Last September, a few weeks after we moved to Lucca, Laura and Dennis were our first guests for dinner in the new place. Last Sunday the situation repeated itself. The garden table and chairs and ombrellone have all been delivered, 98% of stuff is unpacked and finished, it was time to have lunch, or pranzo, as they say here. Italian summer is in full swing, it is bloomin’ hot, the patio resembles a frying pan, if one makes a mistake of walking out barefoot.

I couldn’t decide what to make for lunch; it’s baking hot, so we wouldn’t want anything heavy, but L&D are fellow foodies, so it had to be good. With Florek’s generous financial support I decided on Thai beef salad, but Italian version, without beansprouts ( not seen them anywhere yet!), for mains some grilled chicken of Donal Skehan’s recipe. Beef salad was a winner, the steak we bought in Esselunga was all but cheap and we could taste the quality, it was well rested and delicious, plus Dennis saved the day and brought 2 packs of fresh coriander I could not find on the day. Even Izzie had some and finished it!

Chicken thighs and some breasts, for those who don’t like meat on the bone( one such individual among us!) were marinating for 24 hours prior to cooking. Everyone liked it and it was enjoyed, I would’ve liked more heat, more chili next time. I used some grated fresh ginger, 4 grated garlic cloves, zest of 2 limes, 2 fresh chilis( but it’s always a lottery, these were not very hot), some fresh thyme, coriander, dried oregano, 3 tsps of all spice, some cinnamon, some nutmeg, 6 tbsps of ketchup, salt, pepper and oilve oil to bring it all together.

Chicken was grilled, served with fresh coriander and lime wedges. The only side was a nice, fresh salsa-mango, spring onions, cucumber without seeds, fresh chili, lime, coriander again, olive oil, s&p. Very nice indeed.

Before it was time for desserts, we hopped in the pool for a quick swim and a g&t.

A tasty, great day in an excellent company. Next time Dennis is going to teach me how to cook octopus.

11 months after we have left Winchcombe to embark on our new life in bella Italia, here I am, by the same table, but this table now stands in a house we have bought, after months of waiting, dealing with stuff, another round of packing boxes, then another one of unpacking them. We’ve here. Siamo arrivati. 🙂

There is a Tuscan kitchen, smaller than the one in Winchcombe, but the door the patio opens lots of new possibilities! There is a driveway, on which grows the most frangrant and wonderful thyme, lots and lots of mint on the sides. There are olive trees all around. There are neighbours who grow their own lemons and lots of wonderful looking veggies and also other neighbours above us, who make their own wine. Speaking of wine I must mention yesterday’s visit to a vineria Enrico and Molly recommended to us. Back in the UK the idea of buying and drinking wine from the tap at 2 euro per litre would have amused me, but I quickly changed my mind here. Enrico brought over some locally grown vermentino a few months back, then Molly gave me a bottle with a local sangiovese blend. We drove to Lammari yesterday with a box full empty bottles and filled them all up for less than 29 euro.

And because the wine is great and the service from Igor, the owner, just as good, we will go back when we run out of wine.

One of the nicest things made so far in the new kitchen was tomato sauce made with fresh tomatoes, but spiked with fresh, chopped mint, as there is so much of it around. It was enjoyed with simple pasta for lunch, but also on a pizza.

And then, a few days ago I decided to have a go at making sourdough bread. Florek, true to his word, has treated me to a lovely, brand new oven, first one ever that I didn’t have to scrub before I put food in it.

I’m using Paul Hollywood’s “How to bake book”, which has an entire chapter on sourdough.

Right now my starter is comfortably bubbling away in the bowl, until tomorrow, when I will proceed to stage 2. By the end of the week we should be tasting some Torcigliano sourdough.

To be continued! 🙂