Door To Door In Tuscany

It is no secret that the world economy is in a rather bad shape. Every day brings new headlines of companies or countries in deep financial trouble and talks of the time frame needed to recover are enough to concern the most optimistic amongst us. In such a depressing environment you have the choice to either wait for the storm to pass or to try and take your fate into your own hands. The second option is exactly what some young Italian citizens have elected to do.

Take the agricultural sector in Tuscany as an example. Not easy to make a living out of tending your own fields nowadays but it does offer a number of opportunities asking to be explored. If you are prepared to work hard and to be inventive it could very well pay off in the end. This reasoning has now started an interesting trend: If the customers do not or cannot come to you then go to the customers. Packing their vans to the hilt with top quality goods, these visionary men and women travel the Tuscan roads up and down the picturesque hills, bringing their products to their expanding clientele. Who do they visit? Mostly families too busy to complement their weekly shopping with fresh produce in between or inhabitants of remote villages, many of them older and without the necessary car that would take them to the nearest town. The majority of village shops have disappeared over the years, enabling this new breed of entrepreneurs to find their niche in the market.

Another idea is to bring a specific product to an area where it would not be easy to find it. Fish is the perfect illustration of that concept. If you live by the sea you will of course be spoiled for choice in the form of local fishermen or fish markets. But when you have made your home inland the sight of a refrigerated truck pulling up on the main square on market days will be very welcome.

Nicely ripe, sun-kissed fruit and extra fresh vegetables that have just been pulled out of the soil are also proving a hit. One entrepreneur selling baskets of home grown produce saw his customer base triple simply through word of mouth. Regional specialties are popular too: olive oil, sausages, pasta, biscuits or jams, to name but a few.

These initiatives have turned struggling and often unemployed women and men into business people. They may not have come up with anything new; they have however re-invented themselves, finding pleasure and enthusiasm in their working days again.

Article Source: Articlesbase/Business/Entrepreneurship 
Author: K J S

A Trip to Italy with Jamie

Article first published as A Trip To Italy With Jamie on Technorati.

 

Is it still necessary to present Jamie Oliver? The talented chef, who started his career at Neal’s Yard and The River Café before setting up on his own, has become a star. Restaurants, TV shows, a foundation, campaigns to promote healthy eating, kitchen accessories and food range, the list is endless. Of course, there are the cookbooks. Almost twenty of them.

One of my favourites is “Jamie’s Italy”. It starts with the book cover. Jamie may be English, but it looks like his heart belongs to Italy. The chef is obviously very relaxed, sitting outside on a red stool against a wall whose paint has seen better days, his foot propped up against an old Fiat Cinquecento. He is eating spaghetti coated in a tomato sauce, and the expression on his face says it all. It gives you the urge to open the book and start cooking straight away.

To gather the recipes, Jamie embarked on a tour of the country in a VW bus with a kitchen built in a trailer, allowing him to easily cook wherever he stopped. Tuscany, the Marches, Sicily, etc, Jamie clearly had a genuine and deep connection to the people he met during his peregrinations, as the photos attest. A lot of smiles and hand gestures going on, and touching moments such as Jamie observing an old man repairing his fishnet, pouring a glass of wine for a shepherd or making pasta with four generations of women. When I browse through this publication and take the time to look at the pictures, it makes me want to visit the night markets of Palermo to taste these chickpea fritters or to enter a pasta competition in Le Marche!

The book delivers more than 120 of classic and new recipes, classified under:
Antipasti (Starters)
Street Food and Pizze
First Dishes (featuring soups, pasta and risotto)
Salads
Second Dishes (featuring fish and meat)
Side Dishes
Desserts

“Jamie’s Italy” focuses on authentic, mouthwatering food, best eaten with family and friends. Italians “Mamas” revealed their pasta making secrets to Jamie and owners of “agroturismo” inns welcomed him into their way of life. The warmth of the exchanges Jamie had with locals also transpires in the writing and the way the recipes are introduced. Yes, this love of food and sharing makes its way into your home too. I have yet to try all the recipes, but the ones my family and I already prepared received high praise, from us as well as from our guests. Needless to say, only empty plates and dishes were returned to the kitchen.

Barbecue Italian Style

Article first published as Barbecue Italian Style on Technorati.

At first, we were a bit cautious: Would this gorgeous, spring weather last, or was it just a couple of nice, sunny days before falling back into winter mode? By now, we are no longer hesitant and are enjoying the bright and pleasant days. And what comes with the warm season? Barbecue time, of course!

In Italy, visitors are usually surprised by the vast range of recipes for open air grilling, and during the summer, a lot of restaurants will have this type of cooking on their menu too. Meat of course plays a big part, and it could not be easier and quicker, as pieces of beef, pork or poultry will as a rule not be marinated. Sea salt and black pepper, a small amount of pure olive oil, perhaps a quick rub with a garlic clove or a sprig of rosemary, and they are ready to be thrown onto the open fire.

Sausages are also very popular. They often contain only pork, although sometimes beef will be added. Hot and milder versions are available, depending on the chosen seasoning: Chilli flakes, fennel seeds, salt, black pepper, garlic, red wine vinegar, sugar, onions, parsley, anise seeds or paprika, the number of varieties on offer is seemingly endless! And as Italian sausages are most of the times raw, the barbecue method is a good way of ensuring that they will be cooked through.

Freshly caught fish is another beloved choice, and as a lot of Italian regions have a seacoast, there is no risk of a supply shortage. The secret of fish grilling is quite simple: It must be as fresh as possible, the grill very hot and you must constantly keep an eye on it while it is cooking. A whole fish is a better option than fish filets as it is easier to keep in one piece, and the use of a fish griller is a good idea.

Grilled vegetables as starters (antipasti) or side dishes (contorni) are also a must. Aubergines, zucchini, peppers in all colours, onions, mushrooms and artichoke hearts are a good selection. Once ready they make a colourful display on a big plate and only a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper and a garnish of basil leaves or bits of oregano are required before the dish makes its way to the table.

Slices of fresh ciabatta are a simple but tasty addition. They can also be dipped into a high quality olive oil, sometimes with a little bit of salt and pepper added. This type of bread can also be used to make bruschetta, which will be topped with a mixture chopped fresh tomatoes, basil and garlic. Grilled focaccia, a flat, round bread, is delicious too.

Now all that is needed is for this fantastic weather to last!