We are having storms thoughout Italy. Some areas are getting snow. We expect rain. But the way the weather is moving through we are getting some very dramatic skies and mountain views. We expect heavy rains later today.
Yesterday we took a trip to the biggest shopping mall around here, Quasar Village. It is about half an hour from us. We were just doing a big grocery shop and knew the gigantic SuperConad store was there and we wanted to explore. It is an enormous store. Back in Virginia I was always intimidated by the big Wegmans stores. There was just too much to take in. This store was the same. I should have taken photos. I didn’t think of it. But some things were amazing. For instance, they had whole and half goats and lambs. Butchered and packaged for a feast. They even had suckling pigs! Butchered and trussed, ready to roast. The seafood was dazzling. The cheeses and charcuterie went on for blocks! I borrowed a couple of pictures to just give an idea. Next time I will take pictures, I promise!
The store was also chock full of Christmas. Decorations, chocolates, panettone, toys, and did I mention chocolate? Yes there was a LOT of chocolate. Plus champagne, all sorts of vino, grappa, brandy, amaro… such riches. Back in Virginia I used to hit the Costco in Arlington right before Christmas. It was like this. Every luxury item you’d want was there. Whole lobsters, entire beef tenderloins, prime rib roasts, champagnes, on and on. I enjoyed that trip every year. I can’t say it was quite the same at the big Conad, but it was close.
I had been yearning for a comforting pot of Coq au Riesling. Many years ago, we lived in Germany, but within driving distance of the Alsace region of France. One of the specialties there was Coq au Riesling. It is like Coq au Vin but with white wine (Riesling) instead of red. Also it has cream. I bought all I needed at the Conad and made it for dinner last night. I think I could eat it everyday, with crusty bread or egg noodle pasta to soak up the sauce. Mmmm. Heaven.
We had a nice lunch today. They had a beautiful fireplace. Very cosy. It was a brilliant and brisk Sunday. We drove way out into the beautiful countryside. To me, it is a pleasure to drive there, although the road is small and twisty and partially unpaved strada bianca. Along the way were farms and the road went along a ridge top from which we could see the snow covered Apennine Mountains. Beautiful views.
My yummy lamb was a mix of three dishes.
The above was my dessert. Yum. ~~~~~~~~ Christmas is officially here in Umbertide. Saturday they lit the town tree. Over the years the trees have varied, from magnificent, to sad. This one is sad. Seems to have been badly hit by our dry summer and it looks to be dying. But the decorations somewhat cover that up so we will pretend it is perfect. I will post a picture in another post.
When we returned from lunch we saw they also had created a Christmas village. Here is the, rather chaotic, line of kids waiting to visit Babbo Natale (Father Christmas). There were one or two bambini digging their heels into the gravel to avoid having to visit him! It is the same the world over, it seems!
La Rocca, in the evening sun, below which was the village. This is new this year. Usually this is in the Piazza next to the Christmas tree.
Now we settle into the season. It has to be more festive than last year when no one was allowed to travel, nor visit in groups of more than four. There was no Christmas village last year since crowds weren’t allowed. This year we are really looking forward to ordering a panettone for ourselves. We missed out last year. We want to get it from our local bakery. They are worlds above the store-bought ones. ~~~~~~~ Covid news in Italy. Our numbers continue to rise. But we are still doing a lot better than much of the rest of Europe. Austria has closed its borders and strictly locked down the populace. Germany requires a Covid test to enter the country, as does France etc. As of today, here in Italy, unless you are vaccinated or have recovered from Covid you are locked out of pretty much everything. You can no longer get a test to comply. You can’t eat in a restaurant or go to a bar. You can’t ride a bus, train, or plane. You can’t go to any events like sports or concerts. You can shop for groceries but only for things deemed a necessity, like food or medicines. They fined a man this morning for being unvaccinated on a bus. €400. So they will be enforcing it. We are fine as we have our green passes. We also have appointments to get our third dose in two weeks. Andrà tutto bene 🌈
Saturday morning. It was sunny and no fog. Always a good start. But it is chilly. And windy. We are headed to our first freeze on Monday. During the night the wind had come up and it was rattling the shutters, which I had to partially close to stop the banging. When I looked out our big picture window I saw, across the horizon to our north, a large cloud bank. I thought nothing of it. I looked out at the piazza to check the mercato. Half of the vendors didn’t have their tents erected because of the strong winds.
