Winter Shopping

While shopping for my Pumpkin soup for my Friday with Fergus I couldn’t resist the winter veggies calling my name!

A woman doesn’t live by pork alone!

We are getting ready for our Big Pork Blogging Weekend, have you sent us a recipe?

I adore salads in the winter, and the fresh puntarelli, from the chicory plant are fabulous.

Preparing Puntarelle:

Cut the fat little chubby stems into thin slices, keep in cold water while making the traditional dressing of extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and a couple of crushed anchovies, much like a light Caeser salad dressing!

The darker outer leaves of the Cicoria, are twice cooked like chard, first boiled in salt water, then chopped and sauteed with garlic, olive oil and I like a little chili pepper for a kick.

The fresh radishes, and their leaves will be a salad on their own, the lovely leaves tossed in oil and the radishes slice thinly. Some of the radishes will be eaten in Pinzimono, Tuscany’s celebrationof the new oil and winter’s wonderful vegetables.
Raw artichokes trimmed to their tender leaves, thinly sliced fennel, celery, carrots and the radishes.

We will create a seasoned dipping oil, using the new oil, which is very reminicent of raw artichoke flavor and peppery, with only the addition of some fabulous sea salt we just brought back from Sicily.

A loaf of bread from the local wood buring oven, Chianti… and thou!