July 2020 Newsletter from Elizabeth
Elizabeth Minchilli
EATING MY WAY THROUGH ITALY
July 2020 Newsletter
If this newsletter is a few days late know that it was for a good cause. I was busy watering our vegetable garden. Because evidently that is my new career. While Domenico spent time during our lockdown planting our vegetable beds, he is now commuting back and forth to Rome for work. So now, a few months on, four days a week it’s just me and the zucchini.
I’m not sure exactly what he was thinking, but looking back at our photos during those months I guess we were in the mentality of living off the land. You know, trying to limit our trips to the grocery store. So planting enough vegetables to avoid shopping seemed like a plan. Well, I can tell you right now that we officially have enough kirby pickling cucumbers to keep us in sour dills for the next five years. And the truckload of manure from our neighbors that Domenico spread in the zucchini patch? If anyone has any clue how to process 3 kilos of zucchini a day please let me know.
I do have to admit, that the hour it takes me to hand water the garden each evening is kind of great. This is the first summer in a long time that I haven’t had either a book to write or a book tour to plan. So just hanging out with the chard is actually ok with me. My frustration actually is mostly due to the fact that I’d normally be sharing all this bounty with my family and friends that come to visit from the States every summer. That’s obviously not happening any time soon.
So as I do things like pickle string beans and freeze one more bunch of spinach I’d like to ask you guys to do me a big favor. Please wear a mask.
What's New
We are forging forward like it’s 2021. Yup. Just going to skip over 2020 and head right into 2021 and 2022. I can’t, wait! While Sophie and I are busy discovering new things for our tours, it’s just not the same without you. Yes, it’s obviously our income. But we are genuinely bereft and feel unmoored this year with no groups to hang out with. Our tours are as much fun for us as they are for you, and we miss them!!
2021 is mostly full of all the tours we had to reschedule from 2020. We are so happy that so many of our guests have decided to join us next year. But we do still have a few spots left on some of the tours. There are 3 rooms left for our Culinary Retreat with Melissa Clark in September 2021 and also 3 rooms left for our Pasta Grannies tour in Parma in November 2021. Send me an email for the Melissa Clark tour or the Pasta Grannies tour for details.
We also have a few spaces left for our new Summer Tour in Puglia. I was just there 2 weeks ago and you can see that I was busy checking on things in Monopoli where we will be staying for 3 nights. The hotel, which is right on the sea, is beyond fabulous. And I also discovered a few restaurants where we’ll be having dinner. It's a bit different than our normal Week in Puglia trip, so email if you'd like to learn more.
I’m also happy to share our first dates for 2022. I have to tell you that all the hotels were so thrilled to know that we are planning so far ahead. This has been a difficult period for them (all small family run places) and they are so looking forward to welcoming us back. So far we have dates for our tour to Puglia, Umbria and Sicily. More coming soon!! Please send me an email if you'd like the details.
Sophie is spending the month of July in Puglia. (after having her here for the last 4 months it is weird that she’s gone!) In addition to working on a guide to her favorite spots which she’ll be publishing as an ebook, she’s also busy at work on her newest project. Sophie has decided to offer a new kind of tour on her own. She is going to be offering multi-day tours in Puglia, but people will be able to arrange their own lodging and be on their own for dinners. This means that the tours will be open to a wide range of guests, no matter what your budget. I think it’s a great idea and so excited to see what Sophie comes up with! So far Sophie is on day 2 of her trip down there, and she has already consumed about 3 kilos of cheese and her weight in focaccia. Please know she is doing this all for you.
Where I've been
The first long trip we did so far was drive down to Bari, in Puglia, to visit Nonna. She celebrated her 98th birthday during the lockdown so this was our first chance to help her celebrate. She’s doing just great, and was in high spirits. She’s got the whole bumping elbow thing down. Since we didn’t want to expose her too much, we decided to sleep in a hotel while visiting her. It was the perfect excuse to stay a few nights in nearby Monopoli. We were completely pampered in our room with a view and I was able to do a bit of research for our new Summer Puglia Tour next year. I loved taking an early morning walk south, along the coast. It’s full of tiny coves with the most amazing turquoise water.
Sophie and I have also been criss-crossing our way around Umbria, discovering new places to include in our Week in Umbria tours. We visited this adorable goat farm (which also has rooms if you are looking for a rustic getaway from Rome); this ancient flour mill; and an organic winery run by three ex-musicians.
Now that restaurants are open we’ve also been able to visit a few new ones. So far it’s all outdoor eating, but that’s just fine with us. We loved the Lumacheria which is located on a snail farm (yes!) and the entire menu is snails. Not sure if this will be part of our tour, but we loved it.
What I'm Reading
Yay!! My friend Lindsey Tramuta’s book The New Parisienne: The Women & Ideas Shaping Paris is out on July 7th! It’s already getting rave reviews and I can’t wait to read it. ( you can pre-order it here).
This piece on what it’s like to be Black in the publishing world.
Currently on my kindle: How to be an Anti-Racist
Currently on my bedside table : The Cooking Gene
Currently on my kitchen counter: Vegetable Kingdom
In troubled times travel can be a political act.
In case you missed my friend Kristina Gill’s story about what she went through while writing Tasting Rome, you can (and should) read about it here and here.
Do you like going to restaurants? Unless Congress passes the Restaurants act there may not be anymore by the time you're ready to go out. Please read and then take action here.
What I'm Eating
Mostly I’ve been figuring out things to do with zucchini. No surprise there.
I made:
My favorite cold soup,
Zucchini Parmigiana (from The Italian Table)
Zucchini Carpaccio
Spaghetti alla Jacqueline (From The Italian Table)
The best zucchini bread I ever tasted
Steamed Zucchini with pesto
Zucchini Ricotta Tart
But it hasn’t been zucchini 24/7 (yet). I also found time to make a big batch of apricot jam and made a few liters of nocino (walnut liqueur). I even made melon granita which was beyond easy.
When we visited Nonna in Bari I was the one cooking (she is 98 remember!) and made her orecchiette with mushrooms (she approved so you should too)
I learned how to make these darling stuffed onions from our friends at this B&B in Todi (which is a great place to stay if you want to visit the area)
Cocktail-wise, we have definitely entered Gin & Tonic season.
I've also been continuing the video series on Instagram, which is loads of fun. In case you missed it I've made:
Meatballs
Negroni
Spritz
Antipasti
Definitely let me know if there are any specific recipes you'd like to see.(and obviously cocktails are allowed!)
And finally.....
I know a lot of you are wondering when you can come back to Italy. As you’ve probably already read, the EU issued a directive on June 30 laying out the suggestions for member states to follow. In addition Italy added it's own list of restrictions. There is a list of 15 countries whose citizens are now allowed in (some with restrictions and some without) and you can find it here. (Keep in mind things change daily) For the time being the USA is, sadly, not on the list. There are a few exceptions to the rule, that may allow some wiggle room, but for now no coming to Italy simply for tourism. While I know this is a drag for those of you who were planning trips here this summer, it’s even more of a drag for those of us in the tourism industry. We are desperately hoping things will change soon, and that you will be allowed back here. Not only am I missing our guests, I’m also missing my family, who is usually here with us this time of year.
I know I’m preaching to the choir here to most of you who are reading this email, but please (and I say this out of love)
Wear a mask to protect others.
Wear a mask to protect yourself.
And of course please wear a mask so you can come to Italy (or wherever else you want to go) soon.
x,Elizabeth
PS: Register to vote!!
PPS: Since so many people have asked, this is where I've bought my cutest masks including this one.
Click the image to buy
