Plans - trip to Italy in April

In April I will be taking an elderhostel class in Italy.  (Elderhostel is now called RoadScholar.  It is the same organization that ran the program I attended in Asheville in August.)  Here's the itinerary, but if you wanted more info, it's at:  http://www.roadscholar.org/n/program/summary.aspx?id=1-4PCI6Q

The area I will be visiting is shown on this map:

Itinerary for Apr 15 — Apr 27, 2014

Day One: Tuesday, April 15 - Departure from Syracuse - to Rome - to Naples - to Sorrento

Day Two: Wednesday, April 16 - Arrival/Welcome Reception 
                  Note: Light day to adjust from jet lag.

Arrivals at Naples Airport. Transfer by coach to Sorrento.

Lunch: Lunch at the hotel.

Afternoon: Welcome to Sorrento reception and introductions to meet your group leader and fellow learners.

Dinner: Dinner at the hotel.

Lodging: Hotel Cesare Augusto until Thursday, April 24.  http://www.hotelcesareaugusto.com/en/

Day Three: Thursday, April 17 - Orientation and neighborhood walk.
                    Note: Leisure walk around town and to the port. Some steps through the hotel's garden cut short the walk from the hotel to the main square in Sorrento.

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: Staff introduces program schedule, lectures and excursions.

Lunch: Lunch at the hotel served buffet style.

Afternoon: An orienting walk in the neighborhood pointing out stores, pharmacies and banking services. The walk continues down to the characteristic old port where it's not uncommon to see fishermen bringing in the catch of the day or repairing their nets. Later in the afternoon an expert illuminates Classical Roman art and archeology.

Dinner: Dinner at a restaurant in Sorrento.

Day Four: Friday, April 18 - Explore Pompeii
                  Note: The ruins of Pompeii reveal cobblestone streets, sidewalks and dirt paths. Pompeii was a city, so be aware of the size of the archaeological site. Its uneven terrain with inclines and steps makes walking a challenge. The stone pavement can be slippery when wet. Note there are few benches to stop and rest.

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at hotel

Morning: Guided visit of Pompeii archaeological site. Explore the streets of the city frozen in time in August of 79 CE. Walk into the amphitheater, see where the gladiators trained, walk down Via Abbondanza, the main street, observe 1st century political grafitti. Notice the similarities between Pompeii where bars, restaurants, shops and bakeries line the streets, and that in any modern city in Italy.

Lunch: Lunch at a restaurant in the archaeological park.

Afternoon: Coach back to Sorrento. Late afternoon classroom session on Customs and Traditions of Sorrento.

Dinner: Dinner at the hotel.

Day Five: Saturday, April 19 - Greek Art and Architecture / Marquetry Museum and Workshop
                 Note: One mile walk round trip walk from the hotel to the Marquetry Museum

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: In the meeting room of the hotel an expert illuminates Classical Greek art and archaeology.

Lunch: Lunch on your own.

Afternoon: Visit the Tarsia Museum (marquetry) that displays the materials, tools and traditional motifs used by master craftsmen of marquetry, or inlaid wood design. To ensure continuity for the decorative art tradition the museum is also a workshop to teach the craft to local youth.

Dinner: Dinner at the hotel.

Day Six: Sunday, April 20 - Archeological Museum in Naples / Royal Neighborhood 
               Note: Ability to walk up a few flights of stairs at the museum. Note there are few benches in the gallery rooms. Leisurely walk around the ex-Royal palace.

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at hotel.

Morning: Guided visit of the Archaeological Museum in Naples which houses treasures and artifacts found in Pompeii and Herculaneum, including the famed Alexander Mosaic, Flora and Fauna, and the Farnese Bull.

Lunch: Lunch at a local restaurant in Naples.

Afternoon: See the San Carlo Opera House, the Galleria Umberto, and the Royal Neighborhood. Some free time to enjoy some refreshment at the elegant Gambrinus Café.

Dinner: Dinner at the hotel.

Day Seven: Monday, April 21 - Full Day Excursion to the Isle of Capri
                      Note: Ability to board the vessel to reach the Island. Transportation is provided from the port to Anacapri, the town at the top of the island, although some walking to visit the traffic free town, gardens and sites of the island.

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at hotel.

Morning: Board a boat to Capri. Indulge in a full day on the Mediterranean's most lush island while roaming the intricate cobbled laneways and the chic neighborhoods. Guided visit to the villa of Axel Munthe. Weather permitting enjoy the scenery from the convertible car with the top down.

Lunch: Lunch at a local restaurant in Capri.

