So green!

The fields.....






zucchine...










fava beans and bieda,















the view...








pasta with fava beans...

















the hose...








Deda mowing the lawn.

















The valley...

















clovers....








my new born clovers!!!!








I think I begin to understand why I like this color so much!!!

Nature makes the best wallpapers!

The spring.

I stole a little orange....








make that two!!!! O_O

April 25th (like 4th of july)

We had fettuccine with mushrooms in pink sauce.







Mushrooms (the steaks of the fields)

vegetarian burgers...






Roaste artichokes... (in the coal)








Sausages.








Pork and pancetta.









No yolk in the small eggs.... but still....








We made asparagus frittata.








Torrone flavored cake.

vittoria!
Oggi ho debellato le lumache!!!
ho dovuto interrompere il circolo del dolore... perché sennò il dolore lo provavano le mie piantine... poi dico, le selezioni le può fare madre natura... le farà anche zia deda...

io le avevo rimosse con le buone.... sono tornate...
ora non bastano le chiocciole e gli acari? pure le lumache?

guarda le chiocciole sono pure carine... quelle col guscio che tutti chiamano lumache sono chiocciole...
ma le lumache!!! Sfido chiunque a tenere in mano una lumaca vera... cioè the SLUG....
http://www.provincia.torino.it/territorio/imcom/aree_prot_gev/lumaca_rossa_p.jpg]
EEEEW!

Io non ho nulla di male contro le lumache... c'è tantissimo tarassaco attorno al mio orto... ho borragine a non finire che io non posso decisamente mangiare tutto e su un 1km quadro di campi di fiori... che ho attorno casa.... non se la prendano a male... ma non si possono davvero azziccare alle mie 12 piantine di zucchina.

come le formiche... io dico... Diosanto.. avete un chilometro quadrato di terreno... siete dovute venire a fare il formicaio nel'aiuola.. dopo che ho messo la calce torno torno per non fartici venire... e te ci passi da sotto... e cosa mi fai? mi prendi i semini di trifoglio e te li porti sottoterra?
aaaah il prato con la calvizieeeee!
Ora abbiate pazienza siete venti miliardi, vi butto la calce sul buco, o andate altrove con le buone o vi sfratto con le cattive....
poi dico è un trasloco momentaneo... lo vedi che ho vangato e messo sotto il terreno? Vai altrove!!! zona terremotosaaa no?
quando è cresciuto il prato a me non mi frega niente che vieni a rifarti il formicaio nell'aiula, anzi ti ci sciorino la tovaglia del pranzo toh!
ma non puoi fregarti il seme del trifoglio che io ho appena seminato... allora lo fai apposta... allora vuoi la lite... te la sei cercata!

l'agricoltura è guerra.
E maggio inzierà quella per il possesso delle ciliegie... ho l'albero pieno pieno... e sulla quercia di fronte ha già nidificato la gazza... che l'anno scorso non me ne ha fatta mangiare mezza...
quest'anno le faccio le poste... 3 giorni di spaventapasseri, tre giorni di uccellaccio finto... ed è bene che bastino perché mio cugino è campagnolo vero e non conosce mezze misure... è capasce di ucciderne una e appenderne il corpo all'albero per spaventare le altre...
dice lui "a prescindere... ecco che vi succede se vi avvicinate"...
si ma con la gazza morta non mi ci avvicino manco io all'albero...

e giugno? inizia la lotta con i calabroni per l'uva...
oggi due bombi neri hanno già deciso che si devono sposare e fare casa nei tubi del pergolato... li ho guardati e ho detto "vi avverto, quest'anno ho la pompa e non mi faccio scrupoli, vi sparo a getto! Fate casa altrove!"

è guerra è guerra!!! Io non le ammazzo le bestie... ma le spavento di brutto... o le capiscono con le buone o con le cattive...

le lumachine le avevo rimosse e son tornate... ti becchi il sale... ci ritorni? ti becchi la birra!! E lì so cavoli amari!

