Monday November 24, 2008

Well, it looks like everyone is finishing up picking the last of their olives - in fact last week I even got a taste of the some of the new oil from my area (the Florentine Hills) . . . a little piccante (Italian for a spicy kick) and with a rich olive perfume. Florentine Hills are a perfect place to begin exploring the flavours of olive oil in Tuscany and the delicious chianti.
This weekend I had friends over with the intent of "showing off" the oil - we started with fett'unta (the Florentine way of saying toasted bread with garlic, salt, pepper and of course extra virgin olive oil). Then I followed up with a classic Tuscan dish – Cavollo Nero (in English this would literally be Black Cabbage, characterized by its long, very wrinkly and kind of dark green leaves, best used after the first frost of the season which softens up these tough leaves). This veggie is boiled down – and then chopped up finely and spread on toasted bread. If you want to be truly traditional, you need to scrape a little garlic on the bread and then dunk rather quickly into the water left over from boiling this Tuscan treat and then spread the cavollo nero on the bread. Lavish on the olive oil and eat hot - - with a glass of red wine (of course). . . . sound strange and un-appetizing, well then try to imagine my mind when they tried to describe a favourite Tuscan desert for this time of year : Castagnaccio. The bare bones recipe is made with chestnut flour, water, fresh pressed extra virgin olive oil (thus why it was on my menu), pine, nuts, raisins, walnuts and fresh rosemary twigs. - - I couldn’t phantom a desert with rosemary! Yet it is definitely a treat to be tasted. Were my friends impressed, boh, don’t know but, I do know that we ate everything right down to the last drop of red wine.

Donna Scharnagl

Friday November 7, 2008

What fun! Took a hike up to one of our favorite Chianti producers on our Chianti wine tour and caught him pressing wine. Of course, it was small scale - but that was the beauty of it. One of their friends was fermenting his grapes in their spare containers, and it was time to press. The day was perfect and sunny, and it just had me daydreaming of the end results - a glass of rich red wine, maybe a little Tuscan salami from one of the best butchers down in Greve and hey, while I am at adding in the calories, why not some pecorino cheese. Oh yes, the day was looking good. Our wine partner saw my obvious curiosity, he tried to satisfied every question bubbling in my brain. He even offered me a special treat - go ahead, he said encouraginly, taste a grape (yeah one of the ones that had been fermenting for the last 10-12 days - whatever was I thinking!) It was pure, 100% yuck! all alcohol!! But it hasn't dampened my desire to wait the next three years to taste the final product.

Donna Scharnagl

Tuesday November 4, 2008

The rest of the world may be watching their TV’s to see what President the good US of A is struggling to select – but here in Tuscany we are watching the olive harvest. This has probably been the best in years, and there are lots of smiles as locals strip their trees clean of this tiny black and green fruit . . . many are already imagining the distinct olive flavour on a piece of toasted bread with a sprinkling of salt and pepper - - - and for those with a desire for the spicy there may even be a swipe of garlic on the bread.
I have several olive trees surrounding my home, there are four in the front that have always given me the sense of being protected and guarded by 4 stalwart knights. Their dark and gnarled trunks stretch out and create an umbrella of silver green. Each of these four trees gives the impression to have its own distinct and intricate personality, gruff yet loving, playful and joking, loving and caring . . . in the two years that I have lived right outside of Florence, they have invoked numerous images and daydreams.
I remember my first Christmas in Italy, as a governess for two little kids. The family was making its traditional haul to the Italian Alps to ski and was busy packing suitcases with clothes and holiday gifts. The family father came home with 6 dark green bottles – obviously recycled from a local who bottles water – and very enthusiastic about his “treasure” . . . little did I know that extra virgin olive oil from your own grove was a prized gift at any time of the year!
And so I have learned, Need a unique holiday gift idea? - - Extra virgin olive oil - nuovo, of course.

Donna

Tuesday October 28, 2008

Congratulations to Graham and Marleen! They brought their family together from Belgium and South Africa to celebrate their wedding in Tuscany. Together with Bridgett in Belgium we worked together to make a special dream destination wedding come true. Discover Tuscany selected a quaint farmhouse in the southwest area of Tuscany – close to many historical sites yet rich in the authentic flavour of Tuscany. A religious ceremony was arranged in the private chapel on the rented property – and here the couple were free to create their own special vows and exchange rings. We weren’t able to control the storm clouds that raged all day – but as the Italians say “sposa bagnata – sposa fortunate”, a wet bride is a lucky bride ! However the weather did play in our hands after the ceremony and we were able to take lots of photos of the happy couple with olive trees and cypress trees in the background. The fall colored wedding bouquet was the perfect touch adding a splash of colour to what could have been a rather drab day. We finished off the event in the owner’s formal dining room with a delicious menu – risotto with cheese and basil, a mid course meal with a chicken terrain and fresh veggies and a main course of wild boar in a red sauce with a potato sformato (vegetable cake). And the dessert . . . well that needs no words, it was simply fattening!! Even to look at you could have risked gaining a few pounds!!

