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Weekend Writing Prompt #121 – Teapot

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I started writing a story about my late friend Roxanne, only to realise I have done so three times. Methinks that has been taken care of, don’t you? So then I remembered another teapot story 😉 Thanks for this prompt, Sammi!

A word prompt to get your creativity flowing this weekend.  How you use the prompt is up to you.  Write a piece of flash fiction, a poem, a chapter for your novel…anything you like.  Or take the challenge below – there are no prizes – it’s not a competition but rather a fun writing exercise.  If you want to share what you come up with, please leave a link to it in the comments.

Word Prompt

Teapot

 

“We’re having a teatime-theme bridal shower for Fhum and want you to make the cake and cupcakes.”

“I’d love to!”

“Can you make the cake in the shape of a teapot?”

“Absolutely!”

(Am I crazy?)

“That will be so cool! She’s gonna love it.”

“I sure hope so…”

 

The Cake
Proof it is a cake 😉
2nd shower teapot cake request

 

 

Cook in Tuscany – La Chiusa, A Surprise, Innocenti and Farewell

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*** EIGHT – yes, EIGHT!!  months have gone by since I returned from Tuscany.  I had so many issues with my computer that I had put this aside to finish later and later never seemed to come.  I am now, if you don’t mind, ready to finish the telling of this fabulous life-changing (for me) trip! ***

♣♣♣TWO YEARS – yes, officially TWO YEARS have, as of today, gone by since I started my Cook in Tuscany Trip.  I am not counting my day in Zug because that would have made yesterday the official two-year mark.  Though I am not pro-resoution, I have promised myself to finish every project I have started and that includes this one.♣♣♣

Now where was I….

Sigh, the last full day in Montefollonico, at La Costa with this fabulous group that made the start of my trip so wonderful. The next morning most would be hopping the van to Chiusi-Chianciano Station to continue their adventures elsewhere or return home.  But till then, we had a full day of wonderful stuff!

As per usual, we had our breakfast in the closed-in veranda before making our way to our last cooking class.  It is kinda funny that we had the van, considering how close we were!  We could easily have walked there and back but hey, why not?  And it’s not like any of us knew where we were going anyway.

This time we made our way to the restaurant La Chiusa, run by Michelin-star chef Dania, a woman who is somewhere in her 70’s but does not dress “accordingly” (whatever that is supposed to be)!  She is one sexy lady!  Though divorced, her husband still works with her.  How very European, eh?

Entrance to restaurant
Dania
The Ex

Dania is very artistic and she showed us how to decorate plates with zucchini and beet purées.  We made stuffed zucchini flowers, pesto risotto, chicken stew, caramel nests, fig and caramel ice cream.  The colour of the egg yolks… I have no words.  And this standard for them!

Purées
Glorious yolks
Chicken Stew
Stuffing the flowers
Venetia stirring the risotto
My caramel

Once most of the mains were started, Dania brought us through to her gardens, which were still amazing in September.  Huge kale, leeks, rows and rows of rosemary, basil, eggplants, peppers, fig trees, zucchini with their blossoms – it was amazing to walk through, while Dania chattered away, occasionally translated by the lovely Geraldine – same who had translated on truffle-hunting day.  I think I would spend hours on this bench, dreaming of what to pick next…

Zucchini and blooms
Cavolo nero
I would claim this for my own
Figs!
A view I would never tire of

Group photo!

We then went into the “pasta” kitchen where Antonietta had us making ravioli stuffed with ricotta and lovely gnocchi.

Ravioli
Gnocchi

All that hard work meant we got to eat al fresco on the terrace.

Stuffed Zucchini
Ravioli
Gnocchi
Fig and Caramel Ice cream

To return “home”, we decided to walk this time.  It was just up a hill, less than a kilometre and let’s face it, walking was not a bad idea.  As we entered the gates of Montefollonico, we were chattering and laughing when I heard “Dale?”.

What the… I spun around and there was Pierre.  One of Mick’s close friends and former clients.  Oh. Em. Gee.  You cannot make this stuff up!  I mean, come ON!  This is not THE rocking place of Tuscany.  This tiny village is tucked away in the middle of nowhere!  I can still hear Donna saying:  “You turned French Canadian in front of my eyes!”  Speaking of eyes, the whole gang got all misty-eyed at seeing us hug.  Pierre looked at me, then up at the sky and let out a “Mick, tabarnac!”  He said he was a little bit of a believer but now was full-fledged.  I had no idea he and his wife, Geneviève, were there on vacation.  And it was his in-laws who wanted to go visit there.  What were the chances?

