October 2017 Newsletter from Elizabeth Minchilli

october 2017 newsletter

The other day I was interviewed by a reporter for the New York Times on the effect of global warming on olive oil production in Italy. Although I could really only speak from personal experience - my own and others I know - I told her that yes, I did think that the fact that this is the fourth year in a row that we (and many others) have next to no olives does have something to do with the changing climate. But my own situation - lack of olives on our 100 or so trees - effects neither our livelihood nor what ends up on our table. We are lucky in that respect.

So it’s difficult for me to proceed with this newsletter, filled with stories of my carefree life in Italy where lack of a few liters of olive oil is the only blemish on my horizon while the obvious effects of global warming are so horrendously effecting my fellow Americans in other parts of the world. I won’t get into the shame I feel when the president of my country attacks those that most need his support and sympathy. Instead, rather than any kind of rant, I’ll just post this link to where you can do some good to offset the bad. This is the one that is being recommended the most and is endorsed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who I figure knows what he is talking about.

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming….

what's new

I always feel recharged in September. After so much time away during the summer, it’s fun coming back to home to Rome and seeing my city with fresh eyes. Although some things are bound to change that I don’t like (favorite shops closing or the current municipal government’s latest debacle) I’m more inclined to focus on changes that are exciting and new, or else things I love that haven’t changed at all. First stop was a dinner at Piperno where, thank god, nothing ever changes. I was also glad to welcome the knife grinder and his wheel below my house since I hadn’t seen him in ages. But I’m also so excited to see new trends in the city, like healthy juice and food bistrots like this one. For our Week in Rome tours I always try to include a bit of the old as well as a bit of the new, because it’s the contrast I find so interesting.

Sophie's been busier than usual these days. The photo above is from a photo shoot she did with her friend Claudia. They are working together to develop a food and shopping tour of Trastevere which sounds like loads of fun. In addition to eating (duh!) the tour will also take in some of Claudia’s favorite artisan shops that sell one-of-a-kind things. And if you’re not in for the entire tour, they are also preparing bespoke shopping do-it-yourself itineraries. Contact Sophie for details.

After years of thinking about it, I’ve finally produced some tote bags and aprons to give out to guests who join me on my tours and cooking classes. One of the obstacles for getting it done was that I really didn’t have a logo, or an iconic image, to work with. This changed when my daughter Emma drew me an artichoke for my last birthday. My sister Robin, an art director and graphic designer, helped turn it into a logo that I absolutely love! For now I’ve printed up a bunch of aprons and bags in Italy, but I’ve also decided to put by beloved carciofo on a few other things as well. If you go to this link you’ll see a few totes, a mug and an apron with the beautiful drawing. Also a sweatshirt and a t-shirt because, really, who doesn't want a huge artichoke on your chest?

Let me know what you think! I’ll be adding more products soon. (it’s kind of addictive once you start). And eventually I'll probably be doing some notecards and postcards with some of my photographs if people are interested?

travels

We spent the first week of September in Puglia, as a sort of final hurrah to summer. Our first night in Bari was also Sophie’s birthday and so we decided to celebrate by going somewhere new. Biancofiore, just at the edge of the old part of town was fantastic. All fish, which is kind of what you want 100 feet from the water. Read my blog post for more.

We also spent four nights in Salento, dividing our time between two fantastic places. I’ll be writing about them soon, but in the meantime here the websites for Masseria Potenti and Critabianca. This was all in the name of research, of course. We’ve almost finalized our Week in Puglia for next year. It almost certainly will be in September, and I’m just waiting for a few more details before I post about it. One of the funnest things we did was visit all of Sophie's friends in Cutrifiano, where she's been spending time the last few summers. We visited the butcher where she did her internship and got to visit her friend Michele where I finally learned how to make burrata! (video coming soon!)

Now that we are back in Rome, weekends to our house in Umbria seem almost like mini-vacations, especially now that the weather has turned cooler. The past summer’s heatwave seems very far away. The one thing that lingers from that hot period, is that we have little fruit this year. Oddly though, the plums managed to thrive and I made a big batch of plum jam. Last week I also had time to stop by the cheese maker and the olive mill to confirm our appointments for October’s Week in Umbria trip. Although October’s trip is full, I still have spaces left in May and October 2018! Send me an email for details.

I had a mini-reunion with three friends from graduate school up in Florence. I took a day trip and of course we had lunch at Sostanza. But the main point of the trip was to see the current show at Palazzo Strozzi featuring painting and sculpture from the sixteenth century. While the show was kind of weaker than we had all hoped, it was worth the price of the ticket to see the three main paintings by Pontormo, Rosso and Andrea del Sarto all together in one room.

what I'm reading

My daughter Emma recommended Swing Time by Zadie Smith and I’m absolutely loving it. In theory its the story of friendship, but it also talks about dance and movement in ways that bring this art form into focus in ways I never imagined.

I’m sorry, but I’m not sorry this creep is gone.

This article about folding sheets really made people mad for some reason.

This article made me want to buy a house in Puglia (as if I didn’t want to already)

Writing about small towns in Italy, and how to save them, seems to be a trend these days.

‘Prosecco teeth’ is #fakenews, according to my friend, neighbor and wine writer extraordinaire Monica Larner.

and finally....

I’ve decided to start a new series on my blog, and this is the first post. Since I’ve been working on my next book, which has to do with entertaining, I’ve got dinner parties on the brain. And so I’ll be sharing, at least once a month, a dinner party that I’ve either hosted or been to. Along with a menu and links to recipes, I’ll also try to include information on the tableware because who doesn’t love tableware, right? (I just ran into my neighbor and told her about this, and she immediately invited me to come for dinner. I think this series will be very good for my social life)

Kerry Westenberg interviewed me for her piece on Rome which appeared here and has since (or so people have told me) has been syndicated all over the place.

And because it's that time of year, here is are a few pumpkin recipes here, here and here.

x,Elizabeth

Introducing my new logo! Do you like it? If you really really like it then you can visit my Zazzle Store where I've plastered it on just about everything. Totes? Mugs? Dishtowels? Coasters? I've even made up Luggage Tags and Fanny Packs (for real!). And because I know you always wanted a shirt with a giant artichoke emblazoned across your chest, there's that too.