My First Olive Harvest

martedi, 10 ottobre

Today's adventure was my first day of olive harvest season.  I just returned last night from a 5 day trip to Tuscany with my cousin Angela and Oscar.  I will blog on that later but I have posted some things on Facebook for those following me there.

I have been looking forward to today for years. I have always wanted to experience the olive harvest from start to finish.  Today I did and what a great experience it was.  I will try to explain as best I can in words, pictures and videos.  

Angela, Luigi and I left around 9 a.m. and headed to the country land.  There are many areas of olive groves that need to be harvested. Today we will work on land that was owned by Angela's father.  While we were gone this past weekend Luigi and Francesco (Angela's brother and my cousin) started to work this part.  They did about half of the trees so today we will finish.  There is also land that Luigi owns that needs to be harvested, as well as the land behind my house - about 10 trees.  Angela's land, which is the old Gentile family land, will not be harvested.  She lost 40 trees in the fires of this past summer.  Many Gentile cousins lost trees in this area - it is so sad.  Angela can't bring herself to even visit the land to see the damage.  Another cousin lost over 100 trees.  Luckily the trees we are harvesting are nice and full.  What I don't know is if the damaged trees will ever produce fruit again.  

The first video is our short drive down the "country road" to the land.  This is maybe 5-10 minutes from my house.  Note as the car slows the road is washed out on the right side.  I always hold my breath when driving on this road.  I am always a passenger - I will never drive it!

https://youtu.be/PPYWCYmcb7A


Once there I thought - gee not a bad view from my "office" for today's work.  :)

The first step is to lay nets down under the trees that you will be working.  Note this land is not flat so attention is needed to make sure you are on solid footing.  

Once the nets are in place the work begins.  Angela and I work on the lower branches - literally picking the olives by hand - pulling them off the branches and letting them fall into the netting.  Luigi and Francesco use a machine that is like hands that grabs the branches and shakes and loosen the olives.  I did try my hand at the machine as well.

But Luigi and Francesco are the pros.  

https://youtu.be/dhg1-jdPXO4

https://youtu.be/ovCkkPp-xak


When a tree is done you need to gather the olives so you pull the netting so the olives gather in one spot.  You empty the olives from the netting into buckets and shake the buckets so the leaves, twigs, sticks will rise to the top. You want to pull out as much of this type of material before bagging the olives.  The remainder will be separated at the pressing plant but doing an initial pass is necessary.  Once cleaned you then empty the bucket into bags.  

While we were harvesting many others are doing the same thing - you can hear the sounds of voices and machines across the land.  Right next to us were friends of the family.  Interesting as they did not have the modern machine but were using the old fashion method of a long stick.  You take the stick and literally beat it in the tree to get the olives to fall.  Now THAT is a lot of work.

Once the olives are picked and bagged it is on to the press company.  It is a busy place these days.  Everyone is bringing their harvest for pressing.  And of course we run into cousin Antonio who is harvesting today too.

Upon arriving the workers take your olives - either from containers or bags and empty them into large square plastic bins.  These bins can then be lifted with a fork lift so they are weighed before the pressing starts.  They are also labeled with your name. 

When your turn arrives the olives are dumped into the machine for washing and separating the leaves, twigs, etc.  See the video below.

https://youtu.be/Y6-So5OLTHw


Once cleaned and separated they enter the press machine which is inside the building.  I am not quite sure how it works but this machine holds multiple peoples olives as they are processed. 

 As they are pressed they turn into a paste - see the short video - part 5

https://youtu.be/0UhzOK4vulk

When your batch is ready the oil is pulled from the machine into the containers that are then used to fill your smaller containers. 

https://youtu.be/RSP1d7ufVEg

 The whole thing is quite amazing and I am so curious as to how the large machines work.  I am going to see if someone can take the time to explain it to me with our next batch.  Today it was so busy I did not want to bother anyone.  Another amazing bit of information - check out the list of the different types of olives just grown in the region of Campania.  66 different types - who knew?

