Bella Figura

Buon giorno, una bella giornata.

I recommended the coffee-table book “Tuscan Escapes”, some time back. In the book, Caroline Clifton-Mogg, has this to say about elegance – a part of La dolce vita.

To an Italian, elegance is an essential part of life; it is no surprise that the phrase bella figura is both immediately understandable and almost untranslatable – there being no equivalent in English or French. Elegance is not to do with a particular fashion; rather, it is a knowledge and sense of what looks good that goes far beyond transient enthusiasms. Elegance is always simple; it is always less, never more – and it is always desirable.

Although elegance is international, it takes many different forms. The elegance of a Provencal country interior is not the same as that of Parisian maison particulier, in the same way that the elegance of a New York apartment is not the elegance of a Cape Cod summer house. Equally, elegant Tuscan rural interiors are not the same as those of the cities of Tuscany; there is a softer approach, albeit touched with a certain urbanity. There is also an understanding of a local or native style, for elegance is always a question of using the best available – taking a pivotal piece and refining it, giving it a certain distinction, perhaps by placing it in a certain spot, in the right light, and surrounding it by objects that both complement and flatter it. It is not easy to describe, this elegance of touch, but when you see it – you know it.

I think that Caroline has aptly described elegance at the end of the first paragraph: it is always simple – it is always less, never more….. and this touch of elegance can be found in all aspects of the Italian life – the sweet life. Look at your life today, and reflect on the elegance that can be found in it – is it simple with less than more?

Cheers… and salute

Love Italy, love life.

La Cucina Italiana – Part 2

Buon giorno, una bella giornata.

Continuing from where I left off in my last post, on an introduction to Italian Cuisine, I had stopped after mentioning the elaborate food of the Renaissance period.

The poor, of course, continued to subsist on the simple foods they had always eaten, but the wealthier middle classes developed a taste for fine foods and created their own bourgeois dishes. The finer features of Italian cooking even reached the French, when Catherine de’ Medici went to Paris to marry the future Henri II, taking fifty of her own cooks with her. They introduced new ingredients and cooking techniques to France and in return learnt the art of French cuisine. In those regions of Italy which border France, you can still find reciprocal influences of French classical cooking, but generally speaking, Italians do not like elaborately sauced dishes, preferring to let the natural flavours of their raw ingredients speak for themselves.

The essence of Italian cooking today is simplicity. The Italian way of cooking fish is a good example of this. In coastal areas, freshly caught fish is most often simply chargrilled over hot coals, then served with nothing more than a splash of extra virgin olive oil, a wedge of lemon and freshly ground black pepper. Recipes like carpaccio di tonno, in which the fish is so delicious raw that cooking seems unnecessary, and branzino al forno, where the delicate flavour of fennel is used to compliment rather than obscure the fresh taste of the fish, are typically simple, as is grigliata di calamari, squid chargrilled with chillies to reflect its robust character.

Italians learn to appreciate good food when they are young children, and eating is one of the major pleasures of the day, no matter what the day of the week or time of the year. Witness an Italian family gathered around the Sunday lunch table in a local restaurant, and consider how the Italian menu of antipasto followed by pasta, rice of gnocchi, then fish, meat and vegetables served in sequence is devised so that each can be savoured separately – both the food and the occasion are to be enjoyed as long as possible. The first course, or antipasto, is a unique feature. In restaurants, this can be a vast array of different dishes, both hot and cold, from which diners can choose as few or as many as they wish. At home with the family, it is more likely to be a slice or two of salami or prosciutto crudo with fresh figs or melon if these are in season. But no matter how humble or grand the setting or the occasion, the antipasto is always visually tempting. Dishes like bruschetta casalinga and pepperoni arrostiti con pesto, which look so attractive, are typical in this way.

The variety and diversity of the Italian ingredients available in our supermarkets and delicatessens will surely inspire you to concoct any number of delicious meals, from a simple dish of pasta to a full-blown four-course dinner. A plate of antipasto followed by pasta or risotto flavoured with seasonal ingredients, then simply-cooked meat or fish and finally a local cheese and fruit make a veritable feast. You could prepare a different meal along these lines every day of the year and almost never repeat the same combination. If, and when, you visit Italy, avail yourself of the wonderful local ingredients to prepare a menu full of the flavours of the region. Every area has its own special delights that make cooking and eating a real pleasure.

