Pasta and peas, a simple and tasty Italian dish.

Here for you a photo of my organic garden's peas, they are finally ready to be collected. I want to share with you my personal simple recipe. It’s a quick and easy dish for all the family.

Penne and fresh peas

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 cups fresh shelled peas
2 slices of prosciutto, dinced
5 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp salt
4oo gr penne pasta


In a large saucepan, sauté the dinced prosciutto and onion in the olive oil over low heat, until the onions are translucent, it takes about 10 minutes.
Then, join peas and just 1 minute later the vegetable broth with salt. Continue cooking over medium heat till peas are tender.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente; drain and add the peas mixture. stir in and….enjoy a simple tasty Mediterranean diet dish.

San Galgano Abbey, a secret treasure in Tuscany

Far only 1 1/2 hour by car from Fortezza de’ Cortesi, situated on the main road between Massa Marittima and Siena, the Cistercan abbey of San Galgano leave to visitors an indelible picture in the memory. It was built between 1224 and 1288 and contained the earliest Gothic churc in Tuscany. It provided the inspiration of Siena Cathedral. A magical, special, suggestive place. Absolutely to visit!

OUR DOG CLEOPATRA AND ...CATS.

What about Cleopatra the curious Fortezza de’ Cortesi dachsund? So brave, amusing and affectinate with all humans, she’s terrible with our cats. The hunter insticts guide her short legs chasing the poor felines who take refuge on the property’s wood trees. She waits adamant barking for hours till exhausted she comes home with his tongue hanging out.

Gli amici a 4 zampe di Fortezza de' Cortesi

Cosa dire di Cleopatra, la curiosa bassottina a pelo duro di Fortezza de’ Cortesi? Così amabile, divertente e affezionata al genere umano, è terribile con i nostri poveri gatti.
L’ istinto di cacciatrice guida le sue corte zampe all’inseguimento dei poveri felini che cercano rifugio sugli alberi del bosco della proprietà. Lei imperterrita attende abbaiando per ore e alla fine torna a casa esausta con la lingua penzoloni.

Mint, an extremely versatile herb

Mint is an important ingredient in health products and beauty, especially for hair and oily skin. It also complements dishes both sweet and savoury.
It has the ability to bring freshness to any dish you may prepare for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Mint tea is said to aid digestion. Use it fresh to make this delicious mint tea recipe. It’s incredibly easy to make.
You will need 1 oz (15-30 g) of fresh mint.
Put the leaves in a tea infuser. Heat 3 cups of water to boiling. Then pour the boiling water over the leaves and into the pot. Let fresh leaves steep for about 3-4 minutes.
Now, drink and enjoy the taste of a relaxing summer sunshine in a cup.

blogging... Fortezza de' Cortesi: Erbe aromatiche, che aiuto prezioso in cucina!

blogging... Fortezza de' Cortesi: Erbe aromatiche, che aiuto prezioso in cucina!

Sage, beautiful in the garden, good on the plate

Walking in my garden I admire the borders of sage and I pick a few leaves. Immediately an intense aroma is released into the air. Well, they will be perfect for seasoning ricotta and spinach Tuscan ravioli (gnudi) that I made this morning.

Ingredients:
4 ½ pounds spinach
16 oz ricotta
3 eggs
a little flour
4 oz butter
10 sage leaves
6 spoons of parmesancheese
nutmeg
salt

Wash and boil the spinach with a little water salting lightly. Drain, leave to cool and chop finely.
Put the trhee whole eggs into a bowl and mix them with the ricotta, a pinch of nutmeg and salt.
Add the parmesan cheese and the chopped spinach and blend well. With this mixture make little ovalshaped rissoles and flour them. Boil some lightly salted water and drop in a few the “gnudi” at a time. As soon as theyrise to the surface, take them out of the pan with a perforated spoon and put them on a wide serving dish. Season them with melted butter that had been previously heated to which were added the sage leaves and plenty of parmesan.