A proper February day to stay in drinking tea and writing- feels like home! We’re getting blasted by a snowstorm and it’s been snowing all day with at least 5” accumulation- a gross difference from being on the beach in Cefalù last weekend! It feels lovely to lounge around Valledolmo this weekend and stick close to the convent reading and eating and baking and taking short trips up the slippery, steep, empty streets about town. Almost feels like Wisconsin. Almost.

Halfway through Cook the Farm with so much already done and so much more to experience. Time moves differently here. Faster and slower both. Sicilians don’t think about it much, and I’m surprised at how quickly I’ve accepted that attitude too. It was nice this week to have a break from pasta and bread by mixing it up with more (different!) wheat, bulgur.

We had Kamal and Georgina visiting from Lebanon in the kitchen teaching us traditional meals and Sami Zubaida giving us the history and background of the food, culture, politics, etc of the region. It was fascinating to broaden our discussion of the Mediterranean diet with a country I hadn’t considered part of the tradition until now. We learned about and participated in the ritual of mezze- a practice, always tied to drink, celebrating taste and community and the importance of how to eat not just what you eat. It was colorful and joyful and boisterous and delicious. Hummus, yogurt, pickles, nuts, bits of goat and sheep kibbet, and despite not being in season tabbouleh and aubergine galore!

We also spent time learning about and tasting olive oil. Sicily is home to 32 different varieties of olive tree, some of the greatest diversity in Europe. The key to tasting, I learned is to use your senses smell, taste, and retronasal, to really experience the flavor. Extra virgin olive oil, as an EU standard must have no defects (like rancidity) and also pass a panel of certified testers like Giuseppe Cicero who guided us through the process. He stressed the importance of the living nature of the “juice” and how a good oil must be part bitter, spicy, and fruity. I was shocked by the differences in the samples we tried. Not all olive oils are created equal! Such variations in bitterness and bite! The control we used to compare, I was sure was a rancid sample in comparison to the flavorful single variety oils we tried, but actually it was a low price industrial brand from the supermarket. My favorite was the made near Ragusa by Frantoi Cutrera from Tonda Iblea olives. Check for it at your local Italian grocer!