It's Already Mid-July???

It's already mid-July and my last post was in May!??  Where does the time go??  I'll show you where it goes!

We finally started a vegetable garden!  But this isn't it.  

This is Babbo's beautiful garden, or as I like to refer to it, the land of the giant produce.  We got a late start on our garden this year because of our higher elevation and colder temperatures, but I hope to post some lovely photos later in the summer!

The dogs and I have been taking walks around the property.  So many lovely flowers!  And some insects.

And lots and lots of wild primrose growing everywhere, even in our lawn!

Do we have this specific gorgeous wildflower in California?

And wild strawberries abound!  They taste like tiny Sweet Tarts candy.

And we had cherries!  I say "had" because they came and went very quickly. 

 And I've been planting flower seeds and bulbs.  This was a success.  Not all are.

 We have three large lavender bushes filled with bees and butterflies.  What to do with all these buds?

And we had visitors!  This is my brother Dan and his wife Kathryn.  He's mapping out their trip and she's putting together a wildflower bouquet outside on our porch.

It was a short visit, but really enjoyable!  And I'm not just saying that because we got to do a blind wine tasting.

 And my mother visited!  She has been to visit me several times here in Italy, but it was her first time seeing our lost paradise found.  A big thank you to my sister for delivering my mother safely!

And this is my dear sister.  She has already seen the house more than once.  In fact, she and her husband were with us when we first viewed the house!  They'll be returning in the fall for their yearly pilgrimage and I can't wait!  In the meantime, I hope to do some more posting.  Hope?  I promise!

And this, my friends, is the biggest reason why time got away from me.  Her name is Sweetie and she's a cinghiale or wild boar.  She was about a month old when she joined our brood and requires a lot of care and attention -- which we give her freely because she has the absolute longest eyelashes.  Recall, I'm a sucker for a pretty-eyed pig! 

Fruit Fortunate

We are blessed with a variety of fruit trees here on the hill.  Greatest in quantity are the cherry trees.  Most are wild cherry trees, but there are also a few cherry trees intentionally planted.  And as if we didn't already have enough cherry trees, we just bought another one!  The cherry tree above is one of my favorites.  It's a survivor.  The old trunk, which has new growth on it as you can see, is completely hollow almost all the way down to the base.  It sort of looks like a bonsai, don't you think?

We also have lots of apple trees, both wild trees and again intentionally planted.  They have the prettiest red buds.

This pear tree was the first fruit tree to bloom at our house this year.  All the trees and the property surrounding the house had been sorely neglected for many years -- which translates into many, many months of clearing and cleaning and pruning so that going forward it will be easier to manage.  Correction, this could take years!  Amore's father is thankfully one of those people who has retired but isn't content to be idle so he loves to come over and help.  Which I am immensely grateful for since he is an expert on all things farm related.

These are pear blossoms.  I can't wait until they turn into fruit!

And oh my, FIGS!  We have several mature figs trees and Amore's father has also given us lots of new cuttings that we've already planted.  I am frantically searching for ways to make good use of all this fruit before we are inundated -- and jars, I am frantically searching for jars! 

While I am always thrilled by the sight of the first fig, what I find really interesting is the grape vine.  The first buds to arrive are the leaves, which actually look like a little, pink flower bud.

As the bud opens it exposes tiny, green, pink-trimmed, furry leaves.

And those tiny, green, pink-trimmed, furry leaves turn into large, strong, vibrant green leaves for making Greek Dolmas -- just kidding, but seriously dolmas are delicious.  This particular plant will produce table grapes.  As for the other fruit we are expecting, I think I'm going to stick with making jams and the occasional crostata.  As they say, go with what you know!

Pickin' Out a Piggy

We're late this year in picking out a piggy to raise.  We did actually travel to the pig farm a few months ago, trailer in tow, but Amore's father and the pig farm owner couldn't agree on a price.  It's the same as when you're bargaining at an open market and the time comes to walk away when your final offer is not accepted.  And so we left, pigless.

This particular pig farmer sells his pigs by weight.  The pigs have grown since we last saw them and now cost more.  Amore and I made the trip without his father and paid the price the pig farmer asked.  It was getting too late in the year to haggle.

