Category Archives: Eating

My sister’s visit

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Well, all things must come to an end. My sister has flown away home. She brought the best weather with her and we enjoyed it completely. Here is a brief recap.

On Monday we went to Gubbio and walked our socks off. It is very hilly.
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This was my appetizer at lunch at Ristorante Taverna del Lupo. It was a truffled egg. Looked better than it tasted.

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Next day, Tuesday we were off to the Montefalco wine region. First stop Di Filippo winery. It is a bio-winery so they use no chemicals, let the geese free in the vineyards to help fertilize, and even cultivate with horses.

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Lunch was in Montefalco at Locanda del Teatro. A new place for me right in the town square. They have a lovely terrace out back where we ate. I tried out the pasta with tiny, wild asparagus and fresh fava beans. Yum! and it was as good as this picture looks.

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Bye Cindy and Bill! We really loved that you came to see us in our “native habitat” as you say.

Eventful week

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What a difference a week makes. Last Monday we woke to this.
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Yes that is snow on the mountain tops! Today, Sunday nearly a week later we have this.
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Last Sunday was Easter. We had a fantastic meal at Calagrana. Here are a few mouth watering pictues!
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The best thing though, by far is that my sister came to VISIT!!! I am sooo happy to have her here with me! We drove down to Rome and spent the night prior to their arrival in Fiumicino at hotel Pascucci Porticciolo. Luther enjoyed the bright green bath. We dined in their one star Michelin rated seafood restaurant. Very wonderful experience.
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The next morning we picked them up at Leonardo da Vinci airport after their overnight flight. All went smoothly. Since they, Cindy and her husband Bill, are our first guests in our own house and we had not picked up anyone from the airport yet we were doing this for the first time. Parking was easy. Finding the international arrivals was easy and after watching several thousand people exit the doors…there they were!

We drove home and they visited the kilometer zero market, did a little Umbertide stroll, unpacked and we headed to Montone for lunch at Erba Luna. It was so beautiful we could sit outside! Wow. Here is my sis!
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We had some lovely food.
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Today we headed for a couple of hill towns in northern Umbria and very eastern Tuscany. Such a perfect day. We walked the towns and took pictures. Then we headed for lunch at Calagrana. I knew Cindy and Bill would love that place and the food was outstanding as expected. Everyone had a lot of fun.

Unfortunately they are only here for a short week but we have planned a number of excursions and the weather is going to be perfect all week. Yay!

Ceramic table arrived!

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Yesterday was Venerdi Santo or Good Friday. You may remember we purchased a ceramic table top in Deruta, world famous for it’s ceramics. We have been dealing with Ceramiche Artistiche Gialletti Giulio. They are friendly, helpful, and seem to treat us fairly on cost. In February I ordered a 100 cm table top and iron base. They promised to get it to me by the end of March before my sister visits. They got close. April 3 they delivered it. It was only one person, Michele whom we deal with and he asked Luther to help bring it up the stairs. It weighed around 70 Kilos so it was HEAVY. All is well. It looks beautiful on our patio!

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Close up of the artists work.
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Last night was the Good Friday Fish Evening at Calagrana. They had a packed house. I think everyone there was British. That is the one disadvantage of Calagrana. But Ely is British and her husband is Italian. I believe Ely is the one who dreams up the dishes and Alberto makes them. They are a pretty good team.

Here is what we had.
First course was Spicy fish cakes served with garlic dip. Forgot to take a picture. It was fairly spicy and I would have liked more of the garlic dip.

Next was Prawn and aubergine Millefoglie. The eggplant was like potato chips! Really crunchy and the prawns were sweet. My favorite dish of the evening.
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Then we had Creamy risotto Frutti di mare. Perfectly cooked, crunchy arborio rice and mixed seafood to include mussels, shrimp and squid. High on my like list.
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Next was the main or Secundi. This was a Mixed grilled fish. By this time I was pretty full. It was not a really exciting dish either. But the fish was well prepared.
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Finally dessert of Panna cotta of white chocolate and raspberries on a crumble base. Very good even after all that food. A fun evening.
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We got back and the streets were crowded with the faithful who had just finished carrying Christ around town. I went into the church before we left for dinner and saw the “coffin” type wooden box with a glass top inside of which was Jesus. There were poles that stuck out of the ends for carrying. Interesting.

