The Art Of Beeing...: 2010

Donna, the manager, at The Village Grocer proudly holds a bottle of Toscano "liquid gold". In celebration of our trip to Tuscany in June, we were excited to host an in-store extra virgin olive oil tasting on Friday, September 10 and Saturday, September 11th. Evan has always sold olive oil from Tuscany as well as many others from Italy and other countries. However, we wanted to share our love of Tuscan olive oil by sampling 3 Artisan Olive Oils. Tuscans considered their olive oil to be the best. Each olive tree produces only 1 litre of oil compared to 10-20 litres from trees in the south. Along with the olive oil, we sampled tapenade and Balsamic vinegar. It was a wonderful opportunity to expose one's palate to the flavours of Italy.

We sampled 3 Extra virgin olive oils from 3 different growers. Il Genio is from the rolling hills of Montalbano, the birthplace of Leonardo de Vinci. Its well balanced flavour is ideal for dressing salads, vegetables and anything else that you would like to drizzle on to "add a touch of genius to your dishes".

Although these two bottles of Extra Virgin Olive Oil are from 2 different growers, they both have the LAUDEMIO designation which attest to their superior quality. One is produced by Frescobaldi and the other by Castello Sonnino, just on the outskirts of Montespertoli. Both these oils have a robust, peppery flavour which gives them a bite! This quality is prized by the Italians who favour foods like arugula, dandelion greens and kale compared to our North American palate that tends towards the bland. Great to drizzle on anything to give it a kick of flavour.

We had toured Castello Sonnino on a trip several years ago to Tuscany. We tasted their wines and their "liquid gold" and brought back home bottles of each. We are thrilled that Evan is carrying the olive oil from the castle at The Village Grocer.

Treat your palate to Taggiasche olives. A taste of Italy in a jar.

The Queen of Olives: "Bella Di Cerignola"!

Olive Oil Cake! We first tasted this delicious cake at our Tuscan Bees Abroad Reunion in August hosted by Linda and Terry Chambers in celebration of our trip together in June. Over 40 people gathered in the Chamber's beautiful home and back garden to dine on a delectable Italian inspired menu. As one of our desserts, Sara Marsala, one of our Queen Bees who joined us on the trip, baked us an Olive Oil Cake. Extra-virgin olive oil replaces the butter in a traditional cake batter. So healthy yet so tasty! Thank you Sara for sharing your recipe with us so we all can enjoy this extraordinary cake.

The Recipe:

Olive Oil Cake

2 oranges

2 1/3 cups sugar

2 1/2 cups of flour, plus more for dusting pan

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 eggs

6 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup of fresh orange juice

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

sea salt, for garnish, optional

Method:
1. Trim about 1/2" from the tops and bottoms of oranges; quarter oranges lengthwise. Bring 6 cups water to a boil in a 4 qt. saucepan; add oranges.

Bring water back to a boil; drain. Repeat boiling process twic more with fresh water. Put oranges, 1 cup sugar, and 4 cups water into a 4 qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring often, until sugar dissolves and orange rind can be easily pierced with a fork, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

2. Heat oven to 350F. Grease a 10" round cake pan with butter and dust with flour. Line pan bottom with parchment paper cut to fit. Set pan aside. Whisk together flour, baking powder and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside. Remove orange quarters from syrup, remove and discard any seeds, and put oranges into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse the oranges to form a chunky puree, 10-12 pulses. Add remaining sugar, reserved flour mixture, vanilla, and eggs and process until blended. Add olive oil.

Process until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.* Bake until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, approximately40-45 minutes.

3. In a small bowl, whisk orange juice and confectioners' sugar to make a thin glaze. Remove cake from pan and transfer to a cake stand or plate Brush orange glaze over top and side of cake. Let cool completely.

Optional: Garnish with confectioners' sugar and/or salt.

*We baked our cake in a bundt pan in the shape of a sunflower!

The greeting committee at the Hotel Il Piccolo Castello excitedly awaiting their Queen and King Bees' arrival. We started to plan this tour over 2 years ago and finally our dream to take people on a memorable adventure was about to begin. There is a saying that a birth certificate shows that you were born, a death certificate shows that you have died and pictures show that you have lived. We are delighted to share some highlights of our trip. It definitely proved to be a trip of a lifetime!

They're here!

Welcome drinks by the pool. Let the party begin.....

Welcome dinner. Italy was soon to be known by us as EATaly!

A toast to celebrate La Dolce Vita--the Italian way of Beeing: good food, good wine, good friends

Our first breakfast in Tuscany! The adventure is about to begin.....

Arrival at the front gates of the medieval town of San Gimignano. It is known as the City of Beautiful Towers which date back to the 13th century. Within its walls, only 14 of the original 76 still stand.

View from the Torre Grossa, the tallest remaining tower. A climb to the top gives a spectacular panoramic view of the countryside.

Lunch at the lovely Villa San Paolo on the outskirts of San Gimignano. We enjoyed a delicious meal as we soaked up the beauty of the Italian landscape. What a great way to experience our first afternoon in Tuscany.

Back to our hotel after our first day in Tuscany.

Every Monday morning vendors arrive in vans which open up like small store fronts and sell everything from food, clothing and housewares. They move from town to town during different days of the week. Everything is packed up and gone by 12Noon.These market caravans cater to the locals not the tourist trade and are fun to stroll as there are treasures to be discovered.

There were so many bargains. We shopped.

We shopped.

and we shopped!

The Monday market is set up in a park at the end of town looking out over the beautiful countryside. It seemed that a favourite past-time of the Tuscan man was to sit with his friends while his wife shopped. Not a bad way to spend a morning.

You shop til you dropped.

Time for a little refreshment at the Bar Centrale in the centre of town.

On the bus again enroute to our next adventure!

Climbing up to the gates of Castello Montegufoni.

Spectacular vista from the castle's terrace

We dined like royalty on a five course lunch.

After lunch, we were allowed to explore the grande rooms of the castle.

We were made to feel right at home!

Our afternoon at the castle was like stepping back into time. We were enchanted!

Today, we discovered the back roads of Chianti with Silvio. Born and raised in Tuscany, he is a world renowned travel guide conducting tours that go beyond the typical tourist sights providing us with a real taste of the true Tuscany.

Carlo welcomes us to Villa Il Fontino. He specializes in the production of premium organic extra virgin olive oil. He grows over 2,000 olive trees and his farm has its own olive oil mill which guarantes the freshness and superior quality of oil as the olives can be crushed immediately after picking.

Tuscan olive oil is highly prized as the trees are smaller in this part of Italy and only produce 1 litre of oil per tree. We now appreciate why the Roman called it "liquid gold".

Olive groves always border vineyards. The two staples of Italian life always grow side by side, eternal friends.

Our palates were treated to the supreme taste of Carlo's organic lemon infused extra virgin olive oil which he drizzled over streamed cauliflower and carrots. The flavour rocked our socks and we all bought litres to enjoy back home.

Next stop was the little village of Sant'Appiano (pop. 35 people) which is the site of 4 mysterious pagan columns at the entrance of a 1,000 year old Christian church. Hospitality abounded that day as the town welcomed us "all tavolo" to enjoy an Italian Feast in the cloiser of the medieval church.

Our meal was lovingly prepared by three woman of the town, Lucia, her mother, Giovanna and a friend. Classic Tuscan fare made of simple, fresh ingredients and so delicious!

As we dined, we were serenaded by an Italian tenor accompanied by a classical guitarist.
Life doesn't get any better than this! A moment in time to be savoured forever.