Pierre and Me

We exchanged emails and made arrangements to hook up in two days.  So. Very. Cool.

We had a few hours to kill before our next adventure and Sandy wanted to deliver an apron to Dania in thanks.  So I joined Donna and her for a walk back to La Chiusa and Dania.

Hiding amongst the ruins
Donna, Dania, Sandy, Me

Our last excursion was down the street from LaCosta to Innocenti Wines.

We were greeted by Vino, Vittorio Innocenti’s sweet dog.  We entered and a few feet in, found ourselves in a fairly dark and musty wine cellar with the big casks.  Vittorio and Laura (Geraldine’s mum) were waiting for us to give us a tour.  Not a very big one!  The place is quite small and feels very intimate.

Vino
Laura & Vittorio Innocenti
Wine caskets
Gifts – and Vittorio doesn’t drink!
Careful walk to the terrace
Terrace
Wines tasted

It was our last night together! How quickly it passed.  How much fun we had.  The memories created will remain forever, of that I am certain.  Friendships created and with the magic of Facebook, maintained.

Our last supper was at La Costa in the closed veranda as the evening was quite cool.  We had a lovely feast of pork chops and the lemon roasted potatoes and balsamic roasted cipollini, three types of crostini (mushroom, roasted tomato and olive), salad and a birthday cake for Cindi and Alison!  A perfect ending to a perfect week in perfect company.  Linda and George gave us each a lovely ceramic plate as a memento.  We would save our good-byes for the morrow.

Plate
Artichoke salad
Trio of Crostini
Paula, LaCosta co-owner

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

 

 

A Tuscan Feast

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“The preparation of good food is merely another expression of art, one of the joys of civilized living…”
― Dione Lucas

 As this is a post about food and Italy, here’s a little dinner music to keep you company as you read 😉

I thought for sure that this morning I would be suffering from dysania, but no.  The alarm clock went off for François at 6:25 and I was wide-awake.  Dammit.  I had been planning on sleeping in and being totally lazy today.

For those of you who don’t know, in September 2016, I went to Tuscany all by myself.  BEST. TRIP. EVER.  My first week of that trip was spent with the fabulous Cook in Tuscany group, created by the wonderful and irrepressible hosts, Linda and George, and 13 other fantabulous participants, learning how to cook Tuscan food and experiencing a lot of what the area had to offer.  A dream of mine since forever.

Fast-forward to last night.  Okay, maybe not so fast.  It has been one and a half years since said trip.  It was about bloody time I had my sisters and their hubbies over to show off what I had learnt.  (Thank you, Tracy, for nudging me…)

I warned them to come bellies empty because I had a lot to show them!

“I like a cook who smiles out loud when he tastes his own work.
Let God worry about your modesty; I want to see your enthusiasm.”
― Robert Farrar Capon

To get us started on the right foot, I served Aperol Spritz – did I take a picture?  No.  So right.  With our cocktails we had two kinds of bruschette.  Bean and onion and the classic tomato.  I only cut and toasted so many slices so that no one over-exaggerated…

©Marcia Kiesel, Food and Wine

Once they had a little food in their bellies, I put them all to work!  To truly appreciate Pici, one must roll with the dough 😉

“No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at her most solitary, a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past, the advice and menus of cooks present, the wisdom of cookbook writers.”
― Laurie Colwin

Having worked for their supper, they were then allowed into the dining room for the first course, a Tuscan tomato and bread soup.  Now.  I may have screwed up a bit.  I had toasted my bread ahead of time and was supposed to add it to my soup in bits and pieces till I felt there was enough.  In my usual over-zealousness, I dumped the whole bowl into the pot.  Um.  Can we call it Bread and Tomato soup instead?  No one seemed to mind and hey, Tuscan cooking is all about stretching out what one has….  All around, it was declared delicious.

“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”
― Julia Child

As I had not quite finished preparing my crumbs for the pici, I had them all come back, with their glass of wine, into the kitchen to keep me company (next house, OPEN CONCEPT).  This was a very interactive meal, in case you’ve not noticed 😉

When in Sienna, I went to visit one of the Frescobaldi vineyards, Castel Giocondo, in Montalcino.  I splurged (BIG time) and bought two bottles of their Brunello.  These I kept for this special night.  We decided to decant each one and oh wow.  They were both fantastic.

