Porcini, Carcofi and a Trip to Tuscany

Our daily rhythm usually includes a break in the afternoon, which gives us a chance to get some chores done or even take a trip to Tuscany.  The other day, after picking up all the restaurant linens at the laundry in Citta di Castello, the sun was shining, we were in my little car, and off we drove to take a little giro in Sansepolcro, which is just over the border in Tuscany. We strolled down the main street, window shopping, and stopping for a glass of wine, which felt decadent and divine.

And here’s the produce market update: there are a lot of porcini showing up, but I’m wondering where they are coming from. We still haven’t had the necessary rain for there to be a lot of local porcini. Everyone is saying they are coming from Romania, but then again it has been raining in other parts of Italy; so it’s anyone’s guess where these porcini are coming from.   The carcofi are gorgeous! I would love to plant lots and lots of carcofi, they are just the most incredible looking plants; like something from a science fiction comic book, with all their prickly thorns and beautiful colors. I keep wishing that I had a dress in carcofi colors: deep greens fading to violets, it would be very Armani, a long slip of a dress where you almost wouldn’t notice the transition of the colors. Hey! I cut up a lot of carcofi in the day; it’s natural that my mind would wander!