Tomato Passata sauce, part 1
Tomato Passata sauce, part 2
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 A sweet and sour beetroot risotto served with shrimp and almonds
SURPRISE SURPRISE yes it’s me coming out of myself imposed hibernation , It ‘s been almost a month since my last story and I thought it’s about time I made contact and let our friends know we are all still alive and well.
It’s been a very long, very cold winter and it’s not over yet . We have had a few sunny days (but still cold) when we have heard the first brave little birds singing in the morning and the hills around our house have started to look beautifully green. But as I said ,it’s not over yet and we have already burnt our eight tons of winter fuel and have had to order a further one and a half tons of logs. Plus Nick has been very busy with his chainsaw in the last four days and like a real woodsman, he has chopped yet more firewood from our old dead trees located on our three hectare of land. Two wheelbarrows full of wood a day is what is needed to heat the house to make it bearable. We stink from head to toe of burning wood , clothes, hair skin….. and the amazing thing is we don`t even notice it anymore.
Our animals are all dealing with the winter situation in their own ways. Lui our lovely old dog is fine , sleeping and snoring all day ( whatever the season ) and despite being almost completely deaf , he still manage to get up and get to the fridge every time we open the door. It must be built in radar.
Hilda the goat is well and happy with her roommates, 5 hens and a rooster , and they seem happy freely strutting around ,pecking at everything .In fact every day they lay three lovely fresh eggs for us. Fresh pasta, cakes, fried eggs, boiled eggs …we have eggs coming out of our ears!! In fact, at the moment I have 18 eggs on the kitchen worktop watching me, help!
So a couple of days ago, when I went to Rome to buy a couple of things I needed for a cooking class I am holding on 8th March at the Palazzo del Gusto in Orvieto. I decided to take a little box of fresh eggs for my parents. A lady sitting next to me in the train compartment suddenly started to make conversation. After about 10 minutes of sociable chat the friendly lady from Milan said to me: “ My dear, are you from the country side ?” “ Yes, I am, how did you know ? “ I responded. “My dear “, she said” a box of fresh eggs and the smell of firewood is a clear sign!” I could feel my face getting redder and redder which I`m sure completed the picture of “ the country bumpkin up from the sticks “ as they say.
Any way after shopping in the big capital, loading two huge bags of equipment for my finger food cooking class and very aware of the unique smell of my BURNT WOOD N 5, I left Rome and returned to the welcoming Umbrian hills.
The fires are on again , it’s raining outside and by this evening I know we will have a few more eggs…. so I am wondering….if perhaps anyone of my readers will like to have some???
If so, all you have to do is send me an email and if you would like to join me on the 8th of March at the Finger Food Cooking Course in Orvieto at 6pm I will bring an egg just for YOU. 10 eggs are up for grabs, so you`ll have to be quick and book your EGG now ! in this way you will be helping a smelly family!
Ciao and looking forward to meeting some of you , if possible.
 Homemade Ravioli filled with a jelly pecorino cheese and served with broad beans, drops of honey and a crunchy corn pastry
In the middle of last week I discovered that a big and important exhibition / display was to be held at the weekend in a village near us. This was to be a gathering of the most famous and experienced master butchers in the area who would explain and demonstrate the secret of pork meat cutting and also advise on which cuts are best for the different cooking techniques. Two whole intense days where the pig was to be the absolute star! Lots of chopping, cooking on open fires…..great I thought we MUST NOT miss this!
So with great excitement I read and re-read the program and finely decided that the Sunday would be the best day to go, thinking that MAYBE two days of chopping and BBQ would be a bit excessive especially when after e-mailing Nicks mum about this exciting weekend event her very quick (and funny ) response was: “What with you chopping up all these defenseless little animals, should I be a bit worried about the safety of my son, and should he be sleeping with the light on “
So yes perhaps, one day would be enough after all.
Sunday arrived accompanied by bright sunshine, Nick and I drove to this pretty village in Umbria. But when we arrived, we were surprised at how quiet everything was. Only a few people had turned out, three lonely musicians were playing trumpets and a massive BBQ had only bruschette waiting to be cooked …….. in short, something was not quite right.
After speaking with one of the locals, it turned out that I had picked the (bloody) wrong day! Yes, all the great fun had actually happened the day before. The reason for this was that an Italian TV Channel had decided to film the live event for a 10 minute TV show . So during this 10 minutes of fame EVERYTHING had happened: Large containers of polenta, a BIG porchetta 2 meters long (stuffed pork) slowly cooked on a fire and served with hundreds of sausages cooked on the BBQ, plenty of vegetables and all the master butchers in front of the cameras giving advice on cutting techniques ……in short it apparently had been fantastic. Fantastico, the local lady kept repeating to me.” Everyone in the village had been eating, drinking and dancing “ she told us “you have come on the wrong day “ Ok so I got it wrong, very wrong , after the big Saturday event had reached and surpassed all expectations, on Sunday it was a bit like an old Italian saying …. just there to bite the bones!! or as I believe the English would say “after the lord mayors show………………..”
