What a match! We finally have liquid gold (see old posts: “Picking olives”, “Liquid gold”, and “Alternative uses for olive oil”) and  silverware.

GOLD: the olive oil is the one you tasted at the Fattoria di Grignano ( harvest 2011, cold pressed). It comes in 3-liter tins, (I think approximately 6 qts)  and it will cost 99€ shipped anywhere in the USA. Two 3-liter tins will only cost 168€ instead of 198€.

As you may remember, the 1-liter bottle at Grignano costs 20€, so this offer would bring you 3 times that, for 39€ shipping.

If you are interested, send us an email info@accidentaltourist.com with your shipping address, and quantity desired. We’ll go from there! Paypal payment.

SILVER: Florentine designer Paola Sardone has created a line of unique silverware called “Secondo Tempo”, that could not be more “Accidental Touristy”:

Odd pieces of old sets – a single fork, a lonely knife, a wounded spoon – postwar memories found in antique markets are brought to new life with a coat or real silver. Each of them will keep a bare spot, as a memory of its past life.

These pieces are just like some of us,  similar but all uniquely different, imperfect but precious, ready for everyday work yet understatedly elegant…

I especially like the large soup spoons with holes, perfect to dress a salad with olive oil vinaigrette.

Paola also likes to match sets of two, and package them in a pretty box or cloth wrap (see pics). I found that a perfect, classy gift for a wedding (especially if it a second round!).

If you are up for a new life, for a second coat of beauty, for a perfect mismatch, SECONDO TEMPO is for you!

A classic. A classic excercise of failure, on my part.

So this year I will detail my good intentions as suggested on previous post

WHY EAT LESS:

1) 3 good reasons to not overeat:

-      Most ailments come from an accumulation of toxins in our body. The sources are various (pollution, stress, genetics etc). The single most relevant source of toxins, and the only one we can control, is food.

-      It puts a muffle on creativity AND will power. So whether we are looking to write a book or to build muscle, overeating (especially refined sugars and yeast) will reduce our performance.

-    Overeating calls for more overeating.

HOW TO EAT LESS:

Don’t be ambitious. Be optimistic, be realistic.

A small change, repeated for a period of time, has far more impact than great occasional actions.

3500 calories make for 1 lb. of mass. Given an average daily consumption of 2500 calories, (and that’s why we have a few extra pounds to lose…)  we can fast one day every 4 weeks, and subtract. A conscious fast can help detoxing, but it won’t help  shed the pounds.

Alternatively, we can drop 100 calories from our daily intake (just buy smaller tableware and we can still fill up our plate…).  Now let’s multiply: we’ll end up 10 lbs. stably lighter at the end of the year, (with a 2 week break included!).

By the same token, ( small changes make a bigger difference) , if we are  trying to get away with our new passion for food, let’s stay away from the daily munchies on the way home (my curse…) and  splurge instead on one wonderful feast per month. It will feel like a celebration, and it won’t create a habit.

WHAT TO EAT:

Illuminating trick: change our “Eat less” into “Eat better”.

We will automatically end up eating less! Why? Because quantity and quality don’t go hand in hand: have you ever noticed how we drink more cheap wine and faster, that we do good wine?

This, for good reasons:

-      cheap is…cheaper! That allows for compulsive purchases. (It goes for clothing, too).

-      cheap is sold in packages, so we end up buying more than we need.

-      cheap usually comes with chemicals (preservatives, artificial aromas, colorings etc), and those induce more craving for the same (it’s called the Cat Food Effect)

-      Real, natural quality food pleases the smell and the vision (sometimes even the touch) before we even taste it, so it takes less to satisfy us.

-       Good food calls for a nice presentation and time to enjoy, which prolong the pleasure. (It’s called Food Foreplay)

-      Real food does what it’s meant for: it nourishes. So we feel satisfied for a longer time, and grateful.

Here comes that time of the year again when we traditionally declare our good intentions. Often times, at least for me, they stay just that. So this year I have researched some tips to increase my resolutions’ success rate.

Most of these will not sound new to you, as they did not to me. However some things – like the re-runs of Cheers or a second serving of Ribollita – are worth repeating:

1) – Resolutions should be limited to the next 12 months, and should compare only to the past 12 months: see resolutions  as a  yearly budget   more than a strong but undefined desire for a better life. Give it detail and terms of comparison.

“Eat less”, “make more money”, “exercise more”, “travel more” don’t work: they are too generic. It’s the difference between saying “I’ll exercise later” and “I’ll do 20 pushups at 3:00pm”.

So, to turn your wish into a plan, complete with details:

“What” (state is clearly, spell it out, write it down, put it where you can read it); “When and Where” (brake the yearly target into a monthly, weekly, daily plan),   and most importantly, ask yourself the big “W”: “Why?”.

Aren’t your motivations really some elses’? When you say you want to lose weight, do you really mean “I want to look better”? When you dream of having more time, do you know what you would do with it? When you say you want to make more money, do you actually intend “I want  to afford more” or “I want to live a better life”?

I want to quote this illuminating page  from Harvard professor Tal-Ben Shahar’s book “Happier”:

“When questioning why we want certain things, other than happiness, we can always question their value with another “Why?”. For example, why are you training so hard? Why do you want to win this prize? Why do you want to be rich and famous? Why do you want  a fancy car, a promotion at work, a year off from work?

But when the answer to a questions is “because it makes me happy”, nothing can challenge the validity and finality of the answer. Wealth, fame, admiration, all other goals are subordinate and secondary to happiness. We pursue happiness because it is our nature to do so.

So try this excercise: do the “infinitely regressive why” excercise for a couple of things that you want – whether a bigger house, a promotion, or anything. Notice how many “whys” it takes you to reply to yourself: “because it makes me happy”.

