I’m sitting in a kitchen in Caprese Michelangelo in the hills of Tuscany with a glass of a local white wine. There s a fire going to keep the room toasty warm. Jay is busy in our hostess’ kitchen preparing a tomato and fennel fish stew with ingredients that we picked up from the market that day, all of which were locally grown or brought in from the coast.
Is ‘local’ a theme here? So far, it is and not just because it is a passion of mine.
Let’s start from the beginning:
In Sorrento, where I spent my first few days, the streets are lined with orange trees. Small orchards of a few trees, herbs, and grape vines seemed to occupy all available space in backyards and on balconies.
Limoncello, a lemon based liquor, is not only regionally unique but also varies by producer. One variety I tasted on a whim was far better, in my opinion, than others to the point that I might have though it was a different drink all together.
At night while enjoying a stroll down Sorrento’s small side streets, I caught a glimpses of the day’s catch – frutta di mare – in display cases visible from the outside of the restaurants. No doubt this is meant to entice you in, and also to let you know what the fresh catch is for the day. Fresh meaning that it was caught that day and brought up from the harbour.
Once seated at the restaurant for the evening I was pleasantly surprised with a local and superior in quality bottle of vino rosso – red wine. This left no need to spend money on the otherwise pricey wine list, a pleasant occurrence which repeated itself throughout the trip until Rome.
Sorrento’s ability to not only feed me, but to do so locally and with great flavor was definitely appreciated. I appreciated knowing that the locally produced and harvested foods comprised the entire menu.
Would this be repeated? Find out about Tuscany in Italian Food Part 2: Tuscany.
A two hour drive from Wote in the Makueni district of Kenya lies the village of Ngomano. The last 9 miles of the trip to the village center takes a four-wheel drive vehicle and nerves of steel. Not only are you sharing the single lane road with goats, sheep, cattle and people heading to get water, but what is used as a road is often deeply rutted and washed out. Hold on to your stomach for this bumpy ride.
Friends of Slow Money
Someone I know was recently sitting on a bus in the Pioneer Valley and two college-aged women were nearby. One of the women pulled out a carrot and started to eat it.