Monthly Archives: February 2015

How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways…

Don’t give up on romance even if it’s the last minute. Here is an idea that is easy and costs almost nothing — yet it’s sure to touch the heart of the person you love.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning inspired this idea through the poem she wrote during her courtship with her husband, Robert Browning. They exchanged almost 575 letters between them during that time. Though she was English, Elizabeth moved to Italy immediately following her wedding and spent the remaining days of her life in Italy. Elizabeth loved her husband so much that she married him despite the protestations of her family. She gave up her home and her relationship with the rest of her family to be with the person she loved.

The full text of her poem is below:

How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43)

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 1806 – 1861

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Here is the project:

Find some sticky notes (I chose three shades of pink.) and write the reasons you love your someone on the pages. Place the pages on a mirror or a door in the shape of a heart where your special person is sure to see them.

Write the first lines of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s famous poem on the mirror with some chalk paint, or use your word processing program to make a sign to go above the heart.

I chose liquid chalk, as you can see.

This is a sample of how you could make a sign to go above the heart. You could also just use the first lines.

You can see my finished product. It was fairly quick, very inexpensive, and I’m sure my husband will appreciate the fact that I made something instead of buying a card. I don’t know about you, but I rarely find a card that says what I want it to say.

Below are some of the reasons that I love my husband. You are welcome to borrow any of these lines, but I’m sure you’ll be able to personalize this idea with some of your own sentiments.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…

I love you for taking out the garbage.

I love the way you sing in the shower.

I love you for being a good father.

I love you for being my best friend.

I love you for being faithful to your family.

I love you for helping in the kitchen.

I love you for taking the dog out every night.

I love you for always putting gas in the car.

I love you for working, even when you don’t feel like it.

I love you for taking me out to dinner so I can have a night off.

I love you for encouraging me to try something new.

I love you for thanking me when I make your lunch.

I love you for getting me groceries on short notice so I can finish a recipe.

I love you for making me popcorn.

I love you for inviting me to lunch.

I love you for being kind to my parents.

I love you for lending me your hankie when I cry.

I love you for driving when the weather is bad.

I love you for driving our daughter to her tests and taking a day off to do it.

I love you for going shopping with me even when you don’t like shopping.

I love you for going to church with our family.

I love you for your faith in Christ.

I love you for letting us travel.

I love you for learning how to ski just so you could ski with me.

I love you for giving me your umbrella when it rains.

I love you for always saying “goodbye” and “I love you” before you leave for work.

I love you for being a good son and calling to check on your parents on a regular basis.

I love you for always thinking I’m beautiful, even when I don’t feel like it.

I love you for telling me I look nice when I get dressed up.

I love you for always remembering my birthday.

I love you for getting excited when your team wins.

I love you for being willing to play board games with us.

I love you for your sense of humor.

I love you for loving me just the way I am.

Happy Valentine’s Day to All!

Lemonlicious Raspberry Muffins

Since Valentine’s Day falls on Saturday this year, why not make the someone or “someones” you love a special breakfast featuring these Lemonlicious Raspberry Muffins? Lemons abound in Italy during this season, so I decided to forgo the traditional chocolate recipes and opt for a recipe with sunny lemons and some red raspberries for appropriate color. I think you’ll find the flavors of lemon and raspberry pair quite well in these muffins and make a great complement to a nice cup of tea. They are wonderfully tart, and the lemon brightens the flavor of the raspberries. Those who don’t like things overly sweet will love this recipe!

It’s as easy as this:

Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).

In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt).

In a separate bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until it is nice and fluffy. Add the egg and the zest of one lemon. (I prefer the natural flavor of zest to extract.)

You will find the texture to be a bit curdled-looking.

Measure out a cup and a half of fresh or frozen raspberries. Put them in a bag with about a tablespoon or two of flour. Close the top and shake them around a bit. This process will keep the color from bleeding too much into the batter. Set the raspberries aside or put the bag in the freezer until you are ready to use them.

Make a well in the dry ingredients. In the center, pour in the milk and the mixture of butter, sugar, egg, and zest. Stir a bit with a spoon or spatula, but DO NOT COMPLETELY COMBINE, or it will be to hard to stir in the raspberries. Fold in the raspberries and complete the mixing process, being sure not to overmix.

