Life's a Banquet
'...and most poor fools are starvin to death!' ~Mame

Link: http://www.waterfrotbakery.com

It is 11 in the morning and we are on the train from Cortona to Rome. The tour is over and we are soothing our sorrows of leaving in a first class compartment where I can even plug in my computer! The Tuscan countryside is whizzing by us (actually it is probably the Umbrian countryside by now), the sun is out and the skies are blue again, not a cloud around. The wind has stopped and some how the olives stayed on the trees! I am sad to be leaving and yet I am so excited to get back to the cafe! I am restless with the need to see my girls and all of you.

Yesterday was the last official day of the tour and we started it by going in to Cortona to our favorite restaurant La Bucaccia for a cheese making lesson. Romano, Agostina, and their 13 year old daughter Francesca are very proud of their beautiful restaurant. Ago is an award winning chef (she was even on the Italian 'Iron Chef'!) and Francesca was the youngest certified sommelier in the world when she finished her courses last year. Romano is a great character and they run this restaurant together, making everything in-house (the pasta is the best I have ever had)and treating each guest as the most special of the day. We all gathered in the stone-walled dining room and Romano showed us how to make fresh cheese with sheep's milk. I have learned from him 3 times now and every time he does some different things, so I keep learning more and it is more interesting every time. He only uses natural ingredients, and this time the coagulator (he NEVER uses gelatine or animal rennet) was a solution he made by boiling artichoke flowers. Last time he used lemon and I have experimented with what he taught me and have not been as successful with my cheese. It tastes fantastic but my yields are low. I learned that I am working it too quickly and he recommends I use vinegar next time, rather than lemon, and so I will play with it again when I get home.

In about 2 hours we saw him make over 6 kinds of cheese, and for lunch we tasted several of them. We also had Ago's homemade pasta with an aged pecorino and that dish was so delicious the room got quiet as we ate. Romano also kept our glasses filled with wine (I kept pulling mine away when he came to refill; it was barely noon!) and he brought out the Vin Santo to end the meal, along with espresso of course. I got to help out a little with the process and as our class and lunch went on their lunch service started and people were seated around us. It made me miss extremely homesick for the cafe and all I wanted to do was help them with lunch service! I was really wishing I could call the girls then, so I just sent them my love and I hope they felt it!

We were all ready for a nap, but Giovanni came in to join us for dessert and he was to be our guide for a tour of the city of Cortona. Giovanni is an amazing source of information, if there was some way to download his brain I would do it! I just love his casual style and he zips around from site to site explaining the architecture, the history, the culture, the art, and every nuance of every building that we can see. He is proud that his family has lived in the region for 600 years and always reminds us that we, too, are very European originally, and have as much right to the history as he does. He encourages us to touch the walls and the doors where the Etruscans and Romans and Renaissance artists alike were all there before is. It thrills me to no end to hear him talk about Signorelli, Bernini, and the other artists who came from here and show us the secrets of the beautiful old churches. We walked all over the city and then drove to the very top to the Cathedral of Santa Margherita, the patron saint of Cortona. It is so beautiful in there, and with a working monastery and convent there are friars, monks and nuns all around. It is a bit surreal. We visited 'Le Celle', the monastery where Saint Francis lived and studied, including the cell where he slept.

Fabio brought everyone back to Parco Fiorito to begin the packing up process and to get ready for our farewell dinner. At 8 we gathered in the dining room to meet our winemaker for the evening, Maurizio Marchetti. He and his sister drove 2 hours from the Marche region (pronounced 'Mar-Kay') which is East and North of Tuscany, on the Adriatic Sea. They make the Verdicchio in the pretty bottle that we have had as our house white wine in the past. They also make a couple of wonderful reds and tasted them all, including the brand new verdicchio that he took from the tank and is not yet filtered or finished. It was really fun to experience that rough wine and then have the finished product-what a wonderful transformation. Dinner started with a 'Cornetone', a rustic bread stuffed with cheese and pancetta, and rolled up to look like a giant croissant. It is 'peasant food', a way for people to use leftover odds and ends, though the flavors that Roberto stuffed inside were heavenly. The 'pasta' course was Farro con Fave--- farro cooked to a thick stew consistency with fresh fava beans, and topped with the olive oil made on the farm: SO DELICIOUS! The meat course was 'Polpetti', the most tender meatballs ever made, in a small amount of tomato sauce. The meatballs are with pork and veal, and they are called 'meatballs of the mother in law'. The legend is that when the son brought home his new bride, his mother would put out this dish of meatballs. If the new daughter in law ate the meatballs willingly, she was acknowledging the dominance of her husband's mother in the household. My mother in law did not make me these meatballs, but they are so delicious I would have eaten them gladly!

Dessert was little carrot cakes (not nearly as delicious as Mark's, I must admit) with a bit of vanilla gelato that was my favorite part of the dish. We were stuffed again and after some end of the tour conversation we all said goodnight. I didn't get a post in because I was so tired and we needed to get to bed so we could get up and pack. This morning we said our goodbyes and bid our farewells and Fabio took us all to the train station in Terontola for our separate departures. There are six of us going to Rome, Shirley and Wayne will accompany us that far and then the 4 of us will continue on to Ostia, a little seaside town just outside of Rome. The others headed to Florence, Dolores among them, and she will be heading for home tomorrow morning. We will have this evening and all day tomorrow to relax, which is perfect. Mark says he may go see some sites, though I intend to sit on our balcony and just read. We all look forward to early and lighter meals!

Hosting all the others is always hard work and it will be nice to have a day to ourselves. Like I said before, I am really ready to be home, but I hate to leave. I love this place so much and we are forging new relationships with each visit. It feels like coming home when we are here and who knows, maybe someday we will have a home here! It's a good dream to have no matter what it turns out to look like in the end. We will get home and be disoriented for a few days and get right into it with a couple of big caters next week and then the Italy party next Saturday the 6th. We hope you can make it, we will feature some of the dishes we learned to make so you can sample some of the delicious foods we have been eating, and taste some of the wines that we have enjoyed. It will be fun and we can show you pictures of the trip and tell some stories, too. We are hoping some of our travel companions will be there, so you can hear some stories from them as well. It will be from 11-2, open house style, and the samples will be flowing right off the bat. We would love to see you there!

~Ciao for now!

