Valentina has a wonderful story to tell. Her grandfather, Count Carlo Sforza, who became the Italian Ambassador, was posted to Constantinople, Peking (at the end of Imperialist China), Corfu, Rome and Paris. In 1922 he resigned in order to return to Italy to fight facism. The family suffered brutal harassment, forcing him to flee - going back to Peking and on to the US - and the family to move to Brussels, then on to France, the UK, Canada and the US for most of WW2. Finally the family returned to Italy after the war. This is where Valentina's mother met her English husband - Valentina's father. Having caused a scandal with their marriage, her mother and father were banished to Tuscany, where Valentina spent most of her childhood. Against a backdrop of different cultures and cuisines, Valentina narrates beautiful and powerful stories - along with her discovery of pure, intense happiness from cooking. Gorgeous recipes guide you through Valentina's history. You'll find the Braised Cinnamon Duck with Caremelised Pears that Valentina's mother created in memory of their Russian ancestors and the Belgrade Almond Cake that Valentina used to eat with her cousins from Montenegro, as well as the Seafood Risotto that Beppino, their cook, taught her in Italy and the Nougat Semifreddo that she used to eat with her father on the via Veneto in Rome. Here are 85 recipes that have been handed down through the generations or inspired by family stories and experiences. This is the culmination of Valentina's career and the book of her heart and soul

Step into a world of spiritual rejuvenation and radiant health with the restorative power of herbs. Brimming with herbal folklore, tips for growing and harvesting your own herbs, and over two hundred medicinal and culinary recipes from diverse cultures, Mother Nature's Herbal will become your trusted companion on the path to natural living. Take a tour of the time-honored traditions and healing practices of cultures past and present, including Native and South American, Mediterranean, East Asian, and others. Create delicious and exotic entrees, brew soothing herbal teas, mix perfumes and salves using flower essences from your backyard garden, prepare elixirs and medicines to treat every ailment—and so much more. With this wise book on your kitchen shelf, a rich heritage of herb craft and herbal tradition is at your fingertips.

The Big Mamma team shares its greatest chef secrets with you to make fast and ultra-gourmet Italian dishes

The most readable introduction available to the sights and attractions of one of the greatest cities on earth. Everything you need to know about Rome's iconic landmarks, ancient buildings, and distinctive neighborhoods - as well as the inside track on the best of the city's restaurants, wine bars, shops, markets, and much more - is presented in a full-color, user-friendly format with dozens of beautiful photos and color-coded maps. Step foot inside the Colosseum, explore the Piazza Navona, visit the miraculous Sistine Chapel, and stroll through the streets with a gelato in hand. With expert history and background on the art and architecture, and features on the best places for Roman pizza, the city's best hotel bars, and cutting-edge cuisine, The Rough Guide to Rome has everything you need to make the most of your stay. There's no better single-volume guide to Rome. Make the most of your time with The Rough Guide to Rome. Series Overview: For more than thirty years, adventurous travelers have turned to Rough Guides for up-to-date and intuitive information from expert authors. With opinionated and lively writing, honest reviews, and a strong cultural background, Rough Guides travel books bring more than 200 destinations to life. Visit RoughGuides.com to learn more.

This book compiles and presents a synopsis on current global research efforts to push forward the state of the art in dialogue technologies, including advances to language and context understanding, and dialogue management, as well as human–robot interaction, conversational agents, question answering and lifelong learning for dialogue systems.

Cooking alla Giudia is the ultimate tribute to the wonderfully rich, yet still largely unknown, culinary heritage of the Jews of Italy. From Roman deep-fried artichokes (carciofi alla giudia) to Venetian sarde in saor (sweet-and-sour sardines), Apulian orecchiette pasta, and Sicilian caponata, some of Italy’s best-known dishes are Jewish in origin. But little is known about the Jewish people in Italy and their culinary traditions. It was the Jews, for example, who taught Italians to eat the eggplant, and thus helped inspire the classic eggplant parmigiana and many other local specialties. With a collection of kosher recipes from all regions of Italy, including plenty of vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options, author Benedetta Jasmine Guetta is on a mission to tell the story of how the Jews changed Italian food, to preserve these recipes, and to share with home cooks the extraordinary dishes prepared in the Jewish communities of Italy. Highlighted throughout the book are menus with regional Italian specialties, along with short, useful guides to the Italian cities with Jewish history. The book will show how to integrate the recipes into your everyday meals and holiday traditions as well.