While being teased by Nick during the journey home, I realized that perhaps I had been too blinded (or as we say in Italy: avere gli occhi coperti di prosciutto, meaning: having prosciutto ham covering your eyes- just to stay in the theme!) by my strange obsession with meat cutting. I did not see or consider how the arrival of TV cameras could ,quite rightly ,be such a big event in a small village like that.
Then on the way back we came upon a lovely little scene again involving animals .
A small herd of sheep had decided to graze on the stretch of road we were travelling on. Among them was a sweet little lamb who attracted our attention.
He was adorable, probably born a few hours before and still uncertain on his legs. Mamma mia, was this perhaps a sign from above? Maybe I do need a little break from all this meat chopping?
So to reassure Nick, his mum and possibly those of you who are thinking that lately I have been a little bit “ psycho “about all this meat chopping, I just want to say that (a) of course, I did not touch the baby lamb and ( b )when we finely got back home I cooked a very nice vegetarian dish!!
I prepared homemade ravioli filled with a jelly pecorino cheese and served with broad beans, drops of honey and a crunchy corn pastry .It was very green and very tasty.
In fact although butchery is a very important skill in my chosen profession I have decided to “ hang up my butchers knives “just for a short (very short ) while.
So I hope you have enjoyed this little story from the Umbrian hills and will join us next time to see what`s going on here…..ciao a tutti.
NICK, FOR GOODNESS SAKE TURN OFF THAT LIGHT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 Lamb with artichoke drops
How is your winter going? Here in Umbria the weather is fairly good , yes days are wet and gray but we can’t really complain after all it is still winter, right?
These months, when you live in the countryside, are always very slow and boring. Each day starts with taking care of the chickens and goats then filling two wheelbarrows with wood for the indoor fires and then when all the chores are finally done, a hot double espresso coffee as a reward.
Last week I was able to use and improve on my newly acquired butchery skills, and I must thank my friend Eva for that. Her and her husband Fumo own a fantastic Agriturismo (holiday farm) near us where they breed lambs, pigs and chickens. The great feature that distinguishes their farm from most is the total freedom their animals have to roam around wherever they wish. Not only is this great for the animals but also means all this activity turns and ploughs acres of land for Eva and Fumo. Wonderful, there aren’t so many Agriturismi left in Italy like that! Anyway, Eva gave me the opportunity to carve and select pieces of one of their lambs. The meat was fantastic and what you see in the picture are some delicious lamb chops with an artichoke sauce that Nick and I dined on that evening, many thanks to you Eva.
Another great opportunity that came my way in the last few days was a chance to visit a charming Wine Cellar named Paolo and Noemi d’Amico, not far from Orvieto. Thanks to another sweet friend Elodie, who is a French agronomist and his companion Guillaume who is the winemaker of the winery, a few of my Sommelier friends and I were able to spend an absolutely fantastic wine tasting afternoon. The beauty of this winery, which I definitely want to go back to with Nick , is not just the attention and love they put into the wines produced, but also the style and dedication put into every aspect. Details like large candles and carpet gracing a long corridor which is full of wine barrels and has a huge fireplace at the end ….I very much felt like a princess walking the plush length of that corridor. At the end of the day I was so happy that I came home with two boxes of wine, which made Nick even more happy !!!
The rest of my time is spent experimenting with new dishes and I’m also in the process of organizing my diary for the spring/summer period with the cooking classes, catering for private parties and setting up tours of the wine estates in the Orvieto area etc etc. It won`t be long before spring has sprung and everything will start again and to be honest I can`t wait, I love it.
Anyway, for now I should stop thinking about tomorrow and concentrate on today: in fact I had better get down to basics and go fill another wheelbarrow with wood! A big hug to all of you from a lovely green Umbria.
 Chocolate tagliatelle pasta served with a spicy wild board sauce
After about three months the hunting season is now almost over and most of the Allerona’s hunters will have their freezers full of wild boar meat and jugs of sauces to go with this meat have been prepared and are ready to use. But what is the story of this old tradition? Living in the countryside has given me the opportunity to learn a little bit more about it.
It goes like this , starting at the crack of dawn teams of men set out to play their game, all wearing similar green outfits, guns tucked under their arms and sniffer dogs at their heels. At the end of the day when the hunt is over they will each divide and share their meat . This is worked in rotation so each member of the team gets a selection of different pieces. Then it’s time to party, they barbeque some sausages, have a few bruschetta‘s, some homemade wine and sweet biscuits which have been made by their wives / mothers . Game over.