Today we harvested 7 trees, in about 6 hours.  We gathered 140 kilograms of olives - which equals 308+ pounds.  That then turned into 30 liters of extra virgin olive oil or 7.4 gallons.  

There are more days ahead of olive harvest.  I will say it is a lot of work but it truly is a labor of love for the people of southern Italy.  I can't wait to taste it!!

Furnace Preparations

mercoledì, 27 settembre

With the arrival of fall comes cooler temperatures.  The mornings and evenings are cool and crisp while the mid day can still be on the warm side - but no humidity.  I know going forward the temperatures will continue to drop but I know it won't come close to the cold and snow of Minnesota.  Hallelujah!!  In December and January it can be colder with a lot of rain.  I know I have told most of you my house does not have a furnace so how will I keep warm in the winter????? I will have to build a fire in my fireplace. Thank goodness I was a girl scout!!

Again, this house is older and no one has lived in it for any length or time and never in the winter.  Angela was unsure about the flue and chimney.  Her concern was there could be construction debris still in the chimney.  So we called on my cousin Antonio (who can fix anything) to come over and help get it ready for winter.

Sure enough on opening the flue all sorts of junk came pouring out and it took a bit of work to get the chimney cleared.  Once cleared he wanted to make sure it was drawing air correctly so he and Angela built a small fire - check out the pictures below.  It was wonderful and now my "furnace" is all ready for winter.  I still need to buy a grate for the wood and a screen for the front of the fireplace.  Another item I will buy is a "treppiedi per camino" - a tripod for the fireplace.  This is put over the fire and then you can cook in your fireplace!!!  I will make sure to post pictures when I take on that adventure.  

I also learned that after the fire is out and you need to clean the ash from the fireplace you don't throw it away.  They told me to take it outside and mix it into the dirt around trees - fig, olive, whatever.  The trees love it.  Plus a lot easier than filling garbage bags. 
 

Fireplace all ready for a fire!!  

Team work by my cousins Angela and Antonio

The man can fix anything!!  

That should keep Oscar and I toasty warm this winter!

Another benefit to cooler temperatures is I can take Oscar on longer walks in the evening.  He did not do well this summer with the heat and I had to be very careful.  Just short walks in the morning and at night so I missed my walks through the village that we were doing when I first moved here.  But Oscar was a pretty sick little dog there for awhile.   Walking through the village is just so cool.  Everyone is out at night, usually after 5 p.m. and before 8 p.m., no matter the temperature.  They are visiting with neighbors and getting a walk in before dinner.  

On a recent walk I took some pics I thought you might enjoy along with a video of the young boys playing soccer after school and before dinner.  There are three young boys who have befriended me - due to Oscar.  They now always greet me by name and ask how I am doing.  They are just the cutest.  They are part of this video playing soccer.    As I was walking home (up the 132 steps) I stops and watched for a bit.  

The "132 Steps"

The soccer field is right along the steps

https://youtu.be/27QPczDWrQM

Pomegranate tree at my cousin Rosalina's house

The main bar in town - along the Main Street.
All the men hang out here in the morning and in the evening

Just like in the movies

A small playground that gets a lot of use

Fino alla prossima volta!

A First for Oscar and More on Life in Southern Italy

martedi, 12 settembre


Oscar had a first for his life in Italy.  I needed to find a groomer for him.  His nails were getting too long and he desperately needed a bath - oh my.   But finding a groomer in southern Italy was not so easy.  What I am finding, not just with groomers, but with many small businesses, is they do not have websites so finding them must be done the old fashion way - through word of mouth.  Once you get a few names of businesses you can then do a web search and many times they have Facebook pages but not knowing the business name can present challenges.  Sooooo, my resourceful cousin asked at the pet food store and of course we find out there are quite a few pet groomers in our area.  Thank goodness - so I made an appointment for Oscar.  I am happy to report I was very impressed with the service and cost.  Oscar came out a happy dog, all clean and ready to go!!!  Thanks to Hobby Pet in Vallo della Lucania!!