Pici now cooked and sautéed, it was back to the dining room!  Before Tuscany became the “go-to” vacation spot, even for Italians, they were quite poor.  Salt was used sparingly on food, kept mostly for preserving.  Not everyone could afford cheese, so they “cheated” by cooking stale bread crumbs in olive oil.  It truly gives incredible flavour.  Everyone loved their pasta – it was theirs, they rolled it, after all!

“Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly.”
― M.F.K. Fisher

While we were enjoying our pasta, the pork tenderloin and grilled veggies were being warmed in the oven so there was no longer a need to dance between rooms.

I did, however, remember that I had a bottle of Grappa.  Instead of sipping it as a digestif after the meal, we used it as a “Trou Normand” – a shot which, as they say, serves to make room for the next course.

This was a cheat in the whole Italian evening and I may get a frown from a true Italiano but I’m willing to take my chances.  Besides, the deed is done.

We’re still smiling.  Certainly  not because we are overstuffed.  Yet.

You still with me?

The meal is not quite done!  Time for dessert.  I made panna cotta with two sauces, chocolate and strawberry.  Pick one, pick none or pick both!

“A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch. ”
― James Beard

Coffee was served and one would think that it ended there, right?  Wrong.

A little Vin Santo and Cantucci to cap it all off… hoping no one would be feeling crapulous after such a feast!

“I lurched away from the table after a few hours feeling like Elvis in Vegas – fat, drugged, and completely out of it.”
― Anthony Bourdain

 

Cook in Tuscany – To the Farm! Then Hunt For Truffles!

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Apologies for the delay… Major problemos with my computer and I just couldn’t upload photos!  What’s the point of tormenting you with my trip if I can’t supply the photos, eh? 😀

Darn, with each new day came new adventures but also brought us closer to the end.  This day was a fun one, for sure!  We were off to Podere il Casale, a 100% organic, self-sufficient working farm where sheep and goats were raised to make the famous Pecorino cheese.  As well, the outdoor wood-burning stove was ideal for bread making.  Aww shucks.  We were going to learn all about cheese and how to make Tuscan bread and foccacia. How sad.  Broke my heart, really. 😀

Tuscan bread cooling off
All kinds of pecorino
Dark shows how aged these are

The owners of the farm, a lovely couple named Sandra and Ulisse (originally from Switzerland) were wonderful hosts.  Ulisse is a self-taught cheese master and Sandra does hostess duties.

Sandra
Ulisse

Allora, first things first.  As bread and foccacia need time to rise, first thing to do was to get the breads started.  Piero, our bread teacher was so very sweet and charming. Most of us were put on foccacia duty while four were put on Tuscan bread duty.  Mixing and kneading and resting – interesting note:  as salt was once so expensive it was used as currency, the Tuscans did not salt their bread.  They’ve kept up the practice.

Piero
Making focaccia
Kneading
Time to rise

While the dough was doing its magic, Sandra took us on a tour of the farm, introducing us to all the animals and showing us her impressive garden, then showing us where the cheese is made and stored to age.  The farm is fully functional and many young people were on hand doing their stages, learning all the inner-workings.

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We then hung out with the Cheese Doctor, Ulisse.  It was amazing to watch the cheese come to life before our eyes.  There is an obvious joy to his doing his craft.  To think he is self-taught and is now one of the top pecorino cheese guys in all of Tuscany!

Ulisse with a pot of fresh goat’s milk
Holding a pot of fresh rennet
Gathering the curds which will be put in molds

Time to bake our foccacias! Piero showed us how to roll out our dough, prick it all over with a fork, pour olive oil over it and smooth it all over, sprinkle with fresh rosemary and salt… except Piero filled the salt bowl with sugar!  We couldn’t figure out why it was so sweet… That situation got rectified soon after amidst lots of laughter

Red-hot oven
Pricking all over
Sliding it in
My turn
My foccacia
Everything is better with wine

So, of course, now that we have opened out appetites, it was time for lunch!  This ended up being a vegetarian meal, ending with a sampling of some 15 different cheeses!  Is there anything better than dining al fresco?

