The olive groves, fields and woods around us are home to a small number of cats and back in June, one of these decided that the shrubs outside our kitchen window would be the ideal spot to raise her new litter of three kittens.

(That’s how the story started. Click the main headline title above to find out what happened next…)

Though at first sight this exceptionally easy recipe might seem Italian, it’s perhaps best described as “Mediterranean Fusion’, because there’s one key, must-have, non-Italian ingredient without which the soup doesn’t exactly fail – but just doesn’t taste the same.

(And what’s that magic ingredient ? Click on the main headline title above to find out)

Because of this summer-long drought, olives that should by now be plump with oily promise are no more than little green bullets, hard and mean, hanging limply from the trees…

(The hard life of farmers in this corner of Abruzzo could be on the point of taking a turn for the worst as the scorching summer threatens the olive and grape harvests. Click on the main headline title above to discover more…)