Reading Room Blog
recipe

Featured Post
Half and Half – Mushroom and Beef or Elk Burger
Adapted from this New York Times recipe, I’ve always wanted to perfect the home made hamburger. Especially since I often had elk meat to use which is hard to work… Read More »

Recipes
Pasta with Sugar Snap Peas and Asparagus
We know it’s spring when asparagus and sugar snap peas hit the grocery stores! We have the perfect recipe to combine these two treasures. Ingredients: 1 pound farfalle pasta prepared... Read More »

Recipes, Travel Tips
Recipe: Packing the Perfect Mid-Ride Picnic
Lunch on the Roll Ride until your hungry … or can’t get enough of the view Cycling can certainly kick one’s appetite into gear, and a picnic lunch is a... Read More »

Recipes, Travel Tips
Recipe: Picnicking On a Bike Ride
Lunch on the Roll Ride until your hungry … or can’t get enough of the view Cycling can certainly kick one’s appetite into gear, and a picnic lunch is a... Read More »

Recipes
Squash Blossom Quesadillas
Along with the bounty of zucchini and yellow squash, the blossoms of these plants are delicate, colorful and oh so delicious. If you do not have a garden, make friends... Read More »

Recipes, Destinations: Spain
Spanish Tapas
Simply Spanish Tapas: Entertaining Made Easy The first time I traveled to Spain I ordered a glass of wine in a bar and along with it came a tiny assortment... Read More »

Destinations: Italy, Recipes
Recipe: Insalata Di Farro (Cold Farro Salad)
Umbria’s Great Grain A versatile and easy addition to summer meals. Walk through a farmers market in Italy and you’ll experience the country’s deeply rooted passion for fresh food. Noses... Read More »

Recipes
Manzo All’Olio Di Rovato or Rovato Beef
Manzo All’Olio Di Rovato Or “Beef In Oil” A tip of the “Priest’s Hat” from the Franciacorta Region of Northern Italy An Italian alternative to a classic Sunday beef roast, try... Read More »

Recipes
Cappelletti in Brodo
Thanks to my parents’ crazy idea that maybe – just maybe – people would want to travel the world by bike, I grew up spending May through September in Italy from when... Read More »

Recipes
Recipe: Paczki or Polish Donuts
In between the rolling hills of Sierockie, Poland, Grandma Zoisa lives quietly in a tiny village with a population of around 500 residents. The Tatra Mountains watch over her small... Read More »

Recipes
South Tyrolean Apple Soup
Don’t you love South Tyrol and its unique mix of Italian and Austrian culture, languages, tradition and cuisine? On top of its cultural fascination, to me South Tyrol is the... Read More »

Recipes
Romesco Sauce
Tour leader Joan Escosura shares this recipe for Romesco Sauce which is a specialty of the Catalonia region of Spain where he lives (and leads bicycle tours!) Joan also wisely... Read More »

Recipes
Melon with Black Pepper and Mint
Melone Ghiacciato con Menta or Melon with Black Pepper and Mint This refreshing dish comes to us from Bea Tassinari, our Country Coordinator in Italy, who also helps coordinate lunches... Read More »

Recipes
Cucumber, Radish and Parsley Salad
This salad is always a hit as we jump into the spring and summer growing seasons. It is crunchy, nutritional, easy to make and attractive to serve. Many simple variations... Read More »

Recipes
Flavor Your Olive Oil
ExperiencePlus! tour leader Yorgos Paraskevopoulos is from Kalamata, Greece and has been leading tours with us since 1999. He lives in Kalamata, Greece where he harvests and cares for his... Read More »

Recipes
Winter Vegetable Soup
Here’s a toasty winter vegetable soup to keep you warm as you wait for spring to finally arrive. Serves 4 1/4 cup diced carrot 1/4 cup diced celery 1/3 cup... Read More »

Recipes
A Sicilian Feast
I just came back from an hiking trip on the eastern side of Sicily that included Catania, Siracusa, Val di Noto, Ragusa, to name just a few of the gorgeous... Read More »

Recipes
Zuppa di Ceci (Creamy Chickpea Soup)
This tasty recipe is a typical “peasant” soup from the Umbria region of Italy. The perfect companion on a chilly night. Serves 6 Ingredients: 1 pound dried chickpeas 1 carrot,... Read More »

Recipes
Straccetti with Arugula and Balsamic Vinegar of Modena
This recipe comes to us from the Scuola di Cucina Bologna which we visit on our Whole Journey’s Culinary Delights bicycling tours in Italy. Ingredients: 1 pound of veal thinly... Read More »

Recipes
Tomato, Chickpea, and Feta Salad with Za’atar
Joeann Gutowski, of our Fort Collins office shares an easy and delicious salad recipe that gets our taste buds yearning for the Mediterranean. This is the time of year when... Read More »

Recipes
Breton Crêpes
John Giebler (our Director of Tours, and occasional tour leader in France and Italy) shares his favorite crêpe recipe in honor of the new ExperiencePlus! tour in Brittany and Normandy.... Read More »

Recipes
No Knead Flatbread/Pizza Dough
About 2 years ago I decided I wanted try my hand at making some quick pizza or flatbread style dough. As I was looking for recipes I ran across a... Read More »

Recipes
Roasted Asparagus with Hollandaise
April marks the beginning of asparagus season in Germany and in France and is cause for celebration because it also means that spring has finally arrived. In Germany asparagus fever... Read More »

Recipes
Roasted Kale Chips
In recent years kale has come into its own and this is a delightful, crispy side dish has little in common with the boiled, tasteless recipes of the past. It’s... Read More »

Recipes
Cauliflower Calabria
Cauliflower: a white, seemingly boring vegetable that unfortunately suffers from neglect in the grocery store and sometimes in the fridge has just received a facelift. And, no, it’s not cheddar... Read More »