But in the meantime, use the wonderful local ingredients we have here in South Africa, follow the guidelines above, and you are on your way to living the “sweet life”.

Buon Appetito

Cheers… and salute

Love Italy, love life.

Tuscan Escapes

Buon giorno, una bella giornata.
I have just finished reading (as well as salivating and dreaming) a coffee-table book that I took out from the Cape Town Central library:
“Tuscan Escapes: Inspirational Homes in Tuscany and Umbria”.
Caroline Clifton-Mogg – Photography by Chris Tubbs. Dewy classification number: 747.25 – book to be found in the art section on the ground floor.
So many of the homes photographed and written about, could be here in South Africa, and once again I am reminded of how close the lifestyle and living in parts of the Western Cape are so similar to that of Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio and Campania in Italy.
From the Introduction to this book, Caroline writes:
Like all the world’s most romantic places, Tuscany is a state of mind as well as a physical entity. Say the T-word to Tuscophiles and their eyes take on a faraway look, as if they have suddenly been transported to that landscape, those houses, this village – all bathed in the bright, clear Tuscan light that has inspired so much great art over the centuries. This artistic heritage is particularly associated with the period of the Italian Renaissance, when, in cities such as Florence and Siena, painters, sculptors, architects – Giotto, Raphael, Botticelli, Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, Brunelleschi – created works of art that have influences and informed European Culture for more than 500 years.
Indeed, for many foreigners to the region, Renaissance Italy IS Tuscany – which may explain why the Tuscan landscape seems to strange and yet so familiar: the rounded hills dotted with tall, cigar-shaped cypresses and live groves, the rambling stone buildings and bell towers, and the dusty narrow roads along which one would hardly be surprised to see a cavalcade of noble horsemen, in plumed hats and gold-embroidered tunics, clattering up the hill on their way to hunt wild deer and boar. Artists working in Siena, Florence, Arezzo and other Tuscan towns composed their religious and secular works against a background made up of local landmarks – hills, trees and orchards, vineyards and olive groves, monasteries and churches – which is why, even more than in the rest of Italy, Tuscany is a place where the past, both recent and distant, is always present.
The evocative writing of Caroline and the stunning pictures of Chris, made this book for me a rewarding time spent dreaming and reflecting. It also made me realise that we have so much in South Africa with its various countryside’s, cultures and histories, that the state of mind Caroline writes about, is here as well. The first house portrayed in the book, from pages 14 – 21, remind me so of a house I owned in the Overberg of the Western Cape years ago, with its thick walls, indoor shutters and the wooden beams.

Link to Kalahari.net for more information on this book
(A scan of the cover of “Tuscan Escapes” on loan from the Cape Town library).
I can highly recommend this book, and if its not in the library, then more than likely I have taken it out on loan again.
Cheers… and salute
Love Italy, love life

La Cucina Italiana – Part 1

Buon giorno, una bella giornata.

As mentioned in an early post on why Italian lifestyle is good for us, I made the first point of how we can duplicate this dolce vita, but looking at the Italian food. I wrote: To the Italians, food is life and as such, they honour it using the freshest ingredients.  All the senses are evoked during purchasing, growing, preparing or eating food.  Every meal is to be enjoyed to the fullest.

There’s an old Italian proverb:

“A tavola non s'invecchi mai”.  It means you never grow old at the table.

So, to continue with this important topic, which as I am sure you will understand, will be a major part of this blog, I have written an introduction to the Italian cuisine, and this is Part 1.

Italian cookery reflects the fact that the country was unified only in 1861. Until then, each region produced its own characteristic cuisine, relying exclusively on ingredients that could be gathered, cultivated or reared locally. Nowadays, of course, regional produce can be easily transported all over the country – all over the world, but Italians still prefer to base their cooking on local ingredients, because they regard quality and freshness as more important than diversity and innovation. (Can we say the same of ourselves?)