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

This morning started out windy and chilly, though still warmer than it had been up north, partly cloudy and yet gorgeous blue skies and sun kept with us throughout the day. We drove about an hour away to the idyllic hill town of Pienza, which is has stunning views of the Tuscan countryside and wonderful medieval streets to stroll through. First we went to the store called Cornucopia, where we tasted about 10 kinds of balsamic vinegar, each more heavenly than the one before. This is the store where I bought my first great vinegars 4 years ago, after finally tasting this magical elixir that I had only heard about before. Haven't you heard people talk about balsamic vinegar 'so good you can eat it on ice cream', or strawberries, or other foods that you cannot imagine having with vinegar? I had heard that for a long time, and I had tasted some decent vinegars and yet still had no idea how they came to that conclusion. Now I know. Until you have tried this yourself, it cannot be clearly explained. It is syrupy and sweet, but not like candy. It is a savory sweet. It is pure deliciousness! Lucy is the woman who taught us about the vinegars, how they are made, where they are from, and so on, and then she had us taste some other specialties of the region. Fabulous cheeses from sheep's milk (pecorino), both fresh and aged, as well as a marmalade made from figs, and one from onions. The onion marmalade is made in a certain area, in a certain way, for so long that it is on Slow Food's 'Ark of Taste'. What that means is that the grower or producer does work that reflects the values of Slow Food, and the food or product or technique is (or has been) in danger of extintion. By promoting these foods (like our very own Ozette potatoes), we ensure they remain in production and on our plates. This makes the marmalade even more special and when we tasted it with the cheese it was perfect!

We took some time to enjoy the village before departing for Perazetta winery, where a wonderful family lunch and wine tasting awaited us. Another hour or so away, through very windy roads, we arrived sleepy and hungry and ready to stretch our legs. Rita greeted us first and walked us in to the cellar where her lovely daughter Sara took over and showed us around. We saw the cellars and learned about their history from the 15th century, and how the Bocci family took them over and has been successfully making wine since Sara's grandfather bought the place. Lunch was in the cellar, with Alessandro, Rita and Sara all at the table with us, starting with a plate of delicious pasta made from the last of the fresh tomatoes in the garden. Then plate after plate was passed around the table, including prosciutto, soprasetta, porchetta, pecorino cheese, parmeggiano cheese, bread, bruschettas and toppings, and their 2-day old olive oil that was as green as the olives that were pressed to make it! So fresh and delicious, and we passed the bottles of wine around and we all enjoyed another fabulous family meal. Sara and I had been emailing and plotting for Mark's birthday and she had told me not to worry, she would take care of everything. After a break from the food we asked everyone to sit down at the table again, they shut out the lights and she brought out a beautiful cake with a candle in and we all sang Happy Birthday. The cake had the words 'Buon Cumpleano' spelled out on it and she had done it by adding flour to stiffen the cake batter! It looked like cookies had been baked on top into letters... it was so neat! I got some pictures that we will post and you can see how special she made it for him.

Finally after long farewells and promises to see each other soon (Alessandro and Rita are hoping to come visit again in January, so watch for that announcement!) we tore ourselves away for the 2 hour drive back. A few of us snoozed on the road and then at sunset we arrived at the farm of Giovanni Pucci and his family. Signore Pucci is a farmer who raises the beef cattle of Tuscany, the white Chianina cows. He is a breeding farmer and is highly awarded in his field for his successes. They are humble farmers who invite us to their home to see what they do for a living, all because of the relationship that Doumina has cultivated with them. We need an interpreter for this one because they do not speak any English, as they have no interactions with outsiders normally. It is difficult to see how these cows, much cherished for the tenderness of their meat, are held in the barn (sunlight and exercise make the meat tough) for their lives, and yet the farmer and his wife have so much respect for these cows as the only way they know to make a living. I still think it is important to know where our food comes from, and if I have difficulty with the practices yet I make the choice to acknowledge it and still eat the food that is produced, I am doing this in an educated manner. I am not blindly eating mass produced food and I am proud of that. I choose to eat differently, and to feed you well with this knowledge and love, and it all seems to work out the best for me when I do this. Everyone gets to make her own choice and that is what life is all about!

So anyway, enough of my soap box, it was again an honor to be shown around this private family farm and I don't know how long we will be able to do this. The Puccis are aging and no one in their family wants to take over the business, so it may not be around for many more years. Or if it is, whoever takes it over may not welcome us as warmly as they have. We have been so lucky to have time with them and I count my blessings for any more visits that we may have. We got back to Parco Fiorito with about a half an hour to freshen up for dinner. None of us were particularly famished, but it is Mark's birthday and he wanted pizza, so we arranged for a group dinner at Canta Napoli, a great local restaurant owned by some people from Naples, and they do only Napolitano food. They have the freshest seafood around, and the prices can't be beat. Mark decided we would share an artichoke/tomato/mozzarella pizza and spaghetti with clams (it IS his birthday!), we shared a bottle of wine, and desserts, for 32 euro! Total! And it was FABULOUS! We didn't eat it all and we were stuffed to the gills, but we had lots of fun. Our friend Corrine, who works at Parco Fiorito (and visited us at the cafe last February)joined us, and so did Doumina, so there were 11 of us together. It was light and relaxed and everyone was talking and laughing and we had a great night.

One of the fellows on the tour has a unique instrument that is a cross between a banjo and a ukulele. I think it is called something like a 'Banjute', but I keep messing it up and calling it a 'banjulele', which seems to fit just fine. Roger brought it along tonight and he played old songs while we all sang along (Henry the 8th, Goodnight Irene, Down in the Valley, and so on...) and he played some silly songs that we didn't know, and just entertained the heck out of us. He has brought it along a couple of times now and he is a kick and half! His daughter has grown up with this and knows all the words to all the songs and together they are the loveliest pair! We have thoroughly enjoyed them and I hope they come out to the cafe for one of our parties so you can be charmed by them a we all have been.

Again my connection is not good enough to call tonight (it is as windy as Kansas tonight!) so I will bid you all farewell and will post again tomorrow. Have a lovely Tuesday, I know we did!

Ciao for now!

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

Let me see now... I left off and it was going to be Sunday Morning. That was a travel day and we left early, 8 am, and we had a long ride on the bus to Chianti. We stopped only once on the whole 5 hour trip, and a few folks were cranky when we arrived. Soon though, the charm of the Podere Ciona estate won everyone over. It is a beautiful property with views of their vineyards and olive trees, and all the way to Siena. First we had a quick tour through the winery (ok actually first we all used the bathroom, then the tour...) and the smell of cooking food brought us all sniffing to the kitchen. There are 5 Tuscan Mama's who run the kitchen, and 2 of them are in the states teaching classes right now, so we were with LeLe and Elissa for lunch. Franco poured everyone some of their fabulous wines and the mamas put some antipasti on the table, family style. Bruschetta (fresh tomatoes in olive oil) on toast, and white bean puree on toast with rosemary. Then a bowl of pasta with broccoli for everyone-so fresh and delicious! The secondi, or main course, was a simple roasted chicken with olive oil and rosemary, and lemons stuffed inside, served with caramelized fennel. For dessert a lovely and light tiramisu, made with marsala instead of kahlua, and everyone was so happy. We ate at the kitchen tables, pushed together to fit all 16 of us, and it felt like we were in someone's home, having a nice family meal. Everyone was relaxed and full and many of us slept the last hour and a half of the drive before arriving at our new home for the next few days.

