Sunday, April 12th. discovering silk farming in Vittorio Veneto

the silkworm museum - Museo del Baco da Seta in Vittorio Veneto

Venetian stories: Marisa and her glass beads

Marisa workshop in sestiere San Marco 

© Italian Stories

Venice is small. it has the size of a town. but, behind any door, an entire world could open up for you, like stepping in Marisa's workshop, in sestiere San Marco. 
quirky wallpaper, old books, pictures, necklaces, china porcelain cups filled with glass beads, coral branches made of glass beads, velvet slippers embroidered with glass beads. glass beads everywhere! a small, colorful world. and Marisa sits in the middle of it, her desk well lighted by an old fashion chandelier and a lamp, her hands weaving, embroidering, stitching fast, among hundreds of small variously shaped and colored beads. 

via Caprera festival

Poffabro and Frisanco. April, Saturday 26th

Frisanco and Poffabro are two towns near the Carnic Alps. we visited them in a cloudy and warm april weekend. they are as enchanting as they're quiet. we explored them by feet, cause the tiny streets were too narrow, and the silence was so solid, we did not want to disturb. 

spring gathering

how much i love spring! scent of strawberries and flowers, outdoor dining, longer days.

have you ever tried flower tempura? 

when it rains

as a kid, i had this book, called che cosa fare quando piove, by richard scarry. the original title, in english, is best rainy day book ever. you've probably already heard of it, or at least i hope so, cause it's such a great childrens book. if you have not, it is a collection of ideas on what to do on rainy days.

i cannot emulate mister scarry, but here it has been raining for days, so i had some time to make my personal list about that. i hope you like it, and want to share some of what you like to do when it rains {stay in bed all day: not accepted!}.

indoor picnic i am still a kid, i know. i should go back to richard scarry. but it's so fun! you know i love picnics, and i have to wait months (months!) before i get an outdoor one. go outside for a walk i'm aware this is not the "when the sun is shining" post, keep reading.  the only problem we have, while walking in the rain, is that we don't want to get wet {because we're going to do things like work}. but, if we expect that, and we're okay with it because we are keeping in mind the hot shower we'll take back home, it will be lovely. bring an umbrella, some colorful rain boots, make sure you're warm enough. enjoy the drops on the trees, the sound(s) and the reflections, jump on a puddle. if you're lucky, you can catch the best moment: when the rain stops and the sun comes out. isn't that light amazing? it's raining outside, so we're camping inside do you know that photo by tim walker? since i saw it for the first time, i have been fascinated. coziness plus camping! i had to try it, and that was the perfect opportunity. try something new it could be a recipe you've never tried yet. or the start of a new tradition.  marco and i made some canederli for dinner, a typical trentino dish, made of old bread, flour, eggs and salami.  plus, the idea of starting a bookclub with some girl friends is growing!   ice skating date a field trip to the closest (indoor) ice rink. this is the one point of the list i have not done yet.  visit a museum/exhibition we chose an amazing illustration exhibition, called Illustri, held in Vicenza. it featured eleven talented italian illustrators: shout, emiliano ponzi, olimpia zagnoli, bomboland, ale giorgini, mauro gatti, riccardo guasco, francesco poroli, umberto mischi, jacopo rosati, rubens cantuni. we loved it and a piece of it, a fine print by riccardo guasco, is now at home with us, a reminder of that heavy rain day.

pinza and blackbirds

in italy, the last three days of january (29, 30 and 31) are called the days of the blackbird {i giorni della merla}, and they are traditionally considered the coldest days of the year. and i hope they will be freezing cold, because it is also said that if the days of the blackbird are as cold as they should be, then a fine spring is around the corner, but if they are warm, it means that spring will arrive later than usual. 

with such a weather, staying indoors and baking are the best thing. a typical winter cake in veneto, friuli and some trentino's valleys is called pinza. there is no recipe of the pinza. it  varies from location to location, from family to family, with some basic general features. the ingredients are simple, typical of the rural tradition: white flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, eggs, pumpkin, candied fruit, dried figs, raisins and fennel seeds.

the very special occasion to eat pinza is usually the panevin, when families gather togheter, and you can taste all the different pinza recipes they made! 

this is how i do it. 

