Month: May 2013

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A Couple of Gripes…

by Ninette Hartley2 Comments on A Couple of Gripes…

nicecuppa

Yes, a couple of gripes this week, probably because I’m fed up as it’s been raining and last week I thought Summer had arrived…wrong…I keep waking up and thinking I’ve been transported back to the UK.

So, on with the moaning…you can stop reading now if you like…

We have paid Enel plenty of dosh, to ‘up’ the amount of voltage that can be consumed at the same time (don’t ask me the figures, I really don’t get how they measure Gas and Electricity) BUT it hasn’t made a lot of difference We cannot have the oven, the kettle and the water heater on simultaneously, never mind, the washing machine, vacuum cleaner and iron. It’s part of the charm of living in Italy. So a regular cry of, ‘Don’t put the kettle on, I’m baking a cake!’ or ‘Switch off the washing machine, I want a cup of tea!’ can be heard ringing around the happy home. When we do forget to shout instructions then there is immediate black out (if it’s at night) and one has to negotiate the stairs, find something to stand on and a stick, in order to flick up the switch. Of course, the meter couldn’t possibly be positioned anywhere convenient because that would spoil the fun and be very un-Italian. Even in the daylight it is not amusing, especially if I’m in the middle of creating a literary masterpiece, the moment can be lost forever…well, half an hour anyway.

The Offending Electricity Box, High above my Head!
The Offending Electricity Box, High above my Head!

 

My second gripe this week is Microsoft Office. In the summer of 2011 I bought a new MacBook computer and I love it. I loved my old MacBook too and although it was getting a bit sluggish in it’s old age (4 years) it was still working so, I donated it to my husband whose own computer had come to a sad end when thrown down in a fit of pique, it missed the soft landing of the armchair and ended up on the floor…dead, it was no more, It had ceased to be – expired and gone to the big Mac in the sky…

When I loaded Office onto my new computer a problem occurred. My husband and I (don’t I sound posh) could not use Word or Entourage or any other office programme at the same time! Even though it said on the box I could have three burns of the CD. Even though both computers are technically mine. Even though… I can’t think of another one but all the same it is the most frustrating thing. We have learned to live with it, we tolerate these little hiccups of life that are sent to try us and concentrate on dealing with the more important things.

What are the more important things? Ah yes, tea, the answer to everything.

‘Switch off the boiler, I need a cuppa!’

 

Roses to make me feel better
Roses to make me feel better
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Summer’s Arrived in Le Marche

by Ninette Hartley3 Comments on Summer’s Arrived in Le Marche
Beautiful Rose (Peace)
Beautiful Rose (Peace)

The roses are blooming the grass is growing faster than we can cut it. Summer has definitely arrived in Le Marche. It did have to be dragged out of hiding this year though, April and the beginning of May were very changeable. The kind of weather where you have to prepare for anything and everything before you go out for the day, taking with you, raincoat, umbrella, wellies, cardigan, T-shirt, sandals, suncream and sunhat. Get the idea?

Last week I mentioned the growth in the orto (vegetable garden) and it hasn’t slowed down. Today we’re going to pick most of the peas and broad beans, although the beans don’t look too healthy, some of them have black leaves and inside the pods is a sticky black substance…anyone enlighten me?

Peas...as if you didn't know
Peas…as if you didn’t know

In 2012 the apricots were prolific but, this year, two of the trees appear to be yielding nothing and the other tree just a few. I managed to make over thirty pots of chutney and several jars of jam last summer but this year there will be very few. Pity I gave so many away. Looks like there’s only one of each left in the larder.

One Jar Apricot Chutney One Jar Apricot Jam
One Jar Apricot Chutney
One Jar Apricot Jam

The cherries are looking good though so we’ll be harvesting them this afternoon too before the birds get them. So cherry jam will be on the boil later this evening. Such a fag taking out all those stones though.

cherries2

 

cherries1

 

May is a very beautiful time here, it’s warm enough to eat breakfast outside on the terrace but not so hot during the day to be unbearable. The mosquitoes are still sleeping so we don’t have to cover ourselves in deet. The evenings are drawing out and only goes a little chilly after the sun has completely gone, which, at the moment is around 20.45.

redrose

If you fancy trying out Le Marche there are some lovely places to visit and to stay. You could check out this link Marcheholidayaparts.com. If you decide to try them then mention olivespastavino blog when you book, you will be sure to get a favourable rate!

The Bougainvillea has survived the winter and is blooming!
The Bougainvillea has survived the winter and is blooming!
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From Garden to Plate…is it worth it?

by Ninette Hartley8 Comments on From Garden to Plate…is it worth it?
Delish...Fresh Tuna Salad...oh with a little bit of fresh Wild Rocket
Delish…Fresh Tuna Salad…oh with a little bit of fresh Wild Rocket

One week back in Italy after three weeks in Brooklyn NYC and I’m just about over the jetlag. However, it wasn’t just my sleep pattern that was affected; it was eating, drinking and bodily functions that all went skew-whiff! Back on track now you’ll be pleased to know.