We got to Parco Fiorito, a beautiful 15th century convent, just outside of Cortona. It was close to 7 when we were getting settled in and enjoying a welcome glass of wine with our host, and it had been a long day of travel so we were all tired. Several folks went into town for dinner, though Mark, Don, Sandy and I decided to stay in and retire a bit early. I have to admit to you that I have been very sick with the worst cold of my life, and I was the worst yesterday with a fever and my second box of tissue in 2 days. I was fairly miserable and slept a lot of the drive, and lunch was so good and made with love that it helped me feel better. Since we are hosting this trip and visiting old friends and new, I am pushing through the disease for the sake of the others, and resting when I can. I was happy to go to bed early. It is so hard to breathe, I have never had a cold go into my bronchials like this, and it feels like I am breathing through mud. I am out of breath just walking across the apartment, which is not large by any standards.

Enough whining! Today I felt better, though still coughing and freakishly out of breath. I got some cough syrup of some sort from the pharmacy and I think it is helping. We went into the city of Cortona and enjoyed the best chicken liver pate (not something I eat anywhere else, this is the really good stuff!) at Il Pozzo. Il Pozzo means 'the well' and it is this wonderful shop with hand made paper and stationary, hand blown glass pens with ink wells, hand drawn maps beautifully framed, and art from all ages. It is called 'The Well' because when Ivan, the handsome owner, was digging out the floor of his shop, he discovered a well. Upon further investigation and research he learned that this well had been the center of town during the 11th century, and everyone drew their water from it each day. He unearthed this well, put some lights down in it and now it is home to beautiful koi fish that seem to glow with preternatural color. He put a big piece of glass over it and we can watch the fish swim while learning about the history of this ancient city.

Ivan is charming and gracious and we all left his store knowing we had a new favorite haunt, and that we learned the story of Cortona while making a new friend. It was time for exploring and shopping and walking the town, and we were lucky because the rain stopped and the sun came out, just in time. Everyone spread out enjoying the village in her/his own way, and then came back together after a few hours to go the olive pressing plant. This is not a tourist attraction, it is a working business and we are lucky to be able to visit and see how fresh olive oil is made in this community. I was sad to know that Signor Landi passed away last summer, and he was the last one to press the oil in the old way, with stone and mostly by hand. His sons have taken over and brought in new machinery that is not nearly as interesting to see. It is more efficient and saves them time and money, and yet the spirit is not quite the same. Tasting fresh olive oil is fantastic no matter what and I am honored to have been able to see both the old ways and the new.

On the way home we stopped at a little 'alimentari, or grocery store, and Dolores says it is her favorite stop so far! The grocery stores here are like Whole Foods stores, with fantastic fresh breads, local produce, a deli section that will blow your socks off, and lots of other little necessities, all locally produced. It really is fun to go in there and shop a little!

For dinner tonight we ate at our agriturismo, Parco Fiorito, and our host Roberto grilled steaks on the fire for us. The cows in this region are called Chianina, and they are very large white cows that render exceedingly tender and flavorful meat. We will visit a breeding farm for these cows tomorrow and see where they live with the farmer, Signore Pucci. He was an entire room full of awards for his breeding cows and he is so humble and sweet when we visit him! His farm is a simple affair and again, regular tourists cannot go there, we are just lucky because of Doumina's contacts and all the hard work she has put in.

I will say goodnight to you for now! If you go in to the cafe for lunch please tell our girls we love them and miss them! Our internet connection has not been strong enough to call them until tonight and now it is too late, as everyone is in bed and I would wake them all up. I will try tomorrow for sure!

Ciao for now!

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

It is now Monday and I apologize for leaving you hanging for so long. Even here in Cortona it is difficult to get a good signal and timing has been very difficult with the long days. I will catch you up as best I can in the next 45 minutes and post, then try to do it again tonight or tomorrow morning.

On Friday the 22nd we were in Neive still, in Piedmont, and the weather was still really nice. Today was hazy and chilly, but still a really lovely fall day. We piled into Fabio's wonderful bus and went out the vineyards of Eugenio Bocchino. You may remember his wine label, it had a picture of his wiener dog 'Tom' on the label (not a photo, a red Dachshund,)who has since passed away. Tom's son Romeo was there to greet us though and Eugenio's wife Cinzia gave us a tour of their winery. They invited us into their home dining room to taste their delicious wines and to tell us about how they make them. This man is very particular and has been making wine, or learning, since he was about 7 years old and he is now 42. He was a bit shy, or perhaps a better word is humble, and you could tell he was not as comfortable talking about himself as some of our other friends are here. After the tasting we headed up to the town of Barolo (yes, it is where the wine comes from) and I was surprised by this little hill town.

It is a small village and there were many tourists there, which is the part that surprised me. In spite of that it was very charming and several of our group went into the corkscrew museum. A few of us just walked around and enjoyed the views of the vineyards, and then had a nice light lunch at a cafe. I discovered a wine called Favarito, that is typical to this region, and it is a nice white wine to enjoy with a light lunch. Fabio took us over to La Ghersa, which the rest of the group had not yet seen, and we enjoyed another tour and tasting of their great family wines. We also saw how they barreled up the 'must', the left over skins, seeds, etc, and get it ready for distilling grappa. We didn't know it yet but this was a great segue to the grappa distillery that we visited the next day.

When we were getting ready to leave Anna brought her cat down to visit us. She has a Maine Coon, and he weighs 35 lbs! I can't wait to show you the pictures of this cat! He is the size of a toddler and has the sweetest face! Later we had another big dinner at a lovely little restaurant and the best part was the wonderful antipasti platter. The 'plate' was a 12x12 granite tile, and there were 9 little tastes of different things on it. An omelet, veal with tuna sauce (I know it doesn't sound great but IT IS! It was my favorite taste on the plate!), carne crudo, a little sausage on polenta, and so much more. I was thrilled with the little taste of polenta since this is the region where it is grown and made, and yet we had not had the opportunity to taste any yet.

On Saturday we got up and headed to the city of Alba, and their Saturday market. First we walked through their gorgeous cathedral, done in the neo gothic style, and then we went to the market. This is a huge market that runs from the main square and up and down several streets around it. Much like the market in Asti, though I did not find any food vendors like we did in Asti. There were many wine makers, honey, bread, sausage, cheese and more, but not like in Asti. We had heard that the truffle festival was going on in one of the areas of town and so we hunted it down. We left Mark's mom sitting on a bench with all our bags and went in for what we thought would be a few minutes. They gave us a commemorative wine glass and we got 2 tastes of the festival wine, plus several wine makers offered tastes as well. There were truffles everywhere, both the black and the very valuable white, all displayed like diamonds in cases with black velvet and silver trays. It was beautiful in there and smelled like heaven! There were other vendors selling pastas, jams, cheese, bread, sausages and anything else they could think of to make with truffles, or to compliment truffles. There was food for sale and featured dish was 2 eggs over easy (they were PERFECTLY cooked), with a pile of white truffles grated over the top. OH. MY. I cannot describe it well-it was sublime. They also sold pastas and other dishes with truffles, but I believe the best way to have them is with eggs, so we did. Fresh, gently flavored and oh so riche!

