Truffle Festival in Montefiorino

Montefiorino, a town we visit on our tours, is holding a Truffle Festival, which explores the “Universe of the Nose”. Heading towards summer, the region holds many festivals and exhibitions in regards to food – with the delicacy of Truffles being the focus. The square in Montefiorino comes alive with events, specialty truffles to try, tours, tastings and lots of live entertainment.

An 18th-century French gastronomy chef, Brillat-Savarin claimed truffles to be “the diamond of the kitchen”. They are a great delicacy and very, very expensive. They are grown in the region of where Montefiorino resides and are used sparingly in food. To taste the variety and the freshness – then if you are in the area – make sure you able to venture to this festival.

For more information about the Truffle Market Festival and to taste various original locally made foods – visit http://www.tartufomodenese.it (be warned though, this website is in Italian only).

The festival is from Saturday, 22 October until Tuesday, 1 November 2011.

Fiumalbo

Fiumalbo is a medieval village with many churches and oratories, situated in Emilia-Romagna but close to the border of Tuscany. Most tourists visit Fiumalbo in the summer to experience its natural beauty and enjoy various outdoor activities like trekking and hiking. The winter months are also popular, due to the town being so close to the Abetone, a ski mountain in the Appenines.   Fiumalbo only has a small population of 1400 people and sight seeing attractions can be easily visited on foot. These include towers, churches and the narrow streets meander back to the centre of town. The lifestyle is quite laidback, but can be quite hectic during summer and winter.

Luckily, we visit the area just before summer, when they are beginning to prepare for the tourist onslaught and we have the whole town to ourselves. The residents are very welcoming and enjoy our presence and often treat us to rare experiences (one time, the priest of Fiumalbo offered us a behind-the-scenes tour of San Bortolomeo church, which was built in the 1500′s. An amazing experience).

There are plenty of shops and cafe’s to fossick in and we highly recommend you bring your camera for beautiful panoramic shots.

 

Painting in Italy – Part 2

Experiencing culture in Italy – by Janette Garbuio

The culture and history is a wonderful addition which the group is able to see and experience.  Living among the country community, seeing how they live and the ability to compare to the Italian city life is a wonderful contrast. There, the remains of the past are found in the mountains. We discovered an ancient watermill, still being used in the village of Gombola. The Mayor of Polinago came personally on the bus to take us there so they could show us the wheel and wooden instruments still in use to make chestnut flour.

We were lucky enough to explore Gombola for the day. There is a lovely coffee shop and trattoria with fresh homemade food. And, of course, plenty to see and experience for the painter and their partners.

When you walk around the borga of houses in any of the villages we visit, you never know what you might find.  We found a beautiful fresco under a roof, when we visited Riolunato. The date on the fresco was 1400AD.

Some of the cultural lovers, who had no experience in painting or drawing wanted to dabble in a bit of art. Therefore, for the people interested, I taught them how to capture what one is looking at on paper and to draw accordingly. They progressed so quickly and completed some beautiful drawings. They even amazed the professional artists on the trip.  I was so proud of them as they featured their pictures among the professionals for the townspeople to view on the last night of the trip.

The people from the mountains have been very kind to us and never seem to get tired of making us feel welcome and special.  I want to thank the people who came to experience the culture and history of this ancient land with me.

Gnocchi Alla Nonna Tina

Nonna Tina is my grandmother. Regardless of what time I visit her, she still tries to feed me a four course meal (I tried to confuse her by visiting at 3pm, but then she would feed me all these delicious cakes, which was really affecting my waistline…). Luckily – she also makes her own pasta, sauces and her specialty (and my favorite) – GNOCCHI.

The best sauces are thick tomato sauce or a quick creamy favorite nonna makes when I give her no notice: pepper cream sauce (simply heat some cream in pan, add some cracked pepper to your taste and you have a sauce!)

I believe the good things in life should be shared. So, let me know how you go!

Gnocchi alla nonna Tina

1kg of unwashed potatoes
300g white flour
1 egg
1-2 tble Olive oil (depending on texture of gnocchi)
Extra flour

Method

1. Place 300g white flour onto wooden board.
2. Place potatoes as they are in a large pot of boiling water.  Cook for 20-25 minutes or until tender when tested with a skewer (don’t test too much as potatoes will become waterlogged). Drain well. While still hot, peel and discard skins. Using a potato ricer, puree potatoes onto the flour. There should be no lumps. Cool slightly.
3. Crack egg over potato/flour mixture and add olive oil
4. Use your hands to knead briefly until a soft dough forms. If mixture is still sticky, add a little more flour (the amount of flour added is crucial – too much flour will make the cooked gnocchi heavy and tough, while too little flour will cause gnocchi to disintegrate during cooking).
5. Cut dough into 4 equal-sized pieces. Using your hands, gently roll each piece out to form a log about 2cm wide. Using a lightly floured knife, cut each log into 1.5cm-long pieces.
6. Roll each ball of gnocchi over the tines of a lightly-floured fork, pressing gently with your index finger or thumb underneath as you go, to form a dent in the back of each one and fork marks on the other side (this creates a textured surface, helping sauces to cling to cooked gnocchi).
7. Bring a large pot of water to the boil (larger the pot – the better). Add 1/4 of the gnocchi. As they cook, gnocchi will rise to the surface of the water. Continue cooking gnocchi at the surface for about 10 seconds then remove with a large slotted spoon and drain well. Repeat with remaining gnocchi. Serve immediately.
8. FREEZE:  Gnocchi can be frozen up to 6 months (ensure you add a bit more flour to the mixture, to counteract the ice). When needed, boil a large pot of water and add gnocchi straight from freezer. Do not leave out to thaw (they will turn to mush).

