Autunno in Toscana.

Artimino, Firenze.

I bet it doesn't look like I have a 39 degree fever in this photo, does it? The drastic and sudden change in temperature here resulted in a city-wide influenza outbreak. Unfortunately this hit me while I had my colleagues visiting, but it did not stop me from venturing out into Artimino for a truly unforgettable (and quite romantic) lunch.

Da Delfina is a little gem situated in the hills of Artimino about 20km outside of Firenze that should be at the top of the list of restaurants to experience in Tuscany. My dear colleague Joanna discovered it by way of a food connoisseur and fellow Cornell alum, and in my experience when it comes to food those hotelies are always to be trusted.

Of all of the dishes we tasted, on the top of the list: ribollita.

Ribollita is a soup consisting of stale bread and vegetables typical of Tuscany. It is a "poor" dish of peasant origin. Farmers would cook a large quantity of a mix of vegetables including cabbage and beans, stewed over the course of several days. I have had ribollita more times than I can tell you, in fact, it was the very first thing I ate when I arrived in Firenze in 2001 as a student. It is your quintessential winter comfort food. It usually has a somewhat liquidy consistency, however, at Da Delfina it takes on a whole new life. Their version is baked to perfection in a wood-burning oven so it was crispy around the edges. The best comparison I can make is to a baked omelette. It was heavenly. We chose two different secondi, spalla di maiale al forno (pig's back, baked) on skewers nestled between grilled bread), and Stracotto Toscano, a type of meat stew, prepared with red wine and peperoni. Both phenomenal. Of course there's always room for dessert, but we kept it on the lighter side with fresh berry sorbet.

Photos courtesy of Joanna... grazie, bella!

_________________

Ceriana, Impruneta.

During a recent weekend visit to Ceriana a few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of partaking in an Italian family pasttime: chestnut and mushroom hunting. I joined my friend, her husband, and her two young three-year old twins in the bosco (forest) near their house in the hills of Impruneta. They gave me a hunting stick, with which I raked away the leaves to uncover fresh chestnuts that had fallen from the trees. To my surprise, I found my very first mushroom that you see pictured above. There is a very short season for mushrooms, and it will not last much longer especially since the temperatures dropped so significantly. Once the ground begins to frost over, the mushrooms season will come to an end. Earlier in the morning her husband found "funghi ovoli" that resemble eggs. I've learned that these are quite coveted, and are best enjoyed raw with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Immediately after our excursion we went inside to indulge on the fruits of our labor.

I transported my goodies back to Firenze (in the back of my Smart car) and had a Sunday night dinner with friends. Thanks to one of my friends who is quite skilled in the kitchen especially when it comes to risotto, we enjoyed risotto con funghi, as well as some other Tuscan delights like bruschetta with fresh pomodori.

Such is the life in autumn in Italia.

A message from my dad.

I wish my dad could be here to see the great strides I've made since he wrote this card to me seven years ago for my college graduation. He did visit me here when I was a student, so it makes me happy to know that he saw firsthand how happy I am in the place I now call home. Given recent circumstances and my decision to stay in Italy, it could not have been more appropriate for my sister to find this in a box just yesterday among many of the things I left behind in NY.

Dear Amanda-

We are all proud of your accomplishments and your overwhelming desire to enjoy life and people. You bring joy to all those who know you, and a spirit of what it means to be self-confident. You are now ready to conquer life's hurdles, and to do so in a fashion of your own.

Future prosperity, health, wealth, happiness & success--

All our Love,

Daddy

Arrivaderci, NY.

A view of Manhattan from the Whitestone Bridge from my most recent trip to NYC.

I received countless emails questioning my whereabouts because I confused all of you, my loyal followers. I could not announce it here before personally delivering the message to my friends, family and colleagues. On my last trip to New York I saw the skyline for what might be awhile. It is true: I am staying in Italia indefinitely. Indefinitely, meaning the period of time the consulate decides to grant me my visa. Indefinitely, until I get sick of the bureaucracy and what I will refer to as "Italianisms," those little things that are oh-so-charming-and-Italian, until you actually live here. Indefinitely, until I decide there are other places in Europe that I want to explore and call home...

Many of you have also asked me what I miss about New York. On the top of the list: places that are open 24 hours. There are a couple of farmacie that are open 24 hours, but by "a couple" I literally mean two. One is in the train station, and the other might be somewhere on the other side of town. In other words, I'd prefer to suffer in my apartment until sunrise to avoid venturing to those parts only to arrive at a farmacia that might or might not decide to actually be open for 24 hours on the day that I need it to be open. Those of you from NY understand the comfort of having at least three 24-hour stores within walking distance from your apartment so I know you can empathize. It is a ghost town here after midnight, but like everything else, you get used to it, and then are frightened at the sight of movement in the middle of the night when you return to a place like NYC.

I miss black and white cookies but after experimenting with conversions and substitutions a couple of times (they do not have buttermilk here and think I'm crazy when I ask for latte di burro) I finally mastered the recipe so now I'm set. Oh, and big, fat, juicy, cheeseburgers with cheddar. Preferably Corner Bistro. I am going to attempt to bring the real American Hamburger to Italy next week... I'll let you all know if I succeed. And last but not least - chocolate covered gummy bears. I know they sound gross but you are not allowed to judge until you've tried them at least twice. I went a little overboard at the candy shop on West 3rd when I was home so I am pretty sure I can wait another year without having them.

I recently found the following quotation by George Bernard Shaw on a blog that I frequent (thank you, the impossible cool) that describes perfectly the path I've chosen to take. “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”