It’s winter in the veggie garden at the Swanson household, although you wouldn’t know it by looking at the mercury. The benefit of all this unseasonably warm weather is the growth we are seeing in our garden beds: tomatoes are ripening & fruiting, peas & squash are flourishing everywhere and the greens & carrots popping up. And don’t forget the strawberries!

With the twilight beginning to fade I’m watching my chooks cautiously making their way in to roost for the evening and this causes me to reflect on just how happy poo makes me.

Sure the chooks lay eggs, just perfect for a fresh batch of mayonnaise, but it’s the poo that’s got me well chuffed. They are veritable wing-ed poo-machines. They poo all over their roost, the floor of their cage and, now the fence is up, my yard. It’s fantastic!

While shoveling up small mounds of dried chook dirt isn’t to be sneezed at, it’s the results of all this poo that I’m really looking forward to; it’s the juicy Cuor di Bue tomatoes, the fractilous Romanesco Broccoli and the small forest of herbs that has me salivating in anticipation.

That is all I have to say on the matter of poo and happiness, for now.

Need I say more? But yet I will. I’m enjoying a week in Istanbul and one highlight is the availability of real seafood. Unfortunately the “seafood” available in Kiev is more like stinky river fish; only God knows what’s in the water. Istanbul is right on the Sea of Marmara so there is no shortage here. Here I’m enjoying a freshly grilled mackerel sandwich by the sea on a cold and blustery winter’s day, and only $3!

My last supper in Rome was a sad occassion. Italy was the penultimate stop on our trip and it would be a delicious yet meloncoly farewell. Spaghetti and clams tossed in olive oil and butter with garlic, chilli and garnished with chopped parsley. Sigh.

Every red-blooded male derives a certain amount of pleasure from devouring the flesh of a dead bovine; I am no exception. Florence has a big reputation for doing a great steak and I can vouch for that personally. Whilst training from Bologna to Florence we met a nice bloke, who makes a living selling antique watches, and he recommended us a good restaurant for steak. Unfortunately it was closed for August, like most of Italy, but the owner of a neighbouring cafe was able to direct us to the next best kept secret in well-trodden Florence.

After they have paraded the side of beef onto the butchers block the carve off a slice from each end for your selection. Naturally, I took the cut from nearer the neck, as it contains a tender round usually known as the rib eye; it weighed in at over 900g! I must stress for a moment that if there was one thing that made this steak truly special it was that is was dry-aged. Dry-aged beef is hung in a cold room with high humidity for a number of weeks, during which time enzymes in the meat work to tenderise the flesh and slow dehydration causes the flavours to intensify; this type of meat can’t be bought at the supermarket.

But if the meat wasn’t already perfect, they go and cook it in real style; over the coals. This adds a fantastic smokey hit to the meat.

Once the steak is cooked to perfection, which for me is rare, it is seasoned with salt and pepper and served with a side order of vegetables. The steak has the most intense and delicious meaty flavour, and is so tender. I can’t recall the last time I had a steak so good, it’s possible I never have.

Whilst dining at Ro’ Cocco’s in Bologna I took the liberty of creating my own pizza, in collaberation with the the helpful kitchen staff. This pizza is simply tomato puree, fresh porcini mushrooms, parma ham and mozzarella cooked, of course, in a wood fired pizza oven. After one bite I dubbed it Pizza San Paolo, because it’s so lush it’s worthy sainthood.

Emilia-Romagna has to be one of the prime destinations for lovers of fine cuisine. This region is home to such wonderfully aged delicacies as Parma-Ham, Parmigiano Reggiano and traditional balsamic vinegar. The thing that makes these products so special is that they are all aged to bring out amazing flavours and textures that one has to experience to believe. It’s just a question of time before I return.