Dining al fresco with Rosemarie, Venetia & Alison
Salad – finally!
Cheese balls, chickpeas, figs, oh my
Organic pasta made on site
The cheese platter with fig jam, honey and fruit
One of each, please!

As if the day wasn’t already fabulous, we were off to truffle hunt with PierPaolo (not sure how he spells his name) and his interpretor, the lovely, Geraldine. When not giving a tour, PierPaolo takes all four dogs out with him but since he had all of us to worry about, he only brought two!  It was the funniest thing to see these dogs get all excited and not want to give up their truffles!

PierPaolo & Geraldine
Give it up
Handful of black truffles
PierPaolo with the kids

After such an exciting day, it was back “home” at La Costa for pizza and salads and frankly, I think we’d had quite a bit of excitement for the day!

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Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 8

 

 

Cook in Tuscany – Cantucci, Bagno Vignoni and Beautiful Pienza

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Allora, what was in store for us on this day?  Allora is my new favourite expression, by the way!  We heard it from just about every Italian we dealt with!  It basically means “and so” or “then”.  For example:  Allora, next we take the eggplant and we…  Doesn’t it sound just so much better than “And now….” 😀

Allora, my friends, on this day we were staying “home” at La Costa to learn how to debone a chicken, stuff it with prosciutto and ground pork and tie it all into a neat little bundle.  We also learned how to make melanzane parmigiano (eggplant parmesan) and I can promise you folks, I am no longer making it the same way I have for years!  Matter of fact, just this week, I made it for mi famiglia!  Plus panna cotta and cantucci (or cantuccini) which is an almond cookie basically the same difference as biscotti, which can or not be double-baked (though that kind of goes against the origin of the name biscotti as it means twice baked).  Sorry, I got carried away there.  The important thing is these little babies are absolutely delicious, especially when dipped in vin santo! (see my welcome by Milena!)  Some pici rolling also took place. (We couldn’t possibly have a meal sans pasta, right?)

But first, we watch Terry debone that chicken.  Don’t you find he looks like a young Vincent Schiavelli?

Now it was Donna’s turn.  Love how her tongue sticks out when she’s concentrating… 😉

Cindi on her tippy-goes
Ahh… a boost!
MaryEllen making cantucci dough
Moi chopping almonds
I want this ladle, eh, Rosemarie?
Paula inspecting Conrad’s work
Venetia ladling the panna cotta
Terry made it look so easy!

I will not torment you with finished product pictures… nah!  Just kidding!

Pici al pomodoro
Sausage-stuffed chicken
Panna cotta with chocolate sauce

We had some time to do whatever (attempt at blogging…yeah…uhhh…no) until 3:30 because we were off to the Roman baths, Bagno Vignoni, and then the beautiful town of Pienza.

On our way there we stopped off at “the most photographed house in the Val d’Orcia region of Tuscany”.  Why? Who knows? However, if any of you buy a “Tuscany” calendar, chances are this house is one of the monthly pictures. Well darn it, wouldn’t you know?  When I got home, I looked through my old calendars (though I was convinced I had chucked them all) and lo and behold, there it was! February 2010!

Calendar
Mine

Lovely and all… but MY picture is so much more… mine! 😉 Plus! There was a wedding going on (pretend I am happy to have people marring my perfect photo…)

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Moving on, we made our way to the Roman baths of Bagno Vignoni. What a delight to dip our toes into the warm waters surrounded by such a view!

Thanks for the pic, Sandy!
Paula
Bagno Vignoni

Back into the van and off to Pienza.  Finally had my first gelato of the trip a scoop each of Fig and port and blackberry.  They even had one that was spinach & kiwi.  Sounds gross, eh?  Well, it wasn’t!

Fig & port and Blackberry
Owners with George

We all walked around shopping and taking in the sights, then met up with everyone at the Restaurant La Bandita, where we had yet another fabulous meal.  So weird to be served by a Scot!  He told us that the previous Christmas, they held an all Scottish feast that we very well received by the locals!

