Category Archives: cooking

Tartufi bianchi!

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Final thoughts on the kitchen. Then I’ll shut up. The only thing I cannot do on the present cooktop is sear food. I am afraid to get it that hot. They said I shouldn’t use my cast iron skillets either. They were my mom’s pans. As a work around I am thinking of buying a one burner portable induction unit for the counter. I can store it in the cabinet. I can get it very hot and use the cast iron on it. This will give me back the capacity to sear and brown food. I will also continue to use my own nice pots and pans. They still work on this cooktop and I see no need to replace them. I just need to start with a lower temperature and then raise it. These adaptations will make this cooktop work.

Induction is a great cooking method. My experience is out of the normal because of the thickness of the counter between the pan and the heat source. This is an unusual design. I still love the look and easy cleanup 🙂
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We went to Calagrana for a rare dinner out. We usually like to eat lunch out, not dinner. But this was a special dinner. White truffles. They are in season now. Umbria is known for it’s truffles. They are abundant. All year round there are truffles, in summer, black truffles, in winter, white truffles. They are expensive but not as expensive as the famous ones from the Piedmonte region up north. Ours are less famous, and slightly less expensive, but taste the same. You’ll notice cooks almost always pair the truffles with a mild flavored food. Favorites are risotto, tagliatelle or eggs.

I forgot to photograph the first course. It was incredible. A poached egg in a Parmesan “cappuccino” with pancetta, croutons and white truffles.

Next was the risotto. Creamy and generously topped with tartufi bianchi shaved right at our table. The aroma of the truffles was intoxicating.

Finally, the secondo was a mouth-wateringly tender veal filet sliced and served with button mushrooms, chestnuts and roasted winter squash (zucca in Italian). Topped, of course, with truffles. I loved this dish but the truffles on it were a waste. The dish had strong flavors which overpowered the truffles. Delizioso, how could it not be?!

Finally, a rare photo of mio marito! Luther, aka Luigi.

Enjoy your week. Our weather is perfetto right now!

Kitchen summit

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Back to the new cooktop. My architect, Irma, wrote a pretty scathing letter to the sellers of the cooktop. She noted they wouldn’t come to test without charging, that they said only some cookware would work, which they don’t publish anywhere, etc. She also said she wouldn’t recommend their product to any new clients. This seems to have lit a fire under everyone. So she told me they were coming to test the cooktop and explain its limitations. And there are limitations.

Tuesday the meeting was between us and Lapitec Chef, the cooktop sellers, and Abed of Archetipo who fabricated the counters and installed them along with the cooktop. The Lapitec people came from Rome. There were two. I only got Adriana’s name. The meeting was typically hilarious. There was much shouting and gesticulation.

They proceeded to take out their own two pots which they brought. They were noticeably lighter than mine. They started heating water. They checked the installation which was fine, asked about how many kilowatts we have in our house, which was sufficient. They said my pots were too heavy. They explained that there was a 12mm thick countertop and a 4mm thick cooking mat between the pots and the heat. This is significant because most induction cooktops only have a thin glass sheet between the pot and the heat source. It would have been good to know this before I bought it.

My pot is on the right, theirs is on the left. Much lighter and not as good quality as mine.

I guess in the end I got the idea. That my cast iron pots were bad. That all the pots and pans I bought specifically for this were bad, that I couldn’t use high heat. This really crimps my style as a cook. I guess I have the fallback of the gas stove downstairs. But to be honest this cooktop is not meant for a serious cook, which I consider myself.

I still plan to use my cast iron. I will be careful of the heat. I use it for simmering mostly anyway. I will use the skillets which he said were not good, but they are made for inductions and not heavy 🤷‍♀️. Abed is supposed to bring a set of the cheap lightweight pots and pans. Ok. I think it is more a matter of figuring out how to manage everything. I can make do.

Tonight we turn our clocks back to go on standard time. 😞 I went to the market today and bought some beautiful looking apples from just nearby, and a jaunty pumpkin. I’ll be working with his tilt when I carve him! I think he’s cute!

Ciao y’all!

We voted!

