BEAUTIFUL WEATHER FOR OIL
The siroccos started in the middle of the night, and it is not such a good day for any of us. We had been getting up with the sun and going to bed to watch TV with the early dark, and we have had such gorgeous weather since we returned that a day inside with wind, rain, and low temperatures outside makes us really feel it. Even the bird has enjoyed the sun daily, and keys his singing and frolicking to the outdoor activity of calling to the other birds in the area. He got spoiled with Paolo and Ignatzia while we were in Paris, looking for cookies and greens daily in his cage, and also a new treat. He experienced a bath for the first time when Paolo rigged one up for him. Now he wants us to give him one daily because Limoncello enjoys it so!
On Friday we drove in the convertible to the tiny town of Chiusa Sclafani to check out a lead about some lemon-flavoured olive oil that so many of our guests have loved. This olio di oliva aromatizzato has been hard to find outside of the more expensive shops and tasting rooms. And these olive oils are special because the olives have the pitts taken out-they are "denutted." So we made the trip to see if we could find the frantoia (olive press) and also to see the views. We had been there once before and remembered that it was a scenic town with a windy road that showed views of the town up on a cliff almost the whole way.
And that was exactly what we found-a gorgeous trip on a road with a lot of hairpin curves that were not too good for my stomach. The green of the valleys was incredible, and reminded me of shots I had seen of Ireland. We found the scenic frantoia and wandered around taking pictures inside, and then outside watched a farmer plow straight down a steep hill with a tractor on tank tracks, not wheels, that could not plow up the hill. It had to actually climb up the hill away from the prepared rows and only plow down, that was how steep the hill was. We spent time chatting with a workman and watching him fill our order until the owner came. And then the gruelling part began.
Once the owner heard what we wanted, he proceeded to clean off the bottles of oil that we had watched the workman fill and cap by using a high powered hair dryer. Then one by one, for 12 bottles, he stuck on 6 stickers per bottle, yes, one at a time, always fumbling around looking for new stickers and answering phone calls. It was maddening to see him repeat the process, for he would be almost done and then go out somewhere and bring back an envelope with more stickers and start the process all over again. My patience for that sort of thing was at the breaking point before he was even half way done!
We had planned to follow the same scenic road to go to Corleone for lunch, but because of the delay of the bottle-sticker man, some nasty afternoon interior rain clouds prevented us from continuing, and so instead we hurried home to the calm skies of our coast. Yesterday we drove over to Castelvertrano to buy a popcorn popper with Brigette and Joe and had lunch at their house. And now we are here inside reading papers for a relaxing Sunday in the rain.
On Friday we drove in the convertible to the tiny town of Chiusa Sclafani to check out a lead about some lemon-flavoured olive oil that so many of our guests have loved. This olio di oliva aromatizzato has been hard to find outside of the more expensive shops and tasting rooms. And these olive oils are special because the olives have the pitts taken out-they are "denutted." So we made the trip to see if we could find the frantoia (olive press) and also to see the views. We had been there once before and remembered that it was a scenic town with a windy road that showed views of the town up on a cliff almost the whole way.
And that was exactly what we found-a gorgeous trip on a road with a lot of hairpin curves that were not too good for my stomach. The green of the valleys was incredible, and reminded me of shots I had seen of Ireland. We found the scenic frantoia and wandered around taking pictures inside, and then outside watched a farmer plow straight down a steep hill with a tractor on tank tracks, not wheels, that could not plow up the hill. It had to actually climb up the hill away from the prepared rows and only plow down, that was how steep the hill was. We spent time chatting with a workman and watching him fill our order until the owner came. And then the gruelling part began.
Once the owner heard what we wanted, he proceeded to clean off the bottles of oil that we had watched the workman fill and cap by using a high powered hair dryer. Then one by one, for 12 bottles, he stuck on 6 stickers per bottle, yes, one at a time, always fumbling around looking for new stickers and answering phone calls. It was maddening to see him repeat the process, for he would be almost done and then go out somewhere and bring back an envelope with more stickers and start the process all over again. My patience for that sort of thing was at the breaking point before he was even half way done!
We had planned to follow the same scenic road to go to Corleone for lunch, but because of the delay of the bottle-sticker man, some nasty afternoon interior rain clouds prevented us from continuing, and so instead we hurried home to the calm skies of our coast. Yesterday we drove over to Castelvertrano to buy a popcorn popper with Brigette and Joe and had lunch at their house. And now we are here inside reading papers for a relaxing Sunday in the rain.
posted by Sicilian Mama at 7:32 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home