Afternoon: Capri visit continues. Some free time to climb the ruins of the villa of Tiberius or savor a gelato at a waterfront cafe. Boat returns to Sorrento by late afternoon.

Dinner: Dinner at the hotel restaurant.

Day Eight: Tuesday, April 22 - Herculaneum / Contemporary Life in Italy
                   Note: Uneven pavement on streets and cobblestone sidewalks in the archaeological site make walking somewhat challenging. There is a short incline to visit some of the houses and sites in the archaeological site. Few places to sit and rest.

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at hotel.

Morning: Coach to and guided visit of Herculaneum, an upscale resort town destroyed by mud flows unlike Pompeii, which was buried by ash in 79 CE. The excavated Villa of the Papyri was the inspiration for the Getty Museum in Malibu, California.

Lunch: Lunch at a local restaurant.

Afternoon: Examine the issues facing Italy today in a lecture and discussion of the country's contemporary health care system, education, religion, and women's issues, and discover the ways in which Italy continues to undergo rapid economic and societal change. Question and answer period follows.Free time till dinner.

Dinner: Dine at the restaurant of your choice, suggestions made on site.

Day Nine: Wednesday, April 23 - Music in the Neapolitan Tradition / Cooking Demo in the Countryside 
                  Note: Non strenuous walk from coach drop off point to the farm.

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at hotel.

Morning: A musicologist expounds on the Neapolitan music tradition, complete with recordings.

Lunch: Lunch at the hotel.

Afternoon: Panoramic drive through the Sorrento countryside for a hands-on cooking demonstration of dishes of the regional cuisine.

Dinner: Enjoy the dinner you have observed in the making.

Evening: Coach to Sorrento after dinner at the agriturismo.

Day Ten: Thursday, April 24 - Positano / Transfer to Amalfi Coast hotel
                 Note: Boat ride from Positano to Amalfi. In case of bad weather prevents boat from leaving, ability to walk up the hill along the sidewalk to reach the bus parking lot.

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: Amalfi Coast Drive, the scenic narrow winding road cut into the steep cliffs above the Mediterranean Sea. On route, visit the elegant seaside town of Positano with its characteristic white houses that cling in tiers to the rock face. Board a boat bound for Amalfi from where you can fully appreciate the cascading houses and luscious gardens on the mountain face.

Lunch: Lunch at a restaurant in Amalfi.

Afternoon: In Amalfi, visit the cathedral of St. Andrew and an interesting museum that illustrates the techniques of milling paper, an industry that flourished in Amalfi in the 12th century. Transfer to Minori and check into the hotel.

Dinner: Dinner at the hotel. Sample limoncello, the liquor made from lemons from nearby groves.

Lodging: Hotel Villa Romana for the rest of the trip  http://www.hotelvillaromana.it/

Day Eleven: Friday, April 25 - Paestum 
                     Note: Uneven dirt paths lead to the famous Greek temples, the terrain is level. Leisure walk to the adjacent museum. Few benches to rest during the visit to the archaeological site.

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: A drive (1 hr 40 min) south takes us to the Greek settlement of Paestum, dedicated to Poseidon. The highlights include doric style temples dating from the 6th and 5th centuries BCE dedicated to Hera. The adjacent museum contains the famed painted tomb of the diver.

Lunch: Lunch at local restaurant overlooking the temples.

Afternoon: Observe the making of the highest quality of mozzarella cheese from water buffalo milk at a working farm. Coach to Minori late afternoon.

Dinner: Dinner on your own.

Day Twelve: Saturday, April 26 - Ravello and Amalfi 
                      Note: As a hill town, visiting Ravello requires managing hills on foot from the bus drop off point to and around the town. Villa Rufolo's gardens are terraced with paved steps.

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: Coach to Ravello, a medieval hill town above Amalfi for a visit to the world renowned Villa Rufolo, inspiration to Wagner and other artists.

Lunch: Lunch on your own.

Afternoon: Excursion on the Amalfi Coast continues. Some free time late afternoon in Minori.

Dinner: Farewell dinner at the hotel.

Day Thirteen: Sunday, April 27 - Departure
Breakfast: Breakfast at the hotel; continental style for participants with early morning departure.

Morning: Coach to and Depart from Naples airport.

Spent Wheat Olive Bread

We gobbled up the last two breads, so it's time for another spent wheat bread.  This time, I doubled the spent wheat to 2/3 cup.

Here it is, stuffed, rolled up, slashed, and ready for the oven

 Smelled delicious as it was cooking.

 We're having it tonight with chicken cutlets with tzaziki sauce.

Not sure how the olives will go with grilled cheese, but we'll try that tomorrow.