However back home as a result of the husbands / sons day trip the wives / mothers spend hours and hours chopping, cleaning, cooking ,freezing preserving this blessed wild boar!
It can be cooked and preserved in many different ways: tomato sauce and wild board is great with Pappardelle pasta, or a rich sauce “in bianco” meaning without tomatoes. It can also be cooked in a sweet and sour way ,or sometimes in chocolate or even spiced for fresh or dried sausages . After all this hard work all this great food will be kept in jugs and freezers or in the case of the sausages hung up to dry in the cantine .These wonderful delights will also be shared with family and friends to enjoy.
A few days ago I went to see my friend Elena. She spends and enjoys the majority of her days in the kitchen, which she calls “my temple.” Surrounded by knives, containers, jugs and spices, Elena gave me a tired look and says “ciccia, sono giorni che vedo solo ciccia”which very very loosely translated means “meat nothing but bloody meat for days on end, if they carry on like this I will go on strike !” So after a strong cup of coffee I pulled up my sleeves and with a knife I started to help her.
What a great day I had ,as usual I learned a lot from my friend, cutting techniques, traditional recipes and methods of preservation. Not only that, I also came home with a fantastic piece of fresh wild boar as a gift!
After marinating my precious meat overnight in white wine and herbs, I decided that instead of using the chocolate in the wild boar sauce, I’d use this unsweetened confectionary in the pasta dough.
After an hour the tagliatelle was ready, the sauce was rich and tasty and ready to join the Tagliatelle in the pan.
What a great feast we had, every ingredient in the dish it had its own story. The wild boar and the hunters, Elena and I doing our bit in the kitchen and Nick who kindly took the pictures of the pasta making.
So ciao ciao for now and arrivederci from Allerona, this beautiful little piece of my countryside world.
 Chocolate and gelatin pear dessert served with coffee cream.
After a fun filled hectic Christmas spent with family and friends Nick and I decided we would have a quiet New Years eve with a good dinner, maybe watch a movie and then go to bed! In short, no big celebrations saving all our energy and enthusiasm for New Years Day when we would take a trip to the Tuscan beach with Lui the dog for a long long walk, then go to a restaurant for a good fish lunch on the Ansedonia beach .
But let’s start from the beginning on the 31st: Although we had planned a laidback evening I decided to wear a little ‘make-up , a pretty outfit, nice shoes and a dash of Chanel No.5. Nick had spruced himself up too and he had put on his best black shirt. By 7pm the aperitif was ready, some canapés and a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, the house was nice and cozy with both the open fires lit and outside the night sky was filled with lots of bright shining stars, giving off a beautiful light. Then during the aperitif, suddenly, a piece of coal jumps from the fire place and lands on my favorite skirt making a huge hole (a beautiful vintage skirt made from white organza and taffeta ). I must say ,the expression on my face was not happy so Nick spent the next 10 minutes trying to convince me that (a) the hole wasn’t too bad,” in fact only you can see it,” Nick said” because Simona you know it’s there” and (b) maybe it wasn`t the right thing to wear in front of an open fire. My dear friend , his theory did not go down at all well so to take my mind of it I opened a second bottle of wine and I tried to forget all about it!
By 9.30pm the fish was prepared and ready to go in the pan, our handmade black tagliolini pasta (made with squid ink)was cooked in boiling water, drained and cooked for a few more minutes in the pan with the fresh fish and thyme. Dinner was ready ,Nick lit the candles and poured more wine.
Believe it or not, after dinner the hole on my skirt was still there! So I then decided to change my clothes for something more country while Nick was busy putting on some music.
Then when I came back to the party that wasn`t really a party, I do not know how or when it happened but we began to dance. A little jive and a little bit of tango, or at least we thought it was jive and tango dancing ,going through one room and into the other to the sound of Frank Sinatra on the player bringing in the New Year!
At midnight we walked outside to watch a few fireworks coming from the village of Allerona and then we came back indoors and carried on dancing, just like Fred and Ginger. An unexpected beautiful night.
Unfortunately, the next day a certain someone had a headache and the idea of a long drive to and from Tuscany was not so attractive anymore.” All that journey just to enjoy a few minutes on the beach,” this voice was saying “ frankly Lui (the dog) is so old he will only want a 5 minute walk ! Plus , let’s face it , Simona , the fish at the restaurant will probably be left over from the day before”. In short, the party’s over, my Fred Aster had hung up his dancing shoes.
However, as an alternative to the Tuscan sea trip we did decide to have a nice long walk by the Bolsena lake , our dog Lui (much to the amusement of other walkers in the car park) refused to get out of the car , preferring to sleep (nothing it is more exciting than a long siesta in the car!)
