Colomba di Pasqua

Sometimes (just sometimes, mind!) I suffer from competitive mamma syndrome. Seeing everyone baking, both here and in England, got me thinking I must have a go at the classic Italian Easter cake ‘Colomba’ – or dove.  Every bakery and supermarket here sells millions of this enriched yeasted bread – an Easter version of panettone. It’s been around for either hundreds …

In celebration of beetroot

A different kind of blog this time as the other day I made a beetroot tarte tatin and it was just so delicious I had to share! Beetroot Tarte Tatin Serves 4 4 medium beetroot 4 cloves garlic 3 medium onions 1 tbs butter 2 tbs olive oil 2 tsp thyme leaves 3 tbs balsamic vinegar 1 tbs sugar 200-250g …

Mushrooms galore!

Late summer truffles (tartufi neri estivi) The recent rains followed by more sun and heat have brought the smell of mushrooms to the surrounding woods, so we shall be out and about searching for the best funghi – hopefully we’ll even find some porcini to make into delicious sauces and for drying.  Despite it still being summer, it definitely feels …

The season of plenty

The season of plenty in the garden and surrounding landscape is beginning and we are inundated with ingredients and ideas to make a whole host of delicious eats and drinks.  Always keen to try out something new, we’ve raided the local wild sour cherry trees and are trying our hands at bright jewel coloured jelly and hopefully what will turn …

Calling all carnivores….

…it’s the annual Steak Festival in our little town of Sestino! We still have availability at the end of June (the dates of the festival are 26th – 28th June) so don’t hesitate to book your last minute stay. As you can imagine from the title, the festival features steak – but this is no ordinary steak.  The huge white …

Experimenting with cheese…

This month I fulfilled a long held ambition to make my own cheese!  It was only a simple ricotta (bring 1l milk nearly to the boil, add the juice of a lemon and a splash of white wine vinegar, turn off and leave to cool for 10 mins then drain through muslin), but it was delicious.  I hope to make …

Free range piggy goodness

We’re not yet able to keep our own pigs so this year we were lucky enough to get a beautiful cross breed Cinta Senese (considered the finest pork in Italy) free range pig from a nearby farm and we were very much looking forward to all the delicious porky products that we could get from the 145kg animal. It’s a …

Citrus from Sicily

Dark winter days are usually brightened by delicious oranges and lemons from Sicily, but winter this year has so far been gorgeous with bright, sunny & frosty days.  But that has not stopped us from making the most of the citrus fruits all the same – not least to help us get through a horrible cold we’ve all caught! The …

Snow place like Italy (ho ho ho!)

The end of the year sees us cosying up inside – well, Giorgio and I and least as Gavin has been out heroically chopping a mound of wood to keep us warm for the days of sub-zero temperatures, snow and bitter north winds to come.  But we’re not going to be idle inside; we’re also busy preparing a big Italian …

New life at Ca’ Valenzano

We’re very pleased to announce the birth of our little son Giorgio!  We’ve had bunnies born here, and chicks, then ducklings (practically all grown up now!) and now a little boy – Valenzano certainly seems good for new life! Apologies for the lack of blog posts in recent months but we have been run off our feet with building and …