Late Winter in Lucca

Hard rain outside my window kept me inside with a good book!

As February turns into March, winter is making a last stand here in Tuscany.   Some areas, especially up in the hills, have seen snow this week. 

Here in Lucca there has been no snow, just gray, cloudy skies and rain ranging from a drizzle to a hard downpour. The temperatures have been made even more chilly by the wind.  It is definitely still winter coat, hat, and scarf weather.  Not exactly the early spring weather I had hoped to find on my return to Lucca after several weeks away.

But, no complaints.  I am happy to be back in Lucca no matter the weather.  In fact, I rather like Lucca in the rain. 

The gloomy days have been perfect for staying inside, reading, sipping tea, and doing some baking.  Well, at least it was perfect until the night I turned my dishwasher on, forgetting that I also had my space heater going.  Poof – out went the power.  Picture a night without lights or heat, too late to poke around the cantina (basement) trying to find the big electric panel with the main breaker for my apartment.  Fortunately, I had a good flashlight and lots of candles.  Since the gas stove was still working, I was able to boil water to fill a hot water bottle, a fine way to keep warm through a cold night. All was sorted out the next morning when the sun came up and a neighbor showed me where to find the main electric panel down in the cantina.  Lessons learned!

Rainy, chilly, and nearly deserted - a small street in Lucca during late February.

Some of the things I enjoy about Lucca during the late winter:  

The city is very quiet. Few tourists visit, the streets are nearly empty (especially in bad weather).  Lucca seems to slow down.  It feels peaceful and restorative.

The bare trees surrounding Piazza Napoleone have a dramatic beauty, so different than in summer when they burst into green leafiness.  

In late February and early March they are less exuberant, but just as beautiful.

Piazza Napoleone on a rainy afternoon. No carousel rides today!

The earliest blossoms along the wall, late February.

Early signs of spring evolve daily as tender shoots of bulbs spring up, tulips and daffodils appear in the weekly flower market, mimosas erupt in yellow color, and magnolias go from bud to bloom.

The days are getting longer, reminding me that dusk hour walks on Lucca’s wall are one of my favorite things to do.

Dusk along Lucca’s walls

The rain makes puddles in the streets.

The puddles reflect the ancient buildings and the cloudy skies, temporary art thanks to Mother Nature. And kids, like children everywhere, delight in splashing through the puddles.

Magnolia blossoms sparkle with drops of rain.

Magnolias, just starting to flower, look lovely glistening with rain drops

A rainy afternoon in Lucca is the perfect excuse to pop into an elegant café for a pot of tea and a sweet treat.  Caffè Santa Zita is just the place! A bit of luxury to brighten a gray day.

February skies can be quite dramatic!

The clouds make for ever changing skies, one minute blue with gentle white clouds and then suddenly dark, fast moving and threatening.

The sound of rain lulling me to sleep, either as the best reason for an afternoon nap or a gentle entry into sleep late at night.

All of these things make late winter a wonderful time to be in Tuscany.  And yet, a few weeks from now I will feel just as inspired by the onset of spring. Living through the cycle of seasons is one of the reasons I wanted to live in Italy.  I came thinking that once (or maybe twice) around the sun would be a wonderful esperience.  4+ years later I am still pinching myself and enjoying the changing season as winter slowly creeps into spring.

Farina di Castagne

A list of the ingredients important in Italian cooking often includes olive oil, tomatoes, pancetta, artichokes, garlic, lemons, basil, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, and balsamic vinegar.  But let’s not forget about a more humble ingredient - chestnuts (castagne or marroni in Italian).

In Tuscany, the mountains are full of chestnut trees.  It is no surprise then that the chestnut tree became a vital source of food, as well as of fuel and building material, especially during times of war, famine, and poverty. 

Abundant and nutritious, the chestnut became an essential ingredient in Italian “cucina povera”. That traditional continues to this day. Chestnuts are eaten roasted or steamed. They are also dried and ground into flour, farina di castagne, for use in breads, pastas, and sweets. 

Chestnut Roasting in Colognora di Pescaglia

Dishes made with farina di castagne appear on fall and winter menus.  With its naturally sweet and nutty flavor, chestnut flour has become one of my favorite ingredients for baking. 

 My fondness for these dishes began at a fall festival where I first tasted Necci. Necci are round and flat, somewhere between a crepe and a pancake in thickness.