 Lago Bolsena 
Before coming back we made a short visit to Pitigliano and with the sound of our snoring dog in the background we made our way back home.
Nick offered to cook us a full roast English dinner and I prepared a chocolate dessert. By 9pm we were on the couch by the fire with a nice rich chocolate and gelatin pear dessert served with coffee cream.
 Pitigliano
In the end ,these two days had been nothing like the plans we`d made, but still they had been pretty pretty good!
So as for my New Year’s resolutions I’m going to: (1) live each day without too many plans (2), learn how to dance, (3) never wear dresses that easily catch fire!
Buon anno a tutti voi. Happy new year to all of you and I hope we all have a fun year, full of good food, lovely wine ,good health ,silly stories from Umbria and beautiful pictures by Nick.
 Lumachelle
Last weekend Orvieto hosted a big event called “OFF” (Orvieto Food Festival ). It was advertised everywhere, even in the Vanity Far and Style Magazine! The idea was for Orvieto to show to as many people as possible all the good food and wine that is produced here. Along with tours, wine tasting and lots of other activities there was also an organized cooking class where you could learn how to cook a typical dish from Orvieto named Lumachelle. The “Lumachella” (meaning LITTLE SNAIL) is soon to be launched as a new Slow Food Presidium for the town of Orvieto. It is made with a simple pizza dough but enriched inside with : pancetta, ham and cheese. Simple yes ? NO , not simple at ALL, and I can tell you this from experience as one of the people who had been asked to teach 37 participants of the cooking class .. …Me ,originally a Roman and a person that has never made Lumachella in her life. The second teacher was Valentina, a local lady who grew up eating Lumachelle,and now she is the owner of a fantastic restaurant here in Orvieto , called Saltapicchio. But thats not the end of the horror story………… the cooking class was also to include a competition for the best Lumachella locally made. Those to take part in the competition were Valentina , myself, plus 6 of the most famous bakers of Orvieto. Mamma mia, PANIC was not the right word to describe how I felt……….pure TERROR will give you a better idea of my feelings….
So very quietly and slowly ,you might even say at a snail’s pace , I decided to spend the whole week before the event doing intense research .The best course of action in this research would be for me to consult the elder ladies from Allerona , the sweet medieval village that adopted Nick and I twelve years ago. So I started by asking around for the Lumachelle recipe but every one of them had a different little secret ingredient to put in it (lard or sausages , two types of cheese, olive oil ….Mamma mia I was going crazy). Ok, I thought it cannot be so complicated, I can do it, I have to do it. So after baking some experimental Lumachelles I took them to Teresa for her opinion (Teresa is one of the best Lumachelle making in the Village). “They are very tasty, buone buone” she tells me “ look at my little nephews “ she said ” look at their happy faces , they are really enjoying them. ” But then …..while I`m almost in tears with relief and pride she picks up the phone and calls an old friend from the village (also a super expert ).” Ciao Maria “she says down the phone ” I’m here with Simona, she`s made some Lumachelle.. … Oh yes very tasty and good, but they are as hard as rock !” My five minutes of success shot down in flames, it was back to the drawing board . Then on Saturday morning I decided to make my fourth attempt and I went to see Elena (the villagers say she has god’s hands for making Lumahelle ) to prise the secret of her success out of her, and you know what, bless her, at 8 pm I arrived home with almost a hundred Lumachelle , all good, crispy and tasty. The secret had been passed on to me. I was so happy. The next morning I felt so much calmer after receiving so much help from Teresa and Elena and I felt full of courage and confidence to meet my class. Dare I say even almost ready to deal with the terrifying competition.
Well , the lumachelle cooking class in Orvieto was a great success , people had a lot of fun and to be honest I had to tell them about my weeks experiences . As for the competition , I am proud to say that my Lumachella came third in the finals , and so its with all my heart I want to thank the Allerona ladies for being so helpful and sweet with me. They opened their homes to me and shared their culinary secrets. But I must also give special thanks to Teresa and Elena for not only giving me their time and passing on their expertise, they even phoned me immediately after the cooking class to know how everything went. As for Nicks part, he only has ninety five Lumachelle left to eat!
This is what living in a small community is all about and we love being part of it. Once again thank you all.
 Cod fillet served with red onion marmalade, a cube of sweet green pepper with a sprinkling of black crust
I awoke early this morning with a hundred thoughts and plans running through my head. As the dinner party ,held last week by the Local Winery, went so well they have asked me to return to create and prepare five finger foods to compliment 5 different wines, all to be tasted and judged by a group of 52 people who are on a wine tasting tour booked on the 1st of December . Bene bene, I thought, this is going to be fun!