So the most flavoursome sun-ripened tomatoes, aubergines and peppers are still found in the south of the country, the freshest seafood is on offer along the coast, the finest hams come from the area where the pigs are raised, and so on. “La cucina italiana” remains distinctly regional; northern Italian cooking, for example, incorporates ingredients that are simply never found in the recipes of Sicily and Naples to the south, and vice-versa. In the dairy-farming north, butter is used in place of the olive oil so prevalent in the south; bread and polenta are eaten instead of pasta. The only unifying feature is the insistence on high quality ingredients.

Good food has always been essential to the Italian way of life. (I will do further posts in the not too distant future on the various regional cuisines.)

“La cucina italiana” is one of the oldest cooking cultures in the world, dating back to the ancient Greeks and perhaps even earlier. The Romans adored food and often ate and drank to excess; it was they who really laid the foundations of Italian and European cuisine. The early Romans were peasant farmers who ate only the simple, rustic foods they could produce, like grain, cheeses and olives. For them, meat was an unheard-of-luxury; animals were bred to work in the fields, and to provide milk, wool etc. and were too precious to eat. Trading links with other parts of the world, however, encouraged Roman farmers to cultivate new vegetables and fruits and, of course, vines, while their trade in salt and exotic spices enabled them to preserve and pickle all kinds of meat, game and fish.

Food became a near-obsession and ever more elaborate dishes were devised to be served at the decadent and orgiastic banquets for which the Romans were famed. The decline and fall of the Roman Empire led inevitably to a deterioration in the quality of cooking and a return to simple, basic foods. For centuries, regional cuisine reverted to its original uncomplicated style. With the Renaissance, however, came great wealth and a new interest in elaborate food. Once again, rich families strove to outdo each other with lavish banquets where courses of rich, extravagant foods were served – truffles, song-birds, game, desserts dripping with honey and spices – all washed down with quantities of wine.

To be continued in the next posting.

Buon Appetito

Cheers… and salute

Love Italy, love life.

Eat, Pray, Love - il dolce far niente

Buon giorno, una bella giornata.

Liz Gilbert is unhappy with her life. In a moment of self-realisation, the thirty-something American woman picks herself up off the bathroom floor and decides to divorce her husband. She later embarks on a journey around the world to rediscover the good things in life and find her true self.

The recently released film Eat, Pray, Love, starring Julia Roberts as the leading lady, may have its self-indulgent aspects, but for anyone with a travel bent, the stunning scenery along the way makes the feet more than a little itchy.

Based on the bestseller novel written by Gilbert herself, this is a story about reconnecting; with both the outside and the inside world.

As they say, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. And as Gilbert knows, one of the things Italians do best is food. Spending four months in the country that gave the world pizza, pasta and gelato, she experiences the true pleasure of nourishment by embarking on what she calls a ‘no carbs left behind’ quest.

From slurping on spaghetti on the streets of Rome to sampling countless flavours of gelato in Naples, Gilbert rediscovers the simple pleasure of good food.

For an indigestion expedition through Italy, I would suggest that you start in Rome, where you can sample one of the country’s most famous dishes — pasta. In the region of Lazio, surrounding Rome, you can expect to taste some of the best spaghetti carbonara on offer.

To enjoy quality olive oil poured over lightly salted, fresh baked bread and coupled with a glass of local red, head to the hills of Umbria, where olive oil estates abound. Or if it’s the traditional slice of heaven that you are after, I would then advise you to visit Naples, where great pizzerias are plentiful.

Anyone following in Gilbert’s footsteps is bound to discover two things: that eating in this manner will end in the acquisition of generous love handles, and that there’s something truly satisfying about the sumptuous yet simplistic lifestyle the Italians lead. It’s known as il dolce far niente, translated as ‘the sweetness of doing nothing’. Gilbert discovers that the Italians know quite a lot about taking time out to enjoy the good things in life.

While it may be frustrating for some visitors, there is definitely something to be said for the concept of ‘Italian time’, which is best summed up by the idea that things will get done when they get done. Locals don’t waste energy worrying about being late or meeting deadlines. Trains arrive when they do, meals arrive when they’re made, and somehow everything still functions.

