Erica's Italian Adventure: More food & fun...

It has been nearly 3 months that I have been in Italy. I have eaten so many delicious meals and traveled to numerous lovely towns. And instead of writing about it as I experience it, instead I am just living it. On one hand, that feels really good. Imagine feeling like you have to (and want to) write about every day of your life... on Facebook, in a journal, on a blog and in emails. It gets exhausting and makes it difficult to live and enjoy it. But I do love sharing my adventure and want to document it as best I can. So instead, I am doing a mass blogging tonight and catching you all up on the great culinary and travel adventures I have had in the past month or so.

Pot Roast "Nonna style"

Simple and flavorful- the quintessential Italian cooking method! Pierce 3-4 times and stuff with coarse salt, fresh rosemary, garlic cloves and a bit of pepper. Sear in EVOO on medium heat. Once browned on all sides, cover and cook on low for an hour or so (depending on size).

Suzie made this fabulous pizza (dough from scratch of course) topped with sliced potatoes, fresh rosemary and EVOO

Chickpea soup. Using a potato ricer (or mill) puree chickpeas that have been cooked with rosemary and whole garlic cloves and top with EVOO. Are you sensing a theme here?

Homemade Organic Granola

I used rolled oats, almonds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, a pinch of salt, buter, honey, orange rind and baked it for approx 20 minutes (watching it and tossing it carefully so it doesn't burn)

Ribolitta (Traditional Tuscan Soup)

This soup is made with cavolo nero (black cabbage) which is often grown in Tuscany. The soup is a combination of many veggies and gets better with sitting over time. Suzie's delicious version has carrots, onion, celery. garlic, potatoes, sage, farro, plum tomatoes, cavolo nero, cannelloni beans and EVOO, served with a toasted piece of bread

My personal tour guide in Orvieto. Luciano was so informative and helpful. Here we are enjoying a glass of Orvieto Classico, a blend of 5 white grapes of the area.

Castle in Ferrara (notice the moat!)

Signature bread of Ferrara

Burrata- a little slice of cheese heaven! Feels like fresh mozzarella on the outside and has creamy buttery goodness on the inside. A real treat!

Bologna- a city filled with porticos. They say you can walk for 25 km in Bologna while its raining and never get wet. Great city (and it's large- nearly 800,000 people) great food and lots of culture and history. The oldest university in the WORLD is located there.