The front of the pet groomer in Vallo della Lucania

Oscar all clean and happy

And what would my blog post be without news about ANOTHER festival!  haha!!  Saturday afternoon I was going with Antonio to look for fireplace grates and screens.  With winter approaching and no furnace in my house, I need to prepare.  Again the house has not been lived in during the winter so the fireplace has never been used.  Antonio knows someone who will come and clean the flue first.  But in discussions he also mentioned he knew where we could find fireplace equipment.  Well that is what I thought the discussion was about - my other cousin was discussing as well so the Italian was flowing fast and free (translation - I was only getting about 50% of the conversation - which can be deceiving).  So Saturday afternoon, after Oscar's grooming, Angela and I met Antonio and Anna and off we went.  We ended up at a festival.  More on that in a minute but I realized pretty quick he must know a vendor or two that sold iron works that would be at the festival.  Unfortunately not what I was expecting or looking for (another lost in translation moment).  So the search for fireplace equipment continues - the vendors work was just ok - and not a lot to pick from.  But the festival - another OMG!!

This festival was in Cannalonga and as the poster below shows it was the festival of the goat.

Frecagnola is dialect for Goat.  And just in case you were wondering this isn't necessarily celebrating goat cheese but GOAT!!!  Yes - goat meat - boiled and grilled.  Needless to say I did not taste any.  

Cannalonga is very old - 9th/10th century AD.  Apparently it was know for the large herds of goats that were raised here and then sold.  The village has a great piazza that is central to a Palace.  This festival was the largest I had been to so far.  There were vendors typical for a Saturday morning market but then additional vendors as well, selling crafts as well as food items.  There were numerous eating areas where each had a separate menu but each one for sure had goat.  I even saw some menus with coniglio (rabbit) - :(.    We didn't stay long but I saw enough that said - add this to next year's list of festivals to attend.

Poster for the Festival - the teeshirts were cool too
but none for sale.

Palace in the town square

Town Square

Metal sculpture of the celebrated Goat

On Sunday and Monday we had terrible weather - very bad rain storms.  You may have seen some news footage on flooding in Italy - this was farther north in Tuscany (the city of Livorno) but the bad weather traveled south as well.  It was awful and seemed to go on forever - windy and rainy.  Being high up in the mountain made it worse I am sure.  So Oscar and I just hunkered down and streamed coverage of Hurricane Irma.  That is oh so sad.  But here I even lost power.  On Monday morning I awoke to no electricity.  Apparently water got into one of the exterior light fixtures and shorted everything out.  Instead of sitting and waiting at the house for the "tecnico" - technician, Angela invited me to her house to learn how to make Melanzane RIpiene (stuffed eggplant).  But her recipe is really different than those online.  These are little circles of eggplant stuffed with a cheese mixture, then fried (no batter) and then cooked in a tomato sauce.  It is one of my favorite dishes that she makes and I had wanted to watch how she makes it.  The cool thing is all the ingredients she used were local - nothing was bought from a grocery store - how sweet is that!!!  So now it will be my turn to try - later this week.  

All I can say is YUM!!!

Time for dinner and leftovers from Angela! Buon appetito!

And now onto Fall.....

lunedi, 4 settembre - giovedi, 7 settembre

Thank goodness it is September.  All the vacationers have left and life is returning to normal here in southern Italy.  Along with the tourists leaving so has the hot and humid weather.  Today is a beautiful clear day and here is my view from my office as I type this blog.  Not too bad - right?

