The World Is a Kitchen

Contributor Catherine Lombard to host Writing Workshop amid the Food of Umbria

Contributor Catherine Lombard, author of “Guiseppa’s Secret Ingredient” will be hosting a week of Italian sun, food, and creative exploration with Clive Matson from Sunday April 22 to Thursday May 3, 2007.

Enjoy eleven nights and twelve days in the unspoiled Umbrian countryside only 80 miles north of the exciting and historic city of Rome. Your days include writing and various excursions that allow your “creative unconscious” free reign amongst the whimsical Umbrian olive groves and vineyards. Listen to the Italian Muses and learn to write wildly and creatively. Share your writing with like-minded artists and receive positive feedback that allows you to discover your native stories and images.

The workshop takes place in the provincial town of Giove at a recently restored farmhouse complete with swimming pool and spacious grounds. The program includes writing sessions with Clive Matson, your accommodation and meals, and excursions to the nearby Sacred Forest and ancient Etruscan tombs of Bomarzo, the famous Renaissance gardens of Villa Lante, the cities of Amelia, Bagnaia, Orvieto, and Rome, and the sulfur hot springs of Viterbo where Popes used to bath during medieval times.

Author Spotlight: Judy Ware

The World Is a Kitchen features stories and sidebars from fifty-eight different authors. We think that their experiences both in the book and in their travels may be beneficial to you, so we will be bringing you interviews with them. Our first is with Judy Ware, who traveled with her husband Jim into Oaxaca.

In your story “Tastes of Generosity” you write about your three-month trip to Mexico to learn Spanish and your luck in getting into Susana Trilling’s cooking school outside Oaxaca. Had you ever been to a cooking school before?

Yes, but it also was only for one day.

Where were your previous cooking school experiences?

My only other cooking school experience was in New Orleans. I learned from local chefs how to make the most amazing jambalaya and bread pudding. I've yet to have any that matches these recipes.

How did Susana’s school stack up in relation to your previous culinary lessons? What stood out most in your experience?

Susanna's school: Seasons of My Heart surpassed any other previous culinary lessons more from the aspect of cultural understanding. I'm still in awe of how a cooking school of such cutting edge proportions was built at such close proximity to a village still comfortable with a more simple lifestyle. The dichotomy is mind boggling.

I was touched by the degree to which Susana's recipes and methods of food preparation were so generously passed down through multigenerational lovers of food. Susana has a way of inviting people to this world through her love of food and her clear understanding of the importance of proper ingredients and food handling. Thus, my embarrassment when improperly handling the bananas I was preparing for a simple recipe. I'm not sure I will ever tackle that task again. I do however, love the mixture of ingredients that remain in the recipe you can find in Susana's Seasons of My Heart cookbook. The name is: Platanos Fritos Con Crema de Jengibre y Jalapeno.

Kudos to...Food Bloggers and Recipe Testers

I think that up until now, there have only been 2 things in my life, outside my immediate and Travelers’ Tales family, that have provided me with instant and helpful hands. One was when I was pregnant and I had a wonderful support group through The Birth Place Resource Center in Menlo Park, CA. We all had something in common and were there for each other with questions, answers, hints, tips, and resources. The second time was when my son was in CYSA - club soccer. Our families all bonded instantly and shared food, rides, Starbucks runs, training tips, and medical wisdom on a regular basis for 4 years.

Now I find myself part of the food blogosphere. It was quite by accident through my friend Tea, but the support and rapport and sharing I have gotten from all over the world is just incredible. People offering suggestions, sharing every kind of recipe imaginable, and providing feedback that has enriched my life immensely. I am always in awe of the wonderful writing I encounter along the way, the gorgeous food photography I am witnessing, and the delicious recipes that I cannot wait to try. It amazes me that food can bring such a connection.

I want to properly thank them for their time and support. Click below.

It is this online community, along with my family and close personal friends, that came to my rescue in the latter stages of the book process to test recipes for The World is a Kitchen. Eager hands willing to try anything, which not only took the burden off of me and yielded an unbiased opinion, but lifted my spirits and boosted my energy to get me through the rest of the ordeal.