Divide the dough into well-prepared muffin tins using a cookie or ice cream scoop. I used a non-stick spray that has flour in it and is made specifically for baking. Preparing the pan well is important because the topping can otherwise make these muffins difficult to remove from the pan.

Prepare the topping: Place the sugar, colored sugar (if using), and butter in a bowl. Use a pastry blender or fork to combine. (You can also do this with a food processor, but I did it by hand because it’s a small amount.)

Use a spoon to sprinkle the topping over the dough in the muffin tins.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs.

Allow to cool in the muffin tins for 5 minutes. Remove the muffins from the tin and place on a cooling rack — or you can put them on a plate for serving. They are best warm but can also be eaten at room temperature if you choose to prepare them ahead of time.

Lemonlicious Raspberry Muffins

Servings: Yields 18 muffins
Time: 15 minutes plus 20-25 minutes to bake
Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients:

2 1/3 cups flour (11.5 oz. )
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tsp. baking powder
1/3 cup sugar (2.25 oz.)
1/4 cup (2 oz.) softened butter
1 egg
zest of lemon (1-2 teaspoons)
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries (not in sugar syrup)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).

Place flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and stir with a whisk. In separate bowl, cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and lemon zest (mixture may look a little lumpy or curdled).

Make a well in the dry ingredients. Pour the sugar mixture and milk into the center. Using a spoon or spatula, begin to gently stir together. Before completely mixed, stir in the raspberries.* Be sure not to overmix.

Topping:

1/3 c. flour (1.5 oz.)
1/2 c. sugar (3.5 oz.) or (1/3 cup sugar plus 3 T. coarse red decorator sugar)
1/4 c. (2 oz.) softened butter

Use a pastry blender or fork to blend together the above ingredients. The mixture should be slightly coarse. (This step can also be done in a food processor by pulsing the ingredients.) Set aside.

Use a cookie or ice cream scoop to place the dough into 18 well-greased muffin cups. (I use the special baking spray with flour for easiest release.) Spoon some topping over each muffin.

Bake in a 375°F (190°C) oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Remove the pans from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Move the muffins from the tin to a rack or directly to a plate for serving.

*Before mixing into the other ingredients, put raspberries in a bowl or bag with one to two tablespoons of flour. Toss to coat. (This will keep the berries from turning the batter completely pink.) If you are using frozen berries, you can put the flour-coated berries back in the freezer for a little while until you are ready to mix them into the batter.

If you happen to have any left over, you can put them in the freezer to use for another breakfast or for a treat with coffee or tea.

Montefalco, Balcony Over Umbria

Those who know me, know I love to sing the praises of Umbria, Italy. As a region, it offers breathtaking landscapes of snow-capped mountains, green valleys, clear blue lakes, the tallest man-made waterfall in Europe (built by the Romans), religious and artistic treasures, as well as some of the best food in Italy (think chocolate, sausages, and black truffles). Best of all, Umbria is still slightly off the tourist radar. The region borders the ever-popular Tuscany and can easily be reached within a few hours from either Rome or Florence, but relatively few venture to its lovely towns, with the possible exceptions of Assisi and Perugia. Though I could devote an entire article to Umbria — and probably eventually will — one village in Umbria beckons me back over and over with its charm, glorious food, and spectacular views: Montefalco.

Montefalco perches atop a mountain overlooking much of Umbria. In fact, residents refer to it as “the balcony over Umbria.” The scarcity of large tourist hotels keeps the pace of life slow enough to experience la dolce vita away from the crowds while still allowing easy access to all the major points of interest in the area. Those who have the pleasure of an overnight visit awake only to the sound of church bells and birds, yet the view from this crow’s nest reveals Assisi (home of St. Francis), Foligno, Spello, and Spoleto, sitting picturesquely in the distance. All of these towns as well as Bevagna, Trevi, and the pottery town of Deruta can all be reached within 30 to 40 minutes, but in the evening, one can return to the tranquility of this mountaintop retreat to shop for linens or to taste the wide variety of local products on display in many of the local shops.

