Restaurants these days tout farm to table, and diners love participating in this fresh approach to cooking and eating. But when the farm and table are your own, it’s extra special.
Italy is well known for many wonderful things, with food always ranking high on the list. Great food comes from quality ingredients, and in Italy, that’s a way of life. When we first started traveling through the Italian countryside, Len remarked that Italy is one big farm. How true that is. Not just grapes and olives, although they are in abundance, but hectares and hectares of fruits, vegetables, and grains as well. In addition, the fertile soil, topography and weather contribute to regional differences in product variety.
I have written a lot about the fun we have with “our” small orto, as well as the abundant fruits of our “collective” labor. And since the orto is surrounded on three sides by Fernanda’s relatives’ farms, we are rewarded in quadruple.
From picked:
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to this:
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Or these:
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to these:
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This crate:
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becomes Fernanda’s vegetable soup:
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During the fall, when the weather is perfect, Carlo “hunts” for mushrooms,
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so we enjoy these:
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Then there was this just picked bundle,
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which produced these:
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Grapes, you ask, but of course:
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and figs? In abundance!
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All of which makes for a beautiful and bountiful apericena (appetizer/dinner)!
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And then there’s the fun, lots and lots of fun. Regarding the next photo, don’t ask as I won’t tell 😎.
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Sunshine, fresh food, a good red and loads of laughter – perfect ingredients for good health and good times.
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Ciao,
Judy
Blogging In Italy 