The Tuscan Year Life and Food in an Italian Valley

by Romer, Elizabeth

• ISBN13: 9780865473874
• ISBN10: 0865473870
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1989-05-01
• Publisher: North Point Pr

Summary

The Tuscan Yearrecounts the daily life and food preparation of a family living on a farm in Tuscany. Elizabeth Romer chronicles each season's activities month by month: curing prosciutto and making salame in January, planting and cheesemaking in March, harvesting and threshing corn in July, hunting for wild muchrooms in September, and grape crushing in Ocober. Scattered throughout this lovely calendar are recipesfresh bread and olive oil, grilled mushrooms, broad beans with ham, trout with fresh tomatoes and basil, chicken grilled with fresh sage and garlic, and apples baked with butter, sugar, and lemon peel, among many others. Alive with the rhythms of country tradition,The Tuscan Yearis a treasure for the armchair traveler as well as the cook.

Author Biography

Elizabeth Romer studied textile design at the Royal College of Art, London, and has practiced and taught in that field. She lives in Tuscany with her husband.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
January	p. 7
Silvana's kitchen
Pigs and prosciutto
Salame, cotechino and other sausages
Gnocchi and ragu
Beef: stews and steaks
February	p. 25
Silvana's garden
Herbs
Minestrone and minestre
Wild vegetables and salads
Tobacco and the moon
Mangiafagioli
Carnival cakes
Ballo in maschera
March	p. 41
Vines and sheep
Making the cheese: pecorino, ravigiolo, ricotta
Attic store-rooms
Cooking with cheese
April	p. 53
Priests and feasts
Fresh garlic
Blessed eggs
Green spring
Easter lamb and macaroons
Artichokes
May	p. 68
Zappatura
Feeding the farmhands
Pasta
Trout
Baccala and stoccafissa
Pots of basil
June	p. 80
Tuscans and Umbrians
Beans and truffles
Wedding feast
Cherries and camomilla
Herbs at the full moon
Mangiare in bianco
July	p. 90
High summer
Threshing the corn
Merenda al fresco
Harvest feasts
Cooking with the stone oven
August	p. 103
The daily bread
Ancient recipes
Frying flowers
Pansanella
Tomato preserves
Friends from Rome: new dishes
September	p. 117
Autumn hunting; pheasant, other game and fieldfare
Funghi: passions and poisons
Porcini and chanterelles
Ovole and pratolini
October	p. 133
Frosts and harvests
Vendemmia
Wine and wine-making
Punch and chestnuts
Vin santo
Polenta
Family Sunday
November	p. 148
Chestnut woods
Mousetraps
Fried cakes and baked apples
Schiacciata on the pannaio
Wild boar: hunting and cooking
The priest in the bed
December	p. 162
Planting trees and logging
The olive harvest
Olives and their oil
Fett'unta and pinzimonio
Christmas feasts
Tortellini and turkey
Cardoons
Zabajone
The year's ending
Notes	p. 177
Measurements
Ingredients
Herbs
Tomato preserves
Bread
Equipment
Index	p. 179
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.