He wants to be a grey nomad!!!

Hi R
There's a man in my house!
Yes, I know that he's been here for a long time, but on & off.
Now, he's actually here! Like - retired. And I don't quite know how to handle it, and him.
He's actually out of context.
C
ps - he wants to be a grey nomad!




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Walnut pesto pasta from Tuscany

Alvina's Bell at Podernuovo is calling me to lunch - happy memories!

Pesto is a favourite subject of mine. This year, in my Mosman garden, one punnet of basil planted here and there, yielded constant harvest of a favourite, aromatic herb.

Traditionally Pesto is made with pinenuts - perhaps they were plentiful in Italy but they still had to be super labour intensive! Have you seen the way they have to extract each little precious pinenut. An alternative is Walnut Pesto which evolved from the need to find ways to use the walnuts which drop from the old walnut trees on the property.  (For family meals I actually use whatever nuts are in the pantry and use alternative herbs such as parsley and coriander.)

We worked in the fields with Umberto, doing what needed to be done - digging out stones, picking grapes, making wine etc.

I cut the lavender and rosemary back before winter - I had helped to plant it a few years ago but since everything grows so quickly it needed cutting back.

Alvina's bell is a suspended bronze bell which she rings when lunch is ready. She has tended the vegetable garden, harvested its bounty, applied her endless creativity, and the call of the bell means that a delightful lunch awaits. We eat, exchange experiences of the morning, make plans for the evening meal (everything revolves around food of course) then retire to our villa for siesta - maybe to doze or perhaps to read the current novel which was being circulated.

Alvina's Walnut Pesto Pasta (to be served with tomorrow's Fennel and Orange Salad)
Serves 4
400g (13oz) cappellini or angel hair pasta - sea salt and black pepper to taste
Pasta comes in different shapes and sizes like angel hair or capellini, fettuccini, fusilli, linguini, macaroni, spaghetti, etc. Capellini or angel hair pasta are long strands of pasta that are commonly used with light sauces.
Pesto
Large bunch fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
1 large handful chopped walnuts
extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Shred basil leaves and place in a blender with crushed garlic, walnuts and about 2 tblsp olive oil. Puree until smooth and then add the parmesan cheese and a little more oil.

Place pasta into boiling water with salt and cook for around 15 mins or until el dente which means firm to bite.
Pour over the drained pasta and garnish with fresh basil. Add a few more chopped walnuts and parmesan to taste.

http://www.timeintuscany.com/

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Buckets of walnuts to be picked in Tuscany

Hi R
Maybe, just maybe, rather than you coming over here to Australia, you may be lured into meeting us in Tuscany.  A few blogs to follow which you won't be able to resist.  Perhaps it could be on your 'bucket list'.

We have been very fortunate to spend some wonderful time in Tuscany, with Alvina and Umberto at their Villas at Podernuovo. I am missing the tranquility and the fertile abundance so am treating myself to a few retro blogs which you may not have seen.




It took a while to pick all of these and now the task
is to crack them to release their bounty. We became adept at this.

They say 'A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.'

In the British Journal of Nutrition, a rodent study found a walnut rich diet reverses the effects of brain ageing.

G picked more than I did? What are the secrets of filling up the bucket?...... Yes, I know the basic stuff - like the walnuts fall off the tree - (helped sometimes by extension and shaking of the human hand etc) but next time I go to Tuscany, I want to win!!

I also am aware of natural physics, such as that walnuts will roll down hills - so look there first. (I have a theory that G was told this and gathered all the good ones before I joined him in the exercise.)
Then you had to think laterally - like if they didn't roll downhill, perhaps they went sideways and settled in any depression or were caught by other foliage etc.

I spent happy times on my own picking up walnuts, enjoying just being there, then of course to enjoy 'Pasta with Walnut Pesto'. Recipe will be on my next blog.
Clara
http://www.timeintuscany.com/ Visit the website for images of Podernouvo.

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A Retro post to warm you up as the snow melts

Hi R
I hope you received your copy of 'Mosman Meanders & foreshore flavours'.  A retro post to warm you up as the snow melts in Milwaukee. 

2010 - A beautiful day of 'lightwriting' on a field trip at Bradley's Head, Mosman, Australia, with photographer Christopher Maait. Thanks Chris for your expertise and guidance at the Mosman Community College- and in helping me to feel confident and aware re taking better photos; (as I hope you will agree from viewing the video below.)



Chris - Yes I know, I focused on the background
instead of on you.

Cheers C
ps - this was before we started the book -   See how much younger you look.  Only joking!

 

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