Gratitude Friday: Max and His Teddy

When we first got a Lab puppy, we imagined him growing into a strong, loyal dog. Which he did. We just didn't imagine the teddy bear thing.

A Few Details

Kindness

The old man whittled the branch down to a perfectly fine walking stick. He busied himself with carving a fancy grip, with flowers and whatnot, all the time with the sun held at bay by the elm tree and his wide brimmed hat. His glasses at the end of his nose, he focused, brushing the shavings away with his handkerchief.

I sat, watching him, his skin reddened, his lips tight. I was still too young to ask him if I could see his knife. I knew he'd say no, that mother wouldn't want me playing with such things. I didn't know what to ask him. I wanted him to think I was smart, not just a silly little girl. If I was going to disturb him, it would be for a wise question which maybe he couldn't answer right out. So I sat and thought a bit. Finally, it dawned on me. The right question.

"What is the most important thing in this world?" I asked. That should get him thinking awhile, I thought.

He kept whittling away, never taking his eye off of the handle.

"That's easy," he said. I pouted. I thought it would take more time.

"Kindness. That's the most important thing."

I brightened. "Oh, good! That's easy. I'm already kind." Imagine my happiness. I had already accomplished the most important thing in the world.

The old man switched his glaze from the handle to me. He took off his glasses with a quick sweep and got within inches of my face.

"Are you, now?"

My body stayed immobile but my head backed up to the furthest point back. I was startled.

"Well, yes I am kind!" Maybe he wasn't so kind, doubting my kindness! "Just ask my friends."

He sat back in his chair. A little smirk came and went in a flash.

"I don't need to ask your friends. I need to ask your enemies."

I scowled. "What do you mean? I don't have any enemies!"

"Are you sure? No one that talks about you behind your back? No one that thinks you're stupid? No one?"

I thought. Well, if you count that idiot Jeremy, who you should not count ever, then maybe one enemy.

I didn't have to say anything. The old man knew.

"That's right. That person. You have to be kind to THAT person."

"That's impossible," I blurted out. "He hates me."

"Well," laughed the old man. "It's easy to be kind to people who love you. But to be kind to people that hate you, that's another matter entirely."

In my mind's eye I could see me getting on the bus and saying, "Morning, Jeremy." The thought made me ill.

" I know what you're thinking. But it gets easier the more you do it. It's a habit you develop over time."

"But he's going to think I'm a pushover."

"Did I say anything about being a pushover? I said be kind. You can be kind and very strong minded and even stubborn sometimes, all at the same time."

I fell silent, my arms wrapped around my calves, my legs drawn to me, biting lightly on my kneecaps.

I should have just asked him a sillier question.

Agliano Terme: Giorno di Barbera d'Asti - A Pictorial

One of the very best reasons to come to Italy in the spring are the wine festivals that start to happen in late April. Like Vinum in Alba, for example. That's a big show for Piemonte. This year we were just too busy and tired to go. Micha, however, convinced me to head up the road to Agliano Terme to a much smaller event, Barbera Days, in the town of Agliano Terme.

I've written about Agliano before. Basically, it's adorable. Pristine, sweet, romantic.

And some of the best Barbera you have ever had.

We've been here for almost seven years, and have missed this festival every year, usually because we were in the throes of the beginning of the season. This year is no different. But I am so glad we took a couple of hours to go. What a wonderful festival.

First there were historic costumes. Ladies knitting, roasting coffee the old fashioned way, making pasta with a rolling pin.

Then there were the rope makers.

...and the usual suspects solving the world's problems, as they do every day all over Italy...

There was music...

strawberries and asparagus...

and lots of cork...

....and of course there was Barbera. Carlo Ferro, for example. A producer that makes 20,000 bottles a year, all the work done by Carlo and his family, rated highly in just about every book about Barbera d'Asti you can find, but no website. A robust but refined Barbera. We were hooked from the first sip. Time to pay him a visit, maybe with our guests.

Lots of producers. This guy was our favorite of the day.

This is the kind of experience that makes Piemonte what it is - sweet, lovely, and very special. You simply have to come here for yourself.

Gratitude Friday: A Spring Shower

In harried moments, it's certainly easy to lose sight of the small things. Today, with the fall of a light, cleansing rain, we slowed down. The drops stopped, and I took my trusty SLR to find what I maybe hadn't noticed.