I have to run now, I will post more soon and get you more caught up. We are off to the city of Cortona! Ciao for now!

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

On Wednesday we got out to the open air market that comes to Asti on Wednesdays and Saturdays. We had been told that it was in both the Campo dei Palio, which is a huge open area used for general parking. It is at least as big as the Costco parking lot, so you can imagine how huge a market is to take up even half of that, which it did. PLUS it spreads down a street and into the main piazza, which is larger than the Waterfront Park parking lot. The venders open at 0730 so I cannot believe what time they must have to get up to get it started. There are hundreds of vendors, selling everything you could possibly need, from paper towels, cleaning supplies and other household items, to shoes, underwear and every item of clothing possible. There are cooking supplies like pots, pans and utensils, table linens, yarns, fabric for sewing and quilting, and every single thing you could purchase in a hardware store is available at the market. There were farm implements for sale, including tractors and combines, hand bags and wallets, and everything you could find at a dollar store. Then there was the food. First there were the meat and cheese vendors: every kind of cheese made in Italy, not just Piemonte, was available. Raw meats, including every part of the chicken, cow, sheep, and pig. We saw brains, trotters and snouts amid the steaks, chops and roasts. They also had rotisseries and were roasting chicken and pork for sale right in the same 'truck' as the raw meat. Cured meats like prosciutto and salami, cooked dishes like lasagne and roasted potatoes, crackers, pastas (fresh and dried), breads, cakes, cookies and other bakery items, and on and on and on. There were produce vendors selling all manner of local produce and some imported fruits as well. Chestnuts, hazelnuts, and peanuts, fresh beans, dried beans, fresh flowers and dried flowers, everything you could need for gardening from the soil and plants to the pots, rakes and gloves.

This market was astounding at every turn. We walked through the entire thing and it took a very long time, so we got some lunch to go and headed back to the hotel so we could check out. We packed up and went to the lobby to eat our lunch and wait for Doumina and Fabio to pick us up around 2. We had a wonderful lunch of roasted chicken and a few other things we got at the market, enjoyed a lovely conversation, and then Doumina called to say they were running late. They arrived closer to 3:30 pm and we were off to check in with some wine makers. We were contacting a new one, La Ghersa, and we met Massimo and Anna, both very generous with their time. We also met Dave, who owns the wine store in Moscow, Idaho, and the woman who would be our guide on Friday, Corrine. After a very nice tour and tasting of some of their wines, we headed out to Poderi Elia, to connect with Federico Stella and his father Georgio. Those of you who came to meet our Italian winemakers last June may remember them as the very tall men who make fantastic wines. We spent some nice time touring their facility and visiting with them, and Georgio's father Felice joined us for awhile as well. We got to our hotel apartment in Neive and went straight to bed, our heads whirling with the generosity of friends, new and old.

Breakfast comes with the room here so we walked up to the hotel for breakfast. We had not explored our digs the night before, other than to find our beds, so today is when we learned about where we are staying. The Hotel Castelborgo has an apartment a few blocks away. The literature for the town reads: “This is the most elegant Baroque palazzo in the town, set in a striking position at the entrance to the San Rocco gate. There is a fine doorway, an elegant cornice and a number of lovely rooms in pure Rococo style. The building was erected in the second half of the 18th century, designed by the local architect Giovanni Antonio Borgese.” The interior has stunning architectural details and the bathroom is very large, with a huge shower, which is really nice since our other showers thus far have been exceedingly small and annoying. The layout is a bit odd, where there is a very large master suite with a king bed, and then behind that (you must go through the main bedroom to get to it) is a small room with 2 twin beds. It would be 'the kids' room', and since we are the kids, we are sleeping there. In Asti Mark's parents were in 'the kids' room' so it's only fair... it is just awkward to have to walk through their bedroom to get out to the main area or the bathroom, but we will survive.
So we enjoyed a nice breakfast spread and waited for the rest of the group to arrive. Fabio picked them all up at the Alba train station and they arrived in time for to head out for the first winery of the day. Most of us walked and since it is just over a mile away, first down steep hills and then up a steep hill, a few folks chose to ride in Fabio's little bus that is taking us all around. Tre Donne is situated on a gorgeous piece of land, towards the top of a hill, with wonderful views. We only saw a small part of it on our tour, but I know it is very big from the stories. Do you remember the story of Tre Donne? (Three Women is what that means.) Their father came from a long line of wine makers with a wonderful history of great wine, and when the 3rd daughter was born and he realized he would not have any sons, he cried. He knew women could not make good wine and he had no one to pass his life on to, and it made him very sad. Of course the girls grew up watching and helping him make wine, learning along the way, and but he was still hanging on to the hope that they would marry winemakers. When it came time for him to start considering retirement he decided to sell the vines, and the girls begged him to let them try. Papa was stubborn and only said that women cannot make wine, and they disappointed him first by being all girls, and second by not marrying winemakers. They told him they could do it and they kept working on him, until finally they made a deal. “Give us one year to make great wine. If you are not proud of us in that year, you can sell it all.” He agreed, and in that one year those three women won more awards than he had in his entire career. They made great wine! He is extremely proud of them and they have carried on the tradition in two ways: they continue to make award winning wines, and they have only had daughters themselves! A couple of them have married winemakers, who continue their own wine traditions as well as work on the Tres Donne legacy. It is a true family enterprise and they all live on the compound, in their own homes.

We spent a nice 3 or so hours with Rosanna (one of the famous sisters) and her husband Pier, and we even got to meet their little girl Chiara (one of the 4 granddaughters!) They put out a jaw-dropping spread of regional foods: cheeses, meats, breads, veggies, fresh tomato sauce, pesto, more cheese and more meat... it was a huge array of locally produced and hand made foods to go with the 6 or so wines that we tasted. (It was early yet so I ended up using the dump bucket a bit, for their pours were exceedingly generous.) A few of our group is freshly here and jet-lagged so we dropped them off for naps and went on to what we call The Slow Food University. It is the first ever university program for grastronomic sciences, and the focus is more on food production and cultivation. It is a non profit organization which has taken over 'the agency', where the farmers used to go to pay taxes. It is not supported by the government at all and they are trying to preserve heritage foods and biodaynamic and organic ways of growing it. Therein also lies the Wine Bank. This is a beautiful old cellar full of wine from all over Italy. Small production wines that are typical to each region and being produced the old way (by hand and with respect to the earth) are here. They export some of it, sell some of it and some of it will remain here 'forever' in a kind of museum, or library for future generations to know about it. We also got a tour of the student gardens (much smaller than one might think) and the hotel that is on the grounds. It's a beautiful campus with ruins and a small river, and it was a perfectly clear day so it was nice to walk around it. When we left we agreed to stop at Dolce Nieve, a sweet shop, sort of a cross between a candy store and a bakery with pastries and cookies in it. It is a little jewel box of a space and we enjoyed stopping in even more because when we did Rosanna, from Tres Donne, was in there with Chiara, so she introduced us and we got some samples of their delicious creations!

