Category Archives: Uncategorized

Trip Report Ireland – Part 1 Dublin

14 Replies

Part one – Dublin
Part two – Leenane
Part three – Doolin and home

Hi everyone! So sorry I have neglected posting lately. Much going on. I promise to start posting more often. Meanwhile, we had a nice 2+ week trip to Ireland. I hope you enjoy my report.
~~~~~~~~~~
Wednesday, September 11. 
We said goodbye to our house and cat sitters and took off for the Bologna airport. As usual we arrived and checked in and went to our favorite restaurant for a good lunch. The Ryan Air flight was direct to Dublin and took 2.5 hours.

It was 8:30 by the time we got out of the airport. So when we arrived at our hotel (The Mont) we immediately dropped our suitcase and met Cindy and Bill for a latish dinner at Kennedy’s Pub, only 2 minutes from the hotel. Most kitchens close at nine but this one was open until eleven.

There was a live trio playing Irish music. We ordered and ate but it was not the best pub food I’ve had. Nevertheless, we got fed after a long day for us all.

Thursday, September 12 
We had opted for the hotel breakfast at €20 a person. Error, error. Just sub par and not worth the money. It was ok. We never went back. We headed out for a walkabout. It was a pretty nice day. Brisk and partly sunny. We visited the shopping streets on the far side of the river. We walked over and took pictures of the pretty white foot bridge. We checked out the really nice Marks and Spencer.  We photographed the Temple Bar neighborhood. Very pretty with a lot of flowers on the buildings. The Temple Bar itself is said to have the most expensive Guinness in all of Ireland.

There was a cool butcher shop with mosaics of the animals and a very friendly butcher inside. It was a lot of fun just meandering and soaking it all in.

We went onto the Trinity College campus which was very pretty. Lots of people on the lawns and benches soaking up the sun. We had a beer in the Campus pub and then went through a secret gate to a pub we chose called the Lincoln’s Inn. They had things like traditional Irish stew with lamb and some nice wraps. We had dinner reservations in a nice place so didn’t want to eat too much.

Dinner was good but not exceptional. Very close to our hotel. Called Note. We enjoyed some burgundy wines. I had a zucchini starter and a risotto with black kale and Nori. Luther had Monkfish. He liked that. The risotto was bland. My zucchini starter was great.

Friday, September 13
Big day of walking. We started with what in my mind was an amazing breakfast. A place called Tang. Middle eastern food and amazing breakfasts. I had Shakshuka. Two eggs in a spicy tomato-y, red pepper-y sauce with all kinds of great middle eastern spices and nuts. Wow. So good. The others got the fried eggs on toast which also had middle eastern flavors. 

Thoroughly fortified we took off for a tour of the Marsh’s Library and the Cathedral. It was about half an hour walk. Along the route was a trip through St. Stephen’s Green, the largest of the parks opened to the public in 1880.

In the library there were stacks of old books. I love old books. These were very old. Think Gutenberg. There were several collections from several people who had bequeathed or sold them to the library. Then we went next door to the Cathedral. But we were turned away as there was a private service. We were told to return after 1:30 but that was not convenient. 

We then walked up to Christ Church Cathedral. There was also a Dublin museum which concentrated on history starting with the Vikings. It was pretty interesting. We then went down the street to The Christ Church pub. We had salads because that breakfast was still sticking with us. We hung around a long time because we were killing time before our Whiskey Tour of Roe & Co. While at the pub we chatted with the window washer. We could all understand just about half of what he was saying. He was very nice though, and friendly. 

We headed off to our tour, arriving right on time. There were about twelve people on the tour. All Americans. The tour was a lot of fun. The building was once an electric power plant which was abandoned. It was bought by Roe in 2017 so this is a pretty young operation. We saw the huge malting vats and the stills which pump out 2 pints a second of distilled whiskey.

Next we all sat around a big pear shaped table and we had fun first tasting the whiskey and then the corn which was cask strength. Then we got to blend our own whiskey using ratios we chose. For instance, I liked the corn alcohol so used a 65% to 35% mix for mine. It was pretty good. Then they had some things we could add that would transform the whiskey we made to a cocktail, think, Manhattan. Then we went to the bar and finished our drinks. It was fun. 

Dinner was in a place called Spitalfields. It was a gastronomic pub. It was in a pretty far away neighborhood and our cab driver had trouble finding it. We had a very nice dinner. Not fancy. Loud and happy place. Luther and I shared a trout appetizer and we had schnitzels. Yeah, a little weird in Ireland…but hey! It was the best schnitzel I ever had in Ireland.

Part one – Dublin
Part two – Leenane
Part three – Doolin and home

Pranzo a casa mia

8 Replies

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!

August is winding down, but not the heat!

8 Replies

The heat spell continues. Daily temperatures of 35C, 95F. Not quite as bad as the over 100 days. At night it cools enough to sleep well. Looks like we have another week of this heat and then it begins to cool to around 30C.

We get our errands done in the mornings. I need one more big pot and would like to get it from our Molini Popolari so it matches the one for the kumquat. But they are sold out and I keep checking to see if they got more. Anyway, they have not. But I did notice this whole array of chicken coops. From very tiny, how many chickens could they hold. One? Two? And up to very large. I have always wanted to keep a couple chickens. But on a roof terrace? I dunno.

I finally bought a cabinet that will hold all my garden stuff, brooms and dust pans. We assembled it on Sunday. I hate assembling things. But we managed with only one mistake and that one wasn’t our fault! Nothing makes me happier than organizing things and making things tidy. Check this out!

Umbertide has begun a major building project. I can’t make hide nor hair of how this is going to work. The aim is to integrate our collegiata, the 15th century round church, into the Centro more. They are separated from each other now by a parking lot and a road. I read they will change the traffic patterns and there will be more places to sit. Here is a scan of the changes. If you can figure it out, let me know!

And on a very sad (and angry) note. There was some major vandalism in the Centro of Umbertide. One of my favorite things was destroyed. It was a pretty Madonna in an arch on a building. They gouged out her face then spray painted all over her. Some people have nothing better to do.

Screenshot

Thursday is the beginning of our huge annual festa, Otto Cento. Merriment and mayhem will prevail. Food, drinks, stilt walkers, dancers, music, costumes. All in the spirit of the late 1800s when Italy became a country. It lasts for four days. We used to live just above it all and it was loud. Now, we have to walk in to visit. If you’re interested type Otto Cento in the search bar on this site to see other years festivals. Lotsa pictures.

Un abbraccio a tutti!

Tenuta Borgo Santa Cecilia

10 Replies

I promised to write about our lunch today. It was a doozie. We went with our friends Jane and Christie. This restaurant we have visited twice before a few years ago. It is way out in the countryside south of Gubbio. A beautiful location on a ridge top with views of the very high Sibillini mountains in one side and Monte Acuto and the smaller mountains on the other. The food is innovative and uses much local foraged produce. It also uses a lot of fermented items. So, without further ado….

To begin, we had 3 small “gifts” from the chef. One was a take on sushi with cured pigeon for us meat eaters. Then a caramelized savory crème brûlée and the last was a bottarga covered unknown other but it was delicious. They all were.

I started with a grilled melon with a goat cheese schmear plus other delicious other bits to include fermented arugula.

Luther got the amazing tortelli di cacciagione, tobacco, e stracchino di capra. It was marvelous and weird.

I had the melanzana glassata – eggplant but so, so much more!

Finally we shared a dessert. Carota, mandorla e fava tonka.

We had arrived just when a ferocious thunderstorm arrived. It was very atmospheric. This was kind of a last supper, ok, last pranzo 😊 with our friends who return to the US on Wednesday after around 6 months here. We wanted to take them somewhere different. It was great fun. A delicious meal with good friends.

Buona domenica!

Sabato in Umbertide

5 Replies

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

2 Replies

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!
~~~~~~~
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