But what I did not know was that a large portion of the participants of this great event are in fact future Sommeliers accompanied by all my former professors of the Federation of Italian Sommeliers. AIUTO (help!!!). No pressure then , this is going to be fun ,I just have to keep convincing myself………….
So feeling in a creative mood and at the same time trying to feel positive and grateful for the opportunity to be involved in this exciting event. I thought it was a good idea to cook something a little special for Nick and I . Baccalà (Cod fillet) served with red onion marmalade, a cube of sweet green pepper with a sprinkling of black crust, and to drink a fantastic “Ritorto” (from Grechetto and Chardonnay). Because you know, pressure is all very well but you do also have to relax, right?
Any way , here I am drinking my morning coffee and ready for action. Ciao my friends, in a few days time I’ll let you know if I am hiding in a cupboard in the kitchen or as I HOPE that everything went well.
Arrivederci.
 Monlus 70% dark chocolate served on English custard and hazelnuts.
Last week I was contacted by a Wine Cellar that produces fantastic wines in this area. They asked me if I could /would create a menu where each course would combine with and compliment their wines ,from the aperitif to the dessert. What a wonderful challenge, I was so pleased and honoured to be asked to undertake this. Fantastic I thought, this is exactly the reason why last year I decided to study and take the Sommelier diploma.
20 guests, a new professional kitchen … with myself in it..How could I resist even though I was a little nervous ! NO correction .. I was VERY nervous!
When I walked into the kitchen I was to use, everything was fantastic, space, equipment, accessories … now the only thing that was missing was the food.
The day before the event ,I was able to organize and complete part of the preparations and leave them in the huge, beautiful new fridge. On the actual day when the stove started to warm up the adrenaline flowed ,and it was go go go with the dishes flying out of the kitchen all under careful supervision ….but even with all this activity the waiter still, very kindly, found time to reassure me that all the guests were very happy and satisfied. But the thing that made me happiest was that every plate came back to the kitchen completely EMPTY. The last dish of the meal was a dessert made with a 70% dark chocolate, served on English custard and hazelnuts. This was matched with The “San Valentino 1861” produced with Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes.
Later when I entered the dining room I was amazed to be greeted with a big round of applause. I was so super embarrassed , and with my heartbeat racing I just wanted one thing at that point…to go back home , tell Nick all about it and have a nice glass of wine .
Mamma mia, I DO so love this work and I hope in the future to be able to keep on learning and grow more and more …
 Fettucie di Garofalo cooked with a Asti Spumante, saffron, goat cheese and white pepper.
It was 1960 when the local river last overflowed here in Orvieto, 52 years later the Paglia has burst its banks again and caused terrible damage , but just as then, people have proved to be courageous, united and ready to help each other. The people from Orvieto turned out to be so brave and big-hearted in this drama I am really proud to live here .
Eventually the sun did come out and life has returned to almost normal. We were able to collect our newly pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil and enjoyed our first bruschetta, then unseeing any excuse we dribbled it over every delicacy we could think of.
But more positive things have happened during the past week . Infact , I had the pleasure of being introduced to yet another beautiful reality of this area and once again I have to thank my friend Emanuele, who is a real foodie/gourmet.
 Decugnao dei Barbi wine Estate 
Emanuele runs the local gardening shop but his real passion is cooking. Over the years I have spent many a happy time exchanging recipes and cooking techniques. He was responsible for introducing me to a very good Buffalo Mozzarella cheese producer , a great Truffle Hunter and the best fishmonger that sells his fresh fish from his van. Now it was time for the SAFFRON ! A small company called “Farmers Ideas “in the village of Ficulle, have recently started picking their Saffron flowers and I had some of their saffron’s strands , I felt so lucky !! I couldn`t get home quick enough to try a new recipe: Fettucie di Garofalo (pasta) cooked with a Asti Spumante and saffron sauce, goat cheese and white pepper. So YUMMY!
So once again, many thanks to both you Emanuele and this beautiful Umbria that 11 years ago welcomed Nick and I to make our home here, and still continues to amaze us with its beauty and its many great products.
 Our freshly picked olives
YES we managed ,it’s done. But let’s start from the beginning.
On Saturday morning by 9.30 am the mist had disappeared and warm sun shine welcomed our guests, twenty three altogether, consisting of 14 nice girls and a young professor all from the American school based here in Orvieto, 4 close friends, two adorable children and of course my dear parents.
The organization was perfect: after a quick explanation by Nick regarding what needed to be done, 7 big nets and many sticks with a plastic hand nailed to the end, were on the field ready to be used. Everyone put on their gloves and took their position under the trees and the harvest began.
