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Unable to sleep past 5 this morning, I thought I’d go out and take a couple of photos to share with you. May is, in my mind an extraordinarily beautiful month. Every week something new is blooming. Right now there is an explosion of color: roses, broom, elderberries, jasmine, acacias, poppies and so on…. Pierre de Ronsard rose next to broom in full bloom…gosh what a lovely scent!
Some time ago I started seeds in damp paper towels ( http://lifeintheitalianhills.com/february-the-shortest-and-longest-month-of-the-year/) on the kitchen counter. Overall a success, I’ve planted many of the tiny plants directly in the garden, but a cold front a couple of weeks ago killed my cucumbers and okra. Good thing I didn’t plant them all! Some seeds just didn’t germinate at all. No tomatillos this year, boo hoo. Here is the second video I made with our friend Roberto. This shows the 2 raw dishes we made the day we went collecting wild greens and herbs at his house. You can see the first video of gathering wild greens and herbs here. In the salad dressing we used a syrup called “sapa” which I made last September during the grape harvest. After the grapes are mushed (or is that mashed?) for making wine, some of the resulting grape juice is then very slowly boiled down into a thick syrup, sort of like a Mediterranean maple syrup! I had a huge pot of the grape juice and it cooked all day. It keeps for a long time and is used as a sweetener in baked goods, as a flavor enhancer in dishes like roast pork and is absolutely delicious with some terrific olive oil and a tiny bit of lemon juice over a salad. Tobey, my sister in California asked for this after reading the last post. Tobey is an amazingly creative woman who does so many things including art, tarot readings, writing and much much more. She has the energy to write 2 blogs: http://www.tobeywhiteheart.blogspot.it/ http://whiteheartnews.wordpress.com/ and have a personal website: http://www.tobeycrockett.com/home.html. Whew. I’ve had this recipe for ages, ever since we discovered that my daughter couldn’t eat wheat, but unfortunately, I don’t remember where it came from to give it due credit. I’m afraid I don’t have any photos, but it’s simplicity itself. A bomb of calories, but now and then, a gooey chocolate calorie bomb is just what the doctor ordered. more… Last weekend we had a group of friends over for a very untraditional Easter Monday lunch. In Italy, the Monday after Easter is a holiday, and weather permitting, many people head out to the country, traditionally for a picnic, but today more often to a restaurant in the countryside. My daughter was home for the holiday and I decided that we would have a southwest style American barbeque complete with corn bread, coleslaw (made with the first green onions and radishes) and a lovely gooey flourless chocolate cake with ice cream. Very untraditional, but lots of fun.
The last day of March was a glorious sunny day, and both Hans and I decided to play hooky and spend it with our good friend and colleague Roberto. Roberto owns a countryhouse on the next hill. A countryhouse in Italy is basically an official classification of a “struttura ricettiva” which means a place where paying guests can stay.
It’s now officially Spring, but about 3 weeks before the calendar folks said it was so, our little corner of the world burst into spring; flowers popped up out of the mud, fruit trees budded, bees started buzzing about and all sorts of birds have returned, including one of our favorites, the civetta (a small fuzzy owl that cries out for a male mate sounding like a cell phone who’s battery is dead. In fact, she’s been dubbed the “Nokia Bird” by a guest). In Italy there is a saying that when a woman gets all dolled up to go out, she’s “making like a civetta” |
 Life in the Italian Hills: reflections on my eclectic life in the countryside of central Italy, a life that allows me to pursue my passions of which the most notable are: cooking and food history, gardening, textiles, organic farming and running an agriturismo with Hans, my ever so creative partner. Read more…. |
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