Inside the Cathedral in Sienna
View of sunset from Certaldo Alto
Jess and Mariko with our beautiful cheese cake!
Winter in the Tuscan hills
Rolling hills in Tuscany
Monday, February 25, 2008
More Inpro Pictures
Inside the Cathedral in Sienna
View of sunset from Certaldo Alto
Jess and Mariko with our beautiful cheese cake!
Winter in the Tuscan hills
Rolling hills in Tuscany
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Spring Inpro - Cooking in Tuscany
We just got back from a week in the heart of Tuscany with it's gorgeous rolling hills and medieval towns. Somewhere between Florence and Sienna lies the town of Certaldo, and somewhere outside of Certaldo was where we found ourselves. The accommodation for our trip was three small apartments that are connected to a huge villa that is also rented out - but in warmer weather. With only 9 students and 2 chaperones we didn't exactly need that much space. The places were very cute - rustic and charming... and on the first night, VERY COLD! Thankfully that changed over the course of the first 2 days. The name of the place is: Agriturismo Bacío, and the owner is Alberto.
View from the apartments
I think the hardest part of the trip was driving - 5 hours up and down, and each day tackling the winding roads and sharp curves in a huge van with stick shift - but we did pretty well (with just a couple of detours on an excursion or two).
The cooking classes were great. Shilpa who runs organictuscany.org is very low key and easy-going. We had the classes in her kitchen with Manuela, a fantastic local Italian who is the mastermind behind some of the recipes. Shilpa has 2 adorable kids and a sweet husband who were in and out livening up the classes. Each group had 2 days of cooking and had a chance to make the following menus. We were small groups (my group was 5 in total, and James group was 6 ). We cooked from 10am till 1pm and then ate a nice leisurely well earned lunch.
Day 1:
Fresh homemade pasta (organic stone ground flour and organic eggs)
2 sauces - both with the base of vegetables and herbs (all grown at a local organic farm that we visited on thurs) and one meat (free range organic beef), one vegetarian. Using great ingredients really did enhance the flavors of everything.
Tiramisu - I didn't get a chance to taste this dish because of the uncooked alcohol in it (when I do try making it myself I will omit that ingredient), but word on the street is that it was pretty fantastic.
Jenni and Salome making fresh pasta
Day 2:
Again, all ingredients are locally grown and/or organic.
Fennel souffle - my first venture into the world of souffle making and actually not that hard. And for someone who is not a fan of either cauliflower or fennel I was stunned at how delicious they turned out.
Cauliflower souffle
Chicken with olives
Cheese cake - one of the loveliest, lightest cheese cakes I've had.
On the mornings we didn't cook we went on tours of some of the local farms. The first, La Ginestra, produces bees and honey, and a small supply of boar/pig. We had a chance to see the animals and the hives and had a very interesting explanation of the process of honey making. We also got to taste honey directly from a hive and then later, in jars with particular flavors. After the tour we had an awesome farmhouse meal - again 4 courses - starting with the anti pasti, then a pasta dish, pork and potatoes, and a lovely warm apple cake to round it off (followed by Italian espresso for those who enjoy coffee!)
The second day we went to 2 different farms - the first is a community of about 24 people who started a lifestyle project to become entirely self-sufficient. They grow all their own vegetables, they raise cows and goats for milk, cheese and yogurt, they have chickens and geese for eggs, and even dug their own lake for irrigation. Solar panel energy runs the equipment and they have a small farm store where they sell their products to make an income for any supplies they might need. We bumped into one of the founders of the community - an old beautiful man - who shared with us many of the fascinating details of their history. See their website for more details: http://www.poggioantico-firenze.it
The second farm we saw that day was an organic vineyard and olive grove. They also rely on agritourism and have many rooms to rent out during the year. I have forgotten the name for now but will try and add it if it comes to me.
The rest of our time was spent visiting the nearby towns. We had an afternoon and evening in Sienna - really sweet and just beautiful. James and I got to see the frescoes in the cathedral which were fairly spectacular. Dinner at Hostario Il Carroccio -Via Casata di Sotto, 32 Tel: +39-0577-41165 - was good, though I wish we had not gone with a set menu. It was way too much food to try and ingest after a big lunch, and it seemed like it just kept coming out.
Group picture in Sienna
On Tuesday afternoon we took the opportunity to check out the old city of Certaldo. From what I saw and heard, this is a less touristy place to go and it still has all the charm and history of an old Tuscan town. Something I thought every day was just how gorgeous everything must be in the warm weather. Certaldo alto has a beautiful view of the surrounding areas and a nice walking path around the town walls from which to see everything.
Wednesday was our trip to San Gimignano. I have heard that summers are crazy there because of the tourists. Luckily we had no such trouble - perhaps even a bit of the opposite. The Torture Museum we were supposed to visit was closed, and the most well known Gelateria, famous for their pistachio flavor in Piazza Cisterna was also closed. We ended up settling for another random gelateria which was certainly adequate but we'll never know if it compares! We had another great dinner at Trattoria Il Rigoletto +39 0577 – 941981 just outside of San Giovanni gate I believe. It was a good choice not to go with a set menu and instead we had a chance to sample what suited our moods at the time. The goat/sheep cheese with pepper and honey and toast was pretty delicious.