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I want to encourage everyone to vote in this significant and important election. We mailed our ballots in this week using DHL because we wanted to be sure they got there safely and on time.

We had a beautiful Sunday today. Upper 60s and sunny. So lovely. And the sunset was spectacular! October has not been normal. Wetter and cooler than normal.

Finally tonight for dinner I made an Italian recipe, ragù di coniglio. Rabbit ragu. Rabbit is not a meat much used in the U.S., but it is very common here. I used to source it before we moved here at a specialty market. Now it is available right near the chicken in the regular supermarket. It’s not the cute bunny you think of. These are farmed just like chicken. The ragu.

Final dish.

It was good. But fussy to make. I hope your Sunday was nice! Buona domenica!

Friends visiting!

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October arrived with some kind-of crappy weather. A lot of rain, cooler temperatures and gray skies. But sometimes, the beautiful, washed clean world after the storm is worth the wait. Such clarity!

Unfortunately for our friends Eunice and Mark, the change in the weather coincided with their visit here. I see it will improve going forward. They like Montone, our nearby hill town. They are staying in the hotel in town this time and it is getting mixed reviews from them. They liked the restaurant but the hotel, not so much. They also tried some other places to eat in town and loved L’Antica Osteria in the main square in Montone. It is one of our favorites too.

They came to our house for Sunday Pranzo. We had a simple lunch of a big antipasto plate with cheeses, meats, roasted veggies, and caprese salad. Last of the summer tomatoes, alas! Then we had pasta with my own version of bolognese ragu. There is no accepted “quintessential “ recipe for bolognese. It is hotly argued all over Italy. So that’s why I call it my own. I use meats (veal, pork, sausage, or beef or a combination) this time, beef and sausage, diced carrots, an onion, some garlic and one 15oz can of tomatoes (this would be the controversial bit). I sautéed the meats and then added the carrots, onion and garlic and last, the tomatoes. At this time I begin adding milk. A half-cup at a time. Quite a lot over time. I would say 2+ cups. Simmer and let it cook down and thicken. The longer it is cooked the better. And letting it sit overnight is good too. Anyway, everyone liked it. It is a standby for me.

We encouraged them to do a day on their own on Monday and we met up for a wonderful wine tasting and lunch at Vineria delle Carmine on Tuesday. This is one of the closer vineyards to us. Being in northern Umbria we are away from the big wine areas. Nonetheless this winery has nice wines.

It was a horrible day weather wise. Pouring rain and windy. But we persevered. Once there, and inside it was cozy. We had the Classic lunch which had several courses, but all small portions. We tasted six wines along with the meal. Two whites, a rosé and a light Merlot, and last, two robust reds. They all went well with the courses with which they were paired. Here are some pictures of our lunch.

A rose and a Merlot
After the bread sticks and focaccia this polenta course was beautiful to look at and delicious.
After the polenta an unusual dish, slightly crunchy cooked greens and also had pumpkin seeds. Two sauces.
Two reds. Blends of Merlot , Cabernet Sauvignon and Sagrantino in differing percentages.
Pasta with a delicious Cinghiale Ragu.

The red wines, which were quite big and robust, paired perfectly with the wild boar pasta dish. Very delicious. We all had fun. While we sat there, we watched from our cozy seats, the wild rain and wind storms outside. Thankfully they let up for our walk to the car.

Pranzo a casa mia

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Yesterday we had four of our best friends here in Italy over to share lunch with us. We had invited everyone a couple weeks ago figuring we would be FINALLY past the heat. Hah! In our dreams. It was going to be 35. So I told everyone to just dress cool. Turns out, although it was warm, it was bearable. And my food was not hot. Here is the table.

We started with bruschetta. Three types. Tomato, cannellini beans, and avocado. Here is our gang. All of them live near each other, we are the outliers. From left, Steve, Doug, Luther, Roselyne and Jennifer.

Here is the secondo. It is a Paella Salad with Mussles, Clams and Shrimp. The marinated seafood is made a day ahead and chilled. The saffron flavored rice is made in the morning and left to cool after tossing with the dressing and vegetables. Served with a tomato, garlic mayonnaise. Also called a rouille in France.

