Spaghetti alla Fornaia (Baker's Spaghetti)

.This is an easy recipe that you often see on the menu at the restaurants here in Umbria. I gathered the walnuts on our walk, but you can purchase them any time of year here in the larger supermarkets. The packaged walnuts I've seen here are from California. Go figure.

1-1/2 cups walnuts
3 garlic cloves
1/2 extra virgin olive oil
3 ounces fine dry bread crumbs
1 pount spaghetti
1 tablespoon fresh flat leaf parsley
salt

Chop the nuts and garlic finely with a knife.
In a skillet over low heat, warm half of the olive oil. Add the nuts, garlic and bread crumbs and fry until the garlic is just golden, about five minutes. Season to taste with salt.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan, bring at least six quarts salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente, about seven minutes. Drain and tip into a warm serving bowl.
Add the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and the nut sauce to the spaghetti and toss well.
Sprinkle with the parsley and serve immediately.

Serves 6
Lorenza de' Medici's Tuscany, The Beautiful Cookbook

Note: I like lots of sauce on my pasta, so I used less pasta.

Vantage Point

.Living in a hill town has its advantages, or should I say it has its vantage points? This is the southern view from my back balcony. I don't think I could ever be happy living in the low lands. Never say never, but probably never...

Snow Day

.It can get cold living in a hill town! Since I moved to Monteleone in November, it has snowed and hailed several times. A few days before Easter, it snowed ALL DAY LONG! It was soooo cold, my hands froze going out for just a few minutes to the wood pile to retrieve logs for the fire. I stayed in my pajamas all day long (shhh!) and enjoyed the wood burning stove while outside life was at a standstill. A friend commented that she thought this picture was in black and white... it's not.

Road Trip

.This is my me 'n my nephew, Colin, who came to visit me from California in September of 2007. We joined my brother Dan and his girlfriend Kathryn on a road trip down south to stay at an agriturismo, farmhouse, in the Maremma. It was a lot of fun to spend time with family, we went to the thermal baths at Saturnia and also visited some Etruscan tombs dating back to around 500BC! Not only is it a fun picture because it was a fun time, but right now I like to look at it because although it may be snowing outside here in Monteleone, we were warm in that picture!

P.S. Isn't he cute!

My Lamp Thing

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I have a thing about lamps. I also have a thing about shoes, a thing about coats and a whole lot of other things, but today the subject is my lamp thing. I'm going to have to purchase a large home with many bedrooms for all my lamps. There are small ones, medium ones, big ones, old ones, new ones..... This one was purchased from the local flea market in Passignano which is held every third weekend of the month, but the shade is courtesy of Ross (yes, Ross as in "Dress for Less" and buy a $2 lamp shade!)

Merry Christmas!

.Nothing like a roaring fire in the hearth to say "Buon Natale!"
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The Walk

.Sydney Claire, being an older dog, would be content to lay in her dog bed and sleep all day long. But as soon as she hears the word “walk”, she runs around the house like a crazed dog impatiently waiting for me to get ready. Getting ready is usually just putting on my tennis shoes, but in the winter also a hat, scarf, mittens, etc., etc., etc. and that can take some time. The road we've discovered provides us with a beautiful, tree-lined, quiet walk along a secluded dirt road. Here in Italy, a dirt road is referred to as a white road, strada bianca. And since we hardly ever see anyone and Sydney is almost deaf, I sing to amuse myself and frighten off the cinghiale, wild boar.  Yes, I said wild boar.