Over the weekend I went to the Sagra in Pioppi.  This Sagra is one of the oldest if not THE oldest in the Cilento area which started in 1969.  The famous "Mediterranean diet" was discovered in Pioppi by Angel Keys.  And an interesting fact about Mr. Keys - he has a tie to Minnesota as he spent a short amount of time at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester and then taught at the University of Minnesota.  In Pioppi there is a small museum for the Mediterranean diet.  He spent 28 years in Pioppi and returned to Minnesota one year before he died at the age of 100.  

The Sagra in Pioppi is Sagra del Pesce (Festival of fish).  Most of you that know me know I am not fond of fish but I do eat some types - just not alot.  Living in southern Italy I am trying to have an open mind and try more fish as I do know it is healthy.   So to the Sagra I would go.  Friday night I went with Angela and Luigi.  I ate Polpo (octopus).  It was served in a salad with potatoes.  It really wasn't that bad - no fishy taste which is the worst for me - but the texture was a bit challenging.  A bit like calamari - but I do like calamari - so go figure.  And thank goodness it was dark so I couldn't really see what I was eating - haha!!!

The second night I was able to spend the evening with a cousin I had not seen yet since my move in May.  

My cousin Rosanna (former teacher and artist)
I have a few pieces of her art in my home.

She and her husband spend the summers in Pioppi but live in Salerno.  Due to some family issues they have not been in Pioppi much this summer so I was thrilled when we were able to make plans to spend time together.  Rosanna's husband, Pasquale was working at the Sagra so she and I were able to catch up.  Also we were able to get a behind the scenes view of the main food station (Fried Anchovies) - OMG!  For 6 euros you got a cone full of fish with some bread and either a water or glass of wine.  Check out the process.

The fish are put in a large strainer and flowered.
The motion in the picture didn't turn out real well.

Then the fish as put in the fryer

The basket of fish is pulled out of the fryer and
the fish are drained on a large paper lined grate

The finished product ready to be loaded into
the paper cones shown on the right side of the picture

Needless to say I was not brave enough to try these - a bit too fishy and they still have the heads - oh ick!!!

Another sign of fall is the different fruits and vegetables I will get at the market.  I was so excited to see Pomegranates (melograno) last time I went.  I love them and again a very healthy fruit.  I will eat the seeds with yogurt and honey.  The good things is they are so inexpensive.  In the states you could pay over a $1 for one.  My total purchase at the market which included a pomegranate was 3 euros!!!  I will be buying lots of pomegranates.  In fact I may plant a tree next spring in my front yard!  

Stay safe if you live in the path of "Irma" and will write more soon.

Bella Vista and Family Visits

martedi, 22 agosto

I continue to enjoy August in Italy - I will say I am considering taking vacation during this time in future years due to the amount of people that descend on southern Italy.  It can be a bit overwhelming as you have to think twice when leaving the house - what time is it and will I run into a lot of cars and people?  The other day I was going to the bank and turned around and went back home before I got there - I was sitting in a line of traffic that was crawling.  I didn't need the money that bad (haha).  

But the one good thing about August is I do get to see many family members that don't live in southern Italy.  Everyone "comes home" for at least a few weeks if not for the entire month.   And festivals abound.  I went to another Sagra - this one way up in the mountains in a village called Stio.  The food was amazing and when we left there were lines of people waiting for tables.  Each Sagra is so different in the set up but the one constant is GOOD FOOD!!

Tables were smaller than other Sagras and had a cover/roof over them

Menu for the Sagra - and people come to your table and take your order
and bring your food to you.

Bean Soup, Eggplant and of course Wine!

I believe I have mentioned my cousin Doria in previous posts. She lives in Germany but comes to Italy with her family twice a year - one week in June and then for the entire month of August.  Yesterday she and I went to visit an older cousin - my mom's first cousin Angela.  She is amazing at 80+ years.  Doria had never met her.  They are from different branches of the family tree but I knew Angela and her daughter Rita may remember Doria's mom and her grandmother.  I love bringing people together so I arranged for us to visit last night.  It was a lovely visit - sitting on her back terrace and enjoying stories of times gone by.  Angela is probably the last relative that has memories of the Gentile brothers (my grandfather included) so I want to make a point of visiting and maybe recording her during future visits.  Her information and stories are wonderful.  

