Lambs

Everyone has been asking for photos of the lambs and I am more than happy to comply! They are every bit as sweet as they look, and infinitely soft too. But before you get too sentimental let me explain how this works. Lambing happens in two periods- one in the fall so the lambs are ready for Christmas in Dcember, and one in the late winter/ early spring so the lambs are ready for Easter. 3-4 months prior to these periods, they let 4 male sheep loose in the herd and within a week or so every single lamb of birthing age is pregnant. In this way, the lambs are all born at the same time and maximize profits and growth for the farm. These lambs are being raised for food, and once the holiday period arrives, the male lambs and any female with small udders are sold for the feast. As cute though they are, please don't loose site of the fact that see lambs will be eaten by people like you and me, roasted in the oven as a celebration and to mark a special occasion. Unlike any lamb you or I have probably ever tasted, these lambs live every day feeding of their mother's milk and eating the green, lush grass of Salento. If you eat meat, but feel like this sounds barbaric, I would suggest you either become a vegetarian or vegan, or source better meat. This is the most beautiful life our food can live, and the people who raise this food truly are steward with the highest standards, of an amazing, and fading, industry. 

Talk With Your Hands

Everything is wonderful on the farm. He sun is shining after 4 days of rain showers, and there have been lots of dinner, pizza, and company to keep me occipied. So occupied that I haven't been able to post anything new!!! Here's a little something to tide you over- it's the best hand gesture guide I've come across. Mari showed it to me. As a joke, she makes the two gestures for "when you get here" and "I will beat you" to her boyfriend when he is across the fields tending the sheep- I couldn't help but laugh when she told me that.

http://youtu.be/aHZwYObN264

Enjoy!

A Bike Ride

Helping at a working dairy is varied, busy, and always eye opening. I wake up around 7:00am, work and learn until 1:00pm or 2:00 and then there's a break until milking at 4:00pm. Today, I took advantage of the bikes at the farm, and despite my misgivings about the drivers and road rules (which to a foreigner) seems completely out of control in Italy, Mari assured me that there was nothing to worry about. In this part of Italy, between 1:00pm and 4:00pm no one is on the road as they are eating or sleeping. And it's true, on my 1 hr ride only 3 cars passed me going the same direction I was. 

Seeing the area for the first time was just what I needed to get over the initial shock of a new place. It's very very flat which makes for enjoyable, easy bike riding. Getting out of the farm showed me that although the area is rural, there's s lot here. There are lots and lots of olive groves and vineyards. About 30 minutes away by bike is a small town called Collepaso. It has everything you'd expect in a small Italian town- restaurants, bars, shops. But of course everything was closed due to the time of day.

 

I loved these steps. It's not uncommon in Italy to find doors that are higher than street level. And how else do you get steps to go all the way up while still being able to drive a tiny car down this tiny street? You build them sideways!!

Another thing I absolutely love here are the buildings with multiple layers of paint in different colors, they are absolutely stunning and something I've never seen before. I assume this happens when they are painted and then repainted and then the paint wears off which leaves these beautiful, interesting washes

So that was of various colors and gradients. I'm sure the sun plays a role in developing the patina as well, since the sun plays a part in so much of the aesthetics here. 

I always imagined that Italy looked a certain way but expected to be disappointed since pictures never really tell the story of a place. New England isn't all sky scrapers, New York isn't all Broadway and Los Angeles isn't all movie stars. But what I've found in Italy is a place where everywhere you turn something pleasant is always in view- it really is just as beautiful as all those glossy photos of it make it out to be. In terms of food and scenery, Italy doesn't disappoint you at all.

Here...

I made it safe and sound to Cutrofiano, even with the train changes. Last night I saw the dairy and got a little tour and today it was down to business. I woke up to a steady rainfall, and while the shepherds had their work cut out for them bringing grass to the sheep (I'll explain this another time), we started off washing cheese- lots of cheese. After about ten days the cheese gets a blue bloom on it that needs to be washed off so it will continue to ripen and harden. A blooms acts like a blanket which keeps mioisture in, but this moisture also prevents it from hardening and maturing so the more you wash a cheese, the harder it will get. Here are just some of my freshly washed sheeps milk cheese rounds-

The daily tasks are varied and I'm sure I've just scratched the surface today. There are chickens, dogs (sheep dogs and play dogs), cats, and a duck. I also learned how to milk today which is a lot harder than it looks. As a complete neophyte I milked 2 sheep (pecora in Italian), before the third I was starting stepped in my bucket and I had to give the little I had gotten from it to the dogs. Like I said its hard. And it's a lot harder when your slow and they realize what's going on and start trying to free themselves from your inexperienced hands. Here are just a couple more photos from the farm. 

To Puglia! 

We were out of the house at 7:30am this morning for the train to Lecce via Caserta. Jane and Peppe were the most wonderful hosts. I wanted to post just a few pictures of the scenery around that area because it really is quite stunning. 

These two are the views from Jane and Peppe's house. It's got amazing 360 degree views. Muzz, Kathy, Mare- you must come!!!

