January Newsletter
The party's over... now let's get started.
We survived the holidays.
I find it hard to concentrate on the new year until all the celebrations are done. Finally, the last holiday is tomorrow. Italians tend to save some of their vacation time to have the time off between Christmas and Epiphany.
One of the things I found hard to know when I first moved here is when places close. Beauty shops and barbers are closed on Monday, and the food shops, Alimentari, were closed on Wednesday afternoon. Religious holidays may also vary from town to town. I luckily saw this sign at my grocery store: They are closed “by choice.” Many shops, which are international chains like Lidl and Aldi, are probably open, and you can buy food if you have a shop nearby. When there is a holiday, there may also be transportation strikes. It’s complicated.
This year, we laid low through most of the season and didn’t overdo it. The last holiday is tomorrow when we celebrate the Epiphany with the Befana. La Befana is portrayed as a small, witch-like old woman who brings gifts to children.
La Befana vien di notte con le scarpe tutte rotte
The Befana comes at night with broken shoes
My husband explained that Christmas was more about dining, and children would receive some clothing as gifts. On the Befana, children received toys and candy.
He remembers the Befana would come the night of the 5th, and he would wake up the morning of the 6th to his sock filled with Clementines, nuts, chocolates, and a wrapped gift or a toy. They used your actual sock, calzino, for the Befana. Simple times.
Now, the shops are filled with themed prefilled calzini, chocolates, and a small gift item. I bought Andrea one this year from the Florentine soccer team.
Winter, in the countryside where I live, is a resting time. After the wine and olive harvest, the farmers can enjoy the holidays and prepare for another year of work.
The vines and the olive trees must be cut back to prepare for spring. The land is being tilled to be reseeded for wheat and feed. I live surrounded by vineyards and olive orchards, and down the hill is a farm with the Chianina cattle, and the next hill over has a shepherd with his sheep.
Living in an agricultural area is so soothing to my soul. I often hum this song while driving around.
To everything there is a season..by the Byrds.
Do you have a soundtrack to your life? I tend to turn to the songs from my high school and college times. There was some great music, both rock and folk. My Italian life has been divided into the first twenty years in downtown Florence and the past twenty-four years in the countryside. Rock and Folk. I have an Italian soundtrack as well.
Mercato- What’s in season
One of the essential parts of my life is shopping locally and eating with the seasons. Winter is wonderful! Bitter greens and citrus are top of my list when shopping. It hasn’t gotten really cold here yet, but we have started making some stews, like the Tuscan Peposo. I made it using beef cheek, Guanciale, black pepper, and red wine. The original recipe was made before tomatoes were introduced into Italian cuisine.
My village, Certaldo, has a large market on Wednesday and a smaller market on Friday.
This is what I found this week.
Left to right:
Puntarelle, kale and cabbate/Radicchio/ Mixed wild greens and radicchio
Cardoons and tiny leeks, Zucca Gialla( pumpkin), Cabbages
Fennel, Cabbage, Small cutting from artichokes, Gobbi ( another larger cardoon)
Feste
One of my favorite festivals in January is the Benedizione degli Animali, the Blessing of the Animals. Families bring in their pets to be blessed.
January is also when the pig is slaughtered and turned into prosciutto, salami, sausages, and pancetta. Nothing is wasted. Years ago, my friend
and I presented with Fergus Henderson at an IACP conference on using the whole animal. Kate presented on farmers, I presented on the butchers and Fergus spoke on Nose to Tail in restaurants. We created a blog to share our notes.January 17th is the patron saint’s day for San Antonio the Abbot. We will attend the blessing at Poggio a Caiano on the 19th. This photo is from when we went in 2017.
Last year we went to the Blessing in San Miniato.
When you are traveling, try to find out if there are any festivals while you are there. Larger festivals, like this one, are on the weekend. To advertise a food festival, they use the word Sagra. I always google to discover the patron Saint of the towns I am visiting. I love a parade!
This year, as part of the posts for the paid subscribers, we will celebrate Italy with recipes for festivals and holidays. I will post my favorites. As a pastry chef, I have many recipes for sweets. We will explore the real “dolce vita” that Italy has to offer as well as my “Divine Destinations” some tips on out of the way places we love to go, for quick trips, combining great food and something wonderful to visit.
This month, I am including a recipe from outside Lucca for a cookie they make called Befanini. I just saw some at my grocery store that are larger oversized cookies.
There are so many regional recipes. It’s an endless treasure hunt!
When you are bad, the Befana brings you coal! But it’s made from sugar.
Buona Befana!