Archive | Italy

picnic in the valley

March 28, 2012 at 11:18 am

Hello, few and faithful who read this blog and care that I update frequently! I apologize for being MIA this week thus far. We’ve been entertaining some friends of friends who are visiting Sicily on their way through Italy. Lena and I have so much fun introducing Carrie and Ginny to a few of our favorite haunts near our home, and we also took a fun adventure to the ancient port city of Syracuse yesterday. I’ve got some pretty pictures to share, hopefully tomorrow!

In the meantime, here’s a bit of life around here…

For awhile now I’ve wanted to have a picnic with my friend Becca and her kids, but the weather’s been cold and rainy and windy, and thus a picnic hasn’t been at the top of our list of ways to hang out. However, as of mid-March, Sicily seems to have changed her opinion about what season we’re in, and spring has sprung!

And what better way to celebrate than to picnic in the great green outdoors?

It was warm and sunny and, other than a shepherd with his flock of sheep, we were the only people in the valley. After our picnic lunch, we hiked a little more through the cacti and green grass. The walk back up out of the valley at the end was the toughest part of our hike, but it was a rewarding way to finish a healthy, hearty picnic in our gigantic backyard!

2 :: in friends, Italy, Sicily

picnic in the valley

March 28, 2012 at 10:18 am

In the meantime, here’s a bit of life around here…

And what better way to celebrate than to picnic in the great green outdoors?

2 :: in friends, Italy, Sicily

Sicilian Orange Salad

March 7, 2012 at 4:43 pm

We’re in the heart of the citrus season in Sicily! The drooping branches in the orchards around our town have been relieved of their fruit and now there are boxes, crates, truckloads of oranges everywhere we look. Our neighbors give us enormous cloth bags full of oranges, mandarins, and lemons anytime we ask. I don’t know anyone who actually buys oranges; everyone is just giving them away. The last time I visited my friend Becca I brought a huge reusable bag of oranges and left them in her kitchen. The bag was so heavy with fruit that the strap broke on my way into her house.

With so many oranges… how do you eat them all? I’ve started making Sicilian Orange Salad as an accompaniment with our dinner each night. I know blood oranges are hard to come by in other parts of the world, but this salad would be just as delicious with any type of orange.

Another idea is to make jam from the oranges. On Friday my friend is teaching a group of us how to can Sicilian Blood Orange and Strawberry Marmalade. Can’t wait to try that one on some fresh homemade bread!

Sicilian Orange Salad

Serves 2… generously!

Ingredients

4 blood oranges, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 green onion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil
a splash of balsamic vinegar
a dash of salt

Combine all ingredients. Let sit for 10-30 min before serving to enhance flavor. Eat the whole salad with the meal if possible; the salt leaches the juice from the oranges and leftovers are not as tasty as the fresh salad!

3 :: in eat this, Italy, Sicily

Sicilian Orange Salad

March 7, 2012 at 3:43 pm

Sicilian Orange Salad

Serves 2… generously!

Ingredients

4 blood oranges, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 green onion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil
a splash of balsamic vinegar
a dash of salt

3 :: in eat this, Italy, Sicily

Agrigento

February 29, 2012 at 5:18 pm

After our visit to the magnificent Scala dei Turchi, we drove along the southern coast of Sicily to the city of Agrigento. We had reservations at a lovely B&B called Villa San Marco. It’s a peaceful, lovely spot right on the grounds of the historical park of the famous Greek temples of Agrigento. We had a great view of them, in fact, right over the pool:

Our rooms were in the old barn, we think, of the original villa. Scattered around the grounds are tables and chairs for comfortable lounging and reading, and Elliott and I did a lot of that over the weekend as Lena napped. Roaming the grounds is a gigantic Italian mastiff (called a Cane Corso), a snuggly Dachshund puppy, gorgeous peacocks, white fantail doves, a cheerful cockatiel, and maybe a hamster. (Elliott thought he was hibernating. I thought he was… well, you know.)

Our first morning there we explored the grounds before breakfast. There were so many almond trees in blossom! When our group had assembled, we drank lattes over homemade jam (apricot, peach, and prickly pear), fresh rolls, and blood oranges.

We headed into the park to take a closer look at the beautiful remains of the Greek temples. The air was fresh and cool, filled with bees buzzing around almond trees and the laughter of all the children in our crew.

Mixed in between the ruins were these interested iron sculptures. Not sure what the point of them was. Fallen Greek gods?

We stopped for lunch at a little cafe on the park grounds. The kids went to work cracking open last season’s almonds with their dad, Josh. Caleb also helped out by holding Lena. They both need more practice, I think.

The kids offered Lena and me the tasty nuts they had cracked.

We wandered along the ridge to the final temple and stopped for photos of the vista.

Then Josh, Grant, and I took some jumping pictures…

Even little Lucas jumped off the ruins!

We waited until the sun was about to set before finally heading home.

The next morning we couldn’t decide whether to leave early or stick around for more sightseeing. While we pondered, we waited for peacocks to show their colors: