: Provola Affumicata (smokey provola cheese)

Provola affumicata is a typical smoked cheese from the Campania region and it is the classic cheese that we use in the dish pasta e patate (pasta and potatoes). This is very easy to make, stretchy, melty and requires no cooking. It does, however, require soaking. So your active time to make this will be…

Butternut Squash Spread

This umami filled, no oil, spread will rival avocado on toast any day. It tastes indulgent and it is anything but. It is ridiculously simple and quick to make. It does require that you have roasted butternut squash on hand and you can prepare that ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator. And…