Spent Wheat Bread

A friend is a beer maker, so when I found a recipe that uses the grain leftover from making beer, I sent the idea along - lo, and behold, I received the offer of wheat that they had just finished using in making beer.  I expected a cup or two - but a gallon arrived!!!!

This recipe rambles, because I was making it up as a went along, but it made a lovely loaf.

I mixed one cup of water, one cup of AP flour, and 1/4 teaspoon of yeast, covered it, and let it sit overnight.

The next day, I mixed 1 cup of hard cider, 1/4 cup honey, 1/3 cup spent wheat, 1 teaspoon salt, and 280 grams (that was what was left in the bag. . . ) of whole wheat flour.  (That's probably about two cups.)  And I added the flour mixture from the day before.  After mixing well, it was obvious that more flour was needed.  I added 1 cup bread flour, and because that still was not enough, I added 1/3 cup AP flour.

You may notice I'm getting rid of the odds and ends of flour in the house!

After beating with the Cuisinart mixer until it pulled from the sides of the bowl (about 10 minutes), I set it aside to rise.

After it had doubled in size, I folded it a few times and shaped it.

 I slashed the top, as is recommended for French bread or country boules.

I intended to bake in a preheated lidded pot - but when I put it in, it was too big to put the lid on, so I just baked it at 425 for 30-40 minutes.

 It has a nice texture, with the wheat chunks.  The wheat I received was quite dark, and the bread flavor approaches pumpernickel.  It will make great grilled cheese if I use a strongish cheese like gouda or muenster.

We'll have to try that tomorrow.  Today D had it with soup, and I had it plain.

Excellent!

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup water
1 cup hard cider
1 1/3 cup All Purpose flour
2 1/4 cup whole wheat pie and pastry flour (King Arthur)
1 cup bread flour (Sir Lancelot)
1/3 cup spent wheat left over from beer making (double it in the future)
2 1/4 teaspoon yeast (Red Star)
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon salt

Whole Wheat Olive Bread

The baguette recipe I used would make three loaves.  I made two (see following posts), but refrigerated one-third of the dough to use another day.  It does continue to rise in the refrigerator, so use a large enough container says the voice of experience!

I took it out of the refrigerator and let it warm up for a couple of hours, then patted it out into a round.

I added three packets of pitted green olives in oil and red pepper.

Then I rolled and tucked it into an odd shape.

I preheated the oven to 500 with the lidded pot.

Then dropped the bread, parchment paper and all, into the preheated pot,

covered it, and baked until it was 200 degrees.

We could hardly wait to cut into it.

D enjoyed it with Good Mother Stallard bean soup with sausage and kale.

Onion Soup

Now that I had good crusty bread (see the following post), I needed to make onion soup.

I started with two huge red onions from our garden.  This was a great year for onions - probably because we got so much rain.

These went into the dutch oven with some butter and olive oil, salt and pepper.

And they cooked, and they cooked, and they cooked.

I added red wine, stock, garlic, bay leaf, thyme.

 Then I toasted some of the baguette, topped it with Swiss Cheese, added the soup, and served.

Mmmmmmm.

Baguettes with Cider and Whole Wheat

This is a wonderful year for onions,

We had a lot of rain in June and July, and quite enough in August and September, and that may have contributed to the size of the onions.  This one weighs 1 pound, 9 ounces!

But you need good, crusty bread to hold up the Swiss cheese.

We were tasting hard ciders, and we wondered if cider would be a change for water in the dough.

Here's what we did:
Mix 1 cup cider, and 1 cup whole-wheat flour, and a pinch of yeast.  Cover and let sit overnight.

The next morning, add 1 cup of whole wheat, another cup of cider, 1 teaspoon yeast, 1 teaspoon salt.
Then add 3 cups of bread flour.  It was still too wet, so we added 1/4 cup AP flour.

Beat with the Cuisinart mixer until the dough pulled away from the bowl.

Let rise for an hour or so.

Shape and rise for another hour.

Preheat oven to 525 degrees, with the heavy roasting pan and huge cast iron pan in the oven.
The roasting pan, on the higher shelf, would receive the baguettes.
The frying pan would have water added to add steam to the oven.

These were done in 25 minutes (200 degrees internal temperature).

This had a more dense texture than some artisan breads.

The flavor was wonderful.

Ingredients:

2 c whole-wheat flour

3 c bread flour

1/4 c AP flour

2 c cider

1 t salt

1+ t yeast

D enjoyed his with chicken soup.

I had mine with hot Italian sausage and red sauce.