Then, adjust your resolutions, and good luck!

Give it a try and let me know. Any contribution will be  appreciated and – with your premission – posted.

Hello dear Accidental Tourists,

we are looking for a web designer to assist us in creating a web site from scratch.

This website will be for a new barter organization, that offers a data base of people around the world (initially, mostly in Italy), interested in trading skills and professions in exchange of hospitality.

Our bartering program called “be my guest” has been working really well since it first started a few years ago, so we feel it is time to expand the options for both Guests and Hosts. Especially in economic times like these, trading instead of paying for services and accommodations will broaden the possibilities for great number of people.

In fact, if you have 5 minutes, please give us more ideas about what kind of services  to give or receive in exchange of hospitality.

Mine (seeking!)  at the moment are:

- skilled Mac use,  ironing, massaging,  carpentry and furniture decor,  wall painting, swing dance lessons, cooking lesson (professional or semi), gardening.

Any more ideas?

This week end we had the pleasure of having Crystal, Jared, Alyssa and Mitch on our barter program. The weather was as good as it can be in November: fall colors, warm sunny day, cool in the shade. Perfect for some carpenter work outdoors!

My great aunt’s old wardrobe, came to us with a very bumpy, dated finish, and was in urgent need of a sand job.  I had been putting it off for months, knowing it would take me a full day of elbow grease. What a perfect occasion to have 4 pairs of young, skilled hands to do it! The wardrobe was gently taken to the yard in the sun, and the job was done in 2 hours of team effort. A Carpenter octopus couldn’t have done it better.

In return for this great job, the 2 young and lovely couples got 2 nights in the tower apartment.

Once again the barter reminds us that money is only second choice.

Yesterday afternoon we lost Marco. “Grumpy” Marco. The grumpiest, generous most talented  wine maker at Fattoria di Grignano.

He contributed to the wonderful qualities of the wines you tasted at Fattoria di Grignano.

I don’t know how to write a necrology, I just wanted this terrible piece on news to reach those who enjoyed his wonderful work made of hard-earned expertise, natural talent and devotion.

He was only 42 years old, and leaves a little daughter, a wife and both parents.

Recently received a letter from the  School Cafeteria.

Here it was it says:

“menu effective from September 19th 2011.

The school cafeteria produces 1800 meals per day, out of 4 different cooking facilities to minimize travelling time. The menu varies based on age of the student and will change again every other month, to follow the fruit and vegetable season.

We have an option for vegetarians, intolerances to eggs or dairy.

Most of our ingredients (pasta, rice, all veggetables, legumes and fruit)  are organic, and we are constantly increasing our number of “short mile” produce, meaning that most of the produce we use in the kitchen has been produced within a 3 mile range. Exception: our prosciutto and parmigiano are both certified from Parma. Midmorning snack for the kindergarden is different every day of the week: rice cakes, fresh focaccia, homemade pie, assorted fresh fruits etc.

Then follows a MOn-Fri menu, for four different weeks. That means the kids never eat the same meal in a month.

Here it goes:

1st WEEK:

MONDAY:

- Tomatoe soup. Ingredients: fresh tomatoes, potatoes, fresh herbs, extra virgin olive oil, bread croutons.

- Roast Beef. Ingredients: Beef, fresh herbs, extra virgin olive oil.

- Steamed String beans. Ingredients: String beans, fresh herbs, extra virgin olive oil.

Vegetarian option: seitan

Dairy intolerance option: same

egg intolerance option: same

TUESDAY:

- pasta with zucchini. Ingredients: pasta, zucchini, fresh herbs, extra virgin olive oil.

- Mozzarella

- Tomatoes and basil: Ingredients: tomatoes, basil, extra virgin olive oil.

Dairy intolerance option beef

WEDNESDAY:

Pasta salad with fresh tomato. Ingredients: pasta, tomatoe, basil, extra virgin olive oil.

Breaded oven cod filet: cod, bread crumbs, fresh herbs, extra virgin olive oil.

Carrots julienne. Ingredients: carrots, extra virgin olive oil.

THURDSAY:

Basil Pasta. Ingredients: pasta, basil, extra virgin olive oil.

Turkey cutlets. Ingredients: turkey breasts, eggs, breat crumbs, sunfower oil.

Parsley potatoes. Ingredients: potatoes, parsley, extra virgin olive oil.

Eggs intolerance option: Turkey cutlets witout eggs

FRIDAY:

Risotto with herbs. Ingredients: rice, fresh herbs, extra virgin olive oil.

Frittata. Ingredients: eggs, milk, flour, extra virgin olive oil.

Fresh raw veggetables. Ingredients: season’s veggetables, extra virgin olive oil.

Dairy intolerance: frittata with no milk

Egg intolerance: cheese

You get the idea: a balance of carbs, protein and veggetables, and extravirgin olive oil by the gallons, and herbs by the ton.

The following 3 weeks sound like this:

pasta with fresh veggies, vegetarian lasagne, minestrone, risotto with parmigiano, meatloaf, pizza, prosciutto, fish fingers (freshly made), pumpkin soup, crostini, pasta with pesto, sauteeed carrots, etc etc.

I can’t wait til parents day.

PS These meals don’t come for free: based on income bracket, each actually consumed meal cost from 3.00 to 5.30€!

We at the Accidental Tourists usually have a good time working; food is good, scenery is beautiful, clients are appreciative and everything goes well. However, last saturday was one of those events we will not soon forget: a private birthday celebration for a party of 24. Gorgeous setting, superb live music , catering good for a wedding, the best looking, fun guests we could ever hope for. To see more pictures go to our facebook profile; also check out  the live a cappella band that made us dance like kids while watching the sun set over Florence.

If you ever are in the mood for a memorable event, try us out. Also, see more pics on our Facebook album.