Our rural friends remain a treasure, not to be replicated. Ever. Now nearly 84, Peppe cuts, bales, transports and stacks about 5000 hay bales every June, still prunes and hoes his vineyard, makes his own vino, raises his pigs for prosciutto, capocollo, salami, and prunes his olive trees and picks all the olives for the…
Southern Tuscany hilltown gem, Anghiari, turns into an artisan market at the end of April for the Mostra Mercato dell’Artigianato della Valtiberina. This “Show-and-Sell of the Tiber Valley Artisans” festival fills the medieval vaulted walkways, frescoed Renaissance civic buildings and noble palazzi, ancient olive oil and wine cellars – and even a Roman cistern and…
The plethora of sagre and other food festivals burst out all over Umbria in April – and will continue to entice palates and unite families and friends all the way to late fall. One of the first of the year – and NOT to miss – is the late April Festa della Vernaccia in the…
If you ask little Thomas about his most memorable moment during our visit to the farm of Giuseppa and Paolo, he’ll probably cite climbing up into the tractor with his Uncle Jerome and sister Isabelle: …..or mastering the tongs for the serving up of Giuseppa’s fresh garden salad to his family: …and for highlight for…
Wild asparagus is now sprouting in our woods..and with a bit of luck- and ideal weather conditions – we’ll be foraging for the woodland goodness til late May. Our pasta at lunch today highlighted the tasty wild asparagus: spaghetti alla carbonara di asparagi. But in this carbonara, I substituted the pancetta (bacon) for tidbits of…
To welcome spring, a group of Spello’s ristoranti and trattorie feted wild greens, offered two days of tasting menus highlighted with the goodness growing on the slopes of Mt. Subasio and in the fields fanning out below. The menus for the Spello festa were posted on the Net, each tasting menu just 20 Euro per…