Walking & Wildflowers

For those of you that know me, you know I love a good walk. In California, Johnny & I have our morning walking routine, and we try to continue it here in Umbria. 
Now that I have an actual 'smartphone', I can count my steps, so of course I'm obsessed with it.

Mainly we walk to stay healthy, burn the many calories we are taking in, and to enjoy the always changing landscape here.

Until today, we've had pretty good weather. Cold and crispy in the morning and evening, and downright warm in the afternoon. We are happy that we woke up to wet weather this morning. The fields are so dry, even this soft drizzle today will help. Hopefully, we get some real rain later. 

So, instead of walking this morning, I'm enjoying a second cup of coffee, sitting in front of the fire writing this. Yay!

We have several 'morning walks', and I've been taking my usual photos along the way. There are also a bunch of wildflowers out now, so I'm including these photos in this post, too...

I didn't realize I was capturing a ray from the heavens above...
I just love this view!

The olive trees are so pretty with the green fields.

I don't imagine I will ever get tired of these vistas.

Looking out over the fields towards the lake 
and hills beyond.

I went walking while Mr. J was painting a few days ago, and as almost always, I was keeping an eye out for porcupine quills. Bingo! 

It's been some time since I've posted a video, so let's see if it works. This will be a first time, I think, posting with video from the smartphone...

Since I can't resist the wildflowers on display right now, I figured I'd share the love-

We pass masses of these beauties.

I think this is a type of Hepatica...

Again, don't know what type of tree this is, but it's amazing!

We have something similar at home...

There are loads of these 'wild' grape hyacinth in the fields & woods now.

Also loads of wild violets! Not super fragrant, but masses of them.

A beautiful color combo from Ma Nature-
Dandelions and hardy geraniums. Tiny, but mighty!

Last, but certainly not least, the marguerite daisy.
So simply perfect. Here at The Nut, the front garden is a field of them right now.
Thank you, Nature Gods!

Puntarelle!

 Honestly, I didn't think I'd be posting here about this vegetable, but that's only because I didn't know how fabulous it is!

When we arrived in Rome (jeez..it's been over 2 weeks? yikes..), we went to our favorite pizza joint and had our favorite pizza. But...there was a special side dish being served, and I had just watched a video about it.

Puntarelle is a springtime specialty. It is traditionally served with a dressing that has anchovies in it, so we figured "no way" because we are vegetarians. And it's Rome. And I hate to ask for anything to be changed for us because we are vegetarians. Especially in Rome.

That all being said, the delightful server and I had a discussion about puntarelle, and he was surprised I knew so much about it. He offered to make a special salad for us with a dressing of olive oil, lemon and salt. Yes, please! He really wanted us to try puntarelle.

Long story short, we loved it, and when I saw it here in Umbria at our local weekly market, I had to but one...

Puntarelle!

Because I had watched that video earlier, I pretty much knew how to prepare it. I knew I needed a special tool, which I also found at our weekly market. Cool!

You have to peel off all the outer long leaves, until you reach the 'heart' of the veg.

Next, you separate the little pieces, and ready them for the tool.

Pretty lil' things...

Now comes the fun/hard part. You have to shove the piece through this wire grid so it extrudes the little pieces...

I honestly can't believe how filthy my hands are here. Oh well...too late to edit at this point.

It was hard to take a photo while I was doing this! I was alone while I was preparing this dish, so I'm sorry if this is confusing...

Looking from the bottom, watching the pieces getting pushed through. I don't know how I took this photo, come to think of it.

It's very important to have a bowl of ice water ready for all this to go into. It helps crisp up the pieces, and it makes them curl, if they are really fresh.

I waited a bit too long after buying the puntarelle, so mine din't curl much. They did get crispy, though!

Now, a dressing!

I made a very simple dressing of our awesomely great olive oil and salt. That's all. 

The finished product.

Puntarelle is worth the effort! It's kind of like celery, but the taste is sweeter. It tastes green.

If you can find it, try it! I would recommend the traditional version, maybe. But our simple vegetarian version was just fine.

Fashion Forward in Firenze

We just got back from an overnight trip to Florence. We love this city and will always look for a reason to hop the train and head north for a visit. 

This time it was for two reasons...Johnny needed to pick up a bunch of art supplies, and there is a fantastic exhibition of Donatello sculptures and paintings right now. A perfect combo for a little getaway. Add in some good food and wine...yes.

But... I always get a huge kick out of the window displays of the high end fashion houses that are here in Florence.

These are the favorites of what I spotted along the way as we walked through the streets.

So...enjoy!!

One of my faves.

Are you kidding? I want every pair!!@!@

super duper flashy!!

Look close. It's all about those heels.

 

I am very low fashion. A total "Tom Boy". That being said...I do love the creativity and outrageousness of fashion. It's an art form I can totally appreciate.

Lunch At L' Alchemista...Again

  It's so wonderful to be back home in Umbria. We are over our jet lag, for the most part, and settling into a routine....of sorts. Eat, drink be merry? Pretty much, but I do need my exercise and walking rituals as well.

  So far, the weather has been great. Cold, for sure, but not wet or windy, which is a plus. We do need rain here, though. Just like back home in Califoirnia. 

  Since we knew we were going to have a couple of nice days, we decided we'd head down south to a favorite trattoria in Montefalco. We've not been since spring, 2019, so it was time to visit L'Alchimista again! When we were here in the fall last year, we could not get a reservation, so we decided to get an early start and go for it.

