Tessa Kiros - Recipes and Dreams from an Italian Life

No one captures the spirit and soul of a place quite like Tessa Kiros. She was born in London to a Finnish mother and Greek-Cypriot father. The family moved to South Africa when she was four and at the age of eighteen, Tessa set off to travel and learn all she could about the worlds cultures and traditions, and new ways of living and eating. She has cooked at Londons The Groucho Club and in Sydney, Athens and Mexico. On a trip to Italy to study the language and food she met her husband, Giovanni, and they now live in Tuscany with their two daughters.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to my team: photographer Manos, stylist Michail andart director Lisa for your talent, endless creativity and inspiration.To my sister-in-law Luisa and to Jo, my food editor, thanks foryour incredible help and support.

Thank you to Riccardo Barthel, for your generosity in lettingus in to your beautiful space (my FAVORITE shop in Florence).Thank you to David for creating the possibility, and Caterinafor the beautiful fabrics.

Thank you, Lisa McG, for your valuable support always.

To Mom, Ludi, Dad, Nin, Artemis, Leontine, Anabelle, Anjalika, Barbara, Diana, Ketty, Julietta, Giovanna, Lucia, Laura, Matteo, Ioanna, Joanna, Sylvia, Luisa, Paolo, Cetina, Lidia, Mariella, Marzia, Olga, Marisa, Marta, Filomena, Pierluigi, Emily, Peta, Patrizia, Rebecca, Jan, Carmella, Claudia, Nicci, Roberto, Filippo, Massimo, Gianluca, Carlos, Trong, Jackie - thank you all for your recipes and the many other gracious ways you have helped.

Thank you to all at Murdoch. To my publishers, Sally and Chris - thank you for your trust. And to my editor Anna, to Livia, Deborah and the many others involved in making this book - thank you for your hard work.

Thank you, Giovanni, Yasmine and Cassia, my precious family - for your patience, your encouragement.

To Mario - thank you for sharing your knowledge and for all these beautiful photographs you took of Wilma.

And finalmente, Wilma - thank you for all you have given.

Wilma first had a linen shop, so she knows about these things. How to keep sheets in order. My linen cupboard used to consist of mixed piles of tablecloths, towels, single and double sheets, mismatched pillowcases, stray socks, and everything else possible, all avalanching down on me.

This is what Wilma taught me for my linen cupboard. Its a wonderful method thats well worth a try. You may adjust the "recipe" to suit your personal tastes. It is a good idea to keep some extra cut ribbons tied on a nail on the inside door of your cupboard for when you need them.

In Wilma's day, the bedspread was generally crocheted by hand or made of satin and it would cover the bed completely, keeping the sheets free of dust.

Firstly, measure your cupboard to decide how many piles of sheets can fit on a shelf. Wilmas cupboard measures 20 inches across, so she folds her sheets to less than 10 inches so she can fit in two piles. Fold the freshly washed top sheet from top to bottom and then the other wayit should go four times. Then, turn and make one fold of about 8 inches and proceed folding up the rest like an accordion.

The finished measure is about 8 by 10 inches in this case. Fold the bottom sheet and mattress cover so they will be the same finished measure as the top sheet. Pillowcases are folded and kept on top of the pile and are usually smaller than the folded sheets. Once the mattress cover, undersheet, top sheet, and pillowcases are all in a good and compact pile, tie this bundle together neatly with the colored ribbon of your choice that should be used now for all sets, and pack into your linen cupboard. Continue with the double sets. All the bundles should sit neatly on top of one another.

Proceed in the same way for single sheet sets, but with a different color ribbon, of course. Now, when you open the cupboard, you will know at a glance whats what.

The same method can be used for towel sets, table linen, and other sets of things.

Lasts a lifetime.

USE DIFFERENT COLORED RIBBONS TO TIE UP SETS OF SINGLE AND DOUBLE SHEETS SO YOU KNOW WHETHER YOU ARE ARTHUR OR MARTHA WHEN YOU OPEN THE CUPBOARD.

ACQUA DI LAVANDA

2 TABLESPOONS LAVENDER FLOWERS, NO STALKS

4 CUPS COLD WATER

You can use dried or fresh flowers here. The stalks will color your water, so use only the flowers. Put the scented water in a spray bottle to dampen linen when ironing, for a subtle fragrance.

Wrap the lavender in a square of cheesecloth and tie in a tight ball. Pour the water into a bowl and add the lavender ball. Leave to sit for 20 to 30 minutes, removing the lavender as soon as the water begins to change color. Pour into a spray bottle and it will keep for a long time.

JASMINE GARLANDS