Zappa D'ouva

Get your aprons out- Jane was kind enough to contribute a recipe! It's an authentic Italian cooking experience for my lovely friends and family back home. She even let me hang around like a crazy American with a camera and photograph all her steps so you could see what I've been lucky enough to participate in over the past couple days. Despite Jane and Peppe's protest that this meal is too simple, I'm sure you'll enjoy it's tasty, Neapolitan flavor

Serves 3

4 large white onions (any onion will do!)

A couple generous glugs of olive oil, enough to completely cover the bottom of the pan

Salt & Pepper

Water (about three-four cups) 

1 can peeled tomatoes (plum tomatoes) 

1 can (or 1-2 cups of strained tomato sauce (also called pomodoro) 

6 eggs

3 slices of rustic bread cut into cubes (1 slice per person)

You'll need a saucepan big enough to accommodate two eggs per person in a single layer. Add enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan and heat the olive oil while you add the 4 large onions sliced fairly thinly, if the slices are  too thick you'll be waiting ages and ages for them to cook through. Make sure you have lots of onions as they will reduce. Once all the onions are in add a generous pinch of salt (you'll be adjusting to taste later) as well as some pepper. Add water, about two glasses, cover and simmer until the onions are fairly tender keeping an eye that they don't dry out. If necessary, add more water a little at a time so they have moisture. Cook for at least 40 minutes just below a simmer.

Once the onions are soft, add one can of peeled tomatoes. To make the sauce a bit thicker and richer, add one can of strained tomatoe sauce (it's called here pomodoro and comes in a bottle, but I believe in America you buy it in a can and it's still labeled 'pomodoro'). After that is added, add another cup or so of water, and then the whole thing needs to continue to simmer for another 40 minutes. Break up the plum tomatoes into pieces while it simmers. 

In the mean time, cut the bread into cubes. You'll want to use a rustic white bread cut into 1" pieces and put in the bowls. Check the tomatoes and onions and make sure there will be plenty of liquid. If necessary, add more water and salt. You want there to be plenty of liquid for the bread to soak up, but thick enough to have a rich tomato flavor, and not be considered too thin. 

On low heat, break the eggs into the liquid. They will sit just below the surface, but it's important that the eggs are not broken on top of each other as you want to put them in the bowls individually.

Turn up the heat to a medium simmer and cover. It is important not to disturb the egg so they retain their shape. Once the egg white is cooked, remove from the heat and spoon over the top of the bread cubes. It's easier to spoon the onions, tomatoes and eggs out with a slotted spoon and then the liquid afterwards. 

Enjoy! 

Lots of onions!

Salt, Pepper, water - simmer

Tomatoe, tomato sauce - simmer

Bread, glorious bread!

Break the eggs in a single layer...

Spoon onions and eggs over bread, then spoon the sauce over and - eccola!

Montecassino 

On Monday, Jane, Peppe and I made our own little pilgrimage to the incredible monestary of Montecassino. Built high up in a hill  about an hour north of Naples, the working monestary offers an incredible view of the surrounding countryside and mountains, as well as a tranquil and breathtaking structure. At the end of the photos I've out the little blurb from the Montecassino website which explains the space much more eloquently and with mor thoroughness than I could.

Inner cloisters.

Jane and Peppe in front of the basilica. We couldn't take photos inside as there was a mass going on, but it was quite beautiful. Some views from the grounds-

Taken from the Montecassino blog (http://montecassinoabbey.org/?page_id=48):

"The Abbey of Montecassino is one of the most known Abbeys in the world. We might list thousands of motivations to show you why people travel so much to reach this mountain. The most likely one is they want to be, at least once in their lives, within the walls where the foundations of western culture and monasticism are.

In 529 Saint Benedict chose this mountain to build a monastery that would host him and those monks following him on the way from Subiaco. Paganism was still present here, but he managed to turn the place into a well-structured Christian monastery where everybody could have the dignity they deserved through praying and working.

Within the centuries the Abbey has met magnificence and destruction many times, and has always come out of its ruins stronger. In 577 Langobards destroyed it, then Saracens in 887. In 1349 a violent earthquake occurred and in February 1944 a bombardment almost flatted it.

It is the faithful rebuilding of the twenty thousand square meters that people can see travelling on their way along the A1 Highway. Up on top of the 520 meters high mountain the monastery can easily be seen from far, making it a distinct landmark of the region.

Ora et labora et lege:  this is the motto of Saint Bendict’s Rule that the monks still follow in their daily routine. Some of them study in the library surrounded by ancient books, or make researches in the archive on breathtaking manuscripts. Some others host people seeking for a moment of inner peace and serenity. And if you are visiting the Abbey you might meet some of them having a walk in the cloisters before they go back to their rooms to pray alone or to gather later for the common prayer.

Every day thousands of pilgrims and visitors from all around the world come to this threshold.  They silently go through the cloisters and then up the big ramp to the Basilica at Saint Benedict and Scholastica’s grave. Then the Crypt is there beneath to be revealed with the astonishing golden mosaics.  But it is in the museum where finally visitors can see the magnificent paintings, the wonderful manuscripts and ancient books. They can go through the history of the Abbey from the very beginning till today and grasp why Montecassino Abbey is known as the Lighthouse of Western Civilization."