Afterwards we had an hour or so before we needed to leave for dinner so I hurried back to write this out for you. Unfortunately the cell service here is very poor due to the thick walls around us in this town, so I am unable to send it or check in with anyone. I will take my computer up to the hotel today as soon as I can and use their service if mine won't work up there, either. Dinner was at the hotel San Georgio (our itinerary has changed and we are not staying there) and it was delicious. Our table was set in the wine cellar (there are 17 of us) and it was beautifully done: white linens, white dishes, silver utensils, clear wine glasses, and only the water glasses had a bit of color. They were really pretty glasses, hand blown glass of all different translucent colors. The menu was printed out at each seat and whoever wrote it looked up the literal translations of the dishes, and it is the most precious thing we will see on this trip. I will write it out for you exactly as they did and then explain... it is very funny and very sweet:

The Menu

Apertif...

Raw meat beaten with a knife

The taglietelle with sausage sauce of Bra

The braised in wine Barolo with vegetables

The small tasting sweet

Good eveningn from the inn

Now mind you, I did not make any typos there! The 'Apertif' was a glass of prosecco (sparkling wine from the Veneto region that I love!) and on the plate was a small appetizer of fresh, creamy cheese (I believe it was cow's milk) wrapped in a very thinly sliced bit of eggplant which may have been roasted until just soft enough to roll it around the cheese, and it was dressed with a touch of fresh tomato. Elegant in it's simplicity, the flavors of the cheese really came through. The second course, which came with the regional wine 'Dolcetto' (it is a medium-light bodied red that is the general table wine for this area) was very interesting. The meat is not raw of course, it is lightly cured in herbs, wine and salt, to make it very flavorful. I think it was pork, and it did actually look like raw pork that was done in a course grind. It was placed carefully on the plate in a small round shape, and gently surrounded by super thin-sliced zucchini, and topped with a lovely little lettuce that we think was mache, but aren't positive. It had a wonderful flavor and while a few folks were understandably standoffish about it, Mark and I loved it. 'The tagliatelle' (pronounced 'tall-ee-yuh-tell-ay') is a fresh pasta that is thinner and less dense than fettucine, though similar in shape. It did indeed have sausage, that I think may have been from wild boar, and the 'sauce of Bra' is not a boiled up article of underwear, but rather a sauce done in the typical style from the city of Bra, Italy. It was a light tomato style sauce, the fresh pasta was the star, with bits of sausage throughout. It was my favorite part of the meal. 'The braised in wine Barolo with vegetables' turned out to be a thin slice of veal (veal is very different in Italy-no baby cows in boxes over here!) braised in Barolo wine sauce (I wanted to lick the sauce off of my plate, though I refrained) with roasted carrots and potatoes. This course was served with a Nebbiolo, my favorite wine of the dinner and also a classic from this region. 'The small tasting sweet' was a trio of small desserts, beautifully presented on the first colorful plates of the evening. They were different translucent colors, just like the wine glasses, with pretty swirls around the outside. One dessert was 'panna cotta', or cooked cream, which is much like a vanilla pudding. It was set into a little clear plastic box and topped with a jelly of berries, and it was, surprisingly to me, my favorite of the three. There was a rich dark chocolate mousse-like dessert which was placed on the plate like a little slice of cheese cake without the crust. It looked dense at first glance, though actually it was very light and not too sweet, which made me happy. The third treat was sort of a bar, with a crust that seemed like a shortbread, and a gelee on the top that had fruit in it (perhaps currents) and it was the one I could leave alone. They served a Moscato d'Asti, a sweet and lightly effervescent wine that is famous in this region. Even the folks who were not drinking wine with dinner enjoyed that one!

We didn't get back until after 11 and we were very ready for bed! Today holds new adventures and I can't wait to tell you about them. I just hope I can get online and get in touch with you! Until then... ciao for now!!!

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

Good morning, since it is nearly 6 am at home. I can tell you that Tuesday is a gorgeous day and I hope you enjoy it as much as we have! I have a few random thoughts about Rome to throw out here that I don't remember hitting in the last postings. Rome is an ancient city (yes, I am sure you know that!) and the residents of Rome are true Romans-they have been there for all of time. Our wonderful tour coordinator, Doumina, set us up with a private tour guide and Pina was so fantastic, she told us quite a bit about life in Rome, along with all the historical, architectural and cultural information that she packed into our heads. We saw this giant building of ornate white marble, and statues all over it, that stuck out like a sore thumb in this city of ruins. Pina laughed as we gawked at it and told us that Romans hated this building. They consider it the 'new' building and they make fun of it because it is only 500 years old and looks like a wedding cake! Their 'new' building is older than anything we have around!

Also I wanted to mention in more detail the water fountains around the city. They are everywhere and you can fill your water bottle from the brass spigot, or stop up the constant flow of water to divert it through a top hole for drinking straight from the fountain. Many of them look like little stone fire hydrants with water pouring out of them. I cannot find any information on how this works, it must be some sort of closed system that recirculates the waters, though it would be filtering rain water as well... it gets very hot in the summer in Rome and I am sure these fountains are a big relief to everyone who passes them.

So yesterday. It was a travel day and we had a bit of an adventure. Our apartment landlord arranged for the car to take us to the airport (the same one that picked us up) and we arrived around noon. It was too early to check in for the flight so we had to kill a half an hour just standing around. We watched the luggage wrapping machine and tried to figure out why people pay for that. We finally got checked in and through security (Mark's mom had accidentally packed her expensive hair mousse and some lotion in her carry on and they took it from her), then up to the terminal. I found my TIM store there after looking all over Rome and now I can get online with a secure connection and so far the coverage has been very good. We had a quick lunch and they bussed us out to the little 737 which was not crowded at all, so we enjoyed the hour and 15 minute flight in relative comfort. We found out that we had to take a bus 45 minutes to the train station and then we got our tickets to Asti. We had some difficulty figuring out which track was ours and finally we decided it was track 1, so we ran to it since it was leaving soon. We got on and it did not leave right away, which should have been our first clue. The train made frequent stops and we had no idea what any of the planned stops would be so we tried to figure it out as we went. Pretty soon it turned to the west (the sun was right in front of us) and I began to wonder if we were on the right train. After about 20 minutes on the train a porter was making his way towards us, taking tickets, so I knew we would find out soon enough. Sure enough this train did not go to Asti. He helped us off at the next stop, all the while explaining in rapid fire Italian what we needed to do. I thought I understood, and I was able to repeat the important parts and he agreed that I was comprehending. He then told the station porter about us and so he took over and told me in rapid fire Italian all about what we needed to do. Again, I repeated what I thought were the key points and we agreed that I understood. We got on the next train going back towards where we started and got off 3 stops away. We asked the porter at this much larger station where to go and he directed us to one of 2 tracks (there were 6) so we went down and around and read all the signs, deciding on track 6. The 2nd porter had printed out a schedule for us so we now had a train number to look for and we found it. It came very quickly and we hopped on and headed to Asti.

