Mamma Americana

A walk in the park

The fall weather has been fabulous this week; cool and breezy with lots of sun. Just what fall aught to be. Eleonora and I have been enjoying walks in the nearby park each afternoon. 

The park was originally the home of the Strozzi family. Their villa is now the headquarters of Polimoda, a fashion and design school. The park is open to the public.

It's on a hill, with a winding road, so it makes for a good walk. There is also plenty of play ground equipment for the kids, including a stationary train, airplane and the usual swing sets.

View of the surrounding countryside from the top of the hill.

A stroll anyone?

Il Mulino (the old mill)

Yesterday we visited Lorenzo's late grandmother Maria's childhood home. It is located in the Tuscan-Emilian Appennines, above the village of Vernio, which is about a 40 minute drive from Florence. The name mulino  means mill, in this case it was an old water mill, which was used to grind wheat. The mill is no longer in use, but it was at the heart of a small cluster of apartments. This is what the mill probably looked like when it was in use.

Photo of a mill in nearby Cantagallo (photo Nove.Firenze)

There was room enough for between five and six families, plus plenty of arable land cut out of the surrounding forest. Maria's family consisted of eight brothers and sisters and their parents. They all lived in a two bedroom apt. 

The ground floor has a good sized kitchen with a large fireplace and a wood burning oven built into the wall. This was and is the only form of heating in the apt. There is a living room next to that, separated by a steep stone staircase (pardon my alliteration). There are two large bedrooms above. A bathroom with a shower was added at a later date.

The reason for our visit was to make the acquaintance of another Italian/American couple and their two daughters who have been living in a nearby apt. for two years. It happened to be the younger one's first birthday, so we celebrated together.

Lorenzo's great aunt made tagliatelle by hand, rolling out the dough with a long skinny rolling pin. The pasta was served with ragù a meat sauce. Then we had steak and sausages cooked in the fireplace. Yum!

Yeah for Sourdough!

My sourdough french bread, fresh from the oven

The loaf this morning (we've already eaten half of it)

I was so proud of the way that my first attempt at sourdough bread came out, that I thought I'd share it with you (just the pics. sorry ;) The whole process took more than a week, but it was well worth it. 

I let the starter ferment for about six days so it would be nice and sour. Then I made the dough in the machine, letting it rise for four hours. After that I turned it out, kneaded it some more and then let it rest another hour, covered. Finally I placed it in a colander lined with a floured tea towel and let it rise another twenty-four hours in the fridge. The result was delicious.

In other news, the sewing machine does work, even after all these years. I will begin my sewing adventure as soon as Eleonora's birthday is over (next week) and have some time for other projects.

Speaking of her birthday, Lorenzo and I gave her an exersaucer activity center, after I finally found one online at Ebaby here in Italy. I'd seen them in the U.S., but never over here. Going to Graco's (an american company) italian site finally led me to it. This is a great alternative to a walker, which I was told can be dangerous. I guess they're bad enough that the American Academy of Pediatrics wants to ban them.

Eleonora checking out her activity center

Robot Love

I have a confession: I've been cheating on my bread machine with my robot. Lorenzo's parents gave us a Karcher Robo Cleaner while I was still pregnant with Eleonora. It's been fun to have around, and saves me from lots of vacuuming. We have a large cat and a small chihuahua mix, so the fur flies at our place on a regular basis. Now that the baby is crawling, I'm ever so grateful that we have our little robot friend. The Karcher Robo Cleaner is the Roomba's fancier european cousin. 

Our robot in action

 

 

My "new" old sewing machine

Yesterday I inherited a sewing machine that belonged to Lorenzo's late grandmother Maria. It's a Borletti, which is no longer in business. I believe that it's about 50 years old, judging by the info. I've found on the web.

Now, I have no idea if it is in working condition, but I'm honored just to have it. There is still thread in it from the last Nonna Maria used it. 

A family friend will take a look at it for me and see if it needs some work or not. She used to work as a seamstress and has offered to give me some sewing lessons, which I need because I have no clue where to begin.

And now the weather: Fall is on it's way in. We had a massive thunderstorm on Friday afternoon, with hail. Then it continued raining all weekend. This morning the temperature has gone down, it's overcast and starting to feel like fall.

View from our front balcony.

Bread Machine Bliss

I'm in love with my bread machine. My Dad gave it to me for Christmas last year and I've been using it a few times a week ever since. The recipe book that came with it was uninspired. Thankfully for me Beth Hensperger's book "The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook"  has tons of great recipes. 

I made a whole wheat loaf for the first time yesterday and it came out perfect.

Here is some day old sourdough starter from a recipe in her book. I think I'll let it ferment a few more days. I like my sourdough tangy!

Our 3rd Anniversary

These last three years have flown by. I know it's cliche to say it seems like only yesterday that we were wed, but people say that for a reason: it really does! 

I'm so lucky to have Lorenzo in my life. He's a great husband and it has been fun over the last year to see him turn into such a loving papa. That kid loves her daddy. And I love him too.

Medici chapel, Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence

At the altar, with the Knights Templar in the background

Signing papers in the sacristy

Santa Croce

I Hate/Love Ikea

Ikea and I have had a hate/love relationship for many years now. I keep vowing to end the affair one of these days, but then a new catalog arrives and it starts all over again. All that cheap, cute furniture that is so easy on a young family's budget. Someday we'll graduate to adult furniture (read "expensive") which is really a fancier version of MDF/particle board. Sigh...

We went to Ikea this week to buy a new kitchen cupboard and a foot rest to substitute the glass coffee table which has now been banished by baby proofing. Wouldn't you know that the cupboard doors were the wrong size. This is the part I really hate about Ikea. You can never make just one trip. It always turns into two or three. Something is always wrong, missing, or not in stock. My husband curses Ikea regularly, but I know I'll always love it. Hate it. No, love it. ;D

Our new naked cupboard.

Pretty Kitty Kitchen Towels

I'm really enjoying embroidery at the moment. Here is a set of kitchen towels that I made. There are two more that I haven't started yet. They're from vintage patterns I found on Flickr There are so many cute ones out there, it's hard to choose.

I've had a thing for vintage embroidery since I was a kid, especially of the tea towel variety. Grandma had quite a collection of tea towels and I always loved looking at them. They bring a smile to your face every time.

A Few Summer Highlights

Purple highlights...

playing in the sand...

walks on the new pier...

... and newlywed friends.