To appreciate the simplicity, all you need to do is sit at a café in one of the many piazzas dotted around Italy and watch as the old men play cards and drink espresso, lovers share a meal and young children run about chasing each other. And it is this enjoyment of life that is not only the best reason to plan a trip to Italy, but more importantly, to create your own dolce vita lifestyle here in South Africa.

I made spaghetti last night with a Tuscan meat ragu, eaten with some crusty panini and simple red wine. I did not want the meal to end – I was living the dolce vita. Wake up and taste the sweet life – live the sweet life – you can do it.

By the way, I can highly recommend the book which you should find in all book shops, and you should read it first, before seeing the film.

Buon Appetito

Cheers… and salute

Love Italy, love life.

The Sweet Life at Delheim

Delheim Wine Estate is situated on the high, southwest slopes of the Simonsberg Mountain in Stellenbosch, and is one of my all-time favourite wine estates, for to visit and for their wines.

Yesterday, I was once again fortunate to live the sweet life by spending some quality time walking around the estate and having lunch on their terrace looking out over the winelands towards Cape Town, and the slightly hazy Table Mountain in the distance. I was invited out, and shared a Delheim and cheese and deli platter and a bottle of Delheim Pinotage Rose, which I believe to be the best Rose made in this country. The platter had six local cheeses, which included a wonderful plain goat’s cheese, and three types of cold meats, including smoked eland.

Sitting there with the sun birds darting around the garden, the estate Jack Russells slowly wondering around the terrace, the impeccable service, the wonderful company and the sounds of the Simonsberg mountains, I realised once again how close to heaven Delheim is. But more than that, how easy it is for us to live “dolce vita” here in South Africa. I sat there on the terrace for almost two hours, not wanting the experience to end, and it seemed that’s the way most of the other guests were feeling as well.

I can highly recommend to all of you who in live in the Cape Peninsular, and all those of you who will be visiting our wonderful corner of this country, put some time aside and pay Delheim a visit.

More details can be found on their website:

www.delheim.com/

Cheers… and salute

Love Italy, love life

Who is wealthy?

Buon giorno, una bella giornata – Good morning, a beautiful day.

“Who is wealthy? One who is happy with what they have.”

Here in South Africa and many Westernized first-world countries, people often think that wealth and happiness go hand in hand. Yes wealth will surely give you a feeling of accomplishment and the means to provide well for your family, but if you read the headlines, some of the wealthiest people in the world, have the most problems. Money is not evil, and the people that usually say it is are the one’s that don’t have enough of it. How we treat, respect, and what we do with our money is what is key. In your home, do you look at your possessions as a measure of success – or do you look at your surrounding friends, family, and children with pride and see your true accomplishments?

In Italy, the most important thing is family and friends. Enjoying life and embracing it, instead of just watching if zip by in front of your eyes. In Italy for instance, lunch is a 1 to 2 hour affair with traditionally a two to three course meal, most businesses halt for two hours during the day. Stores shut down, banks close, and the streets are empty. At around 2 o’clock people start to emerge from their houses and populate the streets again until around 7:30pm when it is time for dinner. After dinner, the streets come to life again as Italians stroll around the piazza to work off their meal or head off for their evening engagements.

Yes, this does not seem realistic for us here in South Africa, we will always have the quick power lunch or even be working right through lunch. But we need to slow down a bit. We need to adapt a bit of the mindset from the Italians, for our total wellness of health and happiness.

South Africa’s Number 1 health problem is the overlooked epidemic of stress, and with the hectic lives most of us have here and struggles with the economy, there is not a whole lot we can do about it. But we need to work on small things to reduce our stress. The medical fields are discovering more that stress alone and worrying causes many serious health challenges. Wealth is much more than just money. But for most of us here in South Africa, the money part of wealth will continue to be of upmost importance… and the number one cause of stress.

Studies have shown people in Italy have greater longevity, are less stressed, and show lower levels of heart disease, obesity, and mental disturbance.

So what is the Italian lifestyle in Italy?

· Well, for starters, money is far from everything.

· It’s embracing what you have, being happy with it, and proud of it.

· Counting your blessings.

