Thank you for visiting my blog and reading my posts. I hope you enjoy what you see, and please leave me your comments!
I’m Connie and live in Flagstaff, Arizona. I travel often to Italy and other Western European countries, and sometimes Mexico and Costa Rica. I have visited other countries in the past but these are my current travel destinations.
I have a passion for all things food, culture, community, and travel. My posts are descriptive of my adventures with all of those, and my photos show some of my favorite places, people, and food found through those adventures.
Food: I cook, I bake, I entertain, and I love sharing food experiences with others. I am drawn to farming, food production, and food markets at home and while traveling. Conviviality around the table is one of my greatest pleasures in life.
Culture: I focus on culture through the lens of food production, distribution, culinary preparation, and consumption. My academic research includes food history, planning, policy, production, and consumption. I am drawn to the impact of cultures on food through history. Culture encompasses the learned knowledge, beliefs, and practices within a particular group, and every culture includes the concept of food.
Community: As a developing scholar I explored what makes a community strong and sustainable, with my first focus on how philanthropists grow, strengthen, and ultimately contribute to sustainable communities. Subsequent research from a planning and policy perspective illustrates how strengthening food systems contributes to strong and resilient communities.
Travels: My passion for food developed when I began traveling. Early travels to Italy helped me to appreciate the Italian American cuisine from my childhood. Subsequent travel broadened my understanding of other foods, customs, and household items related to preparing and serving food. I am particularly interested in the food customs of Italy, which are still very much “regional” as opposed to “Italian.” The 19th century Italian resurgence (Risorgimento), which unified the Italian states into the Kingdom of Italy (or the country of Italy that we recognize today) was not completed until 1871. Strong regional identity and food culture continues today.
The “souvenirs” that I carry home from my travels tend to be food products, kitchen implements, and kitchen linens… plus and Italian purse or two!
So, come along with me on my adventures in food, culture, community, and travel!
Connie