In April of 2013 I made a scouting trip throughout Italy - or at least a bit of Italy - and met some new collaborators. Nicoletta and the women at Verdidea Group in San Quirico and then Ylenia in Lecce. In between Tuscany and Puglia I stopped in Bevagna for a few days to meet up with friends.
Here are some photos of the April trip:
I got a flat tire turning around in an abandoned looking parking place. The owner of the B&B got a friend to help me and I ended up with getting a patched tire here. I'd never seen so many tires or computer parts. But you know, the Italians have it right: right in the middle of a really messy looking workplace, they have their coffee pots ready.
And this was the view from the tire place!I went on to Bevagna and met my friends Wendy, Carol and Fred. Wendy teaches and cooks at San Marco Antonelli Vineyards in Montefalco. I thought that Carol and Fred, friends from the Cape who just happened to be in the area, should meet Wendy and learn the Umbrian cucina.
Wendy makes the cookies
Pasta roll-out time taught by expert Leonella.
And here's the menu for the day:
That was a fun morning of cooking. The lunch was even better: fritatta, pecorino cheese slices, focaccia, pasta, roasted chicken, roasted potatoes with zucchini and tomatoes, baked eggplant, ciambelline and panna cotta served with strawberry coulis.
