It’s been a funny winter. November and December were very mild. Later December and January it rained a lot, now in mid February it has turned cold and I understand the rain is blanketing the north of Europe. Certainly we have big grey skies here these days, but also intense orange sunrises and magnificent ruddy sunsets.
Hear and I got away for a break, enjoying long walks and, for me, time to make a start on some of the books I have been piling up ever promising to read. My winter is time to plan for the upcoming season and catch up with friends and keep thinking that I must diet but as ever not doing so. So many clothes just do not fit anymore. We have been several times to Il Panaro, the osteria at the end of the road. Elio has sourced so many great new small scale suppliers. The other evening I ate a delicious cured guanciale, the indulgent gand generous fat just melted the moment it hit my tongue. Delicious ravioli generously stuffed with burrata finished with lightly sauteéd Pachino tomatoes, whilst my dining companion tucked in to handmade tagliatelle doused with truffle butter and shavings of truffle, all rather delicious. The food is even better that it already was, and Calogero (Carlo) is as funny, hospitable and eccentric as ever.
But magnificent sunrises and sunsets do not make up for the absence of guests in the house. Even after all these years it is so very strange to be here at Bellaugello without you guys. I am so used to, and love the sound of laughter, of splashing in the pool, the merriment in the Jacuzzi, woodsmoke wafting lazily up from the chimney of the sauna and the buzz of conversation. I miss the house being busy, of sharing a bottle of wine at aperitivo time, time to chat whilst working in the garden, of picking vegetables to share with you, of being infront of the barbecue and sitting at dinners on the terrace under the stars surrounded by great guys. The season cannot come back soon enough.
10 pack of CaffItaly coffee capsules
1l fresh organic milk
6 free range eggs
A loaf of Umbrian white bread
250ml bottle of Bellaugello Extra Virgin Cold Pressed Olive Oil
A bottle of balsamic vinegar
500g pack of wholemeal pasta
250g jar of luxury pasta sauce
125g jar of truffle paste
200g Umbrian prosciutto from our butcher
Pack of grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Pack of salad leaves or lettuce from the garden
500g baby tomatoes
500g jar of passata
1l orange juice
A pack of bio taralli savoury biscuits
A selection of vegetables from the market or our garden
A selection of fruit in season
A bar of chocolate