After our visit Doria drove us to San Bernardino.  This really isn't a city or village but an area of Southern Italy where my grandfather and family grew up.  The family land is here and many homes are still on the land - although many in very poor condition.  Doria also showed me her father's land.  I have been here a few times over the years.  I apologize as I didn't take any photos of the land - next time -  as I will be back there for the olive harvest in November.   But as we were leaving the view was so stunning we stopped the car and both got out and wanted to take pictures.  So I took a quick video and posted it on YouTube.  Here is the link. 

https://youtu.be/seoRi3fEnNM

Here is a panoramic still picture I took as well.  

Panoramic from San Bernardino

Till next time!!

Ferragosto, Festas and Figs

giovedi, 17 agosto

Ferragosto, festas and figs are all part of summer in Italy - especially in the month of August.  As I mentioned this is the month of the Italian holiday - everyone takes a break from work - many for the entire month of August.  It was never so apparent than during my recent trip to Rome.  I was amazed at the lack of traffic.  Yes there were lots of tourists but there was minimal traffic. In all the years I have been traveling to Italy and Rome I have NEVER seen it with no traffic.  But here in the south - oh my - so many cars in these little villages.  I can see why the locals (which I am now) do not like August.  It is an invasion and makes daily life rather challenging.  I experienced my first Ferragosto on August 15th.  

What is Ferragosto?  I always thought it was just a celebration of summer but I researched it a bit more and discovered it really is a religious holiday with a celebration of summer.  From Wikipedia - "Ferragosto is an Italian and Sammarinese public holiday celebrated on 15 August, coinciding with the major Catholic feast of the Assumption of Mary. By metonymy, it is also the summer vacation period around mid-August, which may be a long weekend (ponte di ferragosto) or most of August.^[1]".  

It reminded me of one of our summer holidays - everyone has picnics with family and friends or they go to the beach.  Some of the villages do have a religious celebration and most have a special mass.  My village only had a mass.  The night before I stopped at the grocery store for a few items and I discovered a similar scene to back in the states - everyone buying their groceries for the parties the next day.  There was nowhere to park and the lines to check out were extremely long.   I didn't exactly celebrate Ferragosto but I did attend a birthday party/cookout for a cousin who was turning 16. It was just a family affair but I experienced my first BBQ as they call it.  Italians do like to cook out - but interesting fact - they don't always use charcoal - they use wood.  Wow - what flavor!!   

And last night the parties continued.  Sagras are another celebration or Festa.  Again from wikipedia  -  "sagra (plural: sagre) is a local festival, very often involving food, and frequently a historical pageant and sporting events: when the sporting event is a historical recreation as well, such as a joust or a horse race in costume or armour, it is called a palio."   The sagras I have attended so far just involve food.  I have not experienced any with pageants or sports.  But there is always cilentano music played by local musicians and lots of dancing.  

Each village will celebrate different foods.  I thought it was food specific to the village but that is not correct.  It is just good Italian/cilentano food but each village will celebrate something specific.  There will be other items as well to pick from. See our menu below - from our Sagra held in July.

Last night I attended the Sagra in Casalvelino Scalo - celebrating Parmigiana.  Oh my check this out.

They also had chicken or sausage with French fries on their menu.  Look at the amount of chickens on these grills.  They even have their wine bottled for the Sagra.

Sagras do continue throughout the year.  They are not just in summer so I look forward to experiencing more in the coming months. 

So where do Figs fit into this story.  August is the month when the figs start to ripen.  I posted a picture on Facebook back in June of my first fig.  That clearly was an early bloomer as August is the typical month for harvest.  I have one fig tree in my front yard. 