This recipe would make three baguettes - I held back one to cook tomorrow - I think I'll add olives to that one!  Bread dough is now resting in the refrigerator.  

Now, off to make some onion soup!

MacBook Pro 13"

My newest toy arrived on Friday.

I had been using and getting frustrated with the Chromebook,

so when Apple announced improvements to the MacBook Pro, 

I decided it was time for a new toy.

So far, so good!

Green Tomato, Green Grapes, and Brown Eggs

We had four chicks born here in the spring,
and we bought four around the same time.
Looks like someone has begun to lay!
 

The grapes are ready to harvest.
Here's a pot of green grapes, ready to make juice.

 

We have red, purple, and green grapes.

And we have green tomatoes!!!

These are called Green Zebra.
I think they are interesting.
The flavor is tart, and the flesh is firm.

 

Corn Bread

We needed a starch for dinner tonight.
We've had a lot of pasta and corn, so something else would be a change.

Found this recipe for Corn Bread at eatingwell.com.

Of course, I made modifications.

My recipe:

Preheat oven and skillet to 450 degrees.

When ready, add one tablespoon Canola Oil.

Mix 1 cup flour 

and 1 cup cornmeal with

1/2 teaspoon salt and

1 teaspoon baking powder.

Mix one huge egg with 

1 1/2 cups of milk and

2 tablespoons Canola Oil.

Add liquid to dry and barely mix.

Add to frying pan and bake for 20 minutes

at 450 degrees.

Let rest at least five minutes.

We served with butter and honey.

It was delicious.

There is a slight sweetness, even though there is no sugar.

For leftovers, I sliced it and grilled it with a bit of butter.

Even better!

 

Aren't those holes wonderful?
They scream to be filled with butter, honey, jelly, or whatever.

Fresh Tomato Salad

This has been a frustrating summer for gardeners.
This is the very first tomato!!!
August 28, 2013

This is a Cherokee Purple.
It is quite juicy and acid, so it makes a great raw sauce.

The corn has ripened.  We've had several meals and there are 51 portions in the freezer.

The garlic is Spanish Roja, which we have decided we don't like very much.
It stays woody in vinegar.
I cooked some in tomato sauce, and it never softened.

Clouds in North Carolina

I was fascinated by the varieties of clouds in North Carolina.

There are lots of different layers and types.
 

 These were all taken during the various field trips near Asheville.

 

They sit above, behind, and in front of the mountains.
 

The ones that sit in front of parts of mountains are interesting.
 

Most of these were taken through the window of a moving vehicle.

North Carolina Arboretum

I thought this trellis made an attractive fence.

 This little shed has a carefully designed moss roof.

There are several different pitcher plants in the gardens.

And insects abound.

 In addition to the flowers, trees, and plants, there are many sculptures.

This gate has some of the plants included in the design.

 There are several gates in the grounds.

There is a large bonsai collection. 

The curator believes that they should be appreciated for their beauty.

None of the plants lists the age of the plant.

 And no visit would be complete without the Cherokee.

This property is called the North Carolina Arboretum.

It is more noted for its gardens.

The "North Carolina Botanical Garden" name was already taken.

Carl Sandburg's House and Goat Farm

We spent the morning at Connemara, Carl Sandburg's House and Goat Farm.

The drive in is lovely.

 The house could use some whitewash.  We asked our ranger if she was affected by the sequester.  She has lost her weekends and will have to take 20 unpaid days this year.  Perhaps the upkeep money is reduced, too.

Carl enjoyed sitting on the porch and playing his guitar.   This is the view.

The kitchen looks like anyone's from the 50s and 60s.

There is a mixmaster on the table near the Crisco.

The cone shape on the tray is the packaging for the goat milk.

The stove has the same deep well we had when I was a child.

This is Sandburg's office.

His filing system included cardboard boxes from the grocery store.

When Sandburg died, his wife, Lillian, arranged for the Park Service to buy the house for about half its value.

She packed up her clothes and a few bits of furnishings and left everything else.

There are even partially smoked cigars in the ashtrays.

The front parlor has magazines and there are books in all the rooms.

In this room there is a life mask of Sandburg and a mask of Lincoln.

This room still has the iron and ironing board set up and a vacuum cleaner on the floor.

One of the rooms has a bedspread I think matched the one on my brother's bed.

Lillian thought that goats could feed the world.  She bred for milk production, with one goat producing almost 5000 pounds of milk in 10 months. 

If I am calculating correctly, that's averaging around 2 gallons a day.  A lot for a goat, I would think.

This is Lillian's office.

After touring the house (on a tour conducted by a ranger), you can visit the goats.