Divina Cucina

Your Best Friend in Italy

  • About Judy
  • Video Classes
  • Journal
  • Culinary Guides
  • Recipes
  • Cookbook

A Perfect Spring Outing

May 20, 2007 by Divina Cucina

I always dreamed of living in Europe after my first visit in 1973.
My grandfather was born in Paris, my grandmother in Russia,
My mom raised in Shanghai.
I was not happy in the suburbs.

I dreamed of all my friends marrying airline pilots
and each of us living in a different European Capital
so we would always fly free and have a place to stay.

Well that didn’t work out, but here I am anyway.

What is nice about living somewhere fabulous like Tuscany is when friends come to visit.
Yesterday my friend Don Genova came down from Parma where he is studying at the new Slow Food campus

We toured the Central Market with another student from the program Betsy and interviewed some of the artisans for Don’s radio show which you can download and listen to.
We tasted our way through the market, Parmesan Reggiano,Traditional Balsamic Vinegars, Mostarda… in jelly form, tripe sandwiches, cookies from Sardegna and of course wine!

Tough job but someone has to do it!

Trying out my new program on them, which includes touring the market in the morning with a light lunch followed by a day in Chianti and dinner at Dario’s new SoloCiccia.
Is there too much of a perfect thing?

wine at Casa del Vino


view from the 222 road from Siena to Panzano

Driving the backroads in the wine country is so incredibly beautiful, we had to stop.
When Don and Betsy went into the field to take foto’s of the new grapes forming on the vine,
they found some wild peas.



from our chianti drive fresh tiny wild peas, tasting of almonds…or arsenic?


work, work, work


A stop at Dario Cecchini’s shop before dinner feasting our eyes
with Kim as our hostess

Dante, of course, at Dario’s

Commerative plaques to the demise of the TuscanT-bone during Mad Cow
and then it’s return.

Dario will soon be opening a Steak School

After a day like that I need to recuperate.
Lunch a panzanella salad.. without the bread
(ok just a slice to soak up the juices given off)

I used tiny tomatoes from Naples called datteri, dates,
raw red Tropea onions from Calabria
Peeled cucumber
basil
red wine vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil
and
salt from Trapani, Sicily

Spring is in the air… but summer is just around the corner!


FacebookTweetPin

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Uncategorized

« Zab- BAYLON
worth a thousand words »

Comments

  1. Shanghai Travel Guide says

    May 11, 2012 at 3:12 am

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

Judy Witts Francini

Originally from California; Tuscany has been my home since 1984. I found the city of Florence to hold all my passions, food, wine, art all in one place. When I am not in Tuscany, I am often found in Sicily, my other favorite place to be. Always searching for recipes to share and exploring for the guides I write to my favorite cities for food and wine.

Follow Me

Sign up for newsletter

Join me on Patreon!

buy my cookbook

buy my cookbook

Visit Tuscany | Kitchenmate

Visit Tuscany | Kitchenmate

Cibò So Good Ambassodor

All Categories

  • Press
  • Contact Me

© Copyright 2023 Simply Divina, Inc. · All Rights Reserved