In the meantime my mom and I, after drinking a strong cup of coffee, turned the ovens and stove on and the Sagraincasa Kitchen was ready for action too:
On the Menu:
Fresh Focaccia baked with salt and rosemary served with a good Mortadella D.O.P.
Eggplant Parmigiana
Lentils from Gradoli cooked in a red wine, herbs and few home grown chillies.
Thick Chickpea soup cooked with Cannolicchi pasta , fresh rosemary and extra virgin olive oil
Pork sausages gently cooked with vegetables, capers, olives and balsamic vinegar.
We set three tables under the porch and by 1pm everyone was enjoying their lunch. It was a lovely, relaxing time, with the atmosphere so cozy that when we had finished eating, a large group of the students decided to move on into the living room , lie down on the two sofas in front of the roaring fire, and watch TV ! Outside the young professor and I were chatting about how the day had gone and he very kindly professed that everyone had enjoyed the experience so much they would be more than happy to come back and help with ANY task ,even tilling the soil in the spring…… …anything, he said, we just want to eat your food again. How sweet is that !!
The next morning in the (promised ) heavy rain (we felt so relieved all the picking had been done) we left our 160 kilograms of olives down to Frantoio (the olive press), we hope that once pressed the result will be around 20/23 litres of Fresh Extra Virgin Olive Oil. We had already rightly guessed the production was going to be exactly half of last years. But never mind , I thought , it’s still enough to make a good few bruschetta !
Unfortunately, at this point our happy story takes a turn for the worst . During the night the rain carried on falling , growing heavier and heavier . Lightning and thunder shook the house and in the morning we heard that the river Paglia had burst her banks . A flash flood had torn through Allerona Scalo destroying acres of vineyard and completely flooding the Olive press where we had left our olives !!!
In the morning we drove down to see the situation for ourselves . The area looked like a disaster zone with vines thrown to the ground and mud everywhere. Once inside the Frantoio , we saw that everybody was working hard to get it cleaned up and back to work .” Hopefully two days” we were told. Luckily no one was hurt and to our great surprise one of the guys working there Laughed and said “ your olives are still there , I don’t know how they didn’t get washed away “.
 The river Paglia
There seems to be no let up in the rain . I only hope that no more damage will be done and that all those who have already lost a lot, will be back on their feet soon. As for us , a few olives would not have been such a great loss .This years crop may have been small ,but it will definitely be remembered !
 Homemade ravioli served with a chesnut cream, crispy pancetta cubes and fresh rosemary
This morning, while taking what should have been be a brisk healthy walk , but was in fact a slow leisurely stroll with our lazy dog Lui, I came across three of our elderly neighbors who were busy harvesting their olives. “ Buon giorno, buon giorno, come và? “( How is the harvest going?), I asked.” Unfortunately not so many this year “ they replied. ”When are you planning to pick yours?”, “ questo sabato,”( this saturday) I responded. The nice old lady turned to me shaking her head and with a knowing smile on her face (exposing her five remaining teeth ) said “let’s hope you can my dear, because my painful aching bones are telling me that the heavy rains will very soon be back. “
Rushing home as fast as Lui would allow ,the first thing I did was turn on the computer to check the weather ….just in case ….MAMMA MIA it looks like she could be right ! Apparently by late Saturday morning the skies are going to open up and throw down heaven knows what.
So here we are yet AGAIN trying to make up our minds about this harvest…is it going to rain or not?…They have been wrong before but I bet the old lady hasn’t. Would it be wiser for just the local people to help us. I keep getting a picture of all the great people (about 30 of them ) who want to come (some have a long journey ) and join us, getting soaking wet, up to their eyes in mud slipping and sliding all over the place while trying to lay the nets to catch the olives under about 50 trees. But then I must confess this is quickly replaced by a selfish vision of me eating my first bruschetta using our first press Extra Virgin Olive Oil! Che Pizza ! (common Italian expression that means : What a pain! )
To ease the anxiety of this problem I decided to make some homemade ravioli to calm me down! Slowly one by one I filled each individual ravioli with beef cooked in red wine , I then prepared a chestnut sauce and a few crispy pancetta cubes . Chopped some fresh rosemary to sprinkle on top. I made it ,ate it and now feel ready for action .
Just remember on Saturday morning while you are all relaxing having a late breakfast, reading the newspaper , here in Umbria we will be out there, come rain or shine , breaking our necks ,JUST to have a Bruschetta!!!!
 Mediterranean Octopus salad
As we all know this week was Halloween . It’s not something that we really celebrate in Italy , but more recently all the kids seem to be very into it . I suppose it’s the chance to dress up and threaten your neighbors with untold mischief, if they don’t pay up that really appeals. Actually, we have had a similar practice in Italy for generations , but it’s known as estorsione.
