The Porch, Well Underway

Look! The railings went up today. There's Todd the contractor installing the railings. We're about to plan the landscaping to replace the plantings that have been destroyed. We love the stone posts, and the ceiling rafters. The floor is Ipe and the railings are a composite. Square lattice will be added soon!

Tomorrow we meet with the electrician to plan the lighting, ceiling fan, garden lighting, and outlets.

Rainy Afternoon, a Good Book, and a Great Olive Oil Recipe

We finally had a long rainy afternoon in Northern Virginia. I sat on the almost-completed porch, and enjoyed the hours of thunder and lightning, while reading (and finishing!) Andrea Lee's Lost Hearts in Italy. It's a compelling novel, very well crafted! I didn't know until now that it's on Oprah's Summer Reading List. (Lucky author!)

Throughout it all, organic heirloom plum tomatoes were roasting in the oven. I purchased 2 lbs. of tomatoes at the Farmers' Market on Saturday morning, where I also saw my favorite baker who gushed over the bottle of Tenuta di Ferento's Merlano that I gave to him two weeks ago. (Someone else gave him a bottle of Trader Joe's olive oil, and Wes expressed that there's no comparison).

To roast tomatoes....set the oven at 250F. Spray a light coating of oil on the bottom of a large roasting pan. Cut each tomato in half and placed cut side up in the roasting pan. Next, drizzle a good extra virgin olive oil (just 3-5 tablespoons) over the tomatoes, sprinkle with sea salt, fresh ground pepper, and a teaspoon of rosemary. Roast at 250F for 3-5 hours. For the olive oil, I used a notable Tuscan, Frantoio Franci Le Trebbiane.

We enjoyed them with Italian (turkey) sausage, sauteed in Santisi Extra Vergine di Oliva (2006 Harvest), and also with fresh corn on the cob, and pasta salad. The pasta salad included more Santisi, along with low-fat mayo, peas, red pepper, scallions, and sun-dried tomatoes (those were from a jar!)

During the week, we celebrated Carly's half-birthday with dinner at Roberto Donna's Bebo Trattoria in Crystal City, where they are presently serving Olio2go's Frantoio di Sommaia Extra Virgin Olive Oil with their lovely bread. Two of us had pizza from the new pizza oven, and two had pasta. All was wonderful. Also the Gelato selections are more than enough to share. We don't need to order three desserts!(Next time....)

In a change from the Italian theme, I recently read Susan Vreeland's Luncheon of the Boating Party, which I greatly enjoyed and keep meaning to recommend to my friend, Suzanne. I think she would enjoy it for her love of France and art. A bit of light reading was a mystery, Knock Off by Rhonda Pollero, set in a Florida law firm. I attempted to read the Barbara Taylor Bradford biography, but couldn't be captivated. I'd read her novel long-enough-ago, that the constant references to the various books was tedious!

I was lucky enough to run into a mom-friend, Janet, this week to get to say good-bye before her move to New Hampshire. I hope she writes a blog about her adventures in moving from a big city to a small town, on a move they didn't expect to make at this point in their lives! I'll miss her.

Fancy Food Show

Sunday was the day for the express trip to NYC for the Fancy Food Show. I met Jeff at the Javits and visited with Olio2go's current vendors and had the chance to meet many prospective producers in the world of fine extra virgin Italian Olive Oil. We had a wonderful tasting of four very nice DOP oils from the in the Tuscany area with Carlo Badaili of the Camera di Commercio of Firenze.

Efisio Farris from Gourmet Sardinia shared with us the galleys of his new book, Sweet Myrtle & Bitter Honey, to be published in October by Rizzoli. We enjoyed fine tastings of Saba, Mosto d'Uva, a grape must reduction, and honeys. I can't wait to try Saba or Mosto d'Uva in a vinaigrette. We'll add the book to our product line as well.

At Italian Products we tasted the new Merlano DOP from Tenuta di Ferento and placed an order as the 2006 Harvest was a very limited production, with the new certification. We had the pleasure of meeting Natalia Ravida representing her family's extra virgin olive oil from Sicily. We look forward to her new cookbook, Seasons of Sicily.

Camille and Carl Jurgensen, suppliers for many of our organic products, and I shared tips on our favorite books. I recommended The Reluctant Tuscan, and one of their favorites we all shared is Too Much Tuscan Sun. Of course, we all have enjoyed Donna Leon's mysteries set in Venice.

We had a lovely time with the representatives of Domodimonti, and we soon expect to have their Francesco Bellini extra virgin olive oil from Marche in stock. They produce lovely wine as well, but alas, we don't carry wine!

Only bottled water seemed to be in short supply at the show. All of my favorite foods were there. Pecorino, speck, prosciutto, salami, Grada Padano DOP, truffles!

One domestic tidbit....I'm trying to find out the label of the Extra Virgin olive oil served in Google's staff cafeterias. It is a fruttato, first cold press...but that's all I know. Any tipsters in the know?

Vacations with Olive Oil

Like the millions who plan beach weeks each year, someone must consider the meals and pack the food. Of course, we packed good olive oil. We began the trip with a 200 ml bottle of Getsemani Grand Cru from Olio2go. We went though that bottle quickly, and found a market with a small selection of Italian olive oils. We purchased Sant'agata d'Oneglio, also in a 200 ml bottle. Sadly, upon arriving back at the beach house, I realized it didn't have a best-by date. Let's say, it didn't taste fresh. It was quickly moved from a salad and dipping oil, to one to be used for sauteeing fish. Blackened fish. (I like blackened fish; I'm just not very choosy about the oil used for the pan). Eventually, on another of our daily trips to Kroger, we purchased a 500 ml bottle of Lucini. It was fine. Next beach week: we'll pack a 500 ml bottle of something good like Gourmet Sardinia Fruttato Intenso or Titone DOP. We're going to a cabin in a couple of weeks....it's time to pack more olive oil.