 

It's a long trip to make twice, but at least it's a pretty drive. Right now the fields are golden.

And cornflower blue. 

And sunflower yellow!
 .

Chocolate-Orange Biscotti

One family tradition that I can't seem to shake is baking cookies for Christmas.  When I was growing up all four of my sisters and I would bake batches and batches of a variety of cookies.  Biscotti wasn't in our repertoire, but it was in my Nana's and every year we enjoyed homemade authentic biscotti.  She also made a rum cake that I never learned to appreciate, but that's a different story.  This year I made a mix of cookies and small breads.  Pictured above are chocolate-orange biscotti that I made this year, so good and so easy!  Especially easy because I cheated and instead of using chopped bittersweet chocolate, I used Nestle's semi-sweet chips.  My secret is safe, right?

Chocolate-Orange Biscotti  
Recipe from Epicurious

Makes about 3 dozen

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1 cup pecans, lightly toasted, coarsely chopped
6 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) chocolate, chopped

Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl to blend. Beat in eggs one at a time, then add the liqueur and orange peel. Add flour mixture and beat until blended. Stir in pecans and chocolate. Gather dough together; divide in half. Wrap in plastic and freeze 20 minutes to firm. 

Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°F. Using floured hands, form each dough piece into 14-inch-long, 2 1/2-inch-wide log. Transfer logs to prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until light golden, about 30 minutes. Transfer parchment with logs to rack. Cool 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F. 

Place 1 log on cutting board. Using serrated knife, cut log on diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Stand slices upright on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining log. 

Bake biscotti until dry to touch and pale golden, about 30 minutes. Cool completely on rack. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Store in airtight container.)

.

Peach Upside-Down Cake

My in-laws don't eat desserts.  In fact, they're quite particular about everything they eat.  New foods are never introduced.  True Italians, stuck in family tradition.  When we're invited to share a meal, I always like to contribute something though. An appetizer, side dish, dessert -- something! I mean, you can't just show up to someone's home empty-handed.  Am I right? 

Amore always tries to persuade me not to go to the trouble of making anything so we usually just bring a bottle of Prosecco.  And even that, the two of us usually end up drinking ourselves -- not the entire bottle, of course.  In the few years we've been together I keep trying to break them down using my culinary skills, but admittedly I've had more losses than wins.  In fact, to date I've had only two wins.  This is my second win, a Peach Upside-Down Cake!  Yeah for me!   My secret, I used peaches from the family garden to ensure my win.  I could be onto something here!

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup butter, softened, divided

1/2 cup packed brown sugar 

2 cups sliced peeled fresh peaches 

3/4 cup sugar 

1 egg 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour 

1-1/4 teaspoons baking powder 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1/2 cup milk

Melt 1/4 cup butter; pour into an ungreased 9-inch round baking pan (I used what I had, a rectangular pan). Sprinkle with brown sugar. Arrange peach slices in single layer over sugar.

In a large bowl, cream sugar and remaining butter until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Spoon over peaches.

Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. Serve warm. Yield: 8 servings.

.

The Guglielmo's

This is an old photograph of my grandparents, Stella and Ben Guglielmo, in front of our family's condo on Maui.  .Sadly, the condo was sold a few years ago. 

Thankfully, there's still this priceless photo with this written on the back!
.

Piggy Picking

It's once again that time of year for Amore's family to purchase two pigs to fatten and ...  um .... slaughter.  That's life in the countryside in Italy and pretty much most of rural Europe.  The pigs are well-fed and well-cared for and then they're made into pancetta, prosciutto, sausages, and assorted other delicious products.  

There was a particularly pretty piglet that I fell head over heels for but Amore said I wouldn't be able to part with (read: eat) this little darling when it was time.  He's right, look at those gorgeous eyes!

.
.   

Going, going . ...