Anyway, after seeing on FaceBook lots of pictures of friends and friend’s children dressed up in different and strange costumes for Halloween, I realized that here in my country house in the middle of nowhere, NOTHING absolutely nothing hinted that we were in the middle of a big festa . We do live down the bottom of a very long dark road ,which even the bravest child would never dream to venture at night. So, the festivities passed us by without much notice, that is until yesterday morning when I awoke to a very strange noise indeed.
On Thursday morning , something scary was waiting for us. In the silence of the early morning ( shockingly even the rooster was quiet) we woke up and a strange noise surrounding our home. A strong and persistent sound…. I gave Nick a nudge to see if he was awake and could hear this eerie sound too. But ,it was no use, as he muttered something about it not being his turn and rolled over to carry on snoring. Intrigued I went over to the window to take a look… What a surprise when I saw that the cause of all this chaos was birds. Not just a few, but thousands of them completely surrounding the house. MAMMA MIA they were every were , in the trees, on the telephone wires and circling the house in wave after wave of frenzied flying.
Can you understand my feeling? do you remember the Hitchcock movie???? Everything was very still except for the bloody birds! Even our cats were suspiciously absent . Normally they would be sitting outside the kitchen door waiting for their breakfast , but perhaps the thought of being so heavily outnumbered made them decide a low profile was the wiser option .
It really was a beautiful sight as they swooped , dived and changed directions in synchronized harmony. Once Nick had finally got himself together he grabbed a camera and we headed out to watch . It was almost like a departing show of elegance before these migrating birds headed south to sunnier climes .” Wait for us” I shouted as they suddenly started to fly away ,” we want to come to”. They gave a final swooping salute and were gone. How unfair , if only we to could grow wings and head south whenever the weather got a little bit cold.
 Wild mushrooms risotto
NO BUONO. At the end, we had to cancel the olive harvest!
After spending days and days with our ears pinned to the radio listening to the scary weather forecasts for the olive picking weekend, it seemed we only had two sensible options (1) would be to build a Noah’s ark or (2) lay back on the sofa , barricaded in, ready for the promised rain, lightning and even snow! What was for sure was that there would be nothing picked that week-end, so I had to put a message on FB and tell all the lovely people, who were ready to participate in the olive picking, that the harvest date has had to be moved and a new date NOVEMBER THE 10TH has been decided. Fingers crossed the sky will be blue and the sun will be shining.
Now you probably want to know what was the outcome of this expected dire situation, are we bobbing up and down with Hilda (the goat) Lui (the dog) three cats and variety of chickens in a boat Nick managed to hammer together or are we still holed up on the sofa, surrounded by the said animals and a few wine bottles, with 10 foot of snow outside. No, of course not, by Friday evening , the rain in Umbria was still ok, what can I say……enough to water my geraniums! A few drops here and there, but to be fair , we did have strong winds and cold temperatures. So in the evening we had a good excuse to light ,for the first time, the fireplace in the kitchen and drink a good Brunello di Montalcino given to us by our friends Dylan and Alice, fantastico!
When we opened the door on Saturday morning, the smell of fresh grass and earth was everywhere. The first thing I thought to do was to go and check our very old Poplar tree. Every Autumn this beautiful old trunk plays host to some very tasty Pioppini mushrooms ,and on Saturday there they were, just ready to be picked. The day had started well! After a nice walk and a good coffee in Orvieto my only thought was how to cook the mushrooms. After giving it lots of consideration on the way home a decision was made EASY PEASY, a good Risotto will highlight the top quality of these wild Pioppini. So after setting up the fire place (once you start you can’t stop!),we opened a bottle of Pinot Nero to let it breathe, set the online radio to the “24 hours of Johnny Cash” station and the evening flew by even with the strong rain banging outside our windows.
On Sunday morning unfortunately no one had bothered to inform our noisy rooster that the clocks had been put back an hour, so there he was, proud and happy singing his heart out at some ungodly hour to let us know that the day was windy but bright and sunny. After eating 3 portions of Risotto each the night before we decided the only right thing to do to take advantage of this early start would be to go for an hour run before we GO OUT IN TORRE ALFINA FOR A NICE SUNDAY LUNCH!
So really all this story is about is just to let you know that the olives are still on the trees, and that all in all we haven’t done to badly and survived well , and that despite the weather life goes on here in Umbria!
 Homemade olive ascolane
For the farmers around Orvieto , the situation is serious this year. To start with although the vines produced excellent grapes that were full of sugar, unfortunately there was far less of them and the overall harvest in the area was reduced by almost 40%. Now, we are coming up to the olive harvest and looking at the trees its plain to see we are going to have the same problem. In fact the olives on the branches are so few, (this maybe because of the heavy snow we had last winter and then the long drought during this spring / summer), the question in everyone’s mind is : What`s the best thing to do, is it worth having an olive harvest this year?
