Hello Italian Food Forever Newsletters Subscribers!

It is hard to believe that July is almost here and after a couple of very warm weeks, we have cooler weather back again. I am not complaining, I promise, as I remember many days last year in June when the temperatures soared over 100 degrees, but it indeed very odd to have such strange weather this year! Some of our family is here visiting for a few weeks and we love sharing our favorites places in Umbria with them.

We visited Castelluccio and the Piano Grande earlier in the week, and today we all explored Citta della Pieve and then had a lovely seafood lunch by Lake Trasimeno. We hope to squeeze in a visit to Gubbio and perhaps Perugia this week before we head off to spend next week in Calabria visiting my Father-In-Laws birthplace as well as spending some family time at a beach resort along the shores of Calabria. I'm not sure about internet connection next week, so a newsletter may not make it out while I'm away, but I'll be back in touch as soon as I can!

Gubbio & Restaurant Review of Da Baffone – Truffle Heaven!

Every Sunday we take the day off of our regular chores and head out to explore Umbria. Since last Sunday was Father's Day, my husband got his pick of destinations, and it wasn't surprising where he chose as he has been craving a truffle meal at Trattoria Da Baffone since we arrived back in Umbria May 9th. We were Gubbio bound! