A sudden rainfall this morning cooled us off enough that I was inspired to make a Sunday Lasagna, Tuscan Style. No Ricotta, no mozzarella, this light lasagna bakes up more like a delicate souffle, melting in your mouth! Lasagna al Forno is the baked lasagna where as lasagna can also be a smaller noodle as…
Food Rules
This sign is on the wall of a meat counter in Florence’s San Lorenzo Market. I asked the Butcher, if it was real.( the sign says, “Forbidden to spit on the ground”. This sign dates back from when there were sputoons in the market, and encouraged the use of sputtoons! Other Food Rules in Italy…
Calcio in Costume.. or boys in tights
Summer is a series of Celebrations….. and the heat is on! The summer solstice came in full force, bringing record high heat! June the 24th is St. John the Baptists day, Patron Saint of Florence, celebrated with a Renaissance parade, a game of Calcio in Costume, which is sort of a combination of rugby and…
Days of Rest
In Italy, Sunday’s have always been a day of rest. That may mean spending 5 hours on the freeway to get to the beach from Florence, but with only one day off a week, for many it is worth it. The extra day of work a week pays off at vacation time , as they…
Summer refreshments!
It was hot out and we needed something to cool us down, summer refreshments in Italy are always wonderful. We tried out our friend Sabina’s new place in the old city of Certaldo, Antica Fonte. Certaldo is still a sleepy medieval village where the locals hang out in the evenings and talk!!! Next week there…
Roma Amore
I love Rome– Roma is AMOR spelled backwards. It is a little too large for me, more like LA, but I tend to do it in small bites. Yesterday went to Rome on a field trip. Object of the game was picking up a new series of regional Italian cookbooks, only available there. I…
Caponata
Attended a party last night in the hills above Chianti, about 70 people. We had a sweet and sour, preserved bell peppers, cut into wedges and served with tonné sauce, pureed tuna with hardboiled eggs, capers and olive oil. Two pasta’s one with porcini sauce and the other with tomato and eggplant with basil. The…
Watermelon Ice!
Today I got watermelon that was just out of the field, fabulous. I came home and made some granita which will help in this horrible heat wave we are having. This is a Sicilian recipe which I have simplified for my taste. There is nothing like the simplicity of Sicilian granita made with fresh…