It is full and the figs are starting to ripen.  Picking at the right time is important.  

But what in the world do you do with all those figs?  I am researching and learning.  You can just eat them fresh off the tree or use them in recipes.  They are a very healthy fruit and part of the very healthy Mediterranean diet.   So far I have tried two new recipes with Figs.  An appetizer with prosciutto, gorgonzola cheese (or goat cheese) and figs - yum.  Or how about some Banana Fig bread.

But what most people do is dry them.  When stored properly they will keep for months.  You start by drying them in the sun for a few days on a special wooden tray - you can dry them whole or cut them in half and dry them.  Once dry you can fill the ones cut in half with a nut or special flavoring.  You then continue drying them in the oven for a short period of time.  

The finished product - YUM!!  You have them to enjoy all year long until next summer's harvest.

Buon appetito!

I'm Back!!

mercoledi, 9 agosto 2017

Hello again,

I'm back from my little blogging break.  I had a great 2 week visit back in the states and then a friend of mine came back to Italy with me for 2 weeks.  

Going back to the U.S. (Minnesota) I wondered what I would feel - would I miss it, would I say - "oh my I should never have moved to Italy" - I really wasn't sure.  I know I miss all my friends but having moved over the years for Honeywell I know that no matter the miles you stay in touch with those friends that want to be stayed in touch with.  But would I miss the environment, the lifestyle?  The answer - NO!  I was a bit surprised but maybe not.  I found myself thinking about "home" in Italy as I know it now.  But I did have a great stay visiting some of my favorite places for food, golf and shopping.  I also flew to California for a wedding.  A high school friend's daughter was getting married and it was a beautiful event.  So happy I chose to travel the distance.  

Upon my return to Italy on July 28th a friend from Minnesota came with me.  This was her first trip to Italy - in fact her first trip EVER outside the U.S.  She had to get a passport for the trip.  I so enjoyed showing her my new lifestyle.  We did some amazing things while she was here - even tho we were having record heat and humidity.  It was fun to see Italy through her eyes. She posted some amazing picture videos on her Facebook page and I am "tagged" in them so they are on my page as well.  Check them out if you are a Facebook friend of mine.  We went to Naples for a day, spent a few days at the beach, went shopping and of course she met some of my amazing family (cousins).  At the end we traveled to Rome for her trip home but spent a few days doing the tourist thing there (again in record heat) but she was able to see some of the amazing sites of Rome.   It was a great visit with her and she is now on her way back to her family.  

So now back to the normal routine.  August in southern Italy is very unique. My cousins had always told me this but now I am seeing it in person.  This is the vacation month for Italians and the major cities empty and many families come south to the sea/beach.  It was very apparent when in Rome these past few days - traffic was so light - I had never seen it like that.  But traffic here in southern Italy is a mess.   I am amazed at the amount of people that come here.  Every beach town is packed with people who rent little houses for the month.  The beaches are packed by 9 a.m. in the morning.  At night the streets are filled with people.  There are lots of activities going on as well.  Beach volleyball and soccer tournaments, lots of festas (parties) and concerts.  I will be taking in some of it over the next few weeks and will fill you in as I experience it.  

Some disturbing news - while I was gone there were fires in the hillsides of southern Italy close to where I live.  They started up closer to Naples and Mount Vesuvius but moved south over the past month.  In fact one area affected is just outside my door up higher in the hillside.  I understand most of them were from arson.  Even land around Velia (an archaeological site close to me) was damaged.  Access to some of the sites is closed.  There are many stories floating around on why/how they were set.  Some of my cousins lost olive trees on old family land and one cousin had damage to his house (the area close to me).  See the picture I took below.  I am grateful my house is safe but my heart aches for the land that has been damaged.    As you drive around the area you see so much of it.  I have no idea how long it will take to recover.  We have not had rain in months so that did not help the situation and the heat and humidity continues.  

But I am glad to be back home and will continue my stories.