After about an hour and a half total train time we arrived. Asti is very much larger than we had anticipated, it was dark, nearing 8 oclock, and we were hungry. Mark was sure the hotel was near the station so we headed out. Let me just say that we all agree we should have gotten a cab. We stopped no less than 4 times to ask for directions and still had trouble! Finally we got here and stowed our luggage in our rooms to go look for dinner. The Hotel Lis is old, though very clean and well kept, and the location is excellent. We have connecting rooms at the end of the hall, no neighbors and overlooking a courtyard, so again we are lucky with a quiet room. We lock/unlock the doors with a big key, not a key card, the bed is rather hard, but all in all it is a very nice place. Breakfast is part of the board and it is very comprehensive! So yesterday was not all wonderful, though we got to see a lot of Torino and the country between there and Asti, which was interesting and very different from Rome/Lazio area. The moon is getting more full each night, so we will soon have a full moon to see in Italy.

Today we have walked all over Asti, seen a couple of wonderful old gothic style churches, several medieval towers and enjoyed wine at two different little caffe/bars. Every time we order a glass of wine they bring a little snack as well. One time it was pastries and tiny sandwiches (we did not enjoy those so much) and another time it was olives and potato chips! Things close up for siesta so I thought I would check in with you while the others rest a bit and we will figure out what our next adventure is. I have a couple of places to try for dinner tonight that are recommended by Slow Food, and tomorrow Doumina and Fabio (our driver for the tour) will pick us up around 2. We will begin work then, researching some different wines for the tour, and getting ready to greet our guests, who will begin arriving tomorrow evening. The tour starts Thursday morning and I am sure I will be able to check in at least once more before then. The weather has been great and while it is a bit chillier up here, the sun was out all day! I hope your day is as good as ours has been. The meal last night was ok by Italian standards, very good by ours, and I hope that tonights will be reportable.

Ciao for now!

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

This is our last morning in Rome, as today we head north to Piemonte (Piedmont)and the 4th largest city in Italy, Torino (Turin). If Rome is the birthplace of Slow Food (more on that in a bit), Torino is the heart of it. We are flying up there since it is significantly less expensive and faster to do so, than to take the train. From Torino we will train over to Asti, the home of Moscato d'Asti, Asti Spumante, and more!

Yesterday we hopped the subway over to Vatican City, along with about a billion other people, to hang out with the Pope. Seriously, he was there and giving mass, and canonizing saints, and then he was to give a general blessing to the people in the square. Our free tickets to the mass never came so we went for the blessing, but got in to see the last part of the Mass! Sandy was thrilled and while we were really far back, the big screens that they put up helped us to see. It was really fun to see all the people there, including nuns, priests and monks who were just regular tourists at the Vatican.

Just before it ended and the throngs of people were going to be leaving, we decided to get ahead of the crowd and head for the subway. We went over to Piazza del Popolo (the People's Square), then down via del Corso to have some lunch. Sandy has completely given in to the fun of Rome and she had gelato for lunch! We moved on to the Spanish Steps (designed and funded by the French, in Italy, I don't know why the are called that) and the 'Bad Boat' fountain, which is reputed to have the sweetest water in Rome, so of course we filled my water bottle. Tons of people there, too. We took a couple of back roads that were so charming, just to see the day to day life in that neighborhood, and when we found ourselves back out on the via del Corso we found ourselves at ground zero for Slow Food. The McDonalds company wanted to put one near the Spanish Steps, and the local community fought it hard. The Slow Food organization was essentially started to fight the spread of fast, non-food, and to remind us of how important it is to dine with loved ones on whole food, rather than gulp down poor nutrition on the run.

We kept walking and soon we were at the Trevi Fountain. I wish I could tell you that it was everything I imagined, so beautiful and romantic.. except that there were 5 trillion people there! The place was mobbed and I hated it. The fountain itself really is amazing and about 100 times bigger than I thought it would be! I couldn't get over that part. We eventually found our way back to the subway and the apartment. It was not as long, nor arduous of a day as the day before was, but we were all very tired and the jet lag was hitting us. We rested up for a bit and then Mark and I decided to get a bus and go see this particular castle that is across the river, and is supposed to be especially beautiful at night. We waited a long time for a bus and when it came it was not the right one, and it was packed tight with people. So we waited for another and the same thing happened, it was not one of the 5 buses we hoped to catch and it was packed. It began to be pretty funny as other people crammed into the already full buses so we kept waiting to see what buses would come. We watched panicky tourists try to keep their place on the bus while others tried to exit, and one lady nearly knocked over a nun to get on the bus. There was no way I was getting on a bus that crowded when we didn't know where it was headed so we waited. After about 30 minutes a less-crowded bus came along and we jumped on. It went the wrong way! We rode for awhile and got off to figure out how to get going the right direction. We could not figure it out and we had told Mark's parents we would be back within 90 minutes. So we headed back. A group of 18 British kids and their chaperons all crowded on an already full bus with us. The kids were ages 9-12 or so and they were giggling the whole way, so the rest of the bus occupants were all laughing with them. It was quite the adventure for not seeing anything!

We got back just in time to go to dinner. Luckily it wasn't far since we were all so tired and when we got there we nearly had the place to ourselves! It was all very delicious, though none of us could finish because we ordered too much (we managed to finish the wine, though!) Speaking of the wine... all the little places we go offer a 1/4 liter, 1/2 liter, or a full liter of house wine. The full liter usually runs from 9-13 euro! It is always good and so that is what we get. (Sandy gets the 1/4 liter of white wine and we help her finish because we are very helpful!)

This morning we got going early to get over to San Giovanni (St John's), which is the 'mother of all churches in the world'. It is not as big as St Peter's, though it is certainly as impressive. The masses of tourists began arriving and were so noisy that it took away from the peace of this impressive space, which is filled with statues and ornate works to fill every inch. We have packed up and are now waiting for our car that will take us to the airport so we can fly to Torino.

What an amazing time we have already had! We have seen SO MUCH and yet there is so much more to see. We knew we could never get it all in a few days so we prioritized, hired a private tour guide for Saturday, and agreed to go with the flow as our moods, needs, and wants changed. We have had a wonderful time and we are excited to see a new area today. We will slow it down a bit and chill in Asti for a couple of days, and if you ever come to Roma, you must stay in our apartment. Andrea, the owner, is a fabulous host and this place is perfect in location, quiet and comfort.

