Baked Swiss chard goodness added a tasty side dish to a recent lunch. Not Swiss chard from Novella’s vegetable stand in Assisi this time… …but from our own vegetable garden, although I missed a shot of Pino picking it. Here’s all you need to make Baked Swiss Chard: a geenerous bunch of Swiss chard with…
On May 22nd, the feast of the beloved 15th-c. Umbrian saint, Santa Rita di Cascia, I always take red roses to our farm neighbor Rita to celebrate her onomastico (“name day”). Rita had her roses this year, too: In Cascia on May 22nd for la Festa di Santa Rita, a few years ago, everything was…
As always, cooking proves a pleasant distraction during this COVID-19 lockdown. Today’s easy, tasty recipe is dedicated to Pino’s wonderful mamma, Signora Vincenza (in the photo below with our Giulia, 1995)…. …..as I first tasted this dish in her Palermo kitchen. Her tasty spaghetti con patate showcases Italy’s traditional cooking, la cucina povera. La cucina…
Some of the agretti recently purchased from Novella’s vegetable stand in Assisi …. …have already starred in a pasta recipe: Today, I used some of the remaining agretti in an easy – VERY easy! – and tasty pasta dish: Spaghetti al Pesto di Agretti e Mandorle. These are the only ingredients you need for this…
There’s always a bit of excitement at springtime outdoor markets when bunches of the dark green, thin tapered leaves of the agretti appear. Often called “barba di frate” or “beards of the friars,” their growing season is brief, over in a wink. What buona fortuna to find them, therefore, at Novella’s vegetable stand on a…
Spotting Signora Marinella’s balcony has always been a highlight of Assisi springtime strolls…. …but not this year with Assisi in COVID-19 lockdown as of March 11th. As of May 4th, lockdown restrictions slightly loosened, allowing us to move about our regione and to go into the nearest town for a walk (and not just for…
Once again, cooking up a new recipe and then eating the dish together proved to be a oerfetto deterrent to a CPA (Coronavirus Panic Attack). And yet again, the decision on what to cook originated with what we had in our home and/or garden. The Parsley Pinenut Pecan Pesto sauce – (like that alliteration?) –…
May 5th, our second day of “liberation” from that full lockdown which has kept us all at home since March 11, 2020. We can now go to our own Comune (city or town, place of residency) to walk – and not just for grocery shopping or a pharmacy visit (and one person only per household).…
In past years in May, I’d be walking the labyrinthine Assisi medieval backstreets nearly daily, taking in the floral splendor all around….. …..as I headed to meet my tour guests for an Assisi guided walk. In lockdown here in our Assisi countryside farmhouse since March 11th, I have no idea if floral majesty has taken…
No glorious Corsa dei Ceri in Gubbio on May 15th, 2020. Annulled. Only three times in history has Gubbio’s Corsa dei Ceri ever been cancelled and only in wartime (in 1916, 1918 and 1941 – 1945). With COVID-19, we’re fighting another battle and the eugubini have had to bow to the enemy. The RAI television…