Zucchini carpaccio, pesto linguine, chicken on a carrot purée and finished off with a semifreddo of white chocolate and salted caramel and a blueberry sorbet.  Mmmm

Zucchini carpaccio
Pesto linguine
A sampling of wines
White chocolate semifreddo & blueberry sorbet

A funny thing happened on our way home… Angelo put on some disco music and we started dancing in our seats.  He then turned on the disco lights in the van!  Well… all hell broke loose.  There was dancing up and down the aisle and laughter galore.  Wonder how often that happens, eh Linda and George?  We must have been a special group…  And Linda went and posted MOI on the Facebook page!  Well now…

Did I mention Rosemarie, as well as her daughter Venetia are actors (actresses?)?  Venetia directed her mum in the play “Calendar Girls”.  Needless to say, this means that Rosemarie (who, for a reason I cannot explain, I kept calling Annemarie – her sister, by the way – for two days) is not exactly shy about letting it all hang out.  I apologise again, Rosemarie, as I am caught on tape!  As are you…

Laughing our heads off, we made our way back to La Costa where most of us continued to party.  Paulo was kind enough to get us a bottle of wine, which did not suffice so we “stole” one from one of the displays – can’t really call it stolen as we left a note with our names on it.  Thank you, Sandy, for picking up the tab on that one… gulp!

Sisters-in-law Terri & Janet Crazy Canucks!
The party animals

Part 1

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Part 5

Part 7

Part 8

 

 

 

 

Cook in Tuscany – Pici, Canneto & Montepulciano

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Now that the first cooking day was under our belt, we were ready for more.  Back to Enoteca (wine shop) La Botta Piena for cooking lessons with Elena & Simone, Sandra and Kathleen & Giovanni (Elena & Simone’s son) for 9:30.  Met the gang first for breakfast and across the street we went.

Clockwise from left, Giovanni, Simone, Elena, Sandra, Kathleen
Simone…

They set up the dining room tables as a long work station.  We each had our bowl of flower and container of water with oil.  Same method as egg pasta but without the egg.  Once upon a time, Tuscans were quite poor and would never dream of wasting an egg on pasta so they learned to make do.  The fun part with pici is you don’t use a rolling pin to flatten it and then cut it into strips, you take chunks and roll it on a board or between your hands like we once did with Play-Doh when we were kids.

2016-09-06-03-10-59

While our dough was resting, we prepared Chianina steaks – huge T-bones that are cooked on the bone.  Literally. Standing up on the flat part of the bone!  We also made a bread stick crust to go with a savoury ricotta cheesecake, roasted some veggies, made Tuscan tomato-bread soup and a lovely peach crostada – this time with a crust topping.  Awww… and we had to eat all this?  Poor, poor us!

Beautiful veg
Bistecca Chianina
Peach Crostada
Roasted Veg

Before eating this, however, back to rolling the pici!  Music was turned up and everyone started dancing around…

2016-09-06-04-25-53

We sat outside while the gang did the final plating then sat down to our feast!

Tuscan Tomato soup & Savoury Ricotta Cheesecake
Pici a la carbonara
Who wants the bone?
Nancy does!
Roasted veg with very rare steak
Alison – because she looks great!

Happily stuffed, we stumbled back to La Costa to do whatever we wanted until we had to meet at the van for 3:30.  We were off to Canneto winery, a very small operation – they do their bottling on a truck! We were invited to taste all their different wines.  Quite enjoyable and a lovely place to visit.  As with most wineries, they compliment their business with the creation of olive oils so there are olive groves planted next to the grape vines.

Chin Chin!
Olives
Bottling truck
Canneto Selection
Canneto Gift Box

A short stop at the Santuario della Madonna di San Biagio, a Renaissance Greek cross central plan church that, for reasons unknown, remains unfinished.  Only one of the bell towers was completed, the other, left with just the base.

San Biagio (back)
A moment for prayer
San Biagio (front)
Light

Off the the town centre of Montepulciano to run around and discover at will until 7:30 pm for dinner at La Grotta restaurant.   Venetia, Rosemarie, Donna and I ended up at Cantucci Cantina, tasting more wines! (I know, it just so sucks to be us…) Somehow, Venetia and I ended up wandering off, cameras clicking away, realising we had pretty much the same eye and stopping at the same things!  Goes to show…

Cantucci Winery
Even satellite dishes are terra cotta in colour!
Moi, streets of Montepulciano
Great sign!

