All the promise of a bright new day.
Upon my return, I prepared and drank my fresh squeezed lemon in boiling water, followed by a hearty bowl of porridge with a handful of blueberries thrown in.
I contemplated how I should spend the morning....the sun had announced the day, it wasn't raining anymore, so I thought I would tackle the builders hut, full of snow and water damaged items stored whilst we carried out work on the apartment.
The last snowfall was so immense, the weight caused the tin roof to buckle rendering it wide open to the elements.
I had a rotten time of dragging lifting and bagging up all kinds of things.
Difficult due to a large number of framed photographs I had kept from the days when I had my studio, pictures of clients and their children......now ruined.
Not quite my life works but the emotion felt on a par!
Eventually, after a good hour or two, I decided I had had enough, time for a break, only so much a girl can take in one hit!
It wasn't long before my mind turned to food.....what to have for lunch, well I do live in Italy!
"I know......the broad beans"!
Perfect!
It was so unbelievably hot in the sun, (why do we say that? it's obviously not going to be hot in the shade!).
I took my bag of beans together with a beautiful blue bowl......(selecting just the right utensil gives me enormous additional pleasure, I am like it when selecting a cup!!!),...... out into the sun.
The sun was beating down warming my face filling me with absolute joy when all of a sudden I heard the familiar voice of a bird of prey.
Looking up I was rewarded by the beautiful graceful bird gliding on the thermals, ( I think that is what you call the warm air, I sometimes get muddled, I know I have been wearing thermals all winter!....).
Isn't language a funny thing?!
It circled above me, I marvel at how acute their eyesight is, to be so high and then suddenly spot a little field mouse in the undergrowth!
I drew a deep breathe, inhaling the fresh air.....my goodness, it's great to be alive.
It's always the small things in life that offer the greatest pleasure......sometimes we allow ourselves to get so bogged down with the bigger issues, we miss the very things that fill and enrich us.
First lunch of the year outside, I can hardly believe it!
This is delicious and so easy......
Add the fresh broad beans to a large pan of boiling water.
Once they are almost cooked, add spaghetti or in this case, I used fresh Troccoli Pugliesi............ thought you would like that!
Whilst that is cooking away, and not for long particularly if you use fresh pasta, chop a little fresh mint, mmmm love it!
Grate some Parmigiano and get your lemon cut in half and a good bottle of olive oil on the ready.
Once cooked, drain, place back in the pan adding a good squooze of lemon, ( as Margaret used to say!), a dash of olive oil and the chopped mint, oh and don't forget..... black pepper.....finally throw in a small handful of Parmigiano!
Voila....a quick tasty lunch!
A short siesta...... forty winks later, I decided it was high time I started preparing our raised beds down in the Orto.
Well, just when I didn't think my day could get any better, Laura turned up!
Feeling rather proud of myself to be digging when she arrived, I called up to her,"I'm in the Orto"!!! But in Italian of course!
Everyone has been talking about the rain, moaning about the fact that we cannot get our vegetable gardens ready for planting!
So, here I was, actually quite exhausted as I hadn't done such physical work in a while, I wiped my brow on my sleeve and dug the spade hard into the ground as if I was an old hand at this game!!! Haha!!!
We met with the usual firm kisses planting them on each others cheeks and a big hug, I love Laura.
She is so warm, generous hearted, well only with the few she likes that is, God help the rest of them!
The plaque on Laura's electronic gates reads, " it's not the dogs, it's the owner you need worry about", or words to that effect!
Laura is quite unique, she is incredibly funny, even though I don't always understand the dialect!.......very forthright and down to earth.
Her life has been a hard one, she doesn't suffer fools gladly, she is wise and has great knowledge about foraging for food and cooking.
Oh, and she swears and tells jokes and funny stories!
I always manage to select the worst possible word, asking it's meaning...Laura roars with laughter and tells Emily not to tell her Mum!!!!
So here she was, with a bag of fresh eggs from her hens, her knife she keeps in her pocket and a big stick to help her walk through the woods up to our house.
I made us a coffee and we sat chatting at the kitchen table.
She had come for a walk, to get out of the house after all the rain, but also to show me some of the food we already have in the garden!
Dandelion leaves.....
This I did not recognise and Laura was uncertain of the name.......so please let me know, leave a comment at the bottom of the blog if you can help!
I don't recognise this either?
Laura guided me through explaining what part of the plant I should cut away and disregard.
Wash them thoroughly, place them in boiling water with a little salt, as you would cook spinach, so not for long!
Eat as they are as a vegetable or place in a pan with thinly sliced pancetta and a small glug of the good stuff......olive oil!
You can also eat the very young leaves in the centre of the plant as you would salad leaves.......so much tastier and interesting, and incredibly good for you!
More on this subject in the future...soooo interesting and it's free!!!
Oh and guess what, we found tender young carrots hiding from last years sowing and beetroot!
More gifts.......and lovely to offer Laura something to take home!
Such joy!
