Tomato Passata sauce, part 1
Tomato Passata sauce, part 2
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The Olive picking team !
I have to be honest , Autumn really is my favorite season . In gastronomic terms everything i love to eat happens now. It starts with the ripe figs falling of the trees in September, then the grapes are ready on the vines , mushrooms appear as if [...]

Pine nuts and Gorzonzola cheese Zucchini parcel
Yet another month has passed and even though we live in the middle of nowhere, it is unbelievable the number of people who have passed thro my kitchen in the last few months. They all came to share the same passion for Italian food. Absolutely fantastic!
I have met many [...]

Homemade ravioli stuffed with pumpkin and Saronno amaretti biscuits, served with butter and sage sauce
It’s November and normally we are preparing for our annual olive harvest . Some friends have already sent emails asking to join us and the students from the University of Arizona in Orvieto say they are full of energy, [...]

Our freshly picked olives
YES we managed ,it’s done. But let’s start from the beginning.
On Saturday morning by 9.30 am the mist had disappeared and warm sun shine welcomed our guests, twenty three altogether, consisting of 14 nice girls and a young professor all from the American school based here in Orvieto, 4 close [...]

Homemade ravioli served with a chesnut cream, crispy pancetta cubes and fresh rosemary
This morning, while taking what should have been be a brisk healthy walk , but was in fact a slow leisurely stroll with our lazy dog Lui, I came across three of our elderly neighbors who were busy harvesting their olives. [...]

Homemade olive ascolane
For the farmers around Orvieto , the situation is serious this year. To start with although the vines produced excellent grapes that were full of sugar, unfortunately there was far less of them and the overall harvest in the area was reduced by almost 40%. Now, we are coming up to [...]

Cacio & Pepe
Cacio e Pepe is a real traditional Roman pasta dish . Most Italians have heard of it , but very few know exactly how it’s made. Quick and simple it uses only 3 ingredients , Extra virgin olive oil , pecorino Romano cheese and of course black pepper. A real example [...]

Bruschetta Ricotta Scante and chopped tomato
Exercising and playing a sport gives you a wonderful healthy feeling, taking time off to take care of yourself works wonders and also, if like me ,you love food, it can help burn off those extra calories. But it doesn’t end there.
Twice a week I try to attend a spinning [...]

Etruscan soup
Thursday afternoon I was in total panic, but let me start from the beginning . Some time ago I had been contacted to do a cooking class for a group of American students. The idea was to cook some local old recipes linked to the region . Great I thought and [...]

Jackie's pumpking soup
This week has been once again full of activate . First off, we had the olives to pick . Two days of intensive labor . Thanks to our friends and family we managed to pick a bumper crop ( 450 kg ), which we hope when crushed will give us about [...]
A few of the children squashing the grapes into the container.
So many people came to help us with the harvest this year we just couldn`t believe it, again we are so grateful and send a big thank you to everybody for all your hard work.
But let’s start from the beginning : On Saturday [...]

Red chilies from my vegetable garden
Ciao everyone, no I haven`t won the lottery and escaped to exotic horizons (I wish ) or been the typical Italian and when August came closed everything down to go on vacation for a month !!!!! Yes, yes if only…..although the second option is closer to reality….. I [...]

Squid in orange and lemon dressing
No matter where we live, we all have our favorite store: be it a baker, butcher or ice cream palour. Even in my little world in the middle of Umbria, I also have my preferred shops. And today I ‘d like to tell you about a small store [...]

Spaghetti aglio olio e peperoncino
There are days , even if it doesn’t happen very often ,when I just can’t be bothered to cook! Yesterday was one of those days. I think it’s fare, don’t you ? Because to be honest sometimes we all feel a little bit lazy and the idea to go [...]

bread and freshly pressed olive oil
With these olives it never seems to end! As you surely remember a couple of weeks ago we made our olive harvest. Then, with great satisfaction for two weeks we’ve been watching everyone from the Allerona village picking theirs . I say satisfaction because clearly ,when you know that your work is [...]
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Fame at last !
Pine nuts and Gorzonzola cheese Zucchini parcel
Yet another month has passed and even though we live in the middle of nowhere, it is unbelievable the number of people who have passed thro my kitchen in the last few months. They all came to share the same passion for Italian food. Absolutely fantastic!
I have met many [...]