Like these rose hip pods from last year, in a stray vase

or the chives starting to bud and flower, ready for the herb frittate for next week's guests

The stray wild hyacinth in the gravel

The most over-photographed view in Piemonte, the one from my hill, with the storm moving out

The fig leaves shouting out their arrival in florescent yellow against the lush green backdrop

I will never tire of the spring explosion that happens every year. It's not long till the dog days of summer take over and we are watering every day. But until then, the light spring rains are most welcome, with their saturated colors and vibrant life force.

Thursday Conversations with the Painter and the Plumber

1. Plumber:

Pronto.

Ciao Enrico, sono Diana. Senta, quando vieni? (hey Enrico, when are you coming up?)

Perchè?(why?)

Remember we talked on Monday about you coming up before Friday to install the toilet, the sink and the shower head?

Yeah. I'll be there next week. Maybe Monday. Ciao.

click.

2. Painter:

Ciao Diana. Ho una brutta notizia (Hey, I've got bad news)!

Don't tell me.

The paint store is out of the colorant to make the colors that you want.

You mean the colorants that they used yesterday to make the samples you brought up?

Uh, yeah.

What does this mean? Exactly?

I can't start before Monday. That's if we are sure that the colorants come in tomorrow.

So the paint store's known since Tuesday about us probably wanting these colors. Right? And they had enough colorant to make a pint of each color but didn't check if there was enough to fill the order after making the samples? Would that be correct?

Uh, yeah. Well, see you Monday! If the colors are there!

click.

So the painter and the plumber and oh! just found out! the electrican will all be here on the same day. I think I have a Xanax hiding somewhere in the recesses of the medicine chest. Better go find it now and plan ahead.

Finishing up the Details...

Wall colors approved... soft pasty grey with taupe

Bathroom will be dramatic chocolate anthracite with halogen lighting...

Max checking out the roof terrace, and Micha checking out Max... railings coming in next week...

The windows too, including this beautiful arched one...

Splashes of color to be added through fabric and art.

And flowers.

Monday Morning Conversation with the Painter

(We hired him three weeks ago to start by the 19th and to finish by the 29th. He said, at that time, that he would stop by shortly so we could pick colors. Have not seen hide nor hair of him since. I have been stewing and waiting. And today is the 19th, so painting should be starting RIGHT ABOUT NOW).

I dial his cell.

"Pronto."

"Sono Diana Baur di Regione Valloria."

"Oh! I will come up in a half hour so you can choose the colors! See you in a bit!"

click.

And you wonder why I seem to have developed this light facial tick?

Orsi Winery

Only the pallets and the fiberglass tanks give a hint that there might be wine inside.

Simple, classic labels

Baskets and demijohns

Micha and Roberto discussing all important tannin matters

No, it's not pretty. Not elegant, not made perfect for the international wine experts. It's a simple cantina, undecorated, stripped to the basics, in a neighborhood of normal houses. Where the owner does everything, from the picking to the fermenting to the barrel rotating to the testing to the bottling to the labeling to the selling. No website. No advertising. No fancy brochures. No sign in the front.

Just some of the smoothest, lovliest wines in this part of the Monferrato. Azienda Agricola Orsi.

And an owner named Roberto, a winemaker, who is so full of passion and excitement about his work that it bubbles out of him like champagne uncorked after a good shake.

He's experimenting with things that few dare to touch.

Savignon Bianco, grapes picked a week apart, one batch for perfume, one batch for aroma, mixing them at the right proportions, and seeing what happens....

Merlot, Barbera and Cabernet Savignon mixed in something like an 80-10-10 ratio....

Barbera in barrique done two different ways -- for five months in old barrels and for 12 months in new barrels, to see what happens....

Dolcetto, passed lightly and shortly through a 500 liter oak barrique, to round it out to a new smoothness...

Albarossa, the hybrid grape stemming from Nebbiolo and Barbera, in the fiberglass tank waiting to be bottled....

The classic Moscato Passito, the 2009 most still in the tank with a sugar ration of 400 grams per liter, with an aroma of the heaviest honey imaginable - it goes right through the senses and brings forth fantasies of goat cheese slightly warmed....

A winemaker that goes from barrel to barrel, giving you a direct taste of this to compare with that

...can you feel the tannins there....the acidity on this one is slightly higher..... this one might shock you a little, get ready....

And shares his life philosophy with you along the way as you sip...

Everyone has money problems these days! But at least I get to do something every day that I absolutely love, from the minute I wake up to the minute I go to sleep. I won't ever be rich, but who cares if you can do something you love every single day?

