After a late night fueled by half a cow, chianti, limocello and some fairly competitive UNO games we only managed to crawl out of bed at 10. The night life here seems non existent and looks like it consists of goat pushing, getting hammered on the local reds, or surfing the 50 or so Arab satellite XXX channels.
One thing I did notice this morning is my Italian is not that flash as the toilet paper I bought yesterday was kitchen paper towel. I did say to Mum when I picked it up that I was happy to pay the extra few cents as it was thicker than the standard threadbare crepe that passes as toilet paper here.
Damn back in the Opel for round 4 of "Who wants to be a fatality" - I wonder if I can coerce them into the functionality of the bidet? . I was hoping today was going to be curl up with a good book day.
I decided to do some cooking for tonight and made a Tuscan meat stew. The blog is starting to sound like Phil's gastronomic tour of Italy but hey what better place to come for a self confessed foodie than Italy and more poignantly one with Tuscan heritage - it would be a sin not to. I am even going to continue the recipe posting trend, and as it's another lazy day here in Northern Tuscany I have lots of time on my hands.
TUSCAN MEAT STEW
Ingredients
8 small spicy beef sausages
2 thick stewing steaks cubed
2 meaty pork ribs boned and cubed
2 slices of Capocolo (bacon is fine if you cannot find it)
1 yellow capsicum
1 red capsicum
2 large carrots sliced
2 zucchini sliced thickly
4 stalks celery sliced
2 red onions sliced
1 cup peas
3 cloves garlic
1 can champignons
1 can diced tomatoes
4 stalks of Rosemary
4 cups water or vegetable stock
3/4 cup Chianti
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Method
Brown the meats in olive oil and remove.
Add all the vegetables except for the champignons, peas and tomatoes and cook over a medium flame until caramelization appears.
Add the rest of the veg and chianti to deglaze the pan.
Cover with stick, add salt, pepper and rosemary and simmer until meat is tender enough to cut with a fork.
Finish with a dash of cream and serve with rustic bread.
Delisioso