Food and Friends

This last week has been overflowing with food, friends and quite alot of Rugby.  We have enjoyed lunch with friends in a crazy restaurant in th middle of nowhere, beautiful crountryside, waiters running from table to table and really lovely homely food in what looks like a workingmen's social club!!   I've been experimenting with more seasonal Tuscan recipes and have decided to stick to the vegetarian variety mostly as I feel healthier by far on a meat and dairy free diet.  Today found a totally gluten free shop in Poggibonsi - nirvana for me, fresh pasta stuffed with ricotta and spinich, cenci, fritelle, panatone, biscotti and grissini all gluten free - Hurray!!!

Spent this weekend indulging the boys watching Rugby both on TV and in Prato near Firenze, my boy is loving meeting proper professsional Rugby players - thank you to all those lovely big chaps for being so encouraging and patient with an obsessed 10 yr old.

Today took sneaky trip to plant shop whilst waiting for school to finish, returned home with Raspberry plant, Climbing Rose and Chicory & Bietola seeds - I love spring and welcome this week's spring equinox - bring it on!

Crostini - Yum

This is great, the kids love and makes a simple lunch with a few salad leaves.  We had this today.  I made it yesterday for the very first time, it was a miracle, it worked, it tasted scrummy and was craziliy cheap.


200 g (7 oz) chicken livers and hearts (the hearts are optional)
2 small onions
30 g/1 oz. butter
2 tsp capers, soaked, drained and chopped
1 bay leaf
5 or 6 sage leaves
1 glass dry vin santo (or sherry)
Warm vegetable stock


Chop the onion finely and sauté in the butter with the bay leaf and sage until soft.


Clean the chicken livers and hearts of fat and gristle. Add add to the pan with a few grinds of pepper but no salt.
Cook for a further 5-8 minutes, until browned. Add the vin santo and evaporate off.
Cook for a further 6 minutes, gradually adding a little vegetable stock to keep it moist.
Whizz in blender for a 30 seconds until nearly smooth.

Cut small rounds of baguette or Long thin loaves and grill on each side to brown, then smother with the pate - to be posh place a caper in the middle of each peice of pate topped toast.  Cool xThis paté improves if you make it the day before.  This is very Tuscan a real local dish, enjoy,

Thanks to Shilpa at www.organictuscany.org for the inspiration and the image.

Carnivale 2011 - festivale a San Gimignano

Last week was all about Carnevale, costumes, cenci, prosecco and confetti,