  The drive through the countryside is always a delight, no matter what season. At this time of year, the hills are turning green, but there is no foliage on the trees or vines yet....Well, the olive trees always keep their leaves, of course.

  L'Alchimista itself has changed quite a bit since the last time we were here, though you wouldn't know from the entrance...

  They have expanded the interior and spruced things up. The kitchen is now upstairs, and huge! The rooms are doubled in size, too. Fortunately, the food is still as amazing as ever. Patrizia is still at the helm, and we were thrilled to have her give us big hugs and a tour around the new space. She is so proud of the new look and changes. 

  Yay, Patrizia!

That devilish grin is in anticipation of a great meal!

Little did I know I'd be color-coordinated with the new room...
Me and my buddy, back there.

  The menu featured a page of the daily specials, so we went there for our lunch.

  After ordering, we were surprised by an amuse bouche...just a great way to kick off our meal...

No, not an eyeball...panna cotta with pistachio creme, served on a parmesan shortbread.
Yeah, it was an amazing couple of bites.

 

  We each ordered an appetizer featuring artichokes. It's the season, after all. They were both very good, and completely different from each other in every way.

Artichoke soufflé served on pecorino creme, with a purple cabbage foam 
and crispy fried bits of artichoke, along with a seedy cracker.

Crispy fried artichokes, with a saffron cream.
Oh, and a very thin crispy bit of pecorino cheese.

 Both the appetizers were so wonderful...I was a little surprised by the foam, but the taste was sweet and subtle, and went really well with the artichoke soufflé. Plus, it was so damn pretty.

  The foam made another appearance in our main pasta dishes. We both ordered the same special, as it sounded so good, and we had already had the offerings on the regular menu in the past. I wanted to try something new, and Johnny did, too...

A lovely plate, no?

  The stuffed pasta, cappellotti, was made with chicory in the actual dough, which made it a nice green color. It's stuffed with a ricotta chicory filling, and served with ricotta creme and wild herbs. The foam also worked well here, both in flavor and presentation. I didn't find out what the crispy red bits were, but the added texture was a nice touch!.

Yep.

  We enjoyed every bite.

  We opted out on dessert, and just enjoyed the last of the wine, a nice Umbrian blend. We did order espresso, and then did a little wine shopping for home.

  Thanks, Patrizia and staff! We had yet another fantastic experience with you!

  On our way back home, we stopped in nearby Bevagna for a much needed stroll along the water. The day was just so pretty, and we had just enough time.

  We made it home just as the sun was setting. It was a good day...

  I hope to be blogging more on this visit, so stay tuned.

We Made It! Spring in Umbria, 2022

 

I'm not exaggerating....it took almost 30 hours start to end to get to Umbria from our home in California. Don't get me wrong, I'm beyond happy to be here..... but, man was I ready for that first glass of wine in Italy!

As always, we landed in Rome and stayed overnight just to have this moment of wine, followed by pizza (the best...ever) at Pizzeria Remo. And as always, we were not disappointed.

Yeah, I look wiped out...because I was! But happy, too!

Before heading to get pizza, we had a glass of wine at a favorite spot.
The flights were long. We needed this.

It wasn't too cold, nor wet or windy...we were thrilled to be sitting outside breathing in fresh air after hours & hours & hours of wearing masks. I'm all for being as safe as possible, but we had our masks on for a really long time. Being mask free with a glass of wine in Rome was pretty damn sweet.

And then we got to eat pizza!

I look forward to pizza at Remo each and every time we head to Rome. It's a perfect reward after the hell of traveling such a long way.

Next day we took time to pick up some art supplies for Johnny before catching the train north to Umbria. Our pal Carlo picked us up and took us to get our rental car, then finally home to The Nut.

That first walk up through the olive trees in the front garden was heaven on earth...

Looking out over the hills right now is so different from when we were last here in the fall...no leaves on the trees! It will be wonderful to watch the season change to full blown spring!

Yesterday morning....

Last day we were here back in November...
Spring will bring even more leaves.

It's cold enough to have a fire going all day and night, and we are so glad we ordered wood before leaving last fall.

I made a super simple dinner our first night here, and we were in bed early, ready to pass out.

Pan roasted tomatoes with arugula, baked ricotta and grilled bread. Yes.

Day one here, we spent about 5-6 hours just cleaning house, unpacking and organizing everything. It's amazing how dusty it gets when there is nobody here! The plaster walls sort of fluff off fine dust, covering pretty much every flat surface...and then some.

The saving grace is that The Nut is tiny, so it doesn't take days to get her in ship shape.

Next, out to the garden to think about what I want to plant for my terrace color this year!

Walking around, I found several bunches of mini daffodils
I had forgotten I'd planted before the virus hit!

I can't wait to get these pots filled with fun annuals. I bought herbs today for some of the pots, but mostly I want loads of color!

Solar lights to the left will be wound all around
the terrace railing.

Today, Saturday, we went over to Cortona to get a roll of canvas for Johnny's studio. We took a long hike around town, enjoying a stop for Proseco...

Last, but not least, a super simple lunch featuring the most awesome plate of spaghetti ever...Just tossed with olive oil, garlic and peperoncino. 

Yes, it was that good. 

Tomorrow we'll stay home. I want to wash the windows and cut back the roses some. It will be good to just relax and get into the groove of being back home in Umbria.