Hot peppers! Found!

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After our Italian class on Thursday I talked everyone into going to Arezzo to a food store I had been wanting to visit called Essalunga that I learned about in one of the groups I am member of called Italian Reflections Group. A great group of folks with all kinds of good information for Expats in Italy. Since we were already in Citta di Castello for our class it wasn’t too far away. Off we went. The store is just off the highway that goes past Arezzo and is huge and very modern and new looking with big wide aisles. We had fun looking at all the wares and sure enough they had a lot of things I have not found here like fresh hot peppers. We also found some lovely tuna steaks (ate them last night!), salmon filets and other unusual spices. Here are my peppers! I will freeze them until I need them.

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After our shopping trip it was time for lunch. Arezzo is nice in that it has lots of parking lots one of which Susan and Gary told us about which always has spots and also has escalators up to the town. We had picked a possible restaurant called Ristorante Chiavi d’Oro. Golden keys restaurant. It was on Piazza San Francesco which was a straight walk across the centro. It is a lovely city with lots of shops, art galleries etc. I need to come back for more than lunch someday!

Our lunch was very good. There was a tiny menu with about 6 items in each category, antipasti, primi, secundi. Susan got the most scrumptious flan made of Gorgonzola and so light and airy. I got the salmon tartar. Here are pictures.

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Susan and Gary had pastas and Luther and I got the rabbit. All were good. We agreed we would go back.

Today is a beautiful, very spring-like day. Probably about 60 degrees F. The sky is blue. We decided to go to Marsciano to buy outside chairs. There is a factory outlet for a store called EMU which sells all outside furniture. We bought 4 pretty metal chairs in a orangy-yellow color. I hope they look good with our table when it arrives.

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We bought a nice steak at the store and I will grill it tonight since it is so nice out.

Ciao a tutti!

Odds and ends…

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I wanted to catch up with a couple of things. First, I don’t think I ever showed a picture of the garage we rent. It is quite spacious and we even thought we could use it to store things like pellets for our stove as the space, even with the car inside, is big.

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Last week when we went to Leroy and Merlin we purchased some items. It never ceases to amaze me that nearly everything I buy here is made in Italy. How they manage to hold onto industry here and we can’t do that in the US is puzzling to me. This is the box with the toilet paper holder and brush we bought for the guest bath.

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We also talked to Jim, our realtor about our fireplace and terrace shade (two items from our list). He dropped by and took a look. He knows just about everyone so we figured he was a good source. Also Emanuele is a busy person lately and we thought we’d try to manage without him this time. Jim said what we wanted to do to the fireplace was definitely doable. He is supposed to get in touch after he talks to some folks.

Saturday morning dawned gray but the Kilometer Zero market is hanging in, even in the dead of winter.

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We had planned to go with Joseph and Paul to visit a vineyard or two. We drove to Montifalco and first visited Adanti. We still had time before they all close for lunch so we visited Filippo not far away. We managed to fill the trunk of course.

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We had decided not to lunch because Joseph and Paul needed to get back to Georgia, their little dog. I had planned to make dinner tonight anyway. I want to share a great recipe that I found for roast chicken. This is the best, and the easiest roast chicken I’ve ever found and I’ve been making it over and over. It is by Thomas Keller of the French Laundry. The trick is to make the chicken very dry so it crisps up. You also put it in the oven and do not mess with it. So easy. Best Roast Chicken. I do not use a rack. It is just as good in a pan with space around it. And here is a picture of mine. SO GOOD!!

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And finally, on Sunday we went back to Calagranna for lunch. Alberto was in the hospital so Ely was cooking and had a big birthday party bunch of Brits coming but she said that is we just eat what she is making for them we can come. It turned out it was roast beef and yorkshire puddings with all the fixin’s as a main course. But for us the best part was the anitpasti. She made a bunch of wonderful little things. I couldn’t describe them all but here is a picture.

