Notice to 5 Terre Travelers

As you may know, the 5 Terre was hit with a devasting storm last week that completely destroyed Vernazza and badly damaged Monterosso (For the story, see: Disaster Strikes Vernazza; for new updated information, see: Vernazza: Good News and Bad News or click the label "Vernazza Updates" for all related stories). I have received many questions from travelers planning to visit in the coming weeks. They have asked if they are still able to stay in the other towns that were not damaged and if they can still hike the trails. 

Please understand that the entire area is in crisis mode at the moment. Many of the roads are washed out and the rail lines are on limited service only for residents and emergency workers. The only hiking trail open at the moment is the Via dell'Amore in Riomaggiore, but all the other trails are closed from damage. As far as rooms and hotels go, even though the other towns are not as damaged, they are providing room and board for the people of Vernazza and Monterosso that have lost their homes or been evacuated. 

Donations to Save Vernazza

For an updated information, click "Home" or the label "Vernazza Updates" for all related stories.   

   
There has been an overwhelming amount of requests to donate funds specifically for Vernazza, as a way to give back to the warm people who have touched our hearts.

 ***UPDATE***

"Save Vernazza" is an Italian non-profit which was started by an American expat group in Vernazza for donating directly to Vernazza. Their website, entirely in English, accepts payments by credit card and Paypal. They will certainly do a great job of allocating funds with less bureaucratic backup than the Italians! They also keep their site updated with pictures and news coming from the workers. To donate to their fund, click here.

Disaster Strikes Vernazza

*For updated information, click the label "Vernazza Updates".  

It has been almost a week since the mountain above Vernazza came crashing down upon this picturesque village. Tuesday, October 25, started as most mornings do, with errands and preparation for the lunch hour. The first of the rainy season’s storms was pouring down rain as usual for a late October day. The town’s people were about their business, going to the bank at the top of the hill, having caffé at the Blue Marlin Bar and my father-in-law was setting up for a long day of work remodeling a building on the mountain side. Everything seemed normal, but the rain was coming down so hard, the street had turned into a rushing stream. My father-in-law and the other workers had problems operating their equipment in such heavy rain, so they wisely decided to call it a day and head home.
    

      
The rain kept pouring down until the village became a rushing river. The cars in the parking lot above town began to get swept up by the water. The strong current carried cars and trucks down into town like they were nothing but toys. Some locals looked on from their balconies with disbelief as their cars rushed by below them.
  

Swiss Getaway

My parents had some business at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland and I jumped at the chance to meet up with them for the weekend. It also worked quite well that I had an interview in Paris two days before (Paris? Mais Oui!), so I was able to get a cheap flight to Paris and take the train straight to Lausanne (there are no flights from here to Geneva). 

  

Meeting them at the large train station was surprisingly easy, as they were right outside the door with a fellow Swiss colleague of my step-father's that I hadn’t seen since I was thirteen years old! That was a great surprise and he escorted me up the steep (incredibly steep) hill to our hotel to drop off my bag and then he took us on a mini-tour of Lausanne.

Paris? Mais Oui!

A recent job interview brought me to Paris for a couple days.
  

Ah...Paris, the most beautiful city in the world. It is referred to as the 'City of Lights', but it is so much more than that. Beauty seeps out of every corner, hidden below trees...

Panging for Panang

 

Summer in Italy is rarely spent indoors. Sunny days are spent at the beach and the warm nights are spent out with friends. But unless you live in Rome or Milan, eating out is limited to Italian food. You may not believe this, but one can get really tired of eating Italian food. It’s not that Italian food isn’t enjoyable, but after several weeks of pizza, pasta and insalata mista, a palate change is severely needed. Thankfully, the little Asian market that I depend on was finally reopened after their month-long vacation. Stocked with ginger, coconut milk, limes and even cilantro (the first time I have ever seen cilantro in Italy), I headed home to make some panang!

Strawberry Liqueur

I love fruit. I love liqueurs. I love the two of them together! Italian summers bring some of the sweetest, most delicate strawberries I have ever tasted. I have recently done a series of vodka infusion experiments, including the successful pear vodka I previously posted about, and the not-so-successful melon (which I did not post about). But with these delicious strawberries, I think it would be pretty hard to mess up.

Here is how to make your own Strawberry Liqueur

Pear Elderberry Cocktail

Summer in Italy brings with it amazingly delicious fruit. I, of course, always want to find ways of preserving these scrumptious flavors to savor for the rest of the year. As you may have read in earlier posts, I have made jelly out of several fruits, including fig, mulberry, pomegranate and watermelon. But another way to capture the flavor of fruit is to infuse vodka with it. 

Ligurian Picnic

My husband is not a picnic guy--it's not that he doesn't like picnics, it's just that he never thinks it's a good idea. But the other day, he came into the kitchen and suggested we go into the hills for a picnic to watch the sunset. Wow! I was not about to pass that up! Luckily, I had already made some roasted eggplant hummus and roasted vegetable tabbouleh for dinner, which was all easily portable food. So I packed everything up into containers, grabbed some blankets, a bottle of wine and we were off!

We drove a bit to find the right spot, sometimes driving in circles on the little narrow road to the Cinque Terre. But after much deliberation, we found the perfect spot with smooth concrete walls to sit on, use as a table and drink in some stunning views of the Mediterranean sea and the mountains around Riomaggiore. It was down a private road for residents only, but we figured that was to keep the tourists out. We were a little worried that someone might have a problem with us setting up our picnic on their 'private' wall, and the residents that passed us did have something to say--"che bell'idea, buona cena!" which means, "what a good idea, have a good dinner!"
I love the Italians.