The result of three weeks absence meant that the orto (vegetable garden) had gone completely bonkers. Whilst away, the weather here in Italy had been sunny, warm and interspersed with lots of rain. Heaven for plants. It was impossible to see the paths separating the beds or to sort the weeds from the growing vegetables and I actually thought in one area that I must have cultivated some strain of triffid. Fortunately not.

My husband played hunt the strawberries and kindly cleared the bed of all but the said strawberries which, now having been shown the light, will hopefully plump up and ripen before June.

I tried, (honestly) to weed some of the beds but ended up just picking peas, fava beans (broad beans) and a lettuce for lunch. I know, I should have done more but it really is hard work and I don’t think I’m dedicated enough. I mean, it’s fantastic to pick something from the garden, carry it into the house, prepare and eat it all within half an hour. But, honestly, the work that you have to put in to get to the harvesting stage is possibly not my bag. I have friends who are devoted to their vegetable gardens, (and I do admire them) up at the crack of dawn, which here means 05.30am or it’s too hot, then toiling for three hours or more, virtually every day. Then you have to set up the irrigation system, the plants need water morning and night here in Italy from June/July through to October. Last year was so hot that even with watering the poor little veggies needed umbrellas to keep the sun off during the day or they dehydrated within minutes.

Fresh Picked, Lettuce, Peas and Beans
Fresh Picked, Lettuce, Peas and Beans

So I ask myself, is it better to just go to the market and buy fresh local produce or should I continue to try, against all the odds, to plod on with ‘grow your own’ method? The peas and beans were planted in November, as were the lettuce and they have all come through beautifully, from now on though, it’s all downhill.

Final thought. Who remembers shelling peas with their mum when they were a kid? I do and today I was reminded of that. It took me twenty minutes to shell a small bowlful of peas. They were delicious, but were they better than the frozen? The vote in this household is yes! But he would say that, he didn’t shell the peas nor did he pick them!

The Little Bowl of Peas from the Bundle of Shells.
The Little Bowl of Peas from the Bundle of Shells.
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Eating Out in Brooklyn

by Ninette Hartley3 Comments on Eating Out in Brooklyn

pasta

‘You can eat out every day in Brooklyn for a year and still have plenty of places left to go…  some of the best restaurants in New York are here.’ that’s what one taxi driver told me. During my stay in Park Slope I did my best to try as many of the restaurants as I could. It’s common to eat out and popular to have a take-out. My daughter told me that home cooking is not a priority in New York.

This blog isn’t about reviewing restaurants but I just wanted to give you a little taste (excuse the pun) of my gastronomic experiences. I have included links to some of the cafés, bars and restaurants I enjoyed.

Roasted Carrot Salad
Roasted Carrot Salad

I had some wonderful pasta with rocket pesto, fresh tomatoes and zucchini at Rucola, a fabulous Italian restaurant on the corner of Dean Street and Bond, to start we had roasted carrot salad, unusual and delizioso (delicious obvs). Slow cooked barbecue pork is popular on many of the menus, often served in a sandwich and of course all sandwiches come with fries, and the fries are fantastic, there are mostly roughly cut and thin, perhaps a little heavy on the salt but I don’t mind that. Salads are abundant and you can mostly get a base variety of lettuce and then add what you like to the top, Building on Bond made a mean salad, Bob’s Cob being one of them.

Of course, hamburgers are plentiful and there are $5 hot-dog stands on every corner of Manhattan. Food from street vendors is popular and people pick up a pretzel or a doughnut on their way to work. Speaking of doughnuts I had them twice for breakfast, best  I’ve ever tasted, honestly…

Delicious caramelized onion soup at Café Colette in Williamsburg, an area of Brooklyn. This café was buzzing one Monday lunchtime. Alchemy bar and restaurant in Park Slope Brooklyn was just round the corner from our house so a favourite haunt with the family. Roast chicken was a popular choice for us but also the mussels went down pretty well!

It was wonderful to stroll down 5th avenue Brooklyn, (not to be confused with 5th Avenue Manhattan) and stop at one of several coffee shops to choose a coffee from the enormous list of options. Straight coffee, soya latte, cappuccino, mocha, espresso, skinny latte, chai latte, etc., and of course everything comes in small, regular or large AND you can have any of them iced! Best to make up your mind before you get to the shop then you don’t stand staring at the menu boards for ages. Of course, coffee must be accompanied by a little something; croissant, muffin, Danish, cookie, turnover…oh it goes on and on and so have the pounds! Mercifully, as I also did a lot of walking whilst staying in America I have managed not to pile on too much weight.

One more little point…Before leaving I did have to pay a visit to the amazing deli, Sahadi’s on Atlantic Avenue to purchase a few double choc malt balls to bring back to Italy…didn’t buy nearly enough though…
choc balls

Next time I visit NYC, first thing on my list is a trip to the famous deli Dean & Deluca’s in Manhattan …I just don’t know how I managed to miss it this time round. Guess I was a little busy becoming a Nonna (Grandmother) and that truly was the best experience for me during my stay.

Book for a menu..great idea
Book for a menu..great idea
Coffee and Pecan Bun ...yum!
Coffee and Pecan Bun …yum!
Rucola
Rucola
Cafe Colette
Cafe Colette