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Outing to Florence

Yesterday morning I woke early to the sound of construction. Not so unusual around here. They had backed a truck down Via Grilli to take out debris from a house being renovated. Sounds pretty ho hum but look at how tight the space was!

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We had planned a day trip or gite fuori la porta in Italian which means a short trip outside the gates, to Florence to visit our friends Ron and Linda. We met them around 5 years ago before they moved from Virginia to Florence. They are very happy there and we planned to meet them for lunch. We had not yet used the train to go so we drove to Terontola to the train station and took the 9:30AM train which arrived at just before 11AM. Nice trip. We met Ron and Linda and had a bottle of Prosecco in a lovely piazza at an outside table in a glass enclosed area. The weather was spectacular, in the mid 60s F and bright sun. Here is the Duomo under renovation in anticipation of a papal visit later this year.

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I had asked Linda to take us somewhere where I could buy ingredients (foreign) that I can’t get in Umbria. I have forgotten the store name but will get it from her. I got lots of things I couldn’t have gotten to include Thai and mexican things. Here is a picture of my haul.

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We had lunch at one of their favorites Trattoria Porcospino (porcupine). We could sit outside. The proprietor knows Ron and Linda and is a big USA booster but a little strange in an OK kind of way. The food was good and so was the company.

We walked to Ron and Linda’s apartment. On the way at an outside vendor along the leather market I spotted a nice leather tote bag. I had been wanting to get one and lamented that I had not sent any over with our stuff. This was much more fun. I bargained and am happy with my purchase. It is periwinkle blue and reversible so it can be a pale beige. Nice soft leather and it included a blue purse. Here it is!

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When we went to our Italian lesson this morning my teacher remarked it was a color for spring. So OK with me. Bring it on! Our lesson was good (I guess). It is sometimes frustrating but I am trying. We have moved from 9AM to 10-12AM on Thursdays. Much more civilized hour and when we are done we can lunch. We went just over the Tuscan border to La Pieve Vecchia in Monterchi. Pretty old building with a lunch menu for 12 Euro to include 4 courses. And they were really good! We decided to become regulars and go after all of our classes…for the next 20 weeks!

Calagrana has reopened!

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Today is Sunday, clear and cold with pretty blue skies. Susan and Gary told us that Calagrana, one of our favorite restaurants has reopened after being closed for much of the winter. Alberto, the chef and co-owner with his wife Ely, had taken a catering gig in Wales to make some extra money since winter is so slow here. He’s back and cooking! So today we went for lunch.

There was one table there when we arrived and one table set for fourteen! We were urged to order before they showed up, which we did. Alberto out-did himself. One of the menu choices was little plates for antipasti. There were probably ten different things. Each coast 4.50 Euro. We each ordered two or three. Then most of us ordered the roast chicken. Here are pictures to make your mouth water.

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I had little roasted onions filled with onion and gorgonzola and goat cheese with sprouts on roasted beets. DSC03842

Luther had baked cod cakes, vitello tonato, and something he can’t remember but liked.DSC03843

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While we were eating another guest informed us that we had a puncture in our tyre. That’s British for a flat. Something to look forward to. Here are the valentines day cupcakes Ely made. So pretty!
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We walked out and I snapped a picture of the stone guest house and views. This is an Agriturismo as well as a spectacular restaurant. It is a working farm as well. It has beautiful rooms and in summer is a dream! Go to their website to see more Calagrana. Susan and I agreed that the Niccone valley, where Calagrana is, is the prettiest valley in Italy. Even in the dead of winter.

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Now for the fun bit. Fixing the flat. New car to Gary. It, like most cars has no spare. It had the little kit that you squirt something in and then plug a pump into the cigarette lighter and pump it up. It worked well and wasn’t too hard. Fortunately we were in a beautiful place, in the warm sun, and not on a busy highway.