2 Replies

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!
~~~~~~~
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!
~~~~~~~
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!

12 Replies

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!
~~~~~~~
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!

4 Replies

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!

Back to Italian life!

6 Replies

A couple other interesting observations that I forgot to mention in the trip report. One is the cash economy in Germany. We never encountered as many restaurants that would only take cash. Even in Italy, supposedly more backward than Germany I don’t know of any restaurant that won’t take a credit card. Second one was also about how you can pay. This time, in the Cologne Cathedral, we noticed that if you wanted to light a candle for a loved one or send up a prayer, they DO take a credit card! 🙂 How progressive of the Catholic Church! But in Boppard, to park in any of the pay lots you must have change. No bills accepted, and no cards. How odd.
~~~~~~~
It is still quite hot here. Running from 35 to 37 each day for at least the next two weeks. That’s 95-99 for those who are metric challenged. We do have to run errands but wow! So hot. It really takes it out of you. Yesterday we went to the local market in the piazza. Then to buy a crate of fizzy water, and finally to the grocery store to stock up. We were both whipped when we got home.

I have a sad tomato story. Last post I did on them they were looking good. But now I must report the tomatoes are ripening with blossom end rot. I found if I picked the tomato when it was just beginning to ripen I could still use them. But many I couldn’t do that with. I read it was a lack of calcium in the soil so I have been feeding them with calcium plant food. Also some people say too much water can inhibit the absorption of the calcium, but it is just so freaking hot on that terrace in the full sun, if they aren’t watered they shrivel up and look pathetic. I am cutting back a little on the water. Anyway here is a bowl of the ones I did get that are fine.

We have a new wine bar in the Centro! Labrusca Wine Bar. Right next to La Rocca, our fortress. Run by a couple of young ragazzi. They feature lots of local Umbria wines, many we had not heard of. Also artisan local beer, and very delicious snacks. They have a small plate menu as well. There is a beer fest in town now too, called UmBEERtide! So they weren’t serving the menu. We met up with Jane and Christie at the new bar last evening. Always nice to have a new place in town.

Photo credit Michaël Cloet

Today is Sunday. We had a lunch planned with our Canadian friend Karen, at Calagrana. She is a teacher and every summer she comes and stays (mostly) in Tuscany. So we get together. She loves Calagrana. Our main courses. I forgot to photo the starter of grilled peaches, cherry tomatoes, with ham and buratta. So good.

Tagliatelle with truffles
Fegato (liver) with potato puree. I love liver and this was superb.
Baby chicken.

…and for our salad tonight, borlotti beans from the local market which just came in season. In English they are cranberry beans. Too bad they turn brown when cooked! But they taste great!

Ciao for now! Stay cool all y’all! (That’s the Virginia in me coming out! 🤣)