· Taking the time to enjoy good food, good wine, and good company.

· Eating fresh healthy foods from a Mediterranean diet.

· Living life with passion, serenity and enjoyment.

· And, considering your true wealth to be what you already have and are able to share with family and friends.

So do as the Italians do. Make a conscious effort to slow down a bit, and savour every moment in life.  Spend less time wanting and more time giving. Enjoy time spent among those you love over a nice Chianti, cannoli, espresso, or biscotti and Vin Santo. Put a bit of an ease on your hectic life of living in South Africa, and start living la dolce vita now. 

Life is not perfect in South Africa – life is not perfect in Italy, but incorporating some of the Italian lifestyle into your life, may just give you a wealth of health and happiness… and that my friends is fine, sweet living – la dolce vita.

Cheers… and salute

Love Italy, love life.

Tuscan treat offers laid-back lifestyle

It is quite amazing how the Tuscan lifestyle (dolce vita) affects people from around the world. The link below will take you to the English pages of a Chinese newspaper and their article on Tuscany – so even people in Asia, area reading and dreaming of the “sweet life”.

Tuscan treat offers laid-back lifestyle

Olive Oil – Green gold in a bottle

I have already posted a link to a news item about the health benefits of olive oil, and the link below is from the Irish Times also to do with olive oil. Although the information at the end of the article pertains to where to buy newly released vintage of extra-virgin olive oil, the rest of the article is interesting and gives you more of a background to the green gold. Where would Italian food be without olive oil – treated by many as their prized wines collections are treated.

 

Click on the link below to read the full article:

 

Green gold in a bottle

Farfalle with Chicken and Chard

Buon giorno, una bella giornata.

It is a wonderful day here in Cape Town with the temperature at lunch-time reaching 29 C, so decided to have a light lunch outside on the patio next to the pool – now that is the “sweet life”. Made the pasta dish below, some chilled dry Rose wine, the birds were singing, the sun was out, had a swim before serving and the company was great.

I hope you enjoyed your White Bean Pasta e Fagioli which I posted last time, and here is the second of the promised two recipes, which is what I made today for lunch.

Don’t worry, I will be spending a lot more time writing about pasta, and posting many Italian recipes. Hope you enjoy this one.

Farfalle with Chicken and Chard

Ingredients

• half a kilo boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 teaspoons salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 orange (or red) bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 bunch Swiss chard (or spinach), ends removed and leaves torn
• 1 cup chicken broth (or stock)
• 250 gms (if a light lunch or starter) – 350 to 400 gms (if a main meal) of Farfalle (bow-tie shaped pasta)
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Preparation

1. Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.
2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, onion, pepper and garlic. Cook and stir 5 minutes.
3. Fill large pot with lightly salted water and bring to boil.
4. Add chard to skillet and vegetables and stir, mixing thoroughly until wilted.
5. Add chicken broth and remaining salt and pepper. Cook until chicken is cooked through.
6. While broth is heating, cook farfalle. Drain and return to pot.
7. Add chicken mixture to hot farfalle; toss. Transfer to serving platter and sprinkle with cheese and chopped parsley.

Serves 4-6

Buon Appetito

Cheers… and salute

Love Italy, love life.

White Bean Pasta e Fagioli

Buon giorno, una bella giornata.

Here is the first of two pasta recipes that I promised in my last posting.

White Bean Pasta e Fagioli

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 small carrots, chopped
• 1 rib celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 bunch broccoli rabe, excess stems removed, torn ( use spinach here if you can’t find rabe)
• 1/2 bunch kale, excess stems removed, torn (use cabbage here if you can’t find kale)
• 1 (28-ounce) can tomatoes
• 2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup Barilla Ditalini (substitute any small, short type of pasta)
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley, divided
• 1 tablespoon chopped oregano
• 1/2teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided

Preparation

1. Heat olive oil in large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots, celery and garlic. Sauté 3-4 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.
2. Add greens and stir until wilted.
3. Add tomatoes, squashing them gently by hand over pot to break them apart. Add remaining juice of tomatoes as well. Add beans and chicken broth.
4. Add ditalini, 2 tablespoons parsley, oregano, pepper and salt. Bring to boil and cook 10-12 minutes or until pasta is tender.
5. Stir in remaining parsley and 1/2 cup cheese. Serve with remaining cheese. Serve with crusty bread and drizzle with olive oil if desired.

