A Little Food

  So, anyone who knows me, knows I like to chow down. No kidding around, I like to eat. The past, oh, six months or so I have been nearly starving myself, just so I could eat even more great food while in Umbria, and maintain my, umm, girlish figure. Yes, I know this is an unhealthy thing to do, I know, really. But I have been eating good things, just not extras, and exercising... very boring stuff.

  I swear, in a few short weeks, it's been all about the food for me, and I'm glad I shed(and now once again own) those few extra lbs. How can one resist? It's just one scrumptious meal after another...We try to eat just one "main" meal a day, either lunch or dinner.

  It starts at the market, of course:

Mondays  haul from the Tavernalle weekly market. The guy at one stand threw in the (may I say rather phallic looking) carrot and some celery. They do this for your soup.

  Then there are the places that make pasta fresca (fresh pasta) everyday... always by a few hard working grandmas in the back, it seems:

Tagliatelle, just enough for two servings, per favore...

  Sometimes I'll throw a couple of things together for a simple pasta, or use leftovers for something fun:

Amazing asparagus with tomatoes and garlic...a little fresh marjoram
from my little pot garden.

Not fresh pasta, but a great one dish meal all the same.. toss the above veggies with
pasta, a little parmesan, and a drizzle of Umbrian olive oil. 

  The bread here gets stale really fast, so panzanella (bread salad) is always on menus, and I enjoy making it, too. I like to use good tomatoes and some crunchy, sweet cucumber. Lots of olive oil and garlic... But first the hard bread. Soak slices of it in water just a minute, squeeze it out and crumble it into a bowl. That's how you get the real, true texture. I hate how restaurants at home do it with hard crouton style bread. It should be soft and crumbly.... anyway, season with vinegar and herbs, if you want, salt and a touch of pepper. I like to serve it on a bed of arugula, or any other fresh greens...

  The better the olive oil and veggies, the better the panzanella. A fantastic way to use up stale, but still tasty bread.

My Panzanella, the way I like it. 

   It's been cold, and and raining off and on, so last week I made a big old pot of soup. It was a sweet way to spend the morning, and it made the house smell fab. I even threw in a big bunch of chard from our little garden here. Johnny likes me to put white beans in, so those were added at the end. We served it up in bowls with a piece of good bread on the bottom of the bowl. Parmesan and the requisite drizzle of olive oil....

Home grown chard made it super special.

Don't forget the parmesan!

Now, really, can't you just smell that?

   On the last night that our friends were with us, I made an interesting "raw" salad. I have enjoyed this combo in the past myself, and I hope everyone liked it. It's just super thin slices of mushrooms and artichoke hearts, raw, tossed with good olive oil, lemon and salt. Over arugula and topped with a little parmesan. Spring time in Umbria..

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Earlier that evening, or late afternoon, really, we had all gone on a big hike up the hill for a "pic-nic" happy hour... it was so gorgeous out, and the views were outstanding. I liked all the fun yummy treats the best!

PicNic on an age old stone table. Good enough.
(Ciao, peeps!)

  It's all good here, it seems, and I don't care if I roll home. I'm enjoying my love fest with the tasty things Umbria has to offer. I will be sharing more of these treats soon, for sure. Stay tuned!!