Donna

Friday October 24, 2008

It's been a long (but fun) week! I had family visiting Tuscany, throwing down the gauntlet: how do you entertain three children between the ages of 6 and 9 in a foreign country where the only thing they care about is PIZZA and riding their bikes?

Well long hauls in the car are to be nixed - at Discover Tuscany I learned you need to incorporate fun things in the itinerary in order to help keep their attention. Thankfully I knew of a lot of places that let me combine their passions with cultural events - how about biking along the wall at Lucca or eating pizza at a restaurant where the wood burning stove is open to all to watch?

My sister was able to enjoy the medieval streets of San Gimignano, a great little Tuscan towns , while the kids ran up and down the alley ways and in and out of arched doorways. San Gimignano was a special treat all the way around, maybe just a bit of a road trip, but once we parked and started to climb into this historic town we were able to find pastry shops, gelato shops and lots of places with gadgets that will distract their attention long enough for the adults to absorb the unique atmosphere that this place offers the curious tourist.

Monday October 20, 2008

WOW! I just love this time of year, not only is calcio (Italian football, one of my favorite past times) in full swing but the days are getting cooler - the fish bite a little more (another one of my favorite past times) and . . . . Tuscany presents us with fresh, sometimes piccante (spicy) and sometimes not, olive oil. As I was preparing for our Monday afternoon cooking lesson at our private villa in the colline fiorentine (Florentine hills) I noticed how not only are the leaves changing color but also the olives are beginning to change color. In just little over a month in a half we will be out picking olives on one of our culinary tours and turning it into liquid gold. And that also means that we will start highlighting in our Tuscan cooling lessons all of my favorite recipes which include olive oil.

Andrea

Friday October 17, 2008

The 17th is a bad luck day in Italy - but not for Discover Tuscany!! The weather was great I got some great photos of the changing seasons. This is the perfect type of weather for going out and enjoying the smells and colors and so much more. We got a last minute phone call for some Americans looking to bike the Gaiole in Chianti area, looking for a different way to really enjoy Tuscany, just like what we offer in our Chianti Bike Tour. A full day of riding in the vineyards - the grapes ripe for the picking, a stop a local vineyard to taste the results of the last two years of harvest, the crisp cool air in your face as you do that final decent towards home and a real Tuscan meal! I am not much of a biker myself, I prefer to hike through the forest, so I can stop and touch the colors and smell the fragrances up close. Each to his own!

Donna

Wednesday October 15, 2008

Every once and a while you get a piece of news that just makes you smile! Today I received an up-date that one of the couples that married here in Tuscany in the year 2006 just gave birth to thier first child! It's a warm feeling to know that I was able to help them create a memorable wedding, the beginning of a new life together. Click here to check out their
destination wedding photo on our site: They were married in late September and had the pleasure of the natural scenery - like in this photo with the red poppies. Guido took them all over and even let the photographer climb on his back in order to get these romantic shots.
I also distinctly remember that this was not your ordinary couple!! I had contact with only the groom, who made all the decisions . . . including the flower arrangements. They were a fun couple, who were very clear on one idea - they wanted to have fun. We brought in the Discover Tuscany catering group and made a special menu just for them and then a live band that boogied down to all the old classic rock and roll hits.

Congrats on the new addition!

Monday, October 13, 2008

Tuesday is my day out of the office ! As part of my job I get to Discover Tuscany for new villa rentals, vineyards for wine tasting and unexplored areas for hiking and biking tours. I will be out of the office and into the Arezzo and Cortona area to check out a new apartment in the middle of a small Tuscan town and then I will take a trip over to a vacation rental in Civitella. I have an appointment with the owner (click here to see how beautiful this vacation rental property : CAPOMONDO on DISCOVER TUSCANY ).


We are planning a wedding for two guests who are coming in late October and . . . I have volunteered to test the wedding dinner menu . . . well, someone has to do it!

Donna