Serves 4

Buon Appetito

Cheers… and salute

Love Italy, love life.

Happy Thanksgiving

Buon giorno, una bella giornata.

To all those celebrating Thanksgiving, here’s wishing a wonderful and joyous day and happy feasting.

Buon Appetito

Cheers… and salute

Love Italy, love life.

Eat and Live Well – The Italian Way

Buon giorno, una bella giornata.

Anyone who has travelled in Italy knows that the Italian lifestyle is defined by a love of good food, a passion for flavour, and a vibrant lifestyle. But you don't have to vacation in Rome to live "la dolce vita" - eating and living Italian style is a way of life that can be enjoyed anywhere, all year around.

Though Italian culture emphasizes eating for enjoyment (notice you don't meet many Italians on fad diets?), the Italian diet also happens to be one of the healthiest in the world; incorporating fresh, wholesome foods that are rich in nutrients and low in unhealthy fats.

To help guide people on how to eat and live like an Italian, Barilla - the Italian food brand - partnered with a team of nutritionists to create a new model that demonstrates the Italian way of eating as well as the various components that go into creating a perfectly balanced pasta meal. It's also worth noting that this model of eating fits well within the parameters of the new dietary guidelines that have been emphasised over the last few years, and the My Pyramid Food Guidance system, so anyone who considers Italian to be their favourite cuisine, can feel good about eating the Italian way while benefiting from a healthy diet and lifestyle.

Sure, there are still people who think of pasta as fettuccine smothered in fat-laden cream sauce. But traditional pasta meals are fresh, light, and easy to put together with nutritious, seasonal ingredients. Pasta is a perfect delivery system to get many healthy foods in your diet - such as a variety of colourful vegetables, tomato sauce, olive oil, fish and lean cuts of poultry. And pasta is low in sodium and cholesterol-free, as well as a good source of thiamine, folic acid, iron, riboflavin and niacin.

Pasta also ranks among children's favourite foods - especially when they can help prepare the meal. "Cooking pasta together is an easy way to get your family eating and communicating better," says Lynn Fredericks, author of Cooking Time is Family Time. "Let kids choose the pasta shape, help chop vegetables, set the table - cooking is a lot more fun when everyone pitches in."

Start experimenting with different variations on pasta meals to keep dinnertime interesting and healthy. For starters, try the two pasta recipes for typical Italian dishes that offer exceptional taste and nutrition, that will be my next two posts.

For many more authentic pasta meal recipes as well as tips on eating, cooking and living the Italian way, visit the new Barilla America website at www.barillaus.com. This is a site I can highly recommend, as well as the pasta which you can find in some shops and delicatessens in Cape Town – in which case, they must also be available in other centres as well.

Cheers… and salute

Love Italy, love life.

Olive Oil Protects the Liver

Read this very interesting article, which once again points to the health benefits of an Italian diet. :)

Olive oil protects the liver from oxidative stress

Life in Tuscany – Part 2

Tuscany belongs to everyone who’s ever dreamt about it, yearned for it or lived side by side with it. Regardless of where you are, the soul and essence of Tuscany is so present, that you don’t have to live there to know it. Live it where you are.

It is a place where passion is given weight, where creativity is nurtured and, let me use a very poignant word from Alice in Wonderland; a place where you can begin the search for your muchness.

Most of us know that Tuscany is far more than poppy fields, gelato and sunshine. When the visitors go home, the land remains and turns into winter. Crops have been harvested, wine grapes have been collected and the hills are painted brown. Now, here comes the challenge… With winter comes reality and the cold months between November and March are there for you to go soul searching in the nooks and crannies of the house you live in. Building a fire in the morning feels like building character in yourself. There’s only you and the farmers down the road, and it’s your own responsibility to make meaning of your time, and to create the life that you yearned for – the life that is so much easier in the long days of the summer.