What an afternoon. You would think after six years and over fifty winery visits that one would become a bit jaded.

Instead, we came away from this simple winery completely inspired. Hopeful. Grateful.

Again.

Gina DePalma bakes for Oprah!

Photo: Sang An

I love having creative friends.

Cook author Gina DePalma was one of ten nationally acclaimed bakers asked to create a special cake to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Oprah Winfrey's O Magazine.

All ten cakes are part of the 10th anniversary May issue of the magazine.

You can read Gina's comments and see all the other cakes here.

Metal Table in the Wine Cellar

Bottles are prepared to make elderflower champagne from the wonderful River Cottage. I can't wait for the blooms so that we can try this recipe. Elderflowers grow in the wild in abundance here.

Elderflower Champagne
Makes 24 bottles

About 24-30 elderflower heads, in full bloom
2kg sugar
4 litres hot water
Juice and zest of four lemons
1-2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
A pinch of dried yeast (you may not need this)


Put the hot water and sugar into a large container (a spotlessly clean bucket is good) and stir until the sugar dissolves, then top up with cold water to 6 litres. Add the lemon juice and zest, the vinegar and the flower heads and stir gently. Cover with clean muslin and leave to ferment in a cool, airy place for a couple of days. Take a look at the brew at this point, and if it’s not becoming a little foamy and obviously beginning to ferment, add a pinch of yeast.
Leave the mixture to ferment, again covered with muslin, for a further four days. Strain the liquid through a sieve lined with muslin and decant into sterilised glass bottles. Seal and leave to ferment in the bottles for a further eight days before serving, chilled.

Season Start: Let the (Breakfast) Games Begin

Fresh squeezed Sicilian blood orange juice

Apples, kiwi, blood oranges, strawberries and blackberries with Peruvian brown sugar and a squeeze of fresh lime, served with müsli from Switzerland and vanilla yogurt from Alto Adige

Apples and pears caramelized with hyper-local (aka the neighbor's) honey and hazelnuts, to be served with gorgonzola cheese

No knead bread, served piping hot from the oven, made with whole wheat and hazelnuts and served with butter and jam

to be continued...

Wood Table in Wine Cellar

Frittata delle Donne Gentile

There were two women in my field, picking greens. I approached them, asked them what they were picking.

Just greens for the frittate, they said.

Can you show me some to pick? I asked. I figured it was ok to ask them to share their secrets since they were on my property.

Here, take this bag, on woman said.

What are these greens called? I asked.

Erbe delle donne gentile, she said. Herbs of the nice women.

Pause.

You just made that up, I said.

Laughter.

No, really! That's what they are called. They make a great fritatta!

Always trust women you meet in fields in Italy. They know what they are talking about.

Gratitude Friday: Fabio, the Boys and the Wine Press

Screwing on the main press....
Stabilizing the base...screwing the press further down to stabilize the base even more...

Micha joined in...

How pretty is this? How Italian? And it's an origional piece from our wine cellar....

It wasn't an easy task. The wine press had been sitting in parts in our cortile for over a year. The thought of reassembling a 600 pound press was too much for us to contend with. We had taken it out of the wine cellar before we started renovating in 2009. Its use is strictly decorative. In pieces, it was not exactly decorative. So we wanted to do something with it.

So I asked Fabio, our muratore. I have not yet mentioned that we have the best muratore in Italy. I have not mentioned it because I was afraid to jinx it. But it's official. We have the best muratore in Italy. With the best team of guys. Polite. Clean. Efficient. Extremely high quality work. On time. In budget.

For us, it's nothing short of a miracle.

So when I asked today, sheepishly, if they could help us with the wine press, Fabio said, oh, my grandfather used to have me take these things apart and put them back together in his cantina!

And they went to work. First lifting. The base had a broken leg, so they used some bricks to stabilize it. Then screwing on the piece which weighs over a hundred pounds itself. Then placing the wood basket.

By the way, that attractive guy in the pictures? That's Fabio. Nice. With his own business- a successful one. Shy. And he's single (wouldn't he just love to know that I'm posting this!). Spoken Italian and the desire to live in the wine hills of Piemonte are prerequisites.

Or if you just have a house in Piemonte that you want to renovate, give me a call. I'll give you his number.

Grazie Mille, Fabio and the best construction team ever. The new room is gorgeous and you did us proud. (We'll be posting pictures soon, as we get the little details done).

I am tickled pink about our wine press!