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Ciao amici -
Spring is in full bloom in Italy! Besides the beautiful flowers, we are enjoying all the delicious fresh spring vegetables and especially the new pecorino and fresh beans.
We will be welcoming several groups this month and next to Tuscany. Keep up with us on Facebook or Gina's blog.
Buon appetito!
Gina and Mary
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Cacio e Bacelli -Pecorino & Fava Beans
In Italy, many things are still done in old fashioned ways that inevitably tie the people to the seasons - growing vegetables, caring for animals, cooking traditional dishes. In the spring there is a pairing of fresh pecorino, or sheep's milk cheese, and fresh fava beans - cacio e bacelli in Tuscan dialect - that is the perfect example of how the simplicity of a seasonal dish belies the complexity of nature.
Most of us are far removed from the farm and little nuances of life tied to the land frequently escape and astound us. Making cheese out of sheep's milk, for example, was a revelation to me when I learned that in order for a sheep, or any animal, to give milk, it has to have a baby every year. So in late summer the dairy farmer puts a billy goat in with the sheep to impregnate them and once the billy goat's job is done, he's put back out to pasture. (When a Tuscan is up to his ears in work he'll say "I'm busier than a billy goat in September!")  The sheep are then slowly weaned off of milking, ending altogether in late October or early November, and the dairy is closed for the winter.
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In a natural setting, where the farmer allows his animals to live as nature intended, fresh cheese is available only so long as fresh milk can be obtained. Click here to read the rest...
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Gina Buzzing Around Italy
Some topics you might have missed that Gina's written about lately. Last week she was taking in the foods, wines and scenery of the beautiful Abruzzo region. This region is just east of Rome and while still recovering from the recent devastating earthquake, its scenery is breathtaking!
Whole Food vs. Kosher Salt
Duck Egg Pasta from Abruzzo
And many more articles are always found on our website!
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Culinary Tour Update
We are mapping out next year's adventures around Italy and will share the dates and locations in the next month.
Our spring tours are sold out, but if you're still thinking about this fall, there is some availability. The fall harvest September 29th Tuscany culinary tour has several spots. And there are 2 double rooms available for the olive harvest November 3. If Tuscany is on your bucket list, why not this be the year to join us?
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