Episode 145: Living the Italian Dream at home in Australia!
Welcome to Episode #145:
This share is all about reflecting on a recent milestone of seven years of podcasting and sharing stories and conversations about this Italian Love Affair - it has been a journey of living between two worlds and cultivating a sense of meaning from my journeys to Italy and being at home in Australia.
I share how my books on Italian culture and living my own version of the Italian dream has been a journey of discovery and illumination over the past twenty years. There is so much that I have been attracted to in Italy that I have made my own over the years living in country NSW with my cypress and olive trees, and yes the dream has been realised without my even knowing it.
I talk about the "Values Renaissance" that has been simmering in the background of my own world and how I have come to terms with honouring what really matters at home and in life. It has been a wild journey and a wonderfully spirited process of learning and living....
At my table… the traditional ingredients of the Italian kitchen have always inspired me…
That beautiful olive specimen I bought a week before Olivia was born… And it is winter in the garden - I still need to rake the leaves
In my kitchen making the iconic biscotti we always eat ! I always eat more to the point….
Summer flavours to celebrate after the harvest…
Shownotes:
Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes
The Olive Farm & The Olive Tree by Carol Drinkwater
I Eat the Stars by Sarah Wilson
This One Wild and Precious Life by Sarah Wilson
Intermezzo by Michelle Johnston is happening sometime this year!
Wild Podcast with Sarah Wilson & Ruth Ben-Ghiat - Quote detail on the “values renaissance” I mentioned from the podcast share this week….
The beauty of summer’s offering…
The books on Italian Food have been a true inspiration over the years! This page is from Liguria in Cucina: The Flavours of Liguria by Enrica Monzani - You can listen to Podcast Episode - The Flavours of Liguria with Enrica Monzani
Emiko has published so many beautiful books on Italian Food and her families recipes, listen to one of our many conversations on life and food and books - Emiko Davies - Tuscan Life & Enoteca Marilu
From the cookbook Cucina Povera: The Italian Way of Transforming Humble Ingredients into Unforgettable Meals by Giulia Scarpaleggia - Listen to our wonderful conversation about the humble yet essential ingredients of the Italian Kitchen - Cucina Povera & the Art of Making Do with Food Writer Giulia Scarpaleggi
The first entry to the orchard and garden beds…
At home where the seasons rule the kitchen… Note my beloved ceramic bowl from time in Assisi and favourite coffee mugs - an enduring love affair from Italy… Listen to a podcast share about the beauty of Bringing Italy Home
Flowers always!
Inspirations from the Italian kitchen….
Cookbooks have been beautiful adventures in discovering new flavours and ways to enjoy the seasons over the years…
"I buy another five cypress. I work hard, water, pray, read them poetry. I listen to books as I dig... A Field Guide to Getting Lost, Rebecca Solnet….A Paris year, John Baxter….and I dream of a day where they will drill their taproot down into the earth, deep, hardy specimens, that I never even water.
I go back to Italy and I look at the cypress, in gardens, next to villas, lined up on roads. They seem to hold the measure of us, grand companions on the journey of life. Guardians and mysterious knowing trees, always I feel better when I see them in the distance. When I realised I could have a taste of Italy here in my back yard, well why not? There was no turning back"
Notes from Podcast - Seventeen cypress and a life to create
In our backyard - the seventeen cypress on the left side of the paddock!