Thursday afternoon was down time though we did take a walk to a local potter who was kind enough to show us around his studio and show room. It was surprising to see such rustic and Japanese influenced work in an area filled with the typical majolica Terra cotta painted pots. You can check Terry out: http://www.terrydavies.it/techniques/tuscany/tuscany.html
Our final dinner was also local, at a sweet restaurant called C’era una volta (Once upon a Time) in Lucardo. As a starter the mixed fried turned out to be light and surprisingly good. Their pici (local pasta) is also very tasty.
The rest of our time was spent at the apartments where we cooked 2 dinners together which turned out pretty well. We played games together and watched Ratatouille to set the mood for the week!
Sienna
Cathedral - Sienna
View from the apartments
I think the hardest part of the trip was driving - 5 hours up and down, and each day tackling the winding roads and sharp curves in a huge van with stick shift - but we did pretty well (with just a couple of detours on an excursion or two).
The cooking classes were great. Shilpa who runs organictuscany.org is very low key and easy-going. We had the classes in her kitchen with Manuela, a fantastic local Italian who is the mastermind behind some of the recipes. Shilpa has 2 adorable kids and a sweet husband who were in and out livening up the classes. Each group had 2 days of cooking and had a chance to make the following menus. We were small groups (my group was 5 in total, and James group was 6 ). We cooked from 10am till 1pm and then ate a nice leisurely well earned lunch.
Day 1:
Fresh homemade pasta (organic stone ground flour and organic eggs)
2 sauces - both with the base of vegetables and herbs (all grown at a local organic farm that we visited on thurs) and one meat (free range organic beef), one vegetarian. Using great ingredients really did enhance the flavors of everything.
Tiramisu - I didn't get a chance to taste this dish because of the uncooked alcohol in it (when I do try making it myself I will omit that ingredient), but word on the street is that it was pretty fantastic.
Jenni and Salome making fresh pasta
Day 2:
Again, all ingredients are locally grown and/or organic.
Fennel souffle - my first venture into the world of souffle making and actually not that hard. And for someone who is not a fan of either cauliflower or fennel I was stunned at how delicious they turned out.
Cauliflower souffle
Chicken with olives
Cheese cake - one of the loveliest, lightest cheese cakes I've had.
On the mornings we didn't cook we went on tours of some of the local farms. The first, La Ginestra, produces bees and honey, and a small supply of boar/pig. We had a chance to see the animals and the hives and had a very interesting explanation of the process of honey making. We also got to taste honey directly from a hive and then later, in jars with particular flavors. After the tour we had an awesome farmhouse meal - again 4 courses - starting with the anti pasti, then a pasta dish, pork and potatoes, and a lovely warm apple cake to round it off (followed by Italian espresso for those who enjoy coffee!)
The second day we went to 2 different farms - the first is a community of about 24 people who started a lifestyle project to become entirely self-sufficient. They grow all their own vegetables, they raise cows and goats for milk, cheese and yogurt, they have chickens and geese for eggs, and even dug their own lake for irrigation. Solar panel energy runs the equipment and they have a small farm store where they sell their products to make an income for any supplies they might need. We bumped into one of the founders of the community - an old beautiful man - who shared with us many of the fascinating details of their history. See their website for more details: http://www.poggioantico-firenze.it
The second farm we saw that day was an organic vineyard and olive grove. They also rely on agritourism and have many rooms to rent out during the year. I have forgotten the name for now but will try and add it if it comes to me.
The rest of our time was spent visiting the nearby towns. We had an afternoon and evening in Sienna - really sweet and just beautiful. James and I got to see the frescoes in the cathedral which were fairly spectacular. Dinner at Hostario Il Carroccio -Via Casata di Sotto, 32 Tel: +39-0577-41165 - was good, though I wish we had not gone with a set menu. It was way too much food to try and ingest after a big lunch, and it seemed like it just kept coming out.
Group picture in Sienna
On Tuesday afternoon we took the opportunity to check out the old city of Certaldo. From what I saw and heard, this is a less touristy place to go and it still has all the charm and history of an old Tuscan town. Something I thought every day was just how gorgeous everything must be in the warm weather. Certaldo alto has a beautiful view of the surrounding areas and a nice walking path around the town walls from which to see everything.
Wednesday was our trip to San Gimignano. I have heard that summers are crazy there because of the tourists. Luckily we had no such trouble - perhaps even a bit of the opposite. The Torture Museum we were supposed to visit was closed, and the most well known Gelateria, famous for their pistachio flavor in Piazza Cisterna was also closed. We ended up settling for another random gelateria which was certainly adequate but we'll never know if it compares! We had another great dinner at Trattoria Il Rigoletto +39 0577 – 941981 just outside of San Giovanni gate I believe. It was a good choice not to go with a set menu and instead we had a chance to sample what suited our moods at the time. The goat/sheep cheese with pepper and honey and toast was pretty delicious.
Thursday afternoon was down time though we did take a walk to a local potter who was kind enough to show us around his studio and show room. It was surprising to see such rustic and Japanese influenced work in an area filled with the typical majolica Terra cotta painted pots. You can check Terry out: http://www.terrydavies.it/techniques/tuscany/tuscany.html
Our final dinner was also local, at a sweet restaurant called C’era una volta (Once upon a Time) in Lucardo. As a starter the mixed fried turned out to be light and surprisingly good. Their pici (local pasta) is also very tasty.
The rest of our time was spent at the apartments where we cooked 2 dinners together which turned out pretty well. We played games together and watched Ratatouille to set the mood for the week!
Sienna
Cathedral - Sienna
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