October Blues.. and reds and yellows

Here are a few pics I took today - it is a rainy, gray day but marvellous atmosphere here in Tuscany... we are travelling Italy for one year, volunteering in farms in different regions through the WWOOF Organization. Here in Val di Chio we are doing the olive harvest - till end of November, then moving to Sicily. The autumn is giving us so much free fantastic food, figs everywhere, walnuts, apples, almonds, mushrooms.



These are the gorgeous Rani (Female Labrador), Shiva (Male German Shepherd, Sokki(Young mixed breed of the 2) and Kolleken (young female Ladrador), staying at Querceto di sotto, the farm we are house/dog-sitting for until tomorrow - we are then starting the olive harvest. We have now spent 2 weeks with them and it has been the most pleasurable time ever. They are so curious, active, sweet, loving, protective. Each one of them has such a different personality and it is amazing to discover it little by litte and getting their confidence.



This is the view from our living room/office - we are nomads for a year, but we are still running Pure & Authentic Holiday Rentals ... so each farm we go to is also our office... We are really getting to the real essence of P&A with our own experience!
We look forward to sharing it with you!



These are the crab apples I collected on Saturday whilst making bonfires with olive tree pruning waste... I'm loving it!!!!

I also attach a link to the recipe for the cake I have just baked with the crab apples... which normally just feed the wild boar whose dwelling these woods are at night (you can use any apples but it is better if they are juicy - these crab apples were too dry actually) APPLE TART RECIPE

Recipe of the week: "Delicate Thistles"

Another gorgeous Autumn recipe to fill the house with homely smells!!

Serves:
4 people

Ingredients:

• 1000 grams of thistles
• 1 / 2 cup milk
• 1 / 2 cup cream
• plenty of grated cheese
• Butter
• salt

Preparation:

Peel the thistles, cut into pieces of about two inches and remove all the filaments.
Boil in salted water, simmer for about three quarters of an hour.
Drain well, arrange in a baking dish, spread the surface with butter flakes, pour in half a glass of milk and bake on low heat for half an hour.
Then add half a cup of cream and let it thicken in the oven for another ten minutes or so.
When ready, place the thistles on a serving dish, sprinkle with plenty of cheese and serve immediately.