You are all still sleeping as I finish this, it is nearly 2 am for you, and I can tell you that Monday is fantastic already!

Ciao for now!

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

The flight was as uncomfortable as I thought it would be, it's just too long to sit. And yet here we are. We have a wonderful little apartment with 2 bedrooms/2 baths and a little kitchen, plus access to a courtyard for dining al fresco. We can hear the church bells of San Clemente calling everyone to worship, but it is generally very quiet-especially for a being in a busy city.

Friday late afternoon/evening, after our long trip and checking in to the apartment, we explored our little neighborhood. (By the way, we are here with Mark's parents and it is the first time to Rome for all of us but Sandy, who was here when she was around 16 years old, and she doesn't remember much about it.) We shared a couple of pizzas at a nearby shop, grabbed a few groceries and then retired early, a little after 7, since we had been up for about 35 hours and were exhausted. Yesterday morning we were out the door by a quarter to nine and we met our guide for the day at the Piazza di Colloseum, which is a few blocks from our apartment.

Pina was fantastic! She helped us get our 'Roma Pass', which gets us in to a few museums for free and for discounts, plus gives us free access to all public transportation while we are here. All for only 25 Euros each, which is a really good deal. We walked all day and saw the Coloseum, Roman Forum, Arch of Constantine, Old City Hall, New City Hall, Pantheon, Palatine Hill, Piazza Navona, Campo dei Fiori, and so much more... We had a little lunch and bussed over to Vatican City. Did you know that it is a separate country? The Vatican has its own government, postal stamp, currency and you have to show your passport to get in at certain points. There are 2 points where you can enter without your passport due to an agreement the Pope made with Mussolini (he started out with good intentions... he just got mixed up with the wrong friends!) We toured some galleries and then we entered the Sistine Chapel. I was actually in the Sistine Chapel!

The ambience in there is awful, the guards keep shushing everyone because they want silence, plus they have to keep telling everyone to stop taking pictures. We lucked out and found spots on the bench along the wall, which is really nice since you are looking way up, even if you just want to see the walls of the chapel. The ceiling is so much more than I thought it would be... and the Last Judgement on the back wall... there are no words to describe it. It took my breath away. Michelangelo painted the ceiling-it was his first attempt at painting. He was 23 years old and a sculptor, which is really obvious in his work. 26 years later he was asked back to do the back wall and he decided to depict the Last Judgement. It is really amazing, so huge! The walls lining the chapel on either side depict the life of Jesus, and the life of Moses. Many other artists did these walls, including Bocelli, Perugina and Signorelli, and they are wonderful works as well.

After awhile we went out with the massive crowds and down into the basilica of St Peter. It is the largest in the world and the sheer mass of the place is overwhelming. It is a sight to behold and as we walked towards the alter Pina told us that every square inch of the place is mosaic or sculptor, not one drop of paint or fabric, which is why we could take pictures if we wanted to. As we looked at all the works of art everywhere I kept asking her 'really?? That one is not paint? are you certain?' and she kept laughing and telling me that she could assure me it was not paint. We wandered all around and finally we were there. In front of me was the work of art that I have dreamed to see more than any other. Since I was 16 years old in my first art history class, and Helen Bedtelyon put up the slide of the Michelangelo's first Pieta. It was behind plexiglass and we weren't all that close to it and yet being that close made me weep with pleasure. I am still in awe of the fact that I was there. It is one piece of marble. Again, I have no words for this... it was a highlight of my life. And since I saw his final Pieta (The Deposition) last year in Florence, quite by surprise, I am fulfilled in that area for certain. Absolutely amazing.

We made our way back to our neighborhood where we met Doumina (our tour coordinator) and Giacomo (our friend from Parco Fiorito in Cortona) who surprised us by being in Rome. We will see Doumina again on Wednesday and we were so lucky to be able to visit with Giacomo since he is already gone for the season at Parco Fiorito. Giacomo lived in Rome for 10 years and gave us a dinner recommendation near our apartment. It was perfect! We had a wonderful meal in a neighborhood osteria, where they were as friendly as can be and the food was typcial for this region. Sandy had minestrone that tasted so fresh of the vegetables! Don had a gorgeous roasted 1/4 chicken and a salad. Mark and I shared Baccala, the salt cod this area is famous for, prepared in a tomato sauce. We also had an artichoke that was prepared in lemon and herbs, the flavors were wonderful together. We ate Spaghetti Carbonara, which was one of the things I wanted to try most in Rome. Everything was delicious, the house wine was fantastic, and we wish that same place was open tonight.

I have to get into the shower so we can head out for a quick breakfast, then to explore more and get the papal blessing at noon in St Peter's Square. We aren't sure what is in store for the day but we know the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps are going to be a part of it. It is 11 at night for you, so sleep well and we will tell you more later.

Ciao for now!

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

I don't know if you know this or not, but my birthday this year was, well, less sparkly than usual. Our home had been broken into just 2 days before and that messed with us for a long time, particularly the few days immediately after. The day before my birthday I had planned to go to Seattle and seek out some of the gourmet food trucks that are out there and hopefully meet up with friends along the way. There was too much to deal with for the insurance and police and I was not yet ready to leave my home and kitties unattended, so we did not go anywhere. Flash forward to Friday October 1 and the 5th Mobile Chowdown. Food trucks from Seattle and Portland convened upon the parking lot to Qwest Field, we paid $5 to get in to the 21 and over event, and we were in food truck heaven. Pyramid Ale sold beer, though I felt that the selection (a dark beer and a hefeweizen) was not particularly food friendly across the board, especially since I don't care for hef. Plus, at $8 a pour, when we were there to try food, seemed outrageous to me... but I digress. We attended the festival with 2 of our best friends in the world, Erin (our baker and friend) and a friend of Erin's. The best part of all that is that we got to get several things and try them all without eating all of everything, which would be impossible.

I had very specific ideas of what food trucks I wanted to hit and the others had no idea about any of it so I took the lead and hightailed it straight to Skillet Street Food. Now mind you, I have been watching the online presence of this and a couple of other trucks since their inception. I am impressed by their business styles and have been crazy excited to try their food. At Skillet we had the burger. It was a small one and only 4 of us ate it so it worked out well. From their web site: the burger; grass fed beef, arugula, bacon jam, cambozola, soft roll. Yes, they make the bacon jam and of course I bought some! This was the most sublime burger I have ever had. We all agreed it was delicious and if I had any capacity to go back for more after the other trucks, that is where I would have headed. We were smart and got there early (of course we did, we go to bed early and had a breakfast cater at 7 the next morning so we weren't going to be out late!) so the lines were not bad except for the last place we went.