But in the winter, something happens. There arises a quiet joy and a melancholic harmony that brings you what you need to get through the bone chilling winters in a very old, dark and drafty house. I believe this feeling is the very soul of the land; persistence.

The satisfying feeling of making it through by building the fires, cooking on the fire, fixing your socks in front of the fire, reading in front of the fire, swearing and praying in front of the fire; it’s all there in the winter. Just like the leafless branches on the trees outside the window – uncovered, bare and honest.

The essence of Tuscany is so rich and complex, but a big part of it I believe is the frame it provides for finding oneself, and filling oneself to the brim of all that is good in life.

Tuscany will always be Tuscany – coloured by the people who live here, the people who visit, the food that is being made and the overall love for the land, that goes deep into the soil, far beneath the vines. The rich history, the breathtaking art and the views that can leave you gasping for air, are all in the package that forms Tuscany. And it is all yours.

If you can’t make it here anytime soon, I suggest you start preparing. Start creating the frame you need to find your muchness where you are right now and Tuscany will always be here to nurture you and test you when you arrive.

But, in the meantime, create a Tuscany and its accompanying state of mind, where you live now. Look inside and outside of your house or flat, and see what you can do to recreate a touch – a feel of Tuscany in your life. Change the colour of your kitchen walls – put some potted herbs on the kitchen window sill – play some Italian music – let your creativity and muchness come to the fore.

Cheers… and salute

Love Italy, love life.

Life in Tuscany – Part 1

Tuscany belongs to everyone who’s ever dreamt about it, yearned for it or lived side by side with it. Regardless of where you are, the soul and essence of Tuscany is so present, that you don’t have to live there to know it. Live it where you are.

It’s almost a myth, the life that is being lived between farmhouses, olive trees and family recipes. It’s a life many people dream about, but it is not always within physical reach. What is this elevated dream and where does it stem from?

I believe a lot of it comes from the yearning a lot of people have, to live a more meaningful life in tact with nature and with them self. A life where you can get up with the birds in the morning and go to bed in the evening, knowing that your day has been full – that you are full.  In between the birds in the morning and the sunset in the evening is the frame where you can pursue what makes you; You. Perhaps it is a love for art, the Italian language or the Italian man. (Whatever floats your Gondola). Perhaps you feel a calling for a life that can help quiet your mind and allow yourself to focus upon what is truly important in your life.

It is a place where time seems vaster. The landscape illustrates and underlines this with its sloping, soft hills and long lines stretched far into the horizon, where the mountaintops make a patchwork in blue. Time seems plentiful and packed with quality and beauty. It is a place where passion is given weight, where creativity is nurtured and, let me use a very poignant word from Alice in Wonderland; a place where you can begin the search for your muchness.

Cheers… and salute

Love Italy, love life.

Boiled Fish for Friday

For many people, including most Italians, fish is usually eaten on Fridays. So with that in mind, here is my recommendation for tomorrow's dinner.

Boiled Fish - Pesce Lesso

Boiled fish is easy to prepare and can be tremendously satisfying. 1.5 kg of boiled fish will serve four to six as a second course or two to four as a main course. You'll need:

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 70 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 or more non-oily fish (hake or kinglip) weighing a total of between 1 and 1.5 kg, scaled and cleaned.
• Rubbing the fish's skin with a slice of lemon will help keep it intact.
• A quarter to a half an onion (depending on the size of the fish), a carrot,  a stick of celery, a bunch of parsley, and half a lemon.
• Water sufficient to cover the fish
• A fish pan (if you have one), or a pan larger enough to hold the fish

Preparation:

Lightly salt the water and simmer the vegetables for 20 minutes to a half hour before adding the fish.

The fish will done when its eyes pop out, its skin parts when touched, and its flesh becomes tender; in turms of cooking time figure 10 minutes per 2.5 cm of thickness of the fish, measured at its thickest point. Turn it, carefully, when it's half done, and leave it in its broth until you're ready to serve it (the broth will be quite tasty, and if you strain it, will be perfect for making a tradional coastal cabbage stew).

A good boiled fish will do very well served hot, garnished with fresh parsley and accompanied by freshly made mayonnaise or some other white sauce, and a vegetable.

