Not living near the beach- summer does nothing for me.
Living in Tuscany in the middle of olive groves and vineyards- Fall is when the countryside springs to life. Crisp cool evenings make me crave stews and vegetables roasted with herbs.
Pumpkins and squashes are filling the markets for ravioli and soups, roasting and gnocchi.
My village, Certaldo has a wonderful flat red onion, which we use in all of our recipes.
The sounds of hunters in the fields below my house, may irritate me early in the morning, but it is nice to know that tradition lives on.
At the local bar where my husband and I have a midday snack, we love to eavesdrop- this time of year all the local truffle hunters are sharing their tales- so far no truffles in sight except at the wine shop!
I am off this week for my yearly chocolate masters program in Tuscany where another kind of truffle is on our minds- the Chocolate kind! Who knows what new delight we will discover.
At the end of the program the students can head down to Perugia for Eurochocolate and really drown themselves in chocolate from all over the world.
Fall is filled with reasons to come to Italy- most of them are to eat! I adore cooking when the temps drop down. Looking forward to more time in the kitchen starting next week!
I will need a salt fix after all this chocolate.
Oh you are so lucky to be able to have those fresh truffles! We have a few restaurants that are featuring them on the menu in November, but I am sure they are nothing like the ones in Tuscany.
This would be a wonderful experience! I hope to be able to see the area and experience the foods when I retire. I can be on my schedule then!
Great weather setting in…time for comfort food. Looking forward to the truffles, though!
If you have a salt fix why not combine it with chocolate? An American favorite has always been chocolate covered pretzels or something similar like Chocolate with caramel topping and sea salt flakes.
Loved the post. Please hold a few of the flat red onions for me for when I see you on the 18th. I’ve been looking for them everywhere! Buona gita cioccolatosa!
I am with Jonathan I love chocolate and salt especially sea salt brownies.