ingredients
200 g cornmeal
200 g wheat flour
120 g softned butter
1 egg
130 g sugar
raisins* 
dried figs*
almond*
250 ml milk
a coffee cup** of grappa {grape spirit}
a coffee cup** of sweet wine
baking powder 
1 orange
salt to taste

* quantity as you like
** i mean espresso

method
put the raisins to soak in the grappa. knead the flours, butter, baking powder, egg, zest and juice from the orange, salt. add raisins with grappa, sweet wine, figs and almonds. add warm milk. the dough will have a quite liquid consistency. pur on a cake pan, bake for 1 hour at 170°. 

better served with hot wine, friends and the best stories from last year. 

christmas market in Bruneck. December, Sunday 1st

shiny brezel, cups of hot beverages to warm up cold fingers, holiday mood until your head spins. 

in small doses, i love christmas markets. 

i usually pay my visit early, when they are just opened and not so crowded. this year, i went to Brunico/Bruneck with my family, on the first sunday of december. Brunico is a lovely town in South Tyrol, a good place for a stroll or outdoor fun, both in summer and winter. 

needless to say, my favorite market stalls where the food & beverage themed ones. from candies to hot dogs, from local cheese (!) to local salami (!!). i had my nose frozen but a warm feeling inside.

 so far it had been the only christmassy thing i've done this year. all the big lunches and dinners are going to start next week.

what do you do during the holiday season? any nice tradition?

strawberry tree forever

"o verde albero italico, il tuo maggio

è nella bruma: s'anche tutto muora,

tu il giovanile gonfalon selvaggio

spieghi alla bora" 

Giovanni Pascoli

strawberry tree, arbutus unedo, corbezzolo. this tree colors the autumn with its bright red berries. as the Pascoli's poem i quoted says, its May is in the mist. 

we greeted November harvesting juicy sweetness. we have a big strawberry tree in the garden, now dotted in red. my grandma says it is a symbol of warm welcoming, and that's why it has been planted near the entrance gate.

have a lovely weekend ♥
{nikon em + fuji superia 200}

elderflower syrup, pt.II

summer is here. golden light in the dusk, smell of hay, cold drinks in the porch, flower's brightest colors, reading books outdoors, long walks with the wagging dog.

the sweetest image of my summer so far

in case you're wondering how i use the elderflower syrup i've made with grandma (elderflower syrup, pt.I here), you should know that it is a perfect refreshment for these hot & wet days.

we carefully filtered and bottled the syrup, (in the end we had 16 liters!) and then stocked it in our cellar.

now it's time to drink it! how?
there is the classic way, diluted in cool water. we prepare a couple of bottle to keep in the fridge, to refresh our afternoons. i love to drink it while eating cherries. (tons of cherries)

then, there is the relaxing way: just perfect for a sunset drink after work, before lunch on sunday, or at the end of a long lambretta ride!
it's called hugo, a cocktail invented in Trentino Alto Adige region and made with elderflower syrup, prosecco, mint leaves and seltz or sparkling water (that i usually do not use).

if you use eledrflower syrup in another way, please tell us! i'd love to give it a try.

goat cheese and legends. May, Saturday 25th

"behind every cheese there is a pasture of a different green under a different sky: meadows caked with salt that the tides of Normandy deposit every evening; meadows scented with aromas in the windy sunlight of Provence; there are different flocks, with their stablings and their transhumances; there are secret processes handed down over the centuries."

Italo Calvino, Mr. Palomar

nowadays, our modern palates are no longer used to the tastes of biodiversity. this is the first lesson we learned after we got off the Altopiano di Asiago, and arrived to agriturismo Al Cucco, surrounded by woods and stream waters. {if you don't remember what an agriturismo is, check this post for the definition}
when you produce non-industrial cheese, it's difficult to obtain the same taste every time, although the procedure and the doses are just the same: you can not predict what herbs or flowers the goat will eat tomorrow, or if she is going to stay in the stable because it's raining. 
for the one of us who are used to eat cheeses that have all the same taste, this could be disturbing. but it should be fascinating! when you taste a cheese, you're tasting the enviroment where the goat {or the cow}is living, the greens of the pasture, the different wind, sky, temperature, tradition. just like Calvino's quote says. 
 

chamoisee alpine goats

a blonde woman named Marianna is the landlady of agriturismo Al Cucco. she was a chemist but left her job to open this farm, raise goats and make cheese. she's not the only one who make that choice. she told us there is a small but increasing "return to the earth" that they're experiencing around there. people with good office jobs who decide to quit and follow the dream of making something grow with their hands. i think i'll do the same someday.