Like a crepe they can be rolled around a filling.  The batter is very simple -  just chestnut flour, water, and a pinch of salt.  Traditionally, necci were cooked between testi, round stones heated over a fire.  Today Necci are usually cooked between two long-handled, flat cast iron plates.  The warm necci are then filled, most commonly with fresh ricotta and a drizzle of honey.  Delicious! 

These round stones, called testi, were the traditional method used to cook Necci. To learn more about chestnuts, visit the Chestnut Museum in Colognora di Pescaglia where this photo was taken.

Frittelle di Castagne, little fried chestnut fritters, served as an appetizer alongside fresh ricotta in the town of Pontremoli.

Similar to Necci are Frittelle di Castagne, often found in the areas of Tuscany known as the Lunigiana and the Garfagnana, both hilly areas in the north. 

The batter is similar to Necci, but the preparation is different.  Small scoops of batter are fried in oil, creating a crisp outside and tender inside. 

While I think of frittelle as breakfast or dessert items, lightly sprinkled with sugar, they can also be served unsweetened as an appetizer with a bit of ricotta.  That’s how I first encountered them last fall in a restaurant in the town of Pontremoli.

I have been working on learning to make both Necci and Frittelle di Castagne at home. 

For Necci, simply combine 1 cup of chestnut flour (100-120 gm), sifted after measuring, with ¾ - 1 cup of warm water. Mix well.

Take a little taste of the batter – the sweetness will surprise you!  

Either a heavy crepe pan or a non-stick skillet works to cook the Necci.  Lightly butter the pan to prevent sticking, pour in about ¼ cup batter and spread with a fork or spoon to create a thin crepe.  Cook until set, flip, and cook on the second side. Fill while warm with a couple of tablespoons of ricotta, drizzle with a little honey, roll up and enjoy! Makes 4-5 Necci.

For Frittelle di Castagne, combine 1 cup of chestnut flour (100-120gm), 1 teaspoon of baking powder, and a pinch of salt. Sift and add about 1 c. warm water (add about 3/4 of the water and then enough more to make a fairly thin batter). Mix well.  Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan, deep enough to cover the bottom of a pan and about half-way up the frittelle (I use ¼ c. oil in a small 8 in frying pan, frying 2-3 frittelle at a time).  Test the oil with a small drop of batter - it should have a lively sizzle and the batter should puff up slightly. Drop spoonfuls of batter into the hot oil, cook until the top is set and small bubbles appear, flip, and continue cooking until crisp and brown on both sides. Smaller is better for these fritters - small enough to cook through in just a couple of minutes and be crisp outside and not doughy inside.  Remove from the oil and place on a paper towel to drain.  Serve warm sprinkled with sugar or room temperature with a side of plain ricotta.   Makes about 18 - 20 small fritters.

Now that I’ve learned how to make these traditional Italian dishes, I am working on incorporating chestnut flour into some other baked goods. Stay tuned!

And The Travel Gods Laughed and Laughed

After 7 weeks away, I am finally back in Italy.  I feel fortunate to have the best of two worlds - being able to spend weeks of time with family and friends in New Mexico and then returning to my home in Lucca for most of the year.  The only real drawback to this divided existence is the necessity for international travel.  Travel used to be fun, didn’t it?  Jumping on a plane and flying off to an adventure felt joyful.  But these days, well, the shine is mostly off the travel experience for me.  Now, airports and airplanes are simply a means to an end. 

This carousel is always one of the first stops I make on my return to Lucca

 Now that all the pandemic restrictions and testing requirements have ended it should be easier, right?  No more covid swabs 24 hours before a flight, no green pass needed, even vaccines are optional (though very important).  And yet, air travel hasn’t quite returned to normal (whatever normal is).  With strikes common in Europe, shortages of baggage handlers, reduced numbers of flights, and US system meltdowns, it all feels like a roll of the dice. 

 Silly me, I was actually looking forward to my return flights from Albuquerque to Florence. I booked way ahead, and because February flights are generally not full, I was able to find an inexpensive business class (or, as I think of it, Princess Class) fare for my return flights.  What a treat! I was anticipating smooth, pampered flying on the way back to Italy. 

 And that’s when the travel Gods began to laugh.   I had an early morning flight out of Albuquerque.  Up at 4 am, I was greeted by an unusually heavy snowfall.  Shoveling a path to the car at 5:30 am was not in my travel day plans!  Luckily my friends arrived to pick me up, I rolled my luggage down my newly shoveled path, and arrived at the airport in plenty of time.  I should have paid attention to those travel Gods tittering in the background.