Our second stop-and this was my second choice of truck in general, was Marination Mobile. We got two things here: a slider – Warm and soft, stuffed with their signature slaw and spicy, juicy, shredded kalua pork. Both N and I were mmm'ing and ooo'ing over this one. It was absolutely delicious, with the perfect balance of tangy, spicy, sweet, soft and crunchy. We also got the Kimchi rice bowl, served with a sunnyside up egg on top. I loved this dish and wish I could get it for breakfast regularly! So far at each truck we had stood in short lines, and the music had started (live bands) and we could see folks meandering in and around the lot so lines would be forming longer quite soon.

We headed over to Maximus Minimus, a food truck with personality! The truck itself is in the shape of a giant pig and it is very cool to see. Here we had Posole with pork (the best posole I have had from a 'restaurant'!) and a Maximus: bbq pulled pork, Hot and Spicy from a mixture of peppers, onions, and fruit juices. It was, once again, totally fabulous. I mean the quality of the food coming out of these mobile 'joints' is supreme... hands down as good as, and certainly better than many, local restaurants in Seattle. While we were in line for this one Mark and Erin went to get donuts at Top Pot, who has their own mobile truck that they take out. They actually went really well with the dark beer, and we hadn't found anything yet that it went as well with, so that was a fun surprise. After we slurped our way through the soup and sandwich we headed towards the spot on the map that had my other 2 main trucks that I wanted to try.

As we got closer I could see that at least one truck was missing and one truck had the longest line ever. That truck was Where Ya At Matt and we had THE BEST OYSTER PO'BOY EVER! Now I have not been to Louisiana, and since I have tasted this I know what it tastes like there. From their web site: “Peace Maker” Fried Oysters with bacon, cheddar cheese, Mama Lils bread and butter pickles and lemon aioli. Oh Babe!!! Guaranteed to bring anyone back to the table, this one is influenced by the Street Car Shop in New Orleans, pre-Katrina…let us pray. HA! Too funny... the oysters were small, super crisp, and flavorful, and the sandwich itself really did make my mouth sing! I could hear it! We also tried the gumbo and it was excellent, but that po'boy, well it made me want to slap my mama.

That line was so long we took turns standing in it. While I wandered I picked up a few desserty things to take back to the group and checked out all the other trucks to see if there was anywhere else I really wanted to go. The lines were very much longer now and we were getting full-even sharing everything it was a lot of food. The truck that was missing, which made me very sad, was Hallava Falafel and I will go find them one day. I love great falafel and I hear that theirs is the best, and after this experience I believe it. There was also another truck right next to Where Ya'At Matt's, and there was no one in line, so I went to check it out. It was called 'Got Soup?' and since no one was around I got to talk with the proprietor. Jerry puts his rig out at various farmer's markets around Seattle AND offers a soup delivery service! It's a great idea and after he gave me a sample of the Thai Pumpkin Coconut soup I bought a bowl and took it to the Matt's line and we all ate it while waiting. It was so fantastic that even Erin loved it, and she does not love coconut, which topped the soup. I loved it so much that I am going to create a version of it for the cafe. I emailed Jerry and liked that idea, but if you are in Seattle and near one of his stops you need his soup. I hope his lines got long that night, because if they didn't, all those people were missing out on one of the best stops of the festival!

We all piled the food we had on a table and dug in to what was left. Erin and her friend went over to Veraci Pizza and got a slice or two, and man can those boys rule a wood oven. It was as good as Mark's for sure, and Mark's is the best I have had. (So much so that we are going to build our own wood oven at home, but I digress...) The music was fun and it was getting dark and we were quite full, so it was time to head home. Mark and I left the others to continue on the party while we headed for the Link Light Rail to take us back to our free parking in Tukwila, then home. You can go to the Mobile Chowdown (linked above) to see all the vendors who were there, notes about the next one, and the fact that they didn't like the beer prices, either. It was a great spot, but #6 will be even better! Maybe you will meet me down there next time and try something, there is food for all tastes and pleasures!!

Today is the last full day we are home, and tomorrow we will leave for Italy. We want to be tired on the plane so we will get up around 2 am and start packing. We don't need to leave the house until 10 am, so we will have plenty of time and I will get some administrative stuff done, as well. It is stressful to leave for that long, the house, the kitties, the business will all be fine without our presence for 2 weeks (especially since the house is fully alarmed and we have a friend who stays at the house the whole time, and it is only one small reason that we love her so much!) I will be working full time in Italy and hopefully I will get an online card right away so I can begin updating the blog. We won't get there until Friday, and it may not be the first day that I get what I need, but I will do my best so that you can be with us, virtually. I am excited and nervous, since we host 18 people (and it can be complicated to keep everyone happy and relaxed) we are 'on' the whole week of the tour, and it is nice to have a couple of days before, and a day after, to relax and see what we want to see. The tour starts on the 21st and we will definitely be live by then!

So Ciao for now, Rome here we come!

The recipe today uses Skillet's bacon jam. I made this meatloaf last night and I think it is fantastic! I will put in an alternative to the jam, but if you can find Skillet, you should get some!

1/3 cup milk
1 cup bread crumbs (I use the cafe croûtons all crunched up)
(soak them together in the bowl you will mix everything in)

1 extra large egg, or 2 regular eggs (the farmer's chickens laid extra big ones!)
1.1 lb lean ground beef (I used Clark Farms grass fed, from Sequim)
a couple of bunches of bok choy, chopped fine (you can use celery instead)
1 half a red onion, diced
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper to taste
a hand full of Italian Parsley, chopped
2 TBS tomato paste
1/3 cup bacon jam (you could use ground pork sausage, or grind up bacon and herbs in a food processor)

because I use our flavorful croûtons as bread crumbs, I don't put in other seasonings. If you are using store bought or plain bread crumbs I would punch it up with the following:
1 TBS Worcestershire
a shy TBS of cider vinegar
1/4 tsp allspice (or 1 TBS chili powder, or 1 tsp smoked paprika)

2 TBS balsamic-rhubarb compote OR you can just use catsup if you didn't get any of my compote.

Let the meat and come up to room temperature by pulling it out an hour or so early. Meanwhile soak the breadcrumbs on the counter so the milk warms up as well. Chop everything and get it ready to go.

Put everything in a bowl and mix it gently with your fingers. You don't want to overwork the meat, though you do want everything incorporated completely. Form it into a loaf pan, or a loaf shape in a baking dish and let it rest, again at room temp, for 30-45 minutes. (yes, you CAN put it right in the oven; this step will make it more tender.)

Preheat the oven to 350 (or 325 convect bake) and cook the meatloaf for about an hour. I turned it at 25 minutes and let it go another 30 and then pulled it out. Cover it with a piece of foil (loosely) and let it sit as long as you can stand it...at least 10 minutes.

I put a couple of russet potatoes in the oven with the meatloaf and they cooked up in the same amount of time.

While the meatloaf was resting I baked a pan of kale so it was crispy and it is so fun to eat! Pull big pieces of kale off the the stems and rub them with some olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and bake them for about 5-7 minutes, turning at the 3 minute mark. It is crunchy and the kale flavor is more pronounced-delicious!

See you in Italy!