Today, Sunday, the day after the feast, we are on the cusp of actual cooling. Nice. This week we try to get ready for our big, upcoming trip to Ireland with my sister and her husband. I am sure we will need coats for this trip!

Happy Labor Day all!

Sabato in Umbertide

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It is an August Saturday in Umbertide. As I always do on Saturday, I went in to the market. It is brimming with summer produce. I bought a bunch of tomatoes, zucchini, a big beet, lettuce, and half a sugar baby watermelon from one vendor, oh, and ten eggs from the nice Sardinian cheese lady. Eggs are sold in different amounts in the stores here. They sell them in a four pack, and in a ten pack. In the market you can just say how many you want. Like six, or three. I bring a box for them to use. Eggs are not refrigerated here because they are not washed. They leave the film that coats them when they are laid which keeps the bacteria out. Although sometimes, when it is very hot, I will pop them in the refrigerator to extend their life.

Here are some pictures of my town and of the market starting with my entering the centro. The Rocca, our fortress, there since the 800s, dominates the town.

Entering Piazza Matteotti the market tents take up the square.

The vegetables and fruits are beautiful! All the summer fruits. The peaches are in now, the pears just beginning, and the plums! Roma tomatoes dominate but some stands still have salad tomatoes.

There are vendors selling other things as well. All must be produced/made by the vendor. This first is the dried legumes for which Umbria is famous. The next one is the black summer truffles for which Umbria is ALSO very famous. Then jams and honeys.

This ceramics guy is always here. I have one or two of his pieces. They are made here in town.

Back home with my treasures I finished the tomato tart I had begun early this morning. I made the pastry and refrigerated it. When I got home I finished it and popped it into the oven. It heated up the house somewhat but not too bad. Since I had the oven on and heated I popped the big beet I had bought in to roast. It will make a nice salad with feta and toasted nuts. Here is the finished tart. A David Leibovitz recipe.

We will have the tart with a small salad and a bowl of the cold tomato soup that I made earlier in the week. Vegetarian to make up for the steak extravaganza last night! 😁

Picanha

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We paid a visit to our favorite butcher, Etrusco, this week. He was posting pictures of his amazing meats and this particular cut caught my eye. Picanha. A cut first popularized in Brazil, and adopted by Portugal. I had not heard of it. Apparently it is not common in the U.S. The steak comes from what was called a bue grasso, or fat ox. This is the huge white cattle they have here. A multipurpose animal. In the past they plowed the fields under harness and pulled the cart. They also gave milk in limited quantities, and they were used as meat. Huge gentle beasts, pure white. I could certainly never kill one. But, I am certain that this butcher sources his animals locally and that the animals are grass fed, happy during their lives, and slaughtered in a humane way.

We bought a steak and also some other meat, much of it from the bue grasso. Well veined with fat, I guess that’s why they call them grasso. (Sorry, my vegetarian friends) Tonight I built a wood fire in the outside fireplace, despite the heat, and grilled the steak.

I must say was one of the best steaks we have ever had. Very tender and oh so flavorful. I served it with a tomato mozzarella di bufala salad. The tomatoes are from my plants. They are sweet. The basil is from the basil plants that ate manhattan! 😉🤣

Buon appetito!
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This weekend will be when the weather changes. Tomorrow is the kilo 0 market. I will buy more tomatoes while they last. They won’t be around much longer. On Sunday we are going to a restaurant with our friends Christie and Jane. It is the end of a long stay for them. The weather will be cooler, in the 20s. I will do a post about the restaurant for sure. Buon fine settimana!

Salmorejo Andalusian Soup

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A note to all. I was asked to publish the recipes, so I put the pickle relish recipe and the Tomato Butter Sauce from a couple posts ago on the Recipe tab in the top menu. I hope you enjoy them!
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Today I am trying a new cold soup. Well, new to me anyway. Someone posted in a group I follow on Facebook that they were using up the bounty of tomatoes in their garden and this is what they made. Being as we are still in this dastardly heat wave I’m stressing my brain to make things that need little or no cooking. Cool cooking at its best! Super easy to make.

