Life at
Capitignano in a rural area near Borgo San Lorenzo is a dichotomy of the new and
the old, blended together, co-existing in the 21st century. One can use the Wi-Fi in the library,
get up, walk 20 feet and take your laundry off the clothes lines, walking by
the rabbit hutch where the evening meal might just possibly come from as you
go. On one hand life is very
sophisticated-we’re using computers, taking graduate level courses. On the
other, it is very primitive and reminds me very much of life at my granny’s
house in Arkansas or my grandparent’s farm in Kansas when I was a kid. Whether I
am sitting in an art history class learning about 12th-15th century Italian
artwork or plein air painting outside with my easel and oil paints, this rural
13th century Italian estate (really just a working farm) has taught me many
things this summer. One of these things is that life is to be lived, enjoyed,
relished, and absorbed!
Our world in the United States in 2012 is full of work, meetings, emails
(home email, work email), voice mails, cell phone messages, Tweets, Facebook
comments and messages, texting, laptops, desktops, and so much more. In between
all those communication details that fill our day we also hop in our oversize
vehicles like my Suburban (no Panda for me!) and drive hither and yon running
errands, delivering things we could probably just keep, gathering things we
could probably live without, and stopping for a $4.00 cup of coffee on the way.
(Hey, don’t be messing with my Starbucks. Oh wait, that was me! Erase that!)
But, when the suitcases are packed and we venture off to another spot on the
globe we can often find a much different life. In fact, many of my ventures to
places like Ecuador and Uganda, and other places, greatly (or gravely) reminds
me that the American way of life is in many ways so wonderful; in other ways so
excessive.
This weekend in Italy I didn’t travel anywhere. Other weekends I have
gone on great adventures riding trains, buses, boats, and with drivers to
places like Seina, Arrezzo, Livorno, and Venice, Burano and Murano. But this
weekend I wanted to just stay put and enjoy Capitignano and it’s simplistic
beauty; knowing that our time will be ending soon. I volunteered to fix lunch
for those of us who did not travel as the cook is given the weekends off.
I moved the smaller patio table out
under the giant shade trees on a ledge that overlooks the Mugello valley on
both sides of where I positioned the table. The breeze was so refreshing and
the view was stunning. I found a tablecloth in a drawer in the kitchen, ran
down to my room and got a strawberry juice bottle I had been saving and picked
some wildflowers on the way back for a centerpiece, quickly grabbed my camera
so I could document our pretty lunch, and then, for a moment, I pretended I was
Frances Mayes in Under the Tuscan Sun.
I spent about an hour in the kitchen making a delicious salad full of local
produce, a light vinegar and oil dressing, warmed up Maria’s delicious
minestrone from the day before, and made my own bruschetta. I made a tomato bruschetta,
the Tuscan way. The recipe is easy:
Chop tomatoes, add grated fresh Parmesan cheese, chopped
fresh basil, some chopped bread crumbs from the heel and maybe another slice of
a baguette, salt and pepper. Mix together well. Slice a baguette in angular
pieces. Rub the bread with garlic, brush with olive oil. Place the tomato
mixture on the slice, be generous, and bake in a warm oven, maybe 350, until
nice and toasty. The Italians are
very frugal. Using the heel
ensures you use ALL the bread, but the bread crumbs also bind the tomatoes
together so they don’t fall off the bruschetta. The other bruschetta was my own
invention….quite excited about that….I used the same baguette bread, slathered
it with herbed goat cheese, and placed fresh blueberries on it. Toasted it
until nice an heated through; drizzled with peach honey with a bit of a pepper
kick that I got at the Borgo County Fair our first weekend here.
And, for the
real treat, I gathered some tea bags kept for the morning hot tea drinkers, and
made a delicious ICED TEA! Yes, first ice tea I have had since I left Texas on
June 8th! We sat outside under this big, old beautiful tree, breeze blowing and
keeping us cool, enjoying the view. While we didn’t say it, I think it was
visible on all of our faces…we knew that moment was one to remember. I found myself thinking I need to do
this more when I get home. How can I squeeze in a lunch here and a supper there
on the patio with friends who are caught up in the same
life-is-too-busy-routine as I am? I don’t know, but I’m going to try. Don’t be
surprised if you get an invitation! I can be pretty persistent! In Under the
Tuscan Sun, Frances Mayes says, “There is no technique, there is just the way
to do it. Now, are we going to measure, or are we going to cook?” Make some
bruschetta today. Put your own favorite ingredients on it! Be inventive! And
invite some friends over!