 

At La Grotta, we were treated to another fabulous meal.  One table…ahem… was a “tad” loud… Janet, Donna, Terri, Sandy, Linda, Conrad, Cindi, Frank and MaryEllen…. not saying you were out of control but you know that couple that should never have been placed in the same room with us? They were NOT pleased!  We, at the quiet table: Paula, Nancy, George (surprisingly 😉 ), Ventia, Rosemarie, Alison and moi, were quite taken aback when poor Paula went outside to take a breath of fresh air and was told by said couple – who had attempted to get peace and quiet despite all being wet from the afternoon rain – that we were rude and should leave! Luckily Paula did not go all Long-Island on them as it was suggested she do! I’m not saying we were jealous of all the ruckus going on at YOUR table but…

The “Rowdy Ones”

Janet, Donna, Terri, Sandy, Linda
Conrad, Cindi, Frank, MaryEllen

We started off with a fabulous eggplant & zucchini terrine topped with crispy pancetta, then a Pecorino cheese soufflé, papardelle with duck sauce, beef stew with braised spinach and finally, a plate of three desserts: mascarpone w/coffee gelato, chocolate cake with orange sauce and Sambuca parfait.  Of course, me the “Scarpetta” cleared off all my plates… Of course, the appropriate wines accompanied each service.

Eggplant & Zucchini Terrine
Pecorino Soufflé
Tuscan Tomato Soup
Mascarpone with coffe gelato, chocolate cake with orange sauce, Sambuca parfait

You’d think I’d sleep like a baby after all that…

Part 1

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Part 3

Part 4

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Cook in Tuscany – Cortona – Yes! Cortona!

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Talk about starting off with a bang!  We were going to Cortona!  Home of “Under the Tuscan Sun” – I used to joke with my family (sorta) that I was going to pull a Diane Lane and not come back…the movie version… (very different from the books – which were fabulous in a whole ‘nother way).

So, this was an early one!  We had to be ready to hop on the van with Angelo, our driver for the week, by 8:30!  Hey!  I thought we were on vacation here?  I have to set an alarm?!  All jokes aside, we gladly gathered for breakfast by 7:30-8:00.  I tell you, the Tuscans are not big on breakfast.  Some sweet cakes and pastries, a few hard-boiled eggs, Rusk crackers (I had forgotten how much I enjoyed them and have started buying them again!), some fruit, maybe some cold meats and cheese and coffee.  Paula’s cappuccinos were wonderful.

Oh. Em. Gee!  I was going to the place that probably started this dream of mine; or, if it didn’t start it, definitely fed it.

On our way to Cortona, we noticed the fields of sunflowers were pretty much done, heads drooping, petals non-existent.  We were pretty bummed when hark!  Someone let out a shout to look to the left.  Yes!  One last field of sunshiny faces looking towards the sun.  We begged Angelo to stop so we could get in there.

Angelo
Ventia and me – the two “Camera Girls”

Cortona is built on quite the hill and Angelo was a total sweetheart to drive us up where vans are not supposed to go so we could all jump out as quick as can be to go meet up with Antonietta, our chef teacher for the day.  First order of business was to go shopping for the necessities – some pork tenderloin (cinque filette di maiale, per favore), tomatoes, canned barlotti beans, eggs, rosemary, etc.

Fruits & Veggies
Meats
The kitchen

We made our way back to Netta’s Kitchen, donned our aprons for the first time and set about making tagliatelle.  Once we had all held up our creations, it was on to stuffing the pork tenderloins with garlic, salt, pepper and rosemary.  These would be prepared in a pear and Chianti sauce and served with lemon rosemary potatoes, all chopped and prepared by us.  We also chopped tomatoes and red onions, splash of balsamic vinegar, glug of olive oil, salt & pepper and voilà! The makings of a tomato bruschetta topping.  Did the same with the beans for a second topping.  Oh!  And we made our own individual crostadas, filled with jam and decorated as we saw fit.  I call them rustic pies.  We all called them delicious!

Once everything we cooked, we settled down to eat our creations.

Pasta in the making
Me with Antonietta
Success!
Bruschetta two ways
With brown butter & sage
Michele & the pork
Jam crostada

After all that work we were set free to roam the streets of Cortona.  What was to become a standard (unbeknownst to me until this trip) was walking through cobble-stoned streets, stepping into doorways to avoid being run over by their cute little cars – which I am sure would still hurt if rolled over my foot!

We then went to visit “Le Celle”, the last place St. Francis of Assisi lived and did his work.  His room was beyond spare and the gardens were just lovely.

Room
Surroundings
Gardens
Monestary

We also visited the Santuario di Santa Margherita where the amazingly preserved Saint’s body lies in one piece (a miracle, considering other churches have bits and pieces of various saints for all to see!)