I did some chores and returned some time later … the cloud bank had crept closer. I checked the weather report. Sure enough, Città di Castello was getting a storm. In a short time the cloud was looming ominously. I took a picture. Such blue sky ahead of the storm.
Suddenly, the rain came lashing down. I could hear it pounding on the high, terra cotta ceiling in the living room. I worried about the vendors. But they had figured it out and had gotten their tents up in time! The rains lasted only a short, but violent, time.
I was cooking a pot of black beans on the stove but as soon as they were done I headed out to the market with my big camera to shoot some photos. I also visited the stalls and purchased some nice produce. I dropped in on Books for Dogs. They weren’t busy so I chatted for a bit. Next I visited CeramicArte, the Deruta ceramics shop here in town. Laura Tomassini is the proprietor and incredible artist. I had purchased a small luminary which I wanted to pick up, and I also wanted to take some pictures of her beautiful works for sale. I plan a blog in the next day or two about Laura and her shop. Here is a picture of my luminary. A candle goes inside.
So without further ado…enjoy the photos. First, the clearing after the storm…
Just some of the veggies in the market.
The extremely huge green vegetable below is not a big celery, although it looks somewhat like it. It is called gobbo in Italian and cardoon in English. I made it once but decided it wasn’t worth the trouble.
I took a little stroll and noticed the oak tree in the parking lot was loaded with acorns. Too bad there are no squirrels to eat them. These oaks do not lose their leaves in the winter, unlike the ones I am used to on the US east coast.
Our new path behind our house and down to the river is finally finished. New cobblestones and lighting the whole way. It WAS awfully dark back there. So nice!
I went to the Egyptian vegetable stand for avocados. They have consistently the best. I am making chilli and wanted them to go with it. I stopped into Angelo’s Alimentari downstairs from our casa as my final stop to grab some cans of tomatoes, they are also for the chilli. I love a good chilli on a cold night. I told Angelo about it. He and I like to exchange recipes. Like all Italians, he loves to cook, eat, and talk about food. And he speaks no English…so I get to practice my Italian 🙂
Thanksgiving 2021 was a far cry from Thanksgiving 2020. Then, we were headed into a long, strict lockdown. No gatherings were allowed. So it was especially joyful today, to spend a day with friends having a scrumptious pranzo, and giving thanks. Calagrana had sent out a Thanksgiving menu invitation for Pranzo today. Susan and Gary decided to host a table of nine, of which we were two. There were six Americans and three Italians. A nice mix of the two languages.
In the restaurant there were several other tables. A table of seven Americans who we didn’t know next to us. A table of six, four which were friends. Two Americans and two British. Then another table of four which we knew, some Americans and some British. And finally a table of two British who we didn’t know. On the way out I wished the table of seven next to us happy Thanksgiving. They were visiting here and had rented a villa. There were the matriarch and four daughters and two spouses. They were from Portland Oregon, Sacramento and New Jersey. I think they said they were here for a couple months until January. Our meal started with appetizers, four types, an egg roll with dates inside, cheese, sausage rolls, and fried shrimp. Then we had spiced pumpkin soup. Yummy.
Then the main course. Of course Turkey! And a whopper, a 38.4 pound Tom turkey. Here, there are female turkeys which weigh minimum 15 pounds. And male turkeys which start at about 33 pounds.
Sides and sauces. A really good cold green bean salad in a slightly vinegary sauce and toasted sesame seeds and sunflower seeds. Cranberry sauce is not possible here so we had a sauce of sweeter berries. Brussels sprouts.
Dessert was a apple plum tart. Everything was scrumptious. The company was fun and warm and it was such a pleasure to be, once again, sharing a holiday with friends. Two years is a long time to be bereft of friends and family. Speaking of which, I called my sister when I got home. I miss being with her a lot. Especially on holidays like this one. FaceTime is nice but not quite the same 🥺.
