When Vogue Italia does food, they put an Italian goddess in a pretty, bohemian strapless dress, choose a folk jazz soundtrack to accompany her instructions, and cook healthy, simple dishes for calorie-conscious fashionista foodies.

The Italian edition of Vogue magazine launched a new online feature called Vogue Kitchen earlier this week with short three-minute segments which offer online cooking classes in Italian with English subtitles.

Vogue’s editor-in-chief Franca Sozzani introduced the new feature on her Twitter account, saying they will offer “easy, fast, delicious, and above all, healthy recipes.”

Cooking lessons are also accompanied by nutritional information and the dish’s beautifying properties.

Host Sofia Villa, a tall, graceful brunette who graduated from the Cordon Bleu makes a cream of pumpkin soup with scallops for her maiden class, a rich-looking soup thickened with the starch water used to cook the pumpkin instead of cream or butter.

Leeks are also browned to give the soup flavor, and a single scallop tops off the restaurant-presentation-worthy dish.

Though Villa claims she’ll be using ingredients that are easily available, the final ingredient is a somewhat obscure licorice powder which she says can be found at herbalist stores. The dish is given a generous dusting for its finale.

In addition to being a calorie-wise meal, pumpkin is good for the skin, reads an accompanying primer, because it contains beta-carotene, a forerunner of vitamin A which is a powerful antioxidant.

Pumpkin is also full of fiber and minerals like calcium and potassium, which are important for bones and muscles.

Another Italian goddess known as much for her food as her good looks and fashion sense is Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis. Her husband Todd Thompson is a clothing designer for retailer Anthropologie.

Source: AFPrelaxnews – To watch the video, visit vogue.it