If, however, you wish to make a more impressive presentation, you can surround the fish with Brussels sprouts, boiled if they're small or done in the oven if they're large, boiled potatoes, and, optionally, hard boiled eggs, all sliced. As a second possibility I would suggest that you bone the fish and set it on a platter, spread mayonnaise over it, and decorate it with anchovy fillets and capers.

Buon Appetito

Cheers… and salute

Love Italy, love life.

MEDITERRANEAN DIET AMONG UNESCO'S WORLD HERITAGE

 

The Mediterranean diet is now part of the UNESCO "intangible cultural heritage", as requested by Italy, Spain, Greece and Morocco, due to the important role it plays for health, local traditions and biodiversity.

Click on the link below to read the full article published yesterday.

Green Med Journal - The Mediterranean Fresh Produce Magazine

Why is the Italian lifestyle so good for you?

Why is the Italian lifestyle so good for you and how can you duplicate it?

How are some suggestions that I would like you to consider, and if they ring a bell with you, you are on your way to living the "sweet life".

1. Fresh, healthy food 

To the Italians, food is life and as such, they honour it using the freshest ingredients.  All the senses are evoked during purchasing, growing, preparing or eating food.  Every meal is to be enjoyed to the fullest.  There’s an old Italian proverb:  “A tavola non s'invecchi mai”.  It means you never grow old at the table.

2. Passion for life

Whether it’s cooking, painting or working, the Italian approach is to be present and attentive throughout the entire process.  Here again, using all of the senses in order to squeeze out every bit of pleasure.  And nothing is ever rushed.  As they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day! 

3. Life-long curiosity

Italians’ innate curiosity keeps life fresh.  They continue to seek answers and learn new things.  This trait is evident in all the discoveries and inventions from Italians such as Columbus, Marconi, Da Vinci and Zamboni to name a few.

4. Family ties and traditions

The social connection of family, friends and traditions gives meaning to life in a celebratory way.  It gives Italians a reason to stop work and pay attention to people, play and have fun.  Sharing their life with others equates to love.

5. Resilience and strength

Italy’s history of natural disasters, war, invasion, political corruption and Vatican influence serves as a poignant reminder to live life to the fullest and to move on after setbacks.  It’s all considered part of the cycle of life.

6. Simplicity

Italians place more value on the simple things in life (family, community, enjoying a Tuscan sunset) rather than the material things most westerners covet.  There are plenty of happy farmers in Italy who want no more than to share a meal with others in their community.

You can re-create a bit of the Italian lifestyle right here in South Africa by adopting some of the characteristics from list above.  Make a conscious effort to slow down whether that’s eating or driving.  Savour every moment in life and notice it with all your senses.  Spend less time wanting and more time giving.  Reach out to your community and get to know people.  And of course, start this week by cooking at least one healthy meal from scratch every week for your family and/or friends.  And then take the time to enjoy it with a nice bottle of Chianti!

Cheers… and salute

Love Italy, love life.

Love Italy, Love Life

This blog is dedicated to my personal reflections, observations, comments and suggestions on how to live “la dolce vita”- the sweet life, here in South Africa.

“Dolce vita” in Italy, is an expression that is used to describe the good things in life – family, friends, good food and wine, style, music, enjoyment and relaxation from the simple things that gives meaning to enjoying life to its fullest. I aim for this blog to be a journey for you and me, to not only discover this sweet life, but how to live it and create a little bit of Italy here in South Africa.

The Italian (can also equate to Mediterranean) lifestyle is about finding the perfect balance between work and leisure, food and friends. It’s about enjoying life to the full – through fresh, healthful foods, enjoyed with family and friends, finding a social balance between work and relaxation and experiencing the pleasures of an active life.

Above all, it’s easy! Just a few simple adjustments to your daily habits will bring you many of the benefits of a Italian lifestyle. For example, try eating three different vegetables every day, or go for a walk with an old friend. Remember to enjoy yourself.

Indulge yourself in the Italian lifestyle and discover the country’s passion for food and wine, music, art, beauty and style in the simplest of things.

Cheers… and salute

Love Italy, love life.