From a Tuscan Hillside: Spring Greens

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Spring Greens

Gather Ye Fresh Herbs while Ye May
or
The Rites of Spring in Chianti

detail from Botticelli's glorious Allegory of Spring or Primavera
to be found in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence

Come early spring in Chianti, as in other parts of the Italian countryside, you may spy locals in the fields and woods searching for edible leaves and roots.

Once upon a time, at winter's end, when the orto or vegetable patch was not yet providing greens and other vegetables, country people would round out their zuppa di verdura, vegetable soup or minestra di pane, bread soup, with greens, sprouts and roots gathered in field and woodland.

Nowadays the best greens are cleaned and washed, then boiled in salted water, drained, pressed, chopped and served warm with olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper.

However, dear readers, we do not recommend experimenting with wild herbs, unless you are accompanied by Those who have the Knowledge!

Wild garlic, wild asparagus, stinging nettle, dandelion, rampion bellflower, sow thistle, bladder campion, borage, wild fennel and others are all there for the gathering at this time of year while they are at their most tender. Perhaps the most sought-after are the asparagus and the strigoli, see below.

Other field greens are often fed to domestic rabbits.

finocchio selvatico - foeniculum vulgare - wild fennel

aglio selvatico - allium ursinum - wild garlic

strigoli - silene vulgaris - bladder campion

sportellecchia - portulaca oleracea -purslane

cicerbita - sonchus oleaceus - sow thistle

ortica - urtica dioica - stinging nettle

asparago selvatico - asparagus officinalis - asparagus

raperonzolo - campanula rapunculus - rampion bellflower

boraggine - borago officinalis - borage

tarassaco - taraxacum officinale -dandelion

Early spring wild harvest:

aglio selvatico - allium ursinum - wild garlic

asparago selvatico - asparagus officinalis - asparagus
boraggine - borago officinalis - borage
cicerbita - sonchus oleaceus - sow thistle
finocchio selvatico - foeniculum vulgare - wild fennel

ortica - urtica dioica - stinging nettle

raperonzolo - campanula rapunculus - rampion bellflower

sportellecchia - portulaca oleracea -purslane
strigoli - silene vulgaris - bladder campion
tarassaco - taraxacum officinale -dandelion

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A MesSy FaMily having MaSses of FUn

These are the navenchas (adventures) of the Savage family: Sadie Savage, her Sensitive New Age Grandma Angie, her parental units Delia and Phil and her snotty-nosed, squabbling twin brothers Peas and Mash, who get into some a-m-a-zing scrapes, plus last but not least: Toddy the bounding Irish wolfhound and Splendour the splendid cat.
From chocolate cake disasters to Komodo dragons and liquorice allsorts, pogo sticks to paragliding cats, a night at the opera to ice-cream bashing, the Savages are good value for money: there is chaos and confusion for everyone in SaVAgE DAyS.

FOR MESSY KIDS FROM AGE 8

The diary of an Australian Milkmaid, 1882-1889

Em Munro writes her diary in late 19th century colonial Australia, a time and place rife with contradictions. Ordinary settlers struggle to make ends meet in a tough environment where the squatter class has claimed the best land. And the Indigenous Australians who thrived for tens of thousands of years on that land are dispossessed and crushed. Woman’s place is in the home but women’s suffrage is in the air; dreams of independence vie with romantic fantasies; new loyalties compete with old: life choices need to be made.
Em is passionate but trapped in a provincial world with little stimulus and less scope for advancement. Her diary recounts her family’s story, her daily life but also her dilemmas and dreams and eventually her ‘getting of wisdom’.

Threepenny Tales 2

Lily of Lonestorm is another whimsical Tall Tale for readers from age six. Lily's courageous search for her parents unfolds on her island in the Windy Western Ocean and on board the miraculous Seraphina, a ship with Special Potentiality. In the company of a most unusual band of pirates, a surly goat, some bad-tempered fowl and her best friend, rascally Rags, Lily braves Adventures on the high seas and explores uncharted territories, never losing Hope, Wonder and her love of Home.

FOR STORY LOVERS FROM AGE 6

Threepenny Tales 1

The Adventures of Barnaby Twickins is a whimsical Tall Tale for all readers from age six up. Barnaby's jaunty, often tongue-in-cheek story takes place in a 17th or maybe 18th century fantasy world of lace and cauliflowers, clogs and fripperies. Our Hero is a merry, plucky Boy who dreams of becoming a Clown and entertaining the World. Readers will enjoy meeting Barnaby's assorted surprising Companions, as well as sharing his Adventures with their dash of Romance and twist of Absurdity.

FOR STORY LOVERS FROM AGE 6

Shakespeare's Childhood Story

Little is known of Shakespeare's childhood and youth. Will's Way imagines how young William's family, his childhood experiences in Warwickshire in the 1570s and his particular moment in history may have inspired and motivated the man and writer he became.
In addition, the novel contains a literary treasure hunt: over 160 quotations from Shakespeare's works have been put in the mouths of its characters. The reader is invited to spot the quotations and identify their sources which are to be found at the end of the book.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Spring Greens

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