Sono raffreddata. I have a cold! How could that be? I always wear a mask. Except when I’m eating or drinking of course, which means I got it either when I went out to lunch, or had a coffee or drink with friends. All of which I have done recently. I haven’t been sick since before Covid. I had planned to go to lunch at a favorite place tomorrow with friends. But in these times I figured I would scare everyone with my coughing, which I cannot control.
My friend encouraged me to take the home Covid test. I went over to our pharmacy and bought a test. €9.90 or about $12. Came home and read the, not clear at all (!) instructions. End of the story…I tested negative. I have a classic cold with no fever so I wasn’t worried. At least now I know how to do the test.
Numbers of Covid infections are going up all over Europe. Italy and Spain are going up the least because we have higher rates of vaccinations. Close to 90% for each. But still, the numbers are ticking up here too. Among the unvaccinated for the most part. I am reading this won’t mean restrictions for the holiday season but the color coded risk system is still in affect and there are three regions in danger of going to Yellow Zones. ~~~~~~ Big news in Umbertide! I had heard from our friends, who have an apartment in this building, that the building is getting a badly needed paint job. Italy got a tremendous amount of stimulus money from the EU because we were so hard hit by the pandemic. And it seems, it is now just going out to towns and cities all over. Umbertide is doing a LOT of refurbishing and renewal. The owners in this building applied for a grant to have it painted. It is right on our main piazza and is kind of an eye sore so this is very welcome and will really make a big difference in how the town looks. The owners have to pay part of the cost but it is a very small, and reasonable, amount per apartment depending on size. I snapped a photo of the scaffolding today. You can see how grungy the paint is now. Can’t wait to see the results! I heard it will be a darker color. Brick, or peach, or reddish.
They are painting the smaller building to the left too. This will make our house look kind of dingy. Maybe we should look into a grant. ~~~~~~ The blog wouldn’t be complete without food pictures would it? 😁 This was the Spanish lunch at Calagrana last week. Really yummy paella, there were tapas before. And the dessert pictures are here too.
Tonight I made Spaghetti con la Colatura di Alici. Mainly because I was pressed for time to produce a dinner. It is fast, easy, and very delicious.
Colatura di Alici is translated as “anchovy drippings”. It is a sauce or condiment, made from anchovies. Don’t let that scare you away!! It is Umami to the max! Friends told me they stayed in the little town where it is made, Cetara, in Campana, a small fishing village on the Amalfi coast. The fish are harvested just off the coast. They are only harvested between March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation and July 22, the Feast of Mary Magdalene. This is typical of the traditions here where dates and moon phases still tell people when they can plant or harvest. The sauce is a transparent, amber colored liquid, produced by fermenting anchovies in brine. Here’s mine.
I did some research and found that something similar was produced in Ancient Rome. The recipe was recovered by monks in medieval times. They made Colatura di Alici in a primitive manner letting the brined fish drip through from wooden barrels. Now wool sheets are used to filter the brine.
My Spaghetti con la Colatura di Alici. It has just five ingredients in the sauce plus spaghetti, and lemon zest and parsley to serve. Comfort food, Italian style!
If you are like my husband, you would NOT like what I made for myself for lunch today. I thought it was perfect and very yummy. At the Saturday local market, I spied beets! We don’t see them all that often here and I love them roasted. The proprietor of the veggie stand seemed very pleased that I was excited to buy his beets. I explained that I loved them, but that mio marito (my husband) doesn’t like them. I bought three, and roasted them today with salt, pepper and good olive oil. I diced them and added them to a salad of some maiche, left over Gorgonzola and toasted pecans, tossed in a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper it was a devine lunch for me!
I love our big lake called Lago Trasimeno. It is the biggest lake on the peninsula, with a surface area of 49.4 sq miles, it is just slightly smaller than Lake Como. The lake’s water quality is very good. This is because of the small population living in its watershed, and a lack of large farms in the area. Trasimeno is shallow, muddy, and rich in fish, including pike, carp, and tench. During the last 10 years it has been 5 meters deep, on average. It has no outlets and only two minor streams feeding it. It is mostly reliant on rainfall, and fluctuates in depth because of that.
There are three islands in the lake — Isola Polvese, the largest — Isola Maggiore, the only island with year round residents (population 35) — and Isola Minore, a private island which once had a town with a population of 500. It was abandoned due to malaria.