I made asparagus risotto with the asparagus my dad picked the other day.

wash the rice, put it in a pot with olive oil and on the side make a broth with the foot of the asparagus you are not going to eat, onion, carrot and celery.
always stirring the rise, add the broth little by little, letting the rice absorb it.
After twenty minutes of this process you'll have the risotto almost done... all you have to do is... when you taste it and feel it's 5 minutes away from being cooked, you toss in the asparagus you previously chopped.... keep stirring.
When it's done add some cream and grated cheese...
the dish is ready.

How to plant zucchini and cucumbers

Deda will show you.
First you buy baby plants...








(Onions, basil, zucchini, cucumbers, eggplant all lined up in the picture)

Then have Mario do the digging.







Once the heavy stuff is done... pretty Deda does the pretty stuff.
1) Make a hole with the pizzuco (in my dad's dialect it's that sharp wooden tool you see there, no idea what's it called in Italian... my later grandpa carved that one, we still use it).








2) Take the baby plant from the container and place it in the hole you made... still holding it.







3) Holidng the plant with one hand, you take the pizzuco with the other hand and push the dirty toward the plant pressing it... with the tip torward the plant you push the dirt up close to the plant.






4) Once you are done, press the dirt close to the plant with you hands and press it nicely.

Plant each baby plant 10 cm away from each other in little holes. Remember to water them, keep snails and worms away. Watch out for moles and mice... and maybe you'll have zucchini.

Shhhhhh....





we are hunting wabbits!




Actually I think it was a mouse.



They never got him! LOL

what happened next

remember the little trees I planted not to long ago?
Did they survive? are they doing fine? It's spring here,
we are in the range of 23 degree celsius and the whole
countryside is blooming. Last week it was the cherries, the week before
that was pear trees and some types of plums...
this week is apple, oranges and susine plum.

My babies are doing their part too and they became quite beautiful.
Everybody said my Chestnut would not survive but I think, so far,
he's doing a heck of a job.
what do you think?












he stretched his little green leaves to the sun and seems to be
very happy.
On the other hand my little Shiro plum is not second best. He seems to
be enjoying the nice weather very much. I doubt I'll eat any shiro plum this year
he is still too young... nevertheless he bloomed.












Because they are doing so fine (and the olives too, btw) I decided to buy them some friends
so now I have trees surrounding all the edges of the Orto (vegetable garden).
We planted two almod trees and one Kashi pear tree.

I say we but I should say... they did... for I only carry the wheelbarrow around with the shovels and the trees on, then mariotto does the job and I just help him cover up the holes.
Not that I couldn't dig... but he thinks I cannot and my motto is: do as little as you can and that little bit let others do it for you! LOL





So there he goes digging.











He brought a "not so little helper" who dag a pretty deep hole.
Not round enough but, hey, the guy is visually impaired and actually came with us to "see" the countryside.
Actually when he touched the walnut flowers he didn't want to leave the tree anymore.
have you ever seen a walnut flower? It looks like a caterpillar.



So now that trees are surrounding the orchard and the mole is gone I am growing fava beans.
they are still a little small... but in a couple of weeks they'll be ready.








I tried some of them... they are tiny but sweeeet! XDDD







We are currently enjoying a lot of wild asparaguses.
(is there a plural for asparagus or did I just make it up?LOL)
My dad seems pretty happy about it.
Actually I am the happiest... becase they make awesome frittata.
See how thing they are? Oh, Oliver it's asparagus season and I won't get to make Asparagus creme for you, so sad... these are not good for cream though, they are too tasty so their death is definitely an egg and a hint of truffle.

And for those who are wondering which one is the most beautiful flower in the world...
I am sorry to disagree with Japan, for sure cherry blossoms are pretty and they show off a lot...
But there is nothing as elegant, as beautiful and refined (because there's so little fo them and they stand out immensely amongst the dark green leaves) of a cotogno apple flower.


See for yourselves.

Dont' they look like water lilies on branch?
See the beautiful pink nuances on the bright white..







Sure they don't stand out as a fully bloomed cherry tree.
But isn't the size and sparseness creating a superbe pattern of white, green and pink?

So elegant! I love it!