Amore and I were driving to Lisciano Niccone the other day and on our way we passed this ruin in San Martino.  When I'm in the passenger seat I frequently take the opportunity to pivot my head from left to right and spied this ruin that I hadn't noticed before, although we'd passed this way many times.  It was down the hill a bit and at this time of year when the trees and bushes are almost bare it's easier to spy see everything.  "What's that?" I asked casually.  "We call that La Valle." and then Amore continued on to tell me the story of how 30 years ago his family kept their chickens there because they lived in a house nearby.  This was before his father and his uncle bought an apartment in town (long story for another time) and they moved.  When his sister married 25 years ago and she and her husband were looking to buy a house -- which wasn't immediately after they were married because as all good Italians do they moved in with the father right away -- Amore's father wanted them to buy this property but it was already in negotiations at that time.  They now live in a house they had built in a newer area of Mercatale.  That's what happens with towns here and everywhere I'm sure.  There is the old town with lovely old stone buildings and then slowly slowly the town gets built outwards with newer structures, stores and homes and where was I going with all this?  Oh yes, we passed La Valle and I asked to return and explore when we had time.  A few days later we were walking around the property with Amore yelling at me not to get too close to the house because it was crumbling and I could get hit by a giant falling stone.  There are so many neglected and crumbling houses in Italy that are so stoic and beautiful and yet so sad to me.  It seems like a little piece of history dies with the house.  On the way to La Valle we passed through a group of old stone homes and I noticed a pole with a sign that indicated a telephone.  Amore said that there had been a small grocery store/bar on the street level of one of the homes many years ago.  And another bit of the past just flew by.

.

Summer Wedding

Amore's niece is getting married July 7th and we've been asked to be witnesses at the wedding!  I happily agreed when she asked me but just found out that means I'll have to say confession with the priest who is presiding over the marriage.  Say what!??  "Father, it's been absolutely eons since I've made my last confession.  Regardless, I've no sins to confess!"  Anywho, she and I went dress shopping the other day.  We drove over an hour to a store in Arezzo that she was told had affordably-priced gowns and a wide variety from which to choose.  We found this to be untrue on both counts.  The least expensive dress started at 3,000 euro and there were a total of perhaps 40 dresses, each one more 'not my style' than the next.  I smiled and tried to be helpful and supportive with each excited "What do you think about this one!??" Traditional, they were not.  It's not that I'm traditional, but I find sequins, beads, sashes, flowers and bows in every color from bright pink to scarlett red on a virgin white dress somehow unsettling.  We're going shopping again tomorrow, just the two of us.  Stone by stone, I'm paving my way to the pearly gates.  Did you hear that Father Bruno?

Good-bye Pig, Hello Sausage!

I watched fresh pork sausage being made the other day!

These are the pig's intestines.
They have been stretched out then wrapped around a hand into individual bundles.

After soaking the intestines in vinegar, they're cleaned all the way through with more vinegar.

Then a machine with a crank handle fills the intestines with ground, seasoned pork.

Finally, the intestines are tied off into sausages. I like mine grilled!

.

Sydney Claire

Yes, my dog has a middle name. I use it when she's been very bad, "Sydney Claire!!!" It's very effective. She has been my best friend and faithful companion for 12 years. My sister jokes it's too bad she can't get frequent flyer miles because she goes back and forth from Italy to California as often as I do. She's a trooper, this one. About four years ago Sydney developed diabetes and has to get insulin shots twice a day for the rest of her life. Yep, my little schmoopy really is a trooper -- and the best darn dog in the whole world!
.

La Nina

.Nicknamed La Nina, La Pinta, La Santa Maria, she's a whole lot o' cat. I'm not one of those pet owners who insists it's just fur, she's on the chubby side. Beloved dog Sydney and I found Nina in an olive grove in Umbria while taking a walk in May of 2002.  As always happens, she was alone, crying, tiny (she really was tiny then, I swear!) I tried to give her away for an entire month. Unfortunately, giving away a kitten in the Italian countryside is like trying to give snow to Eskimos. When I finally did find someone who wanted to take her, it was too late. I was attached. I hate how that happens when you're not looking.

Monkey Zoey

.
Baby Monkey Zoey is her full name, but now that's she's a year old I'm trying to wean her off 'baby". I just can't seem to lose the monkey though. She stands on her hind legs and reaches up to be held still, like a little monkey. This is my willful child. That's a nice way of saying 'brat'. My beloved dog Sydney and I found her on one of our walks, alone and crying, eyes crusted shut, tiny little thing in some weeds outside a church in Tuscany. She had me at "meow".