Santuario di Santa Magherita
Breathtaking
Il vero volto (the true face)

Back to La Costa for a snooze or rest and then off for dinner at La Botta Piena, almost across the street from home.  MaryEllen was finally well enough to join us – and a good thing too!  She is a hoot and a half!

Frank and MaryEllen

Frank and MaryEllen

There we were treated to a fabulous dinner by hosts Elena and Simone.  A dinner comprised of six courses!  Olive and ricotta mousse, onion flan (Oh, I have begged Linda to get the recipe from Elena – and I shall continue to harass her until I get it!) and veal carpaccio, chickpea soup with spelt and rosemary croutons, spaghetti all’amatriciana, chicken rolls stuffed with sausage and olives and pork with tuna sauce and finally a grape mascarpone charlotte.  Lawsy!  A total of four different wines were also served to go with each course.

Olive & ricotta mousse
Chickpea soup with spelt & rosemary croutons
Spaghetti all’amatriciana
Onion flan & veal carpaccio
Chicken rolled with sausage & olives and pork with tuna sauce
Grape mascarpone charlotte

If this was a sign of the rest of the trip, we were going to have to roll me out of there!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

 

What’s In My Tin? Banana-Chocolate Chip Muffins

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This NaBloPoMo thing has me all buggered up for my usual series!  The days slip by and I find myself wondering where to slip in a post not related to the Prompts!  I then end up doing two posts in one day and I worry that I exaggerate!

Soooo… as mentioned in the last edition of What’s in My Tin? I have left the apples behind and now give you healthy Banana chocolate chip muffins.  I’ve even added some nuts for texture.  Why not? They can be switched in or out, the chocolate chips increased or just nuts, up to you and what your family likes.  I like to put half and half as nuts are healthier than chocolate chips and I get no complaints from the Peanut Gallery.

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What’s not to love in that glorious mix of bananas, chocolate chips and nuts?  Even if it is the healthier version, my kids don’t even notice (or is it because Mom is always trying to give the healthier version and they’ve just gotten used to it?)

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You can get the full recipe here.  Enjoy!

What’s In My Tin? Apple Oatmeal Wheat Fingers

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I promise, for now, this is the last of the apple recipes! For now.  Maybe.  I can’t guarantee it!

I have many (seriously, I have loads) cookbooks in my bookcases(s).  Yet, somehow, when it’s time to find inspiration, I often end up on the Internet.  In an effort to justify the purchase of all these cookbook  purchases (some dating back to longer ago than I dare think), I have decided to get inspired by them instead of the Web.  Well, I try anyway!

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This recipe was taken from Barry Bluestein and Kevin Morrissey’s “The Complete Cookie, cookies for every occasion”.

I’m a fan of cookbooks that have lovely photos, so this one, which I’ve had since January 31, 1997(!), must have been purchased through Book of the Month Club.  There are no pictures, no drawings, nothing.  Oh, sorry, I lied.  There are a grand total of 8 photos in the middle of the book.  That said, they do have quite a few nice cookie recipes, including this Apple Oatmeal Wheat Fingers one.

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I was astounded at how just 1/4 teaspoon of allspice could completely change a flavour profile.. We all know that apples and cinnamon go together but who knew that adding this smidge of allspice would take it to a whole ‘nother level?  Not moi, that’s for sure.

These were delicious, healthy and disappeared faster than I could say “Boo!”

You can find the recipe right here.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.  They will definitely be ending up in my tin again!

What’s in my Tin? Apple Gingerbread

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Yes, yes… I am still on the apple kick!  I promise you, after the next one (because I do have one more…) I will share something else!  The boys are not complaining that the tin holds apple-something for the past four weeks so, hopefully, that means you won’t complain either!

What's in my Tin?

What’s in my Tin?

You know that warm taste you get from gingerbread cookies?  Well, you can have that without all the fuss, muss and mess in less time than it takes to make the cookie dough!  I kit you not.  These babies are just plain delicious.  Word.  I have made them for snack time, school lunches and, when I’m feeling fancy, served on a pool of crème anglaise in a fancy plate – for those days when you are having people over for dinner but really don’t have time to make something fancy and time-consuming.

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Delicious warmed up and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or just plain with a cup of tea and a girlfriend for some deep conversation.

It is an easy peasy recipe you can get right here!

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