Marianna showed us how she makes her goat caciotta.

Marianna is a former chemist who had left her job to open an agriturismo, raise goats and produce cheese

Marianna is not just a cheese makers, she also knows a lot of local legends and old stories. while we were taking a walk in the woods, she showed us small tunnels dug into the rocks, excavated during the war and used as deposits.
then, she told us some legends about the anguane. an anguana is a fairy creature typical of the alpine mythology, related to the water, with characteristics that are partly similar to those of a nymph. 

in the Dolomites, anguane are frequently described as young women, often very attractive and able to seduce men, at other times, however, appear as half girls and half reptile or fish, capable of launching loud cries.
Marianna's story described how the anguane live near waters, and spend the nights washing and hanging white sheets to the moonlight. 
another lengend was about the salvanelli, pixies that have fun making jokes to the farmers overnight, like weaving togheter the cow's tails.

legends an old stories in the woods

out of the woods, we arrived at a semi-abandoned hamlet {in the local dialect, a contrà}. lots of rural houses have been abandoned, or, like some of them, are used as a summer house for old people who live in the city and come here to have some fresh healthy air.  

that give to those houses a melancholic look, suspended between being charming and being haunted.

{olympus om10 + fuji superia 200}

info
Agriturismo Al Cucco
loc. cucco, 2 - 36040 Valdastico (VI)
agriturismoalcucco@alice.it

wool! May, Sunday 19th

there is a small town called Follina in the Treviso province, mainly known in the region for its simple and beautiful abbey.
Follina owes its foundation and growth to the benedectine monks who, patiently and silently, built the abbey before the XII century. then, the monks taught the peasants the art of wool, starting a tradition that gave Follina her name and was destined to be long and prosperous throughout the valley. the place was perfect for the sheeps thanks to the grazing lands and water. 

elderflower syrup, pt. I

i am really happy to share this with you! when may approached, my whole family was thrilled at the idea that the elder trees were about to bloom. but let's take a step back.
elder {sambucus nigra} is very common in italy, it especially grows along railway lines, in damp woods and banks of rivers.

last year during this season i told my grandmother that i had tasted an elderflower fresh beverage and really liked it.  we used to make it too, don't you remember?, she cried. i didn't. so, as far as i'm concerned, last year was the first time we made elderflower syrup in my family. it was a test, so we made just a few litres, to see if we liked and if we actually drank it all.
we become sort of addicted, and when we finished it last summer we decided we'd make a larger quantity this year. so, it's a fresh family tradition!

the elder blooms in may, and we waited for the perfect day for the harvest: it has to be warm, no rain from a couple of days, with the flowers fully open and dry.
i wandered with marco on the countryside near home, to find trees not too close to the streets or to the vineyards {for pesticides}, and harvested about 100 flowers.

we (and the camera, too!) were covered in pollen.
at home, my grandma and i carefully washed the flowers, and put them in two little carboys with water, squeezed and cutted lemons. 
there was a sweet delicate scent all over our working table! anyway, isn't my grandmother pretty?

we had to wait for 24 hours, before filtering with a towel and adding sugar and citric acid {needed for storage. without it, it won't last}.
then, it was ready to be bottled and drunk, but i'll tell you about it next time.
the recipe it's below ♥

grandma's hands ♥

{nikon em + fujicolor 200}

time for spring buds. bruscandoli risotto.

 many species of our wild herbs are edible. this is the best season to harvest some spring buds to prepare traditional tasty dishes.
my grandma taught me to recognize, clean and cook some of the most common wild herbs. among them, bruscandoli {or bruscandoi} are my favorites. it's a veneto dialect word , and it identifies the humulus lupulus wild buds {wild hop}.

in northen italy, they grow spontaneously in the countryside: among thorns, under the hedges and along ditches. you have to harvest the last 15 cm, the softest, green-reddish part. 

used to cook a  risotto or an omelette {frittata}, they give their best. 

this time, me and Marco used them for risotto. after cleaning and chopping (not too short), cook over a low heat in a saucepan, with a finely chopped white onion. add the rice after about ten minutes, then cook it like a regular risotto, with broth.