A typical Lucchese window within an ancient brick wall with its window box full of flowers. Just one reason to love Lucca.

The flight was delayed a bit, and required deicing, but no worries as my layover in Houston was long.  I thought the travel Gods had had their fun and that they were done with me. Not a chance. I will skip the details and just sum up the rest of my travels.  2 hour delay out of Houston waiting on “mechanical clearance paperwork”.  The delay was prolonged when, just as we put our seatbelts on and were ready to roll, a passenger demanded to be let off the plane!  Did you know that when that happens the airline must search for the passenger’s checked luggage and remove it from the flight?  Shocking that a person would force a planeload of people to endure a further delay because she was upset that her rebooked connection was in – gasp – economy class!  She simply could not tolerate that and so off the plane she went.  Another 45 minutes of delay. 

I will say that the United flight crew was fantastic on that flight. They were just as frustrated as the rest of us about the delays, but they didn’t let that stop them from being gracious and helpful. Of course, the long delay meant a missed connection and longer layover in Munich.  Booked on a later flight into Florence, I finally arrived, but, and you can anticipate this next bit, my luggage did not. Thankfully my airtag let me know exactly where the bags were and allowed me to track them until they arrived in Florence. The next day and a half was spent in my apartment waiting for the luggage to be delivered.  They never say in advance when the courier will arrive but if you are not home, well, back to Florence goes the luggage.  And so I waited.

The small piazza of the Booksellers, Lucca

 All I really wanted to do my first days back in Lucca was to get out and walk through town.  I had favorite places to see, changes to find, signs of spring to search for, and the need to just reconnect with all the beauty of this city.  Sitting at home was definitely not what I had planned.  The travel Gods seemed to still be laughing at me! Don’t get me wrong - I am immensely grateful for a safe arrival and know that the frustration of this flight is a minor inconvenience in the greater scheme of things. But still … waiting for that luggage to come was torture.

But then the luggage was delivered and I was free to roam about Lucca.  And what did I find on my initial wanderings?   The weather is still cold and the trees mostly bare but starkly beautiful.  The first fuzzy buds are out on the magnolia trees on Corso Garibaldi, a sure sign that spring is coming. 

The magnolias are budding!

How I will miss these fun windows at Chocolat, now sadly closed.

My favorite little sweet shop in Chiasso Barletti, Chocolat, has sadly closed. Where will I find the little chocolate Easter chickens that I buy each spring?  I’ve heard that the owners will soon open another shop in that location, hopefully continuing their tradition of ever changing fun window displays.

The Santa Zita Café has moved just across Piazza San Frediano.  I can’t wait to go inside for a morning coffee or an evening aperitivo. 

Carnevale events are still going on, the evidence found in colorful confetti on the streets and costumed ball goers last Saturday evening. 

Most of all Lucca still presents all the things I most love – the sound of Italian spoken in the streets, colorful window boxes, medieval streetscapes, the tall Torre Guinigi just around the corner from me, ancient brickwork, street musicians, the stalls of the booksellers, the monthly Antiques Market.   Add in the friends I’ve made here and the warm, gracious Italians that fill the city and I instantly feel at home.  It’s good to be back.

Taking Tea

While visiting, and now living most of the year in, Italy I have learned to appreciate good coffee – a foamy morning cappuccino, a fragrant afternoon macchiato.  I have even learned to drink a straight espresso on occasion, providing it is laced with plenty of sugar.  

A breakfast tea in Florence at the hotel Morandi alla Crocetta

But, thanks to an Irish mother and grandmother, I was raised on tea. They firmly believed that there was no problem in life that was too big to be solved over a cup of tea, especially when served with sugar, milk, and a side of something sweet.

 They left a lasting legacy - I still love a good cup of hot tea.  It is the way I begin every morning.  When I travel I love to find a hotel with a good morning breakfast tea service. It starts the day off right. 

But “taking tea” is so much more than just a way to start the day.  Tea is an event! One thing to remember - it is nearly criminal to order tea without something sweet to go along with it because, as a British transplant to Lucca once told me, “without some cake your tea is just too wet”.   Words of wisdom!

While Italy does not have as much of a tea tradition as some places, there are several spots where, in addition to great coffee, pots of tea are served along with a pastry or a slice of cake. One such spot is Cafe Manon Lescaut in Piazza Cittadella. When my British friend Judy came to visit she was delighted with the afternoon tea there (pictured below).

