…in a saucy hat! Donatello’s David
When putting the finishing touches to the first draft of my new historical detective story The Illusion of Reality, I marvelled again at the extraordinary vivacity of Donatello’s incredible bronze…
Artistic insights, food for thought, and recipes
A serendipitous sunny Saturday
Lois and I were in the vibrant Sant’Ambrogio food market near our apartment in Florence on Saturday on a marvellously warm and sunny morning, enjoying the shops and stalls, buying…
A magical mill morning
An atmospheric photograph of a spider’s web in the Walled Garden, from Watermill painting course guest Bettina Winkler, And another of a sparkling morning dew on the lawn. Bettina says:”Morning…
Another intriguing Watermill artwork: Modern working heroes
The Watermill bedrooms and public rooms are stuffed to the gunwales with original artworks, most of them paintings of the Watermill and of the unique splendour of the surrounding countryside…
A time-travelling conceit in the Fra Angelico bedroom
Travel in time and space! Come and meet a cool 1960s girl in a mini-dress in Toulouse-Lautrec’s Paris studio (in a Watermill bedroom!) What would Fra Angelico, the Dominican…
Panzanella
Panzanella: a classical Florentine salad with painterly associations…. Panzanella is a famous Florentine salad, also popular in other parts of Tuscany (notably Posara!). Its basic ingredients are bread and…
Pesto rice
Our girls have always loved this dish, and usually request it when they come to stay. It’s great for dinner parties because you can prepare it in advance right up…
Tiramisù
Lois uses a mix of mascarpone and ricotta for a lighter version of this heavenly pud. Ingredients (serves 6) 3 large eggs, separated50g caster sugar125g mascarpone125g ricotta24 sponge fingers…
Tuscan lentils
Lois loves this dish because it just blips away while she’s doing other things in the kitchen, and then transforms from something merely hearty to something utterly delectable at the…
Courgette, pea and basil soup
This is a sublimely tasting, vibrant green soup, bursting with Italian flavour with its basil, garlic and olive oil. It can be served chilled in Summer. Thank you for the…
Pappa al pomodoro
This is actually based on a Jamie Oliver recipe but is the tastiest Lois has found for this traditional Tuscan soup. We serve it warm in delicate ceramic spoons, so…
Salmon with a pistacchio crust
One of the marvellous things about this dish is that it’s almost impossible to overcook the salmon – the crust seems to keep the flesh so succulent. And for those…