Judy says: "Try Caffè Shakerato!" A great way to cool off in Italy is with a shaken ice coffee, or Caffè Shakerato! Every time I go to a bar, I'm offered a new version. Try mine and then create your own. Ingredients One shot of hot expresso 1 teaspoon sugar 3 cubes of ice, shattered into smaller pieces Place in shaker and shake until the ice has melted. Serve with all of its foam. If you don't have a cocktail shaker, use a mason jar with a tight lid. (It can also be done with instant coffee and cold water.) The Bar Italia version (pictured) follows. Ingredients One shot of expresso per person 1 small scoop of vanilla ice cream Chocolate syrup for decoration Place ice cream into a cocktail shaker and pour the shot of expresso on top. Close and shake until the ice cream has melted. Pour into a martini glass. Drizzle chocolate syrup on top in a thin circle, from the outside getting smaller until the center. Use a toothpick and pull through to create a marbelized effect. Click here to send this recipe to a friend!

August 10 is the feast day of the patron saint of the Central Market, San Lorenzo. A festival is held in the streets to celebrate. The owners of the stands in the adjacent open air market, as well as the shop owners inside the Central Market, set up stands in front of the Church of San Lorenzo and give away free dishes of lasagna and watermelon. The lasagna is not the deep dish casserole we are all used to, but a wide noodle with meat sauce. If you can't be here, start a new tradition where you live. Here is the recipe for the meat sauce and a new way to serve watermelon--Sicilian style in a granita. It is also the night that all Italians escape to the countryside to watch the falling stars! If you read Italian and like astronomy, read more about this magical evening here. There are plenty of excuses to celebrate summer in Italy! A new celebration is the Calici di Stelle, an evening wine festival. The town of Greve will also be participating and the Daniel Ferro Vocal Program performing. August 15 is the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, a national holiday. And, of course, the Palio is in Siena with its incredible fanfare, costumes, and celebrations. Reminder! If you made the Nocino, August 10th is the day to finish the recipe and bottle it! NEWSLETTERS Life's Too Short [fall 2005] Pasqua [march 2005] Estate [summer 2004] Primavera [spring 2004] Tuscan Chocolate Valley [winter 2003] I Scream, U Scream, We All Scream for...Gelato! [summer 2003] Slow Food, Slow Travel [spring 2003] Sagre, Sagre, Sagre! [spring 2003] Tuscan Virgins [fall 2002] Fall Festivals [fall 2002] La Notte di San Lorenzo [summer 2002] Fireflies & Fireworks [summer 2002] I Love EWE! [spring 2002] Andrea's Christmas Dinner [winter 2001] Addio Bistecca alla Fiorentina! [summer 2001] Guelfa e Ghibellini [late summer 2001] Tartufi, Feste & Sagre [fall 2000] Piatti del Buon Ricordo [summer 2000] COMING SOON! Carrara: Marble & White Prosciutto