Sabrina Smeraldini - Discovering Italy - Mediterranean Cooking and Lifestyle: Recipes and stories from Tuscany and more

Mediterranean cooking and lifestyle

Recipes and stories from Tuscany and more.

An imaginary journey

through the wonders of Italy

A book from

Sabrina Smeraldini

Copyright Sabrina Smeraldini All rights reserved

www.italianstylerecipe.net

Disclaimer

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private useother than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviewswithout prior written permission of the publisher.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the

use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for well-being. In the event you use any

of the information in this book for yourself, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

To my dear Reader:

Hello and thank you for your interest in my book

Let me briefly introduce you to the wonders of Italian Style Recipe

(www.italianstylerecipe.net ) my story and how it started...in Italy.

My name is Sabrina Smeraldini, I live in Tuscany in a Mediterranean Villa with my Grandma.

Ever since I was a little girl Grandma took care of me and she has always been my inspiration.

She has lots of passions but most of all she loves her garden and cooking Italian traditional recipes of our family which has a long history in Tuscany. In fact my Great Grandma - Nonna Natalina - was also a notorious good cook and she loved to grow her own food and flowers.

I think it's amazing that we still have my Great Grandma's roses in our garden and in May, when they bloom all white, pink and yellow, to me it's like seeing her smiling face and hearing her gentle voice announcing that spring and summer (her favorite seasons of the year) are upon us.

I really feel blessed to come from a family of such strong and deep traditions rooted in the Mediterranean culture. The Mediterranean way of living, the outdoor life in the sunny green hills of Tuscany have always been part of me.

Life at our small Tuscan Village has always been very peaceful and serene.

About twice a week we used to go to our local Farmer's market to meet our neighbors and gather with other people from the village and foreign visitors. Going to the Farmer's market is a pleasure for the senses: you can buy all fresh produce from our land. We usually fill our baskets with organic lavender honey, Italian gourmet cheeses, fresh made pastas and pastries of all kinds.

But, when I was younger, I really couldn't wait for the weekend to come because we usually spent it at our uncle's farm. Our uncle's farm can actually be described as the quintessential experience of rural Tuscany. That was truly a fun place to be in. Just imagine: a huge typical Italian ancient farmhouse plunged in nature with all sorts of animals, a winery, a cheese room and I can still smell the scent of fresh pressed olives from the Olive Oil Mill.

There was a cook at the farm when I was little: Miss Beppa. Miss Beppa was a religious perky and wise lady. The nicest memory of her it's when she filled a basket with warm bread - right out of the oven - and gave it to us saying:

<< Take it to the mill and ask uncle Omero to pour a drizzle of fresh pressed olive oil on it >>.

And you have to believe me when I tell you that that was truly our best snack ever.

Life at the farm was really different...

I remember this one time, it was a cold winter stormy night, the wind was blowing so hard that the windows were screeching. Suddenly the heating system broke. Grandma and I, who shared the same room at the farm, had to use one of those ancient wooden frame used for housing a brazier, with burning embers from the fireplace in it, and that served to warm up the sheets in our beds. That was something different, I felt like in the Middle Ages! We still laugh about it sometimes.

Another tradition of our Tuscan village was the Antiques Fair. Every thirdSunday of each month Grandma and I, with her two friends, Anna and Nennele, went to the Antiques Fair in the village.

No one likes antiques as much as Grandma! Food and antiques are the two elements around which revolved the days in the picturesque Tuscan village. And when I say antiques I mean objects of all kind: ornaments, decoration, furniture, jewelry, paintings and silk rugs.

I remember being so fascinated by the elegance of those cheerful ladies shopping for antiques: choosing and analyzing each piece of furniture, paintings or porcelain that they happened to see.

But mostly I was enchanted by Mrs. Giancarla. She had an antiques vintage boutique in the village and since she was a cat lover she had all sorts of objects, jewelry and other treasures in the shape of cats.

One of our tradition was that Giancarla came over at our house every Saturday before the Antiques Fair to spend time with Grandma, Anna and Nennele. They would talk about the coming Fair the next day, but mostly they would talk food, share recipes, gardening advice, house decoration tips, clothes and costumes that were fashionable at the time. I remember those Saturdays afternoons... After having Grandma's favorite apple tarts - with coffee - we all went down to Mrs. Giancarla's little boutique store and spent Saturday's afternoon browsing through silk fabrics, velvet rugs, brocades, chandeliers and all sorts of objects from distant countries and ancient times.

I will share Grandma's favorite apple tarts recipe with you in the second part of this book, so that you can try and make them for your next friends gathering.

So, as I said, everything was flowing as usual in our small Tuscan Village...

Until one day everything changed.

I was selected for a school program to spend one year in the United Stated. At first Grandma didn't quite like the idea of me being on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean for an entire year, but I was excited and together we came to the conclusion that it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to experience something totally new and different. And it really was!

I took the plane from Florence to New York City and then from there to Buffalo, New York. At Buffalo airport I met the most wonderful family ever. It was the family that would host me for that year but it actually became my second family along with the one I have here in Tuscany. Ever since that day Mrs. Frances and her family welcomed me as if I were their own daughter.

Mrs. Frances's son - Anthony - was really fun to be with and he truly enjoyed teasing me and he once said << we picked you because we wanted someone to cook Italian for us for a whole year! >>. In fact, Mrs. Frances and I spent a lot of time together in the kitchen exchanging recipes of our respective countries of origin.

She enjoyed teaching me traditional American recipes like all sorts ofdelicious pies, chocolate chip cookies (