Isola Polvese just off the coast of San Feliciano
I’ve always been fascinated with the fishing culture and history of the lake. Fishing is done only with nets, and many of the families on the lake have been fishing for generations. A fisherman’s life on this lake depends on the catch. If the morning catch is plentiful, they will sell their fish to the co-operative. Then they will clean their nets and go out again the next morning. If the morning catch is small, they will often go back out in the afternoon to try again.
Photo credit Cooperative Pescatore del Trasimeno
The inhabitants of the communes around Trasimeno and the Umbrian people have successfully protected their lake, whose waters are fit for swimming and whose surrounding valleys and islands are protected. In 1995 a natural park was established over the entire surface and the shores. A 50 km (31 mile) bicycle path was opened in 2003 around the lake that allows tourists to explore. There are also cross-country paths, especially over the hills on the eastern side. Inside these limits no motorized boats are allowed. They limit the length to 9 meters at the waterline, and they can be propelled only by oars or sails. This keeps loud, disruptive jet skis and motor boats away. For this reason Trasimeno is calm and beautiful. Perfect for enjoying nature and meditation.
The Trasimeno Fishermen Cooperative located in San Feliciano, was established on 23 September 1928 with the aim of improving the economic conditions and quality of life of the fishermen.
Photo credit Graham Hoffman
It is made up of a workforce of at least fifty people, it defines itself as the guardian of the natural environment of Lake Trasimeno; a fragile ecosystem in which the fishers live in harmony with their catch, protecting their balance through fully sustainable fishing.
Photo credit Cooperative Pescatore del Trasimeno
The Trasimeno Fishermen Cooperative has seen, in the last decade, an important generational change, which has reduced the average age of the fishermen from 75 to 40 years. This means the traditions will continue and prosper. It is one of the many things that I love about Umbria…Here, the traditions live on.
The Cooperative is helping preserve the profession of lake fishermen. The younger workers contribute to the income of the Cooperative by giving the fish to the Cooperative’s warehouse on a daily basis, guaranteeing the supply of fish, which is processed for the purposes of storage and distribution of the fresh and frozen lake fish to operators in the tourism-hospitality industry, and to individuals, in the two distribution points in San Feliciano and Sant’Arcangelo.
The Cooperative also offers fishing tourism activities: for instance, excursions on Lake Trasimeno — fishing trips with traditional techniques that allow you to discover the landscapes of the lake and to admire the pretty sunsets, accompanied on board by fishermen.
Photo credit Graham Hoffman.
Because we can, and because it is a gorgeous autumn day, we went to San Feliciano for lunch and some photo taking. Da Settimio and Osteria Rosso di Sera are our two favorite restaurants there. Both specialize in lake fish and seafood.
And now for the mandatory food pictures.
For another perspective on the lake, here is what it looks like from the mountains that ring it.
This is a spectacular view of the lake from a friends house up on the mountain above Tuoro. Incredible views.
In summertime it is a party place with lots of camp grounds, discos, restaurants, hiking, biking, boating and swimming. I think it is pretty much undiscovered except by Italians. It is a beautiful place.
We were so happy to welcome Luther’s brother Mike and his wife Anne. Along with their daughter Rachel and her husband Alex. They had not managed to visit since we’ve been here so it was great to show them around. Their trip was only for five nights here so a whirlwind visit. They brought gifts! Hominy in cans for me and some beautiful spices. And a couple of boxes of cigars which Luther sent to his brother before they came.
Our normal strategy with guests is to do a mix of things but lunch is always the focus and the big meal of the day. We try to choose from our favourite restaurants to give a variety of foods from basic Umbrian cuisine to more adventurous chefs. We were blessed with pretty much perfect weather almost the entire time.
WARNING: there are a LOT of food pictures on this post .
As always, travel is fraught with uncertainty. They were booked to fly from Washington DC to Montreal to connect with a direct flight to Rome. They missed the flight to Montreal so were re-booked through Paris. This put their arrival around six hours later than planned. But still they managed to get here in time for our pizza night dinner at Calagrana. Always fun and the pizza is the best. We headed back home to put them to bed. Speaking of that, we have three bedrooms but it felt a bit crowded so we rented an apartment at Borgo Fratta, a new vacation apartment property here in Umbertide, walking distance from us. It turned out to be an excellent choice. Mike and Anne were very comfortable in their own space and we had Rachel and Alex with us.
