Discovering the extraordinary in the ordinary
He is a dull observer whose experience has not taught him the reality and force of magic . . .
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Marie Kondo has been my guide to start bringing magic to my life. Her book, The life-changing magic of tidying has been the spark to motivate me with the first item on my list to begin living a passionate life.
Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.
~ John Anster
Nike’s iconic slogan JUST DO IT. is an apt mantra for me — I’m a procrastinator, a perfectionist, and a wallflower. I’ve been reading Elizabeth Gilbert’s book, Big Magic (as well as a half a dozen others) for inspiration and guidance on how to do it — that is, how to get on with living a meaningful, creative life. Well, I could keep reading (as is my tendency) but I’ve made the decision — either do it now or forever wallow in regret.
The end of summer is fast approaching and it’s peak time for tomatoes. The Italian tradition (at least, here in Australia) is to make sugo di pomodoro (tomato sauce). And as I mentioned at the beginning of my Italian summer, to live like an Italian, the Italian tomato tradition is definitely one to embrace.
We have an abundance of these summery red orbs, so it was into the kitchen and on with the sauce. I made two different sauces – Sugo pronto, a ready-made sauce which can be used as a base for tomato sauce based dishes. The other, Passata (tomato puree), using roasted tomatoes flavoured with garlic, herbs and a small amount of cipolla (onion).
Both sauces turned out well, but we were surprised at the small amount of sauce we ended up with compared to the huge quantity of tomatoes we started with.
There are lots of recipes for Sugo pronto (homemade tomato sauce) with different combinations of ingredients included with your tomatoes. For my sauce, I used cipolle (onions), aglio (garlic) and cedano (celery), with the addition of oregano, basil and sage which I tied into a bundle. I’ve included a few photos of my sauce making efforts.
For the passata (roasted tomato sauce), we used our cherry tomatoes. The process was simple and the end result was gustoso (tasty).
Ripe tomatoes
Salt flakes and freshly ground pepper
Oregano and basil sprigs
2 fresh bay leaves
Small red onion sliced (you can use sliced french shallots, if you prefer)
Garlic, sliced (to your taste)
Olive oil
Italian tomato traditions are not only for Italians. If you have a bountiful harvest, why not try and make your own! The taste is so much better than anything you’ll find in your local store.
Buon lavoro e buon appetito!
PS: I’d love you to share your recipe for tomato sauce!
Valentine’s day (La Festa degli innamorati), the most romantic day of the year is fast approaching. And Verona, the city of love and those star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, is the most romantic place to be. The whole city breathes love, with special events to mark the occasion.
‘Verona in love’ is a four day festival dedicated to lovers — those wanting to express their love, renew their love, or those with a secret love. Chocolates, love letters, Shakespeare and Romeo and Juliet feature prominently. The city streets are lit up with big hearts and there’s a huge red heart painted in the middle of Piazza dei Signori, one of the most beautiful squares in the city and my favourite.
To get the best view of the heart, take a walk to the top of the Lamberti Tower (Torre dei Lamberti) which is 85 metres high. If the 238 steps are too much for you, there’s a lift. The tower provides 360 degree views of the city. Go at sunset if you’re taking your loved one -.the view is spectacular and romantic.
If you have a sweet tooth, visit the Loggia Vecchia which is transformed into an elegant lounge, for chocolate tastings. There is also a showcase of Italian master chocolatiers. If chocolates aren’t you thing, why not send your secret love a Valentine’s day message.
Write a message from the heart and pin it (alongside hundreds of other love notes) to the board in the square. Or do it the old fashioned way, with a love letter. There are thousands of people who write to Juliet each year.
The Juliet Club (made famous by the movie Letters to Juliet) answers around 10,000 letters written to Juliet each year from people all around the world wanting advice about love or sharing their love stories. This year there is an award ceremony for the best love letter.
Love is in the air over the entire city with ‘Romeo and Juliet’ tours, a treasure hunt for lovers, performances of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and other plays, music and food.
It’s enough to melt the most cynical heart. Commercial interests play a part, but statistics show that on Valentine’s Day all over the world, lovers take the time to declare their love with cards, chocolates, flowers and dinners. (In Australia alone we spent over $14M on Valentine’s Day cards last year).
What will you be doing on the most romantic day of the year? Share your stories!
Vi voglio bene
Grazie mille to Tourism Verona for information and photos
My Italian summer is going well. Most of my plantings have been successful and to celebrate summer’s bounty (so far!) here are some photos of of my produce:
As you can tell, my tomato vines are producing well, although I don’t know if there’ll be enough to make sugo (tomato sauce) …speriamo! Of course, the taste is squisito (exquisite)!
You’ve seen my purple beauties (see my previous post). Aren’t they magnificent? And there are lots more coming along!
The apricots have been harvested and also shared with the birds.
Cucumbers are tumbling over each other to be picked:
And the nectarines and pomegranates are ripening!
Can you think of a better way to celebrate summer’s bounty!
Alla prossima!
PS: What’s growing in your garden right now?
After a week away from my garden, I found some glossy, purple beauties peeking through the leaves in my vegetable patch. My slim ladyfinger eggplants whispered, “pick us”.
Eggplant is such an modest name — the Italian melanzana, and the french aubergine, roll off the tongue easily and seem more fitting names for these beautiful purple fruits. Yes, even though it is treated as a vegetable, it’s a fruit because it bears seeds within the flesh – much like the the tomato, which is from the same botanical family.
Introduced to Italy by the Arabs, they were initially grown as ornamentals and were avoided in the kitchen. Hard to believe, as the Italians have perfected the art of cooking melanzane in a variety of different ways — Melanzana alla parmigiana (Eggplant parmesan) is one of the most popular and Melanzane ripiene (stuffed eggplant) is also delicious.
As I only had three mature fruits, they weren’t enough for these classic Italian dishes, but they were the perfect quantity to marinate and include on my antipasto platter.
As usual, I reached for my recipe books. I found a quick and easy recipe for marinated eggplant in Italian Kitchen, a book filled with classic, simple Italian dishes. I adjusted the quantities for my three eggplants, but here is the original:
750gr eggplant
60ml olive oil, plus extra (I used extra virgin from Primo Estate, a winery in McLaren Vale, south of Adelaide)
2 tblsp balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves crushed
1 anchovy fillet, finely chopped
2 tblsp chopped flat leaves parsley
Cut the eggplant into thick diagonal slices. Put in a colander, sprinkle with salt and leave to stand over a bowl for 30 minutes.(I omitted this as my ladyfingers aren’t bitter). Rinse under cold water and pat dry.
Heat a little oil in a frying pan and brown the eggplant in batches. Transfer to a bowl, toss with the dressing and parsley and marinate for 4 hours. Serve at room temperature.
Whisk the oil, vinegar and anchovy until smooth. Season to taste.
My final result was a hit and the dish is now a fixture on my antipasto list, especially as it is so quick to prepare.
I’m looking forward to harvesting a few more melanzane and I’d love to try my hand at preserving some of these purple beauties.
Giardinaggio felice! (Happy gardening)
PS: If you have a favourite Italian recipe for melanzane, I’d love to hear from you!