Wine connoisseurs may recognize the name Montefalco as a key growing and production area for wine. Vintners in the hills of Monefalco grow the once scarce sagrantino grapes, a variety that yields a wine bursting with tannins and the flavors of red fruits and spices. This grape comprises one hundred percent of the wine Sagrantino di Montefalco. It must be aged at least 29 months (12 of which are in wooden barrels) — quite a bit longer than many reds. Montefalco Rosso, my particular favorite, is another local wine which is less expensive and usually combines sagrantino grapes with other varietals, mainly sangiovese and merlot.

Sagrantino wines tend to be a bit robust which makes them complement the local cuisine of Umbria very well from Chianina beef to portobello mushrooms and black truffles. Sagrantino Passito is also produced in the hills of Montefalco and is a dessert wine similar to ice wine, but with a process more conducive to the climate of Italy. My family witnessed the complex undertaking of making this wine during our visit. They harvest the grapes and then put them on racks to partially dry to allow the sugar content to rise. Before they become too dry to release their sweet nectar, they are made into this wonderfully full-bodied dessert wine. This is not to be missed if you get the opportunity to try a glass for or with dessert. In fact, if you really like wine from Montefalco, you may indeed have to visit, because very little of the wine ever makes it out of Italy. With under 30 producers in the area, Montefalco wines are mostly consumed in the region. Surprisingly, I even find it difficult to find my favorite labels of Montefalco wines in Rome, and I came up comepletely empty after a hunt for Montefalco Rosso under any label during a recent trip to the U.S.

Though a visit to Montefalco would be enjoyable almost anytime of the year, late October to November is a particularly wonderful time to explore the area. It is the time of la raccolta (harvest) for olives and grapes. In fact, Montefalco is a destination point on the Strada d’Olio (olive road) of Umbria. Many of the frantoi (olive presses) are open just during this season for those interested in seeing the process of how olives are harvested and then pressed into oil. For those “in the know,” it is also an opportunity to buy some of the premium first press oil during a visit. If you don’t make it to a frantoio, don’t worry because you’ll find places to taste and purchase the new oil along the streets of town. Just be sure to ask if the oil is from this year’s pressing — especially if the date is not indicated on the label.

Since I am admittedly a “foodie,” I can hardly think of a better place in Umbria to stop for a lunch or dinner. I have eaten at three restaurants in Montefalco, and each of them served a slightly different type of fare, but all were particularly memorable. Enoteca L’Alchimista is considered by many of the locals to be the top pick in town. It has a fairly casual atmosphere and serves food which highlights local ingredients and Montefalco wines. You’ll find mushrooms and truffles in season as well as beautiful cured meats and homemade pastas. If you are not sure what wine to order, ask the wait staff to suggest a wine which will pair well with your meal. For meat lovers, I suggest Ristorante Coccorone. As a primi, you can share a plate of tasty pasta bathed in a sauce of sagrantino wine, but save room for the secondi. Their specialty is large cuts of local Chianina beef prepared to order and served with great fanfare. Once you order, they roll the beef out on a scale so you can see how much it weighs. For a meal here, you might want to take a friend because the smallest cuts are about 800 to 1000 grams (a little less than 2 lbs.), and they are essentially meant to be divided among 2-3 people. Lastly, I recommend Locanda del Teatro. In good weather, they serve meals on a terrace overlooking the Appenine Mountains in the distance and the valley below. They offer many seasonal items which arrive artfully presented. On weekends, dinner reservations are a must at the best restaurants in town, so plan ahead.

Special of the Day at Locanda del Teatro

Though most would not consider Montefalco a shopper’s paradise, several shops deserve attention. Montefalco is the home of Tessitura Pardi, a high-end linen maker started by three brothers in 1949. You will find more than one outlet for their beautiful wares along the cobbled streets of town. Also look for shops selling sausages from nearby Norcia, wine shops selling Montefalco’s sublime offerings to Baccus and a store selling the beauty products of Oro di Spello (Gold of Spello), a company based just few miles away. Whatever you do, just be sure to take in some of the grand views once you reach the edge of town.

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Useful websites for planning your trip:

http://www.montefalcodoc.it/

http://www.stradadelsagrantino.it

http://www.stradaoliodopumbria.it/en/

http://frantoiaperti.net/it/oil-mills/?lang=en

http://www.enologicamontefalco.it/ (site for the yearly wine and food festival)

http://montefalcoapartments.com/