The Gang!
Monday. Our first day and we had an appointment at a winery in the Montefalco area. Cimate, a winery new to us but they could give us a tasting and tour so we went with that. It turned out to be an excellent choice. Paolo is the owner and he took us around. At the end we had a tasting and a lovely plate of cheeses and meats that complemented the wines.
The winery had beautiful views.
Here are our tour and tasting pictures. This was the first winery who “raisins” their grapes, or part of them, prior to making the wine. This increases the sugars and reduces the juice. The sugars become the alcohol in the wines so this doesn’t mean the wines will be sweet. The first three pictures are the racks and the grapes drying.
Paolo with the group in the aging room. Sagrantino is undrinkable until it ages a minimum of five years.Aging barrels. Usually French or Slovenian oak. They had a ton of money tied up in these barrels.Tasting room. They also serve lunch if it is reserved.Terrific Rose.The heavy hitter….Sagrantino di Montefalco. As you can see it is 6 years old. It gets much better with a few more years aging.We each got our own tasting plate paired with the wines. The fatty meats and some of the cheeses went with the white and Rose.
We headed to explore the small town of Montefalco and had lunch there at l’Alchemista. It is situated in the unique piazza which is in the hill top and a round, rather than square space, with all the streets radiating like a wagon wheel. It was sunny and warm and wonderful. This happens to be the time of year for Sedano Nero, or the black celery only grown in Trevi, a nearby hill town. It is a Big Deal here. l’Alchemista always has menus featuring these local ingredients. This top picture is of my Sedano Nero appetizer. Very reminiscent of lasagna but with celery instead of pasta. Nice and light.
Lamb chops were, as always, good.Pork filet with grapes and carmelized Cannara onions.Pasta made in house with white truffles. They are the winter truffles and they are just coming in now.Alex got the Piccioni or pigeon prepared in many ways. Note the slider 🙂
I made a Stuzziccheria for us for dinner. It was meats, cheeses, and fruit. Then we had a big surprise for dessert – Luther noticed they had just brought in Panetone Christmas cakes, the very first of the season, at our wine store, so he brought home a caffe and cream one. Yum.
Tuesday. We planned to go to Assisi today. Always a treat. I never tire of this town.
Fortress
We visited the Basilica di San Francesco. They seem to be forever changing how you can visit. This time we entered the lower church, visited the crypt and then ascended to the upper church. It was empty. There were not the throngs of the past.
Then we wandered up the shopping street and settled in at Osteria Piazetta della Erbe, one of my all time favs. It was shady under our tree once we switched with a group of women. This restaurant has a “traditional” and a “fusion” menu. Both so good. But for me it is fusion all the way!
My starter…ceviche – OMG so good! Fusion menu.A dumpling panino for Luther and Rachel. Fusion menu.Luther’s lamb. Traditional menu.Gnocchi with white truffles – traditional menuSalmon with bok choy. Fusion menu.
After Assisi and lunch we headed to Deruta for ceramic buying. Everyone found things they liked. This night we had Tagliatelle with Bolognese sauce at home for dinner.
Wednesday was a designated “down” day. No long car drives. First, cappuccini at Bar Mary, and people watching in the piazza. The big market was in Umbertide this day, so we explored the market. We picked up some Porchetta pannini and explored a little of our town. Rachel and Alex bought a plaque from our local Deruta ceramics shop, for their front door with their house number. It will be sent to them when it’s completed.
We then drove to Montone. It is just ten minutes away and a lovely little hill town. We took in the views of the mountains and fields and wandered the small streets. Then we went to Antica Osteria for lunch.
During our lunch there was a funeral right in the piazza. Here, when someone dies, they lay in state in their home and all their friends and family come and pay their respects. Then they transfer the body to a casket and they remove it to a hearse. During this time the funeral bells ring and the onlookers watch respectfully.
Our lunch.
Egg and truffle starter. The white truffles are only served on mild flavored food. Eggs or tagliatelle are preferred.Anne’s lamb chops
We stopped for gelato for dessert after our dinner. We got chocolate, pistachio, and cherry. Tonight I made pasta e fagioli. We practiced at playing Briscola, the Italian card game. Interesting.