Insalata di Sgombro

The other night I threw together a quick salad on an experimental whim. I started with the idea of cooking sliced red onion in salt. Left for twenty minutes in salt, onions sweat out their water, turn translucent and get very sweet. I decided to use the salt and capers from my homemade salted capers and it infused the mixture with an amazing caper aroma! 

Sewing 101: Il Lavoro

It is amazing how quickly a skilled seamstress can put together a bag! Continuing from where I left off in "Sewing 101: L'Inizio", the first step of my beach bag started with my mother-in-law pining a reinforcing material to the back of my fabric. 

Sewing 101- L’ Inizio

A few months ago, after a series of afternoons strolling through town and window shopping, I felt completely annoyed by the current fashions. In the inevitability of sounding like my mother, I honestly could not justify spending money for things that look like rags. When I would think of things I would like to wear, I could think up great dresses and jackets. If only I knew how to sew…

Sciroppo di Sambuca

Elderberry Trees grow all over Liguria and when you come across a tree with it’s branches hanging heavy with these clusters of black fruit attached to bright magenta stems, it begs to be picked! Unfortunately, I missed the flowers this season (there are so many wonderful things you can make with the incredibly floral Elderberry flower), but the bunches of berries did not escape me.

**Please note that elderberries are NOT to be eaten raw. They contain alkaloids that must be cooked out before consumption.

Guarda Che Luna!

Having dinner at Il Settimo Cielo (see San Valentino) with a few friends and the full, bright moon was beautiful enough to interrupt our dinner and our conversation. How gorgeous is this? The view is of the Golfo dei Poeti, or Poet's Gulf, with Portovenere in the far distance and Ca di Mare on the small bay.  

A lovely summer evening...

Making Limoncello

Like caffé, Limoncello is a quintessential Italian libation. If you have never had the pleasure of trying Limoncello, it is a very strong after-dinner liquore made from the skin of lemons. It is sweet, refreshing and can sooth that stomach ache you get from over-eating. Served in tiny chilled glasses, limoncello is so strong that you’ll be knocked off your feet if you have more than a little. For many who have traveled to Italy, this syrupy, bright yellow liquor conjures up visions of hot summer evenings, large delicious meals and the Amalfi coast. 

What you may not know, is that limoncello is incredibly easy to make yourself! It is a long process, but with only four ingredients, it is also very simple. Here is how to make your very own authentic limoncello, right in your own kitchen. You will wind up with almost two liters of limoncello, so, have enough bottles clean and ready. Smaller bottles are great for gift giving. *Make sure to use organic lemons, as this is made from soaking the peel in alcohol*

Lavender!

  

I love lavender. I love to look at it, smell it, grow it, eat it and use the essential oil for all sorts of things. It is a wonder plant. Now that it is officially summer, it is also lavender season! And there is nothing quite like seeing fields of lavender growing under the hot sun. Unfortunately, those glorious lavender fields are only found in France. But, lavender thrives in all warm climates, including here.

Last night around 11, after a chat with family about the new roundabout landscaping of lavender, my husband took me for a “drive”. Even though he likes to be mysterious, I know him well and I knew he was taking me to the next city over to go snip some of this new lavender under the cover of darkness. As we were getting on the freeway, which is also the direction to Genoa and ultimately France, he tells me that if I really wanted, he could just keep going and we could get to Provence, get some lavender and make it back in time for him to work in the morning. Hmm, a tempting offer, and as I entertain the thought, I decide it would be a much nicer evening to make it to bed before dawn. Oh, how times have changed. I guess this is what it’s like to be an adult—comfort and logic over adventure.

Patriotic Dinner

On the first official day of summer, I went to the fruit and vegetable market downtown. Oh, there were so many great things! As I meandered around, I was inspired to make some delicious and classic Italian dishes for dinner. 

I started with a Caprese Salad, which is now being called insalata di tre colore (three color salad), as the official salad of Italy for it's 150th anniversary (it's a green, white and red salad=patriotic). If you are not familiar with the insalata Caprese, it is a very simple arrangement of sliced tomato, mozarella di buffala, fresh basil and olive oil.

Hummus Genovese

I love to whip up a quick hummus because it is so quick and easy and you can make all kinds of flavors. This is not a traditional hummus, of course, but you can’t find tahini in Italy. In this version, I use a handful of fresh basil, however, you can make it with any other herb, or roasted red peppers, or roasted garlic, or sun-dried tomato…the possiblities are endless! And seriously, this takes less than ten minutes to make.

Oggi al Mare!

Today the sun was shining and there wasn’t a hint of rain in the sky. There was only one thing to do—hit the beach! I text messaged my sister-in-law to get ready because today we were finally going to get some sun. Unfortunately, living in a port city means that there are no actual beaches to lay out on. But no worries, this is the Riviera and there are plenty of beaches to be had. 

Clafoutis de Susina

My old neighborhood in Los Angeles has a bakery that I referred to as going to Paris. It is absolutely beautiful and decorated just like a little Parisian bakery, from the wrought iron and marble tables, to the big red booths along the walls, even to it being filled with writers. Susina Bakery (corner of Beverly and La Brea Blvds.) is where I would go when I had a hankering for a great croissant and cappuccino, or for one of their fantastic oven roasted tomato and onion croissants. But with all the years of going to Susina Bakery, I never knew that susinas were a type of plum much loved in Europe (and a fruit that my husband loves).