These days one of my favorite places to take tea in Lucca is the H&G Coffee Lounge.  Don’t let the name fool you, it isn’t all about the coffee.  At H&G they also brew lovely pots of tea and describe tea as a “perfectly codified ritual”.  The loose leaf tea comes in a stoneware vessel alongside a little timer so that the brewing time is just right.  And they have a selection of tasty cakes to go with.  Best of all tea is served in a pretty room with comfy chairs and quiet music.  Unlike the Italian habit of quickly downing a coffee, here you can linger with your pot of tea. Sitting at H&G on a rainy afternoon, with a good book to read and a hot cup of tea, is a joy.

 One of my favorite things to do when I travel is to find a place, simple or elegant, to have tea.  I’ve taken tea in various US, Canadian, and European cities. Below are photos of some of my favorites. Top row: Lauduree in Paris (left and middle), Cassandras Cup Tea Room, near Jane Austen’s cottage in Chawton, England (right). Bottom row: Gilli Cafe in Florence, souvenirs from The Empress in Victoria, Canada, and (bottom right) the very elegant tea room at the Four Seasons Gresham Palace in Budapest. Each place had its own character and charm.

One of my all-time favorite teas was on board a Viking Ocean Cruise.  The ship had a bright and welcoming tea room that served a daily high tea.  Taking tea in their beautiful tea salon definitely made me feel spoiled! I could have gone every afternoon on the cruise, but oh the calories!

  When I return to Albuquerque to visit my family you can bet I will spend one afternoon at the Saint James Tea Room. They serve a high tea complete with savories, scones, lemon curd, and sweets.  The Saint James ranks right up there with the best tea rooms in Europe. The setting, with cozy alcoves, beautiful china, and a sweet gift shop, is part of the fun.

I am trying to introduce my granddaughters to the concept of tea.  I started with a simple home tea party a few years ago - complete with hats and Oreos. Tea manners were definitely in the infancy stage.

They’ve now graduated to the Saint James.  Let’s just say that dressing up for tea, using soft voices, and appropriate tea conversation is still a work in progress.  This was tea with giggles.

Do you have as favorite tea spot?  I’d love to see photos on the Two Parts Italy facebook page!

Tea and a Marionberry scone on the coast of Oregon

Inspiration from an Italian Spice Market: Chai

Does anything taste better on a cold winter afternoon than a cup of chai? Hot, peppery, spicy, sweet, milky - it is the perfect winter warm up. Brewed Chai is not a typical offering in Italy, and the available Chai tea bags just don’t approach the taste of the real thing. There was only one solution, I needed to learn to brew it myself !

A trip to an outdoor holiday market in December gave me just the inspiration I needed to work on my chai brewing skills. A big basket of star anise and another of tiny cubes of candied ginger first caught my eye. There were also displays of cinnamon sticks, whole black peppercorns, cloves, and cardamom pods. It was impossible to see all of these spices and not think of chai!

I have experimented with several different ways of brewing chai. I’ve used whole, ground, and crushed spices. I’ve tried making batches of spice mix ahead of time to keep on hand. In the end I have found that the easiest method, and the one that achieves the flavor I crave, is to brew individual small batches of chai using whole spices, pieces of crystallized ginger, and a good strong base of black tea. Whole milk is perfect for chai, though 2% works pretty well too. There are lots of possibilities for sweeteners - I tend to use stevia.

The brewed chai will keep in the refrigerator for a few days, just reheat as needed.

The recipe is flexible. Like more pepper? Just increase the amount to taste. More cinnamon? Throw in another stick. Don’t like cloves? They can be eliminated all together. No cardamom on hand? It will still taste great without it. The ginger, cinnamon, and some black pepper are essentials though. And a good, strong black tea. And while I have tried powdered spices, they just don’t work as well.

As I write this I have a batch brewing and my apartment is filled with the wonderful aroma of chai spices.

Simple Chai Recipe (makes 3 cups)

In a saucepan, cover 3 black tea bags (or an equivalent amount of loose black tea) with 3 cups of boiling water.

Add the following:

3 cinnamon sticks

1 ounce of crystallized ginger, either thin flakes or cut into small bits (note: ginger varies a lot in intensity - this is a starting point, adjust to taste)

3/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

12 whole cloves

15 cardamom pods, cracked

4 whole star anise pods

Steep over lowest flame x 45 minutes and then strain to remove the whole spices.

Add sweetener and milk to taste (4 ounces of milk is about right)

Bring to a simmer and enjoy!

A hot cup of chai provides inspiration for writing too!