The Maori Are Coming!

Are you ready for a transformational experience?


Do you need healing done on a physical, emotional or spiritual level?


Do you want to meet some of the most down to earth and "connected" people in the world?


If you can answer yes to those questions, you should think about meeting the traditional Maori healers from New Zealand who tour the world due to great demand for their services. They are blessing Long Beach, and some other cities, with their presence this month.


I have collected lots of stories from family, friends, and friends of friends that attest to the power of the Maori's healing. I have personally witnessed it. My husband had a shoulder injury 30 years ago that left his shoulder crooked. They put it back in place, in addition to straightening his spine in front of my eyes. They also released some long-held emotions and it was immediately obvious when it happened. Now it is my turn. I feel scared, but ready for a transformation. I want to free myself up from myself, if that makes sense. I want to let go of holding on so tightly. I want to be more expressive, actually, I want to be very expressive. Of course there physical issues that also need to be fixed. I'll let everyone know how it goes.


You can visit their blog here: http://maorihealers.wordpress.com/. On the site, scroll down to their dates in the U.S. and there is contact information for each venue.

The Passionate Palate Update

Oh my gosh it's June!

I don't know if I am back to regular blogging or not, but I am making an attempt to get back to some blogging. How's that? I miss the blogging community and all the joy that comes from the blog.

I have had a very full 2009 which accounts for why I haven't updated the blog. We moved in January from Long Beach to the Central Coast of California. This was a dream come true for me. I always wanted to escape the city and live near or in nature again. I spent many years on the Central Coast, mostly in Santa Cruz, but some in Santa Barbara and have always felt so at home here. My husband, Antonio, adapted immediately. Being Italian, as soon as he got his hands in the dirt, there was no turning back! We have a big garden and hope to plant a vineyard here one of these days. I have found so many benefits in being close to nature again, and indeed have begun to wonder how much damage we do to ourselves by living in a congested, dirty, ugly city cut off from nature.

Other updates: We went to Italy in March to be with Antonio's dying father. I got a real lesson in Italian hospitals while hanging out in one for a week. His father lived until a few weeks ago. He was 93 1/2 years old. (Yes, those 1/2 years become more important as we get older!) Shortly after returning we adopted a 5 month old puppy who ended up having distemper and died two weeks later. In May, I helped lead a wine tour in Italy for my wine sales company. We went from Puglia to Piedmont in a week, and of course tasted a lot of wine!

Has anyone ever seen King Frederick's castle in Puglia, outside of Andria? It was one of the cultural highlights of the trip. It is a fascinating, almost modern looking, structure built on ancient mathematical, astronomical and mystical principles.

Photo courtesy of Bridgette Fox

And for a dose of pure happiness , we got another puppy just a week ago. Mingus is 11 weeks old today and going to be a monster. Our 7 1/2 year old Ruby likes her new brother.

Antonio and Mingus


Wine tourism is way down, but we are planning two trips in 2010. By then, I hope our economy will be better and there will be more optimism.

That's the update in a nutshell. More soon, I hope.

HAPPY 2009!

Happy New Year to all of my friends, family and acquaintances out there, as well as those I have never met. While I have not been posting lately, I felt the need tonight. 2008 brings to end a year that was a personal challenge for my husband and I, but brings it to end on a positive note. We feel better than ever and are excited about the possibilities and promises of 2009. I don't believe we are the only ones with hope and gratitude.

I would like to say my "gratefuls", as my Dad calls them, out here in the blogosphere. I am grateful for life, to learning how to live and learning from my mistakes. I am grateful for employment and the possibilities of doing more Italy tours in the future. I am grateful for my husband, who after having had to jump many physical and emotional hurtles this last year, not only cleared them, but came away jumping higher than I ever would have thought. I am grateful for the 5 wonderful years I spent with my dog, Golia, whom we had to put down this year. I am grateful for the opportunity we have to move in the next few weeks to a glorious piece of country on the Central Coast of California, where serenity reigns supreme. I am grateful to an amazing and supportive family, who I am lucky to count as my true friends besides being related to them. I am grateful for friends, old and new, who walk the path with me. I am grateful for my health, yoga, teachers, travel, abundance and nature.

May your new year and beyond be filled with peace, happiness, love and health. And just for some inspiration, I give you this quotation from Marianne Williamson:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.We must ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,talented and fabulous?Actually, who are you NOT to be?You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you.We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.It is not in just some of us; it’s in everyone.And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give people permission to do the same.As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Piccola Cucina and Coming Back

I took a hiatus from blogging for many reasons, but feel a bit more restored and rebalanced. Regardless, I have missed blog-hopping and connecting with all of you out there. I am doing okay, just too busy like all the rest of you. I think I am still recovering from a very traumatic year and just now reconstructing a bit of a new life. I appreciate all the emails from concerned and caring bloggers who missed me. Thank you!

I am excited to announce Piccola Cucina's fall classes. You may have read about my cooking and language classes here before, but this fall, my partner and I have moved our venue to a wonderfully roomy culinary store in Long Beach - Kitchen Outfitters.

You can hop over to our Piccola Cucina site to read all the details of the classes, and I hope those of you in Southern California come and join us for one or more of the classes.

On a completely different note, if you have never tried La Quercia products, I highly recommend them. They are an artisanal producer of cured meats in the U.S. - one of the very few that creates products similar to the Italian originals. I first tried their meats at Mozza in Los Angeles, and have since bought them on-line. Again, I am very impressed with their quality and hope that you will be.

Computer Issues

We all experience them, don't we?

My computer is on the blink and being repaired. I don't expect to have it back for two weeks. So, my computer time is cut to a minimum as I share my husband's (slow) computer. Oddly, I welcome the respite from so much computer time, while being challenged at how to keep my businesses running on one cylinder in stead of four.

I'll be back with more posts just as soon as I can. In the meantime, have a passionate Thursday!