August 18, 2014

 Whoa! How time flies. My last post was quite a few years ago, and I'll get to that in upcoming posts. First off, though, it's harvest time in Maberga, and my experiment with Hatch and Poblano peppers has been a success. While it's only a first step in my vision of creating a culinary revolution in the Argentina valley, I made my first batch of green chili yesterday, with peppers roasted on the grill, along with tomatoes and the pork meat. More images to follow, but here are a few images , pre-harvest.

Autumn in Maberga

The grape vines have produced their crop, though due to some scorching days in June and a lack of water, the vines didn't quite reach the 100 per cent coverage of the pergola as I had hoped. Next year, for sure...
Franco and Lisa came by the other day with one of thier last batches of goat cheese, which we use, grated, on our pasta throughout the year. We like it even more than parmegiano. Franco is giving me the hard sell to buy a goat or two, which I would surely do, except for the minor issue of my better half, who remains, shall we say, skeptical about the whole thing...

Meantime, the mild temperatures along with a bit of fertilizer has made our lemon trees VERY happy, and they are producing quite olot of fruit, which will mature in the Spring...

Corsica Adventure part II

This is the the citadel and port of Calvi at dawn, upon our arrival. During the night crossing I spent some time topside with Enzino and he shared with me some of his saltines ("Sono buoni, no?" "Si, veramente.") and some of his stories. He's 72 years old, though you would never guess it. He was the skipper for Bridget Bardot when she was in her prime. He hung out with Ted Turner when he sailed for the Americas Cup. ("E un bravo persona, e parla italiano bene.")
We sailed through the Scandola nature preserve the folowing day, amid rock formations and towers constructed to ward of the Saracens. Angelo and Enzino joked tha the towers were actually little houses built for the black sheep of the families. "Look! That one even has a window!"

We stopped at one point in the bay of Girolata to take a swim. I saw quite a few jellyfish in the water and asked Angelo if they sting. "No, definitely not. Enzo, do these jellyfish sting?" --"Well, more than one guy has had to be taken to the hospital for medusa stings," Enzino replied, while rigging the sails. Angelo scoffed and said, "let's go." Off we went, and within a minute I was stung maybe six or seven times, which I have to say threw me into a bit of a panic. I made it back to the boat, with whelts all along my face, chest and shoulders. enzino looked into the water, and remarked offhandedly, "Yeah, those are the most dangerous ones."

We sailed to the port of Ajaccia, the capital of the island, at out at a little restaurant that served only fish, so we all ordered the grigliata, a mixed seafood grill. Then Angelo saw a couple eating muscles, and told the proprietress that we'd like some of those as well. "No, that's a bad idea," she said. "you'll never be able to eat all that. Wait and see." She was right. After the massive plate of seafood, and the creme brule, we managed to make it back to the boat, taking the opportunity to "digest" our meal. Upon arrival, late at night, we tried a bit of Angelo's single malt scotch and cuban cigars, then it was off to bed.


There are many more memories to share, but they'll have to wait for another time. I've still got that sensation of being on the waves, and need to sign off.


Thanks, Angelo, for an unforgetable adventure.
 

The Corsican Cruise
I just returned from the week-long cruise with my student/boss/friend, Angelo, and his trusty skipper, Enzino. Almost 24 hours after being back on dry land, I still feel like the floor beneath my feet is rocking to gentle waves.

On clear days here in Maberga we can see the mountains of Corsica rise up on the horizon, and such was the case the morning we set sail. The following morning we arrived at the port of Calvi, in the same locale we can see from our terrace at home.
A few highlights-- the spectacular scenery of the island's rugged coastline,

Daily swimming in crystal clear waters,

Eating fresh fish twice a day, prepared by Enzino, from roasted sea bass to lobster pasta (even Enzino, not given to hyperbole, remarked at one particular dish he prepared of Triglia (not sure the English word for the fish), "Questo sughetto e una favola." (this sauce is a fairy tale.)

Enzo teaching me how to sail

Making a personal dictionary for Angelo, with him constructing sentences for each of his new words.
I have more to write, but have to sign off now. More to come...


 

Lynn and I spent the afternoon yesterday mushroom hunting, a favorite passtime at this time of year, especially after a good couple of rains two weeks ago. Here in the Vale Argentina, everyone has their favorite secret place to go. I prefer a place frequented by the proprietress of the restaurant Santo Spirito in Molini di Triora. I came across her there one day. We found quite a few chantrelles, but now as autumn approaches the porcini are comming into season. Porcini are more difficult to spot that Chantrelles, so I was kind of proud to have found thwse two. Lynn seemed kind of excited , too... 

A few more pictures of the new room....
 

somewhere over the rainbow...










Rufino's continued attempts to cuddle with Winston...

 

We have a new upstairs room.
Still haven't picked up the stove pipe for the old parlor stove, but the chimney was installed yesterday by Augusto. You can just make out the piece sticking out of the ceiling to the right. can hardly wait for winter....