For their part, my parents ( if you remember they have some olive trees in the region of Abruzzo), have decided it`s not worth all the hard work this year, and have decided to buy some from one of the bigger farmers and take them to be crushed for the oil.
The village of Allerona is divided, but at the moment it seems that 65% of the people will go ahead and collect the few olives that they have. As for us, what are we going to do? …………….
On one hand, if we do decide to collect our few olives there is a lot of work to plan ahead, as every year we like to provide a good meal for all those who offer to come and help us, so, as you can imagine this involves a lot of shopping, cooking and organizing. On the other hand, we must consider that there is a good chance that the cost of Extra virgin olive oil will go up this year and it’s always better to have just a little of your own oil then none at all, right? Last but not least to be considered is the fact that winter is close and when you live in the middle of nowhere, isolated in the countryside, winter can be long and boring and we don`t see many people.
Certainly the olive harvest is a bit of a long and boring process ,to start with you have to put a net under the tree ,take down all the olives from the tree, pick them up and then start all over again under the next tree….. and the next and the next ,etc etc.! But it also can be good fun if you are surrounded and work with lots of nice people. Family and friends old and new. ……..what should we do ?????????????.
My dear friends, those of you that know me ,even just a little ,will be in no doubt there`s only one answer LET THE PARTY BEGIN !!!!!! We have chosen a date THE 27th of October and the time 9.30am, now the question is: who wants to come to this olive party ? The menu is going to be simple but good and plenty, wine will be on the table and fingers crossed for the sun to be shining to make it a perfect day.
So send me an email or a message on FaceBook or Twitter if you want to join us. The gloves and the trendy plastic hand (now you must be curious ) will be here ready and waiting for you…..and of course a glass of wine too!
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Country Bumpkin
A sweet and sour beetroot risotto served with shrimp and almonds
SURPRISE SURPRISE yes it’s me coming out of myself imposed hibernation , It ‘s been almost a month since my last story and I thought it’s about time I made contact and let our friends know we are all still alive and well.
It’s been a very long, very cold winter and it’s not over yet . We have had a few sunny days (but still cold) when we have heard the first brave little birds singing in the morning and the hills around our house have started to look beautifully green. But as I said ,it’s not over yet and we have already burnt our eight tons of winter fuel and have had to order a further one and a half tons of logs. Plus Nick has been very busy with his chainsaw in the last four days and like a real woodsman, he has chopped yet more firewood from our old dead trees located on our three hectare of land. Two wheelbarrows full of wood a day is what is needed to heat the house to make it bearable. We stink from head to toe of burning wood , clothes, hair skin….. and the amazing thing is we don`t even notice it anymore.
Our animals are all dealing with the winter situation in their own ways. Lui our lovely old dog is fine , sleeping and snoring all day ( whatever the season ) and despite being almost completely deaf , he still manage to get up and get to the fridge every time we open the door. It must be built in radar.
Hilda the goat is well and happy with her roommates, 5 hens and a rooster , and they seem happy freely strutting around ,pecking at everything .In fact every day they lay three lovely fresh eggs for us. Fresh pasta, cakes, fried eggs, boiled eggs …we have eggs coming out of our ears!! In fact, at the moment I have 18 eggs on the kitchen worktop watching me, help!
So a couple of days ago, when I went to Rome to buy a couple of things I needed for a cooking class I am holding on 8th March at the Palazzo del Gusto in Orvieto. I decided to take a little box of fresh eggs for my parents. A lady sitting next to me in the train compartment suddenly started to make conversation. After about 10 minutes of sociable chat the friendly lady from Milan said to me: “ My dear, are you from the country side ?” “ Yes, I am, how did you know ? “ I responded. “My dear “, she said” a box of fresh eggs and the smell of firewood is a clear sign!” I could feel my face getting redder and redder which I`m sure completed the picture of “ the country bumpkin up from the sticks “ as they say.
Any way after shopping in the big capital, loading two huge bags of equipment for my finger food cooking class and very aware of the unique smell of my BURNT WOOD N 5, I left Rome and returned to the welcoming Umbrian hills.
The fires are on again , it’s raining outside and by this evening I know we will have a few more eggs…. so I am wondering….if perhaps anyone of my readers will like to have some???
If so, all you have to do is send me an email and if you would like to join me on the 8th of March at the Finger Food Cooking Course in Orvieto at 6pm I will bring an egg just for YOU. 10 eggs are up for grabs, so you`ll have to be quick and book your EGG now ! in this way you will be helping a smelly family!
Ciao and looking forward to meeting some of you , if possible.