August 6, 2019

The morning of Saturday, August third started early, …especially early for those of us who live around the piazza that, mere hours before, was vacated by the Friday-night-into-Saturday-morning karaoke/dance party.  Saturday is market day in the piazza and the vendors start setting up quite early.

Apparently, karaoke/dance party occurs every Friday.  I think this means there won’t be much sleep heading into Saturday mornings for the rest of this month!

Zia Fidalma and Zia Ida took a taxi from Benabbio to Bagni di Lucca and we met up at the market.  We stocked up on vegetables for the next few days’ worth of cooking: green beans, long beans, leeks, and tomatoes, among others.  After a stop a small grocery store/butcher for pork ribs and veal shanks and a few other items we stopped for coffee and chatted with one of Zia Fidalma’s nephews who had just come back from a fishing expedition that had started at 4 AM.  He must have gotten up just about the time I was falling asleep after the pulsating dance party.

After coffee we headed along the river walk to Conad (an Italian grocery chain) for more produce, cured meats, and general grocery items (including 18 liters of bottled water weighing 18 kilos or just under 40 pounds!).

We were passing the time until our lunch reservation sitting on a park bench when one of the staff from the local pharmacy walked by and reminded Zia Fidalma that there was a prescription waiting for her; one of the many charms of being in a small town.  After a quick stop at the very quaint pharmacy we were at Ristorante Circolo dei Forestieri, a wonderful restaurant in a refined space.  The rear terrace has a peaceful view of the River Lima which flows through the valley.

Zia Fidalma and I had a classic lunch of Tortelli al Ragu followed by Cotoletta alla Milanese and Finocchio Gratinato accompanied by wine and good bread.  Zia Ida passed on the Cotoletta and just had the Finocchio for her second course.  After some leisurely conversation (and a quick coffee) I went off to my apartment to pick up the items from the morning’s shopping, get the car, and head back to the restaurant to pick up Zia Fidalma and Zia Ida.

We dashed to the Conad which had held the groceries we bought there before lunch.  They kindly rebagged everything after we had left so they could put the perishable items in the cooler.  We then wound our way up the mountain to Benabbio.

I put a pot of broth on to be used for risotto the next day.  Since we had been out all day and had consumed a large lunch, we had a simple supper of fresh rustic whole grain bread, the most incredible mortadella, fragrant pecorino cheese from Garfagnana, and a salad (oh, and the odd piece of sformato di zucchini left over from the day before!).  The torta di frutta made what I believe will be its penultimate appearance.  I have, however, requested that we add it to the list of recipes for the coming weeks.

Zia Ida has taken charge of the list.  Despite efforts to be more prescriptive, the best the three of us can muster is to figure out at dinner what we are cooking the next day from the supplies at hand.  Truthfully, we start the conversation at lunch, make some initial decisions, then finalize the plan at dinner.  I’m all in favor of inviting friends and family for dinner because the more mouths to feed the more different dishes we can cook.

On Sunday, August 3rd, Zia Fidalma was in the garden by 6 AM planting cabbage and then doing prep work in the kitchen.  I got there a few minutes after 10 AM (not having gotten to sleep until after 3 AM when the last guests cleared out of the pizzeria/bar directly below my apartment).  Just as I walked in, she was cutting apart the spareribs that we had bought the previous day.  She arranged them in a baking dish with cut-up potatoes, halved garlic cloves and plenty of fresh rosemary and sage (good for upset stomachs, she says).  After being showered with salt and pepper and doused with a healthy amount of oil, the whole thing went into the oven at 11 AM.  It came out at 12:15, ready for a 12:30 lunch accompanied by boiled green beans served at room temperature dressed with large-ish chunks of chopped garlic and olive oil.  The garlic provided a really nice bite contrasting with the plush green beans.  Then came the fruit…and cheese…and coffee!

Zia Fidalma took a much-needed nap.  Zia Ida boned the chicken from the broth I had made the previous day to be turned into soup for the next day’s lunch with a bit of pasta and some of the broth.  We had decided that dinner would be Risotto ai Porri (risotto with leeks) that I would make and a salad of radicchio and tomatoes that Zia Ida would make.

Zia Fidalma was supposed to have the night off.  When I walked into the kitchen at 5 PM to start preparing the leeks, Zia Fidalma was sautéing thinly sliced turkey breast (fettine di tacchino) in butter to round out the meal!  The turkey was reheated at the last minute and deglazed with a bit of milk which was boiled away but added a hint of creaminess to what might otherwise have been dry turkey.

In a turn of events, Zia Fidalma took notes while I made the risotto!  We also had a bit of a contest about how much rice to cook.  Zia Fidalma pulled it out by the fistful.  When I weighted it it was exactly what I had planned to prepare!  That round was a draw.

Once again, sleep was elusive till well after 2 AM with several tables of revelers arrayed at outside tables at the pizzeria fronting on the piazza below me.

I got to Zia Fidalma’s just after 10 AM, having made a much-needed run to the Enoteca (wine shop) for some wine (Sagiovese from Tuscany, to be exact).

The cooking plans from the night before were already upended as a neighbor had delivered a pile of extraordinarily sweet plums (susine) that Zia Fidalma had already washed and pitted, ready to be turned into jam (Marmellata di Susine) once I got there.

A few minutes later, the phone rang, Zia Fidalma briefly disappeared and reappeared with a bagful of beautiful squash blossoms (Fiori di Zucca) from another neighbor.  These were battered and fried for lunch, along with the previously planned chicken soup.  Zia fried the small amount of leftover batter into blini-sized pancakes that appeared on the lunch table, making a great foil for mortadella!

Before lunch, however we made Peperonata (sautéed sweet peppers, onions and tomato) to be served the next day.  We also assembled a tray of Melanzane alla Parmigiana (Eggplant Parmesan).  Zia Fidalma floured the sliced and salted eggplant while I fried it.  It was layered with the Pomarola we had made two days earlier and Parmigiano.

At lunch, fortified with red Tuscan wine, we made the decision to go to the market in Fornoli (a nearby town) the following day rather than waiting till the day after for the second weekly market day in Bagni di Lucca.

When I had driven into Bagni di Lucca the previous night there were signs on the main street, around the park and in the piazza indicating that parking was not permitted from 7PM until Midnight on Tuesday, August 6th.  While sitting at Zia Fidalma’s late afternoon on the 5th, we were told the main street to Bagni di Lucca was blocked off for an event, though what it was was unknown.

We quickly made the decision that I should drive to the apartment and pick up what I needed to spend a night or two in Benabbio as it seemed that parking would be a challenge for two consecutive nights.  Zia Ida drove with me in case I needed to negotiate traffic instructions from the police.  Luckily, were were able to make it to my usual parking space near the park as the main street was blocked off just at my apartment.  There was a sound stage set up in the street immediately in front of my bedroom window.  The speakers were being tested.  Clearly this would have been another sleepless night.

After hastily packing a bag, we stopped in the bar to see if we could determine what was happening that night as well as the next night.  Monday night was to be the Signorina Toscana contest.  Tuesday, August 6th was Musica Ballo nella Piazza (Dance Music in the Piazza)…clearly another sleepless  night.

Safely back in Benabbio, with a bottle of bourbon in tow, and not having to brave “The Road” that night, I had a cocktail (well, two) and wine with dinner.

I slept for eleven hours and got up only because Zia Ida knocked on my door to tell me that we had no water and we were late in leaving for the market in Fornoli.

Another day’s adventure awaited.