Category: Tuscany

I smiled ruefully when I tore the end of week page from my calendar last night. It read “What great thing would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?”. Hands up those of you who can answer that question without a moment’s hesitation? I know I can – we all have our dreams – but yesterday I would have settled for more modest achievements – a perfect lemon tart, a creamy panna cotta with a topping of summer fruits and shards of honeycomb, a rare bistecca alla fiorentina served straight from the Big Green Egg.
Yes yesterday was one of those days where my careful plans to try out some of my favourite Italian recipes came unstuck, reminding me what a long way I have to go to become a cook who can produce good results, consistently every time. I mean I even managed to burn a batch of my foolproof chilli jam!
You see I’m still suffering withdrawal symptoms from Italy and I thought I would work it out of my system by trying out some Italian recipes in Duncannon but my pretty dismal efforts just made me want to hop on a plane back to Italy to savour the real thing.
Ah Italy! Is it really only two Sundays ago that we were at Fredi and Oli’s first birthday party  at  Borgo di Colleoli, a renovated medieval manor and holiday complex in the hills above Pontadera.

Solange has been my friend for over 4 years now since she first began to teach me Italian and I’ve been with her through the lead up to the birth of the twins and early motherhood. My Italian vocabulary is not extensive yet but, thanks to her, I can hold down a conversation about pregnancy, babies, cultural differences in child-rearing across continents and what it is like to be a long-distance Nai Nai! Continue reading Images and Flavours of Tuscany (Part 2)