Wine and cheese are classic buddies, and pairings from the mountains anywhere are among my favourites. I live in the Swiss Alps, at 1,100 metres, with a small herd of beautiful Val d’Hérens cows next door; in spring and fall they eat down the pastures that surround my garden, and in early winter I listen […]
Alps
Paw the hoof and lock the horns: the race is on for Queen of the Cows title
Finals are just 2 weeks away and Valais’s finest Alpine cows show their stuff in Mollens arena GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – You know spring is here when Swiss cows begin to fight (tourism office schedule) and the crowds stream in from all corners of the country to watch them. Cool weather at 900 metres in Mollens, […]
Swiss Alpine garden fresh pumpkin pie
We harvest 20-40 pumpkins from our Alpine garden every October, dry them for a month on the warm stones of the veranda to harden them off, then store them in a cool dark area for winter eating. We grow them at 1,100 metres altitude, on dirt mixed with a good dose of the neighboring farmer’s […]
Wine pick: Petite Arvine from Valais
Valais has a wonderful collection of wines, far richer in diversity than most wine-growing regions in the world. One of the real jewels among them is Petite Arvine, a wine which has a surprisingly salty finish. A friend who was translating a wine text recently asked me, “That can’t be right, can it? it’s not […]
Home alone! with a popcorn thief
One of the real joys of having a family is seeing them all leave, now and again, so you have time alone to do EXACTLY what you feel like. In my case, a recent home alone evening, with balmy weather in the Alps, drove me to one of life’s great pleasures (you might not all […]