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When we got back home the Piazza was filled with little kids in costumes throwing confetti at each other. From upstairs I watched some of the events and plays for the kids I guess. Another puzzling Italian thing.

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Bay leaves

One ingredient I’ve never found here is bay leaves. They just don’t have them in the store. Well I found out why. Everyone has a laurel tree and they just pick the leaves off!! I don’t have a tree but a friend brought a branch to me. Who’d have thought it!

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Yesterday we had a big cold front come through. In the morning it was almost 60F but by afternoon it had dropped to near freezing. In the process we had a big hail storm and very strong winds.

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This time last year we were just winding up our house hunting trip. A lot has changed since then!

Follow up

So today we returned to the Dipartimento di Salute to finalize our health insurance. We could not ‘jump the line’ as we thought but this day was far calmer with fewer people waiting. After only about 40 minutes we went in to see LL.

What a surprise! She was quite nice to us. But she really opened up when we began discussing restaurants that we had been to. I guess food is a subject close to her heart 🙂 given her girth! We were given cards and assigned a doctor. We asked for the one Susan and Gary have. The only glitch is that our Permissi run out in June so it is only good until June. We have to go start up our Permissi process again and then they will extend it until the end of the year. Our doctor has hours and you just drop in. I’ll let Luther go first so I see how it goes.

On Sunday we drove to Citta della Pieve. It is very close to the Tuscan border and is a very pretty hill town. I was impressed that it was a really active place with lots of people about. Nice bars and outside spaces. Here is one of the pretty streets.

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We found one of the restaurants that we had read about called Zafferanno Pievese.

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The menu had a surprise on it. Hamburger!

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But WOW was it expensive. Note the price above. I guess since it was made from the famous Chianina beef with bernese sauce and to top it off the Famous Onions of Cannara. Perhaps it was worth the price. I resisted ordering it. Maybe if we go back. Below are our two appetizers. They were good but a lot of food. I did not care for my primi but maybe it was just the ingredients. Luther liked his steak.

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It was a fun day!

January 2, 2015

We enjoyed our New Years Eve at Patrick’s Enotecca. He had a nice spread of food, some of which was from the Tyrol in northern Italy as his wife comes from there. It was paired with some wines from that region as well. The town shot off fireworks at midight which we watched until we were too cold. Afterwards we walked back into town and the band was in full swing. We headed on into our house while Susan and company stayed out and hopped up and down to the music as the Italians do. The noise was quite bearable and the cats seemed to have acclimated to the constant fireworks which everyone seems to have.

On January 1 we had a very nice New Year lunch with Susan and Gary and her sister, husband and Joseph and Paul. Very nice food catered by Colagranna. My cold caught up with me and I was a tired puppy afterwards and hit the sack early. Too much partying!

Today, January 2 I felt better but still not back to normal. Today was the day we had to drop off the Clown Car. We had decided we could live without a car for the time we needed to wait until our car was ready. We dropped the car at the train station in Perugia and then took the MiniMetro (only 2 blocks away) up to the top of the town. Then we wandered down to the Etruscan Museum that we had wanted to see. It was very good but a few more English write ups would have made me happier. After we were there a couple of hours and I was all Etruscan and Roman artifacted out we went up and had lunch at Pasticeria where we had eaten a couple of times before. The place was PACKED. It had always been pretty empty before but this time they had two big groups and lots of families with little children making it pretty chaotic. We had a nice lunch though and walked down to the OTHER train station. This station is a short line that only goes from Perugia to San Sepulcro. But it is pretty convenient and it dropped us off right in Umbertide.

Monday is the day Befana comes to town. In Italian folklore, Befana is an old woman who delivers gifts to children throughout Italy on Epiphany Eve (the night of January 5) in a similar way to St Nicholas or Santa Claus. But children get gifts from both Father Christmas and Befana. Lucky kids. I will keep a watch out for her arrival. Maybe grab a picture or two! But here she is as I could find her on the internet.

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Next week we pick up our car… or we THINK we will. After all this is Italy. One never knows…