Thursday. Today it was off to Gubbio. An excellent medieval city not far from us.
Rachel
After visiting the church at the top of the town we headed back down, and winded our way to the Funivia. A method of transport to the top of the mountain to visit the church of Saint Ubaldo, patron saint of Gubbio. This method of transport is a lift composed of individual cages holding two standing people. It is a bit scary for most so only Rachel and Anne went up.
Then we had lunch at Il Lepre (the rabbit). It was pretty good. Mike really loved his pork.
Pasta with pears and greensMy lasagna.Luther had the rabbit.
After lunch we tried to visit our local Frantoio, or olive mill to show them the process. Alas, it was closed. There just are no olives around here this year. Then we drove to the Chiesa di Monte Corona, an ancient church near Umbertide. It has a crypt built in the 1000s and an upper church consecrated in the 1100s. It is to me a place of calm, but also power. There is a monastery up on top of the mountain with monks who tend the church. this night we had Pici con Ragu di Cinghiale. Pasta with wild boar ragu which I had made prior to their visit.
Every night we had all watched L’eredita, a game show which we’ve been watching for years on our own visits here. It is helpful for learning Italian. Lots of words. It is funny how people get into this game even if they can’t speak Italian. We’ve initiated many, many of our friends and guests to this show and it is always a hit. It comes on RAI1 every night at 6:45. If you want to watch it you can stream it on RAI on your computer from anywhere. Do the time conversion. It is good to help learn Italian too!
Friday. This was their last day with us, and the day they head back to Rome for their early flight on Saturday. We decided to caravan down to Orvieto to visit the town and famous cathedral and then have a farewell lunch and launch them on their way home. We ate at Trattoria la Palomba, a very traditional place with great food. It was a short visit that flew by but we all had fun, I think.
Cathedrale di Santa Maria Assunta. No crowds. Tourism is not yet back to normal.Frittata with truffles.
All good things come to an end. At the moment I write this they are near to landing back in the US. I sincerely hope they can come back soon. Next time we will go somewhere together as a group and rent a villa. Maybe in Puglia. It will be fun! Thanks for coming to beautiful Umbria and we will see you soon! 💕
I am so happy to have had this return to normalcy and I hope this continues. My niece Rachel, a nurse, spent a long year working the Covid wards at John’s Hopkins. A very hard thing to do. She is our hero!
Yesterday, Italy hit the goal of 80% of people over 12 years old fully vaccinated. It is a BIG DEAL. I will say, life is pretty much normal here now. The latest proclamation has opened sporting events to 100% capacity. Gyms, theaters, swimming pools are all open. Of course, one must show the EU Green Pass (or equivalent proof of vaccination from another country) to enter any of these places, plus restaurants. Also, one must still wear the mask inside. Not a problem for Italians, who are not normally rule followers, but are doing it in this case. They, and us interlopers, all wear masks with no drama. Sad to say, a friend who came over from being in Florence, said he witnessed an American woman tourist in a clothing store there who jumped the line to buy something. She had no mask on. The clerk asked her to put on her mask and she said “no”. The security guards ejected her. Why come over here to visit and be so rude? These are the rules of the country who is your host. I sincerely hope this was an anomaly. She was that one bad apple…
Yes, there have been riots in Rome about the Vaccine mandate here. They are organized by a neo-fascist group and definitely not main stream. I read they may be banned. We don’t need this sort of dissent in the middle of a global pandemic. ~~~~~~ Otherwise it is definitely autumn in Umbria. The tobacco is being harvested, the sunflowers have dried and been harvested, the grapes have been mostly harvested. The fall vegetables are now in the market. If I go to the local Saturday market here in town, no one needs to tell me what month it is. All I need to do is look at the available produce and I know. 🙂
Wednesday mercato today, as usual. My market buy today was these beauties!
Porcini mushrooms only fresh in the fall. Many people go mushroom hunting around here. These are plentiful. I’ll be making tagliatelle con porcini – mmm.
Then I bought this…
Salame al Cinghiale. Wild boar salami. It will be for our Sunday Stuzzicheria to welcome our first guests!
