August 2021 News from Elizabeth

Yay!! It’s August!! And this year, unlike last year, it’s an August like the good old days. Or at least as near enough as the new normal allows. For the last 3 decades my years have always been punctuated by the familiar routine of Italian August. But last year, even though we did manage a few days at the beach, and most of the month up in Umbria, it just felt like August (and summer really) never quite arrived. That is because in my head I was waiting for the August arrival of friends and family. That obviously never happened, and then September came and….what year was that again?

This year it’s different. Although there are still hurdles to get over, travelers from the USA are now allowed into Italy. And by ‘travelers’ I of course mean my own personal friends and family. My dad and step mother, who I hadn’t seen in a year and a half, are here, and my daughter arrived 2 days ago! I also got to spend a week with my sister in Sicily and she is coming back with her family next month.

And all sorts of friends have been arriving every day. So summer, at least for me, is finally here!!

Do you have summer routines that you are looking forward to getting back to this year? Are you planning trips to visit friends and relatives or are they coming to see you?

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WHAT’S NEW

In June I travelled all over the place, getting ready for our Fall tours. I visited Parma, Puglia, Sicily and Abruzzo, confirming all of our favorite spots while also discovering new places and meeting new people. One of the things I’ve made an effort to incorporate more of during our tours is to collaborate as much as possible with our friends who call those places home. It’s been such a joy to meet a younger generation of Italians who are looking for creative ways to make a living while sharing their culture. They are full of ideas and we’ve been able to incorporate some very cool new adventures into our week-long tours. For instance in Parma we are spending a day in a friend’s villa and garden, learning family recipes; in Abruzzo a wonderful cheese making family has invited us to join them in their home for lunch; and in Sicily we are invited into the home of the family that ran one of the last great tuna fisheries in Marzameni. It is these types of experiences - entering into the lives and homes of locals - that I believe truly adds another dimension to learning about the history and culture that surrounds food.

Our tours in the fall are pretty much sold out (sorry!) and even 2022 is almost full but there are still some spaces left for Puglia, Umbria and Abruzzo. And of course plenty of spaces still for 2023. And there are also wait-lists if you’d like to be added. If you send me an email I’m happy to send you the brochures.

I might be adding one or two more weeks or 2022 and definitely more for 2023. Just so you know, the tours do sell out quickly. The first place that I announce them is in the premium version of my newsletter.

And just in case you are wondering, I am asking for proof of vaccination for all participants on our tours. I guess I was ahead of the curve on this, since I made this a pre-requisite before the Italian government made vaccines or a negative test a requirement for entry into restaurants, public spaces like museums and big events.

If you’re just coming to Rome for a few days and are interested in taking a Market Tour with Sophie, you can write to her directly. Her schedule is filling up quickly too!

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WHAT I’M READING

After many false starts Venice is finally (for real this time) banning the big cruise ships

Are you having difficulties remember how to travel? You’re not alone.

Intriguing story about Anthony Bourdains final days. (very much want to see the documentary it reviews, Roadrunner)

Some of these farms have probably shown up on your Instagram feed, but this article pulls them all together and proves that growing food is a beautiful form of art.

Even though I’m not at the beach, it’s time for beach reads. Laura Dave’s The Last Thing He Told Me was a good one. And I’m half way through Jodi Picoult The Book of Two Ways. Not sure it’s my favorite, but will let you know. It’s a bit grim. Next up: Alex Michaelides The Silent Patient. I’m very much looking for beach reads for the second half of August. Please leave suggestions in the comments! Page turners, mysteries and family sagas welcome.

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WHERE I’VE BEEN

After all of the traveling I did in June, I’ve been sticking close to home this past month. I’ve mostly been at work planning all of our trips in the Fall, but have also been catching up on behind-the-scenes work on my website.

One day trip I made last week, before I had a full house, was to a truck stop near Lake Trasimeno. You know I love a good truck stop, and since the one I usually go to in Deruta has been sadly restored into a modern pizzeria (so so sad) I was looking for a good replacement. I’d been hearing about Faliero Torta de la Maria for a long time and was so glad I finally made it there. While they serve all sorts of food they are best known for their stuffed Torta al Testo, a type of flat bread baked on a griddle over coals in front of an open fire. I had mine (which was HUGE) stuffed with the traditional sausage and sauteed chicory. It was perfect. If you’d like to make your own at home, here is my recipe and a short video too. And in case you do make it there? This is the view from the outdoor seating area: rows of picnic tables shaded by pine trees over looking the lake. Not bad for a truck stop, right?

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WHAT I’M EATING

I know this is the time of year where I traditionally moan about having too many zucchini. But a late frost and a torrid July has made our garden less productive this year, at least in zucchini metrics. We do, however, have tons of cherry tomatoes. This year I splurged and bought the grafted plants at the nursery and every day I’ve been filling my basket. So I’ll definitely be making pickled cherry tomatoes again. Especially since I’m on my last jar and my martinis just won’t be the same without them.

Cherry tomatoes have also come in handy in this recipe for pasta with squashed cherry tomatoes and today for lunch Sophie is going to use them to make a torta rustica.

I’ve also been getting a lot of tomato inspiration from our friends Lisbeth and Thomas, who kindly share their original recipes in their Kitchen Notes, which you can subscribe to here.

I’m so glad I pitted all those cherries in May, since now I’m using them in the Ricotta Cake and it’s the best thing ever.

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AND FINALLY….

It seems like a lot of people are interested in the ever-changing landscape of travel to Europe. I chatted with the Washington Post about the current situation here.

I also discussed the trend to Cacio e Pepe everything with the LA Times.

Sophie has continued her collaboration with Talk in Pills, visiting some of her favorite artisans. You can see her visit to Forno Campo dei Fiori here and the Ammano Farm here.

I’ll leave you with this beautiful sunset and hope the ones you are watching this summer are just as gorgeous.

x,Elizabeth