We are soooo lucky to live here where the produce is like diamonds, sparkling in the sun. The tomatoes are ruby red and plump with juice. I realized when we were in Germany that there was a huge difference in quality of products between Italy and Germany, which gets their produce primarily from Holland, notorious for its hothouse veggies with zero taste. I guess I am spoiled. I forgot not everyone has what we take for granted here.

So here’s the recipe for Salmorejo Andalusian Soup.

Take a kilo of ripe home grown tomatoes (2.2lbs). I used romas. The original recipe said you didn’t have to peel or seed them, but I decided to parboil, peel and deseed (I did this early morning when it’s not so hot). Apparently if you’ve got a blender you can just throw them in and whiz until even the skin is undetectable, but I only have a processor. Cut into chunks 200 grams (7 ounces) day old loaf of bread. Soak in water until soft and squeeze water out. Add to tomatoes. 2 garlic cloves crushed, add to tomatoes. 1 tablespoon vinegar (preferably sherry, but any will do), add to tomatoes. 120 grams (1/2 cup) extra virgin olive oil, add. A tablespoon salt and pepper. Blend all together until consistency of yogurt. Chill. When ready to serve, taste and adjust salt and pepper. Optional: serve with a sliced hard boiled egg and some prosciutto on top and drizzle with oil. Yum!

Buon appetito!
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PS, the good news for us is that the heat spell will finally break starting Saturday. Next week I even see one day that’s supposed to be 29 degrees. Wowsa! Maybe we can actually leave the house and do something fun, imagine that! 😳

PPS, Moon tonight! After the rains.

What we can’t find…we make!

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Maybe you all don’t use or like sweet pickle relish but our household always has it, and so did my Mother’s. We use it in tuna salad, chicken salad and potato salad. Thing is, you won’t find anything remotely like it here. Also you’ll never find nice dill pickles. Alas. So we make our own. I say we, because Luther uses it a lot in tuna salad so I told him there is a TON of chopping so you can help. And he does. He has gotten very good at the peppers.

Luther’s peppers
Cucumbers, cetrioli in Italian.
Soaking in brine.
Finito!

This is only one of the things we want that are not available here. I make my own ranch dressing too, because dressing isn’t a “thing” here. There are not shelves full of different salad dressings. In Italy it is oil and vinegar and that’s it.

I also make Bisquick from scratch. That’s probably weird but it is useful in some things I make. I make my own fish fry to coat fish. Buttermilk is not available here, but it’s really easy to make. I am sure there are more!
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We are still living our heat spell — it has to have been three weeks solid (maybe four) with the exception of that one day of rain. It is said to be because of an African heat dome that is stuck. Here’s the forecast for the next 7 days…and it goes on after that. 🥵. 38C is 100.4F.

I got out early this morning to show some people an apartment that my friend, who lives in Wales now, is renting. Piazza Matteotti was deserted. But cool at 8:30. I said hi to Irene at Bar Mary, and my friend Angelo at his Alimentari. Nice to see old friends. Miss them!

Finally a little about the garden. Being on the roof and in full sun the tomatoes are suffering. I got past the blossom end rot problem with extra calcium. I water twice a day. Still they look like they are miserable. I need a sun shade or something. My first year is an experiment for sure. There are quite a few tomatoes but they are small. They taste really sweet though.

I will leave you with a picture of my kumquat tree which is doing really well. She seems to really like the sun. She’s covered with sweet smelling blossoms…and the blossoms are covered with…honey bees! (You can see one bottom center).

Blessed rain!

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It is pouring outside! It has been dastardly hot and this so so refreshing. Also, as always, it has been very dry. I opened the windows. I’m upstairs where I can hear the rain pounding on the roof and on the awning. It just feels so wonderful. We have had 3 or 4 weeks of super hot, as in the upper nineties to one hundred. No break. And it is predicted to continue for two more weeks. So this wonderful storm is very welcome. It will continue for a few hours.

Dinner a couple nights ago, butter tomato sauce pasta. The Roma tomatoes are now in season. I like to make this sauce and freeze it for winter use but here is some I made today.

Ciao!