October 2020 News from Elizabeth in Italy

Elizabeth Minchilli
EATING MY WAY THROUGH ITALY

October 2020 Newsletter

It’s been 7 months now that I’ve been living up in Umbria. At the beginning it was because Italy was in lockdown and this is where we were at the time and this is where we stayed. (Remember that? When Italy was the outlier?) Remember the meal plans that kept Sophie and I both busy and sane? It gave structure to an uncertain time in the only way we knew: through food. (Was that only 7 months ago? It seems like both yesterday and 7 years ago.)

Once the movement restrictions lifted here in Italy in May/June our life begin to get back to a new version of normal. We stocked up on face masks and hand sanitizer and Sophie started traveling to the south of Italy in her car and Domenico started back at work, spending 4 days a week in Rome.

Me? I stayed here in Umbria with Kitty. Partly this was because it was summer and life here in Umbria is much cooler than Rome once it get’s hot. But also who was going to take care of the garden and the obscene amount of produce (zucchini, I’m talking to you) that we were growing. So I spent my time freezing, canning, pickling. Also swimming, walking and all sorts of stuff like that. Also, obviously, being isolated in the country seemed like a better idea than being in the center of a city. Less people equals less chance of contact.

But now it’s October and the days are shorter. The garden is in full fall swing but for the moment harvest is not a daily chore. So I’m thinking that maybe it’s time to go back to Rome? There is the fact that poor Domenico is there alone during the week. But I also feel like if I don’t head back to Rome soon I may forget how to actually live in a city. It will definitely be more challenging than life here in the country. Do I still remember how to put on makeup? Does that even matter now that Rome has just passed a new law saying that masks must be worn outside all the time.

So I’ll be heading to Rome this month, spending the weekdays there. I have to say I am ready for city life. I do love the country, but I’m looking forward to the crisp days of fall in Rome, and taking long walks amid the now empty cobbled streets I love so much. I also miss my friends there and can’t wait to share cocktails with someone other than my personal bowl of potato chips.

But don’t worry, I’ll be coming back to Umbria on the weekends. I mean someone has to tend to all cabbage, right?

What's New

In my effort to discover new places to add to our tours I made the great sacrifice of going cashmere shopping last week. I know I know. But someone’s got to do it. My stepmother had been telling me about this place for ages, but somehow I’d never been. I think it’s because she usually wants to go in the summer but August heatwaves are just not conducive to trying on sweaters. October? Another story. I was also happy to find out about the long tradition of sweater production in Umbria. The owner gave me a tour of the factory and explained that 80% of high end cashmere production in the world happens in Umbria. Who knew? We’ll definitely be adding a stop here to our Week in Umbria tour, not just to visit the workshop (which is fascinating) but also to shop (50% off outlet prices!(you can't order online yet, but they are setting that up soon. I'll be sharing it on instagram) ) Send me an email to find out the details of our Week in Umbria Tour

We’ll also be tweaking our Puglia tour to include many of the restaurants we visited last month. The whole area of Val D’Itria , where we stayed, is full of small family-run restaurants and farms, and we are trying to work in as many as possible to all of our Puglia tours. Also? I found a fantastic new shop in Grottaglie (see those mugs below) so there are more ceramics in our future too. I'm happy to send you more information.

Many of our tours for 2021 are full, but there are still a few spots left for our Spring and Summer tours to Puglia, Umbria, Sicily and Abruzzo. Send me an email if you’d like the full schedule of tours for 2021 and 2022, with all the details.

Sophie is very excited to start doing Market Tours in Rome this month. We are very much missing our American guests, who still can’t travel to Europe, but Sophie has been getting requests from visitors from France, Germany and other countries. Everyone will obviously be wearing masks while walking around, but Sophie took a walk around Monti and Trastevere this past week to visit all of her favorite spots and all of the owners were SO happy she’ll be starting up again. To find out more about her tours in Rome visit her website or just send her an email.

Where I've Been

In my effort to get out of the house more I took a couple of ‘real’ trips last month. The first was to Puglia to celebrate Sophie’s birthday. We rented a fabulous villa just up the hill from Monopoli. It actually had it's own trullo (above) and the views out over the sea were divine, and we were able, during the first week of September, to enjoy a real beach vacation without the crowds. We went swimming every day, and then visited small towns like Cisternino, Locorotondo and Martina Franca in the evenings. You can see this blog post with all of the great restaurants we went to, as well as this FB roundup.

Domenico and I have been taking advantage of the amazing fall weather to explore some of the small Umbrian towns that have been on our ‘to visit’ list for too long. Spello was at the top of the list. Although we’d been there ages ago, neither of us remembered how gorgeous it was. The town is famous for a yearly flower festival when the streets are paved in petals. But there is also a competition between the different alleys to see who can decorate them the best. These decorations - pots of flowers and plants, climbing vines, window boxes - are up all year and make this once of the most darling and photogenic towns in Umbria. And yes, we’ll definitely be adding Spello to our Week in Umbria Tour.

I also took a ‘real’ trip to Florence. I say ‘real’ since it was the first time I was actually on a train. The trip was super easy, amazing clean and totally empty. As was Florence. The city free of tourists is definitely weird, but also magical. I ate at Sostanza, of course, but also just walked and walked to take in the city in its rare tourist-less state. Most of all this trip convinced me to travel more in the next few months. I’m heading to Abruzzo in 2 weeks for the saffron harvest and hope to make it Bolzano for the Christmas market and Naples for a pizza fix.

What I'm Reading

I just started the new Elena Ferrante book and am loving it!

My friend Ruth founded a miniature museum for dogs and it’s hysterical.

Can’t wait to get my copy of the newest Ottolenghi, Flavor

Venice is finally getting the seawalls that have only been in the works for 40 years!

What I'm Eating

We harvested our first cabbage!! I know, I’ll probably be suffering from cabbage overload soon, but for now I’m thrilled and immediately made this soup.

We got exactly 2 Butternut squashes this year, and I used one of them to make this roasted version with Sage Pesto

I can’t believe the supermarket in Orvieto now stocks the Locally made goat cheeses I love! To celebrate I made this pasta.

Figs are definitely on my mind, and on my plate.

In the canning department for some reason I decided we needs liters of Grape Juice and am super curious about how my Pickled Tomatoes will taste in about a month.

I finally used up the last of my basil to make pesto and made a video about it too.

And finally.....

Although I’m not about to give up my nightly cocktail by heading back to Rome, they won’t be accompanied by this sunset. I’m also thinking that it’s time to give up the potato chips for a while. They were a comfort, for sure. But I have a feeling that I may be becoming a chipaholic. At least I’m admitting I have a problem.

x,Elizabeth

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