What more can I say, expand your horizons. Dust off your suitcase and start your adventure.
I need to move to Italy. ADESSO!
Oh my, what can I say about Italia? The food was amazing, the wine was unbelievable and oh yea, it was beautiful. Did I mention that I’m ready to be the next Island/American girl to cook, drink and eat my way through that amazing country?
I realized this as I was walking through the streets of Lucca picking fresh cherries from the tree (yes an actual cherry tree), because I’ve only ever had cherries that came from a bag that said USDA Organic so you could imagine my excitement. Let’s just say I ate pretty damn well. Forget the restaurants, I went straight to the heart of the kitchen, la zia. I admit, I couldn’t stop eating because everything I tasted was indescribable. I wanted to cry it was so good and you know it’s good when a tear makes its way out. This became a bit of a problem for my pants towards the end of the trip but it was so worth every pound.
I was so surprised how everything was still so authentic and traditional, the women were in the kitchen cooking, the men were gathering the vegetables from the garden and the kids riding their bikes in the street, surprisingly not glued to an IPAD or playing whatever popular video game out there that clouds the minds of our youth. Sorry did I say that out loud? Anyways, dinner was finally done, I walk in to the dining room and there were like twenty people seated. The moms, dads, aunts, uncles, neighbors. When it’s good everyone shows up. La zia made her dishes so beautifully, I felt like I should have left like a hundred-dollar tip.
A dish as simple as stew chicken and pasta Bolognese tasted like she was preparing them for days in advance. I watched her like a hawk and of course picked up a few dozen recipes. I could go on and on with my time in Italy but then this post would never end. So instead, let me share my simplified version of pasta Bolognese with you, made with fresh pasta of course. Buon appetito!
The sights...