Painting in Italy – part 1

Painting in Italy (28th May – 11th June) from Janette Garbuio

Buongiorno, (good day) to everyone! And it was a beautiful day when the artists and cultural lovers started their 2011 May trip to the beautiful Italian Apennine Mountains, bordering Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, to stay at a small rustic town called Polinago.

Painting amongst the ancient buildings is just magic. The time of year we travel is end of spring, when the area is filled with roses and wild mountain flowers. I tried to plan an agenda which allowed the artist at least 3 hours before lunch and another 3 hours afterwards to paint.   I balanced the trip with days which we painted in the same location for the whole day and the artist could either paint all day or explore in the morning and paint in the afternoon or  they can go to the shops and markets or walks in the country side.  It was their choice.

Each artist did wonderful works of art, even the locals noticed because they kept telling me how they admired the artist’s works.

Cathy B painted in beautiful pastels. I admired how she captured the lovely views from the hotel and the colours in her buildings. She even managed to find the time to learn how to make pasta from my Aunt Anna, in the town of Palagano.

The Mayor of Castellerano, Luigi, was admiring her emerging painting of the orange villa. Luigi said to me Cathy’s picture had captured the feeling of the ancient centre in the middle of his town. Luigi urged me to bring my artists to his town for two days (instead of one) as he wanted us to spend more time painting the town. Let’s just say he was very disappointed when I said it was not possible.

Helen F managed to create great oil paintings and especially her doorway, painted in the town of Riolunato, impressed all the locals who saw it, that on the last night it was sold.

I had Harry F who would video the daily activity of the group and at night after our meal, with coffee or tea in hand, we all would enjoy viewing on the hotel’s large flat screen, what we did for the day.

Thank you Harry, I think it was a marvelous idea which I will aim to do next year.

However, it was the painting from Gerry Hl, that captured the attention of the hotel owner in Fiumalbo. He painted the scenery opposite the hotel patio. The hotel owner came to me as he really liked the artwork but was too scared to ask Gerry if he could buy it. Together, we approached Gerry and between themselves, they negotiated a price and the deal was done. Great work Gerry… now you can call yourself an international artist!

The art of ‘siesta’

Many times I’ve wandered through an Italian town, in the afternoon, and wondered where all the people have gone. And it’s even more more eerie when you’re walking around a large city during siesta, like Lucca or Bologna. All the shops are closed and the only people in sight are other tourists wandering around just as aimlessly.

Welcome to the world of siesta, where the Italian’s need for snooze is more important than the tourist Euro.

Since Rome began, Italians have always embraced the siesta. And of course, why wouldn’t they? Even the researchers and scientists at NASA (yes, the space shuttle centre) agree having a nap, even for only 30 minutes during a working day recharges the brain, increases memory and, of course, increases productivity.

But what does the average tourist do, while the country they are visiting is too busy resting?

1: Restaurants and Gelati – Siesta’s are usually taken between 12pm and 3pm. A perfect excuse for a really long lunch. Restaurants are usually open during this time and it is the best time for tourists to sit back and behave like a local. It gives you time to enjoy an expresso (under no circumstances, NEVER buy a cappuccino after 10am. This screams ‘tourist’ as Italians generally have cappuccino’s at breakfast, due to the sweetness). And, if you feel a little antsy, there is no excuse to order a ‘gelato’ (ice cream) from a local vendor and explore the quiet streets.

2: Go for a wander - If you love taking photographs of monuments without 50,000 tourists racing past it, then wandering the streets during siesta is the way to go. I’ve taken some beautiful shots of old doors in Lucca, which could not have possibly happened before or after siesta.

3: Take a drive – If you have access to a car, then it is a perfect opportunity to take a long beautiful drive around the area. However, don’t forget, everything will still be closed, so this would be a great opportunity to sample the cuisine at a restaurant, outside the city. And usually, due to the fact these restaurants on the side of the roads are owned by locals, you know the food will be fresh and extremely tasty.

Then again, all that eating may make you tired too, therefore, if your residence is in close vicinity… you may want to wander back and have a bit of R&R too…

Italian Language: Vorrei (ideal for restaurants/cafes)

When at an Italian restaurant or cafe:
Vorrei – meaning “I would like…” – it’s a polite way of asking, instead of voglio (“I want…)

vorrei – I would like
vorresti – you would like
vorrebbe – he/she/it would like
vorremmo – we would like
vorreste – you (plural) would like
vorrebbero – they would like

Some examples include:
I would like a table near to the window (Vorrei un tavolo vicino la finestra).
I would like to see the menu, please (Vorrei vedere il menu, per favore).
I would like to order now (Vorrei ordinare ora).
To drink, I would like some white wine (Vorrei del vino bianco).

Why would you use it?
It is a lovelier way to request something (ie: a plate of food, a beverage) instead of demanding. Plus, you may receive extra attention from your waiter for taking the effort to learn such a beautiful piece of language (as I quickly found out when ordering dinner one night in Rome…)