Will Work For Food

  When Friday came around, it was so nice to wake up to sunshine. We had already made a 'maybe' plan with a pal to come by late in the morning for a bit of garden work, with lunch afterwards for our trouble.

  I'm always happy to do anything to spend some time in this gorgeous garden, and lunch is always an occasion here. We just needed the day to be a dry one for the weeding, etc. we were going to be doing.

A perfect place to spend an afternoon working....
....and playing!

  Johnny was ready to work, too, but his choice of labor was painting.

At work in the olive grove.

  He would stop every half hour or so to help take all the debris we were creating down to the compost pile. Bless his heart. It was much appreciated, as the wheelbarrow was hard to handle on the slippery slopes.

  Then, back to work, dude!

A larger work, oil on canvas.
Johnny says this one will go through many changes.
This is just the first 'lay-in' of paint.

  Once we finished dealing with weeds and cultivating under several rose bushes (btw, my arms look like hell, from thorns! Always...), lunch was prepared, and we were even able to enjoy our meal 'al fresco'. 

  A total treat!

  Pasta with pesto is a favorite here.

We munched to the sound of birds and an occasional frog croaking.
Perfection.

  Next, another specialty of the house, 'carciafi alla romana', which are artichokes that have been cleaned and had the outer leaves removed, then cooked choke side down for a long time in water with a good amount of olive oil, lots of garlic, salt, and herbs of choice. Parsley on this day.
  Mentucchia, a wild herb, is often used. It has a flavor between oregano and mint. Usually you sort of stuff the garlic and herbs into the leaves before dunking them face down into the liquid.
  The secret is the slow braising until the hearts are soft. But not too soft. You want a little firmness still there. Prick with a fork to test doneness.
  The water cooks off, and you are left with this super tasty liquid 'gold', which is drizzled over the chokes when served.

Don't forget to add the cleaned stems, too!
Looks good, right?

  You can eat pretty much the whole thing, just watch out for the smallest part of the 'choke' on the very inside. These carciofi are cooked whole, nothing is removed except the toughest outer leaves. Very different from how we eat them at home, which is basically using the leaves as spoons to eat mayonnaise.
  These are velvety soft and the taste is artichoke, garlic sweetness, and nutty, and herb-y. Mmm-mmm-mmm.

Yeah, I'll gorge on these any old day of the week.
The carciofi are in the markets now, and you buy six or eight or ten at a time.

It must be springtime.

  Our dolce, or dessert, was simple cheese and pears.
  A combination that is so right at this moment of the year. We enjoyed two cheeses, both pecorino.   We brought the one that had been aged in ash, the grey skinned chunk. The other was also aged. They were different and wonderful. Two types of pears made it even better.
  We just nibbled away, enjoying the last of the wine and chatting about nothing in particular.
  We will look forward to more of this.

  When we got back to The Nut, shocked to see that we had been gone for five hours (!), Johnny went upstairs to putter in the studio, and I couldn't resist sitting in the sun in our lovely garden, where I was soon joined by Nemo, the terror of the land.

I love this skyline.

Nemo! You can stay, just don't 'knead' me with your claws out!!!

Yes, you are the King.
But you are also a 'royal' pain!
I still like you.

  As I write this, on Sunday morning, we are looking at a few days of bad weather. It's raining now, and the temperatures are supposed to drop dramatically for a day or two. There's talk of snow, but I won't believe it until I see it...and if I do, I'll be taking pictures!

  I think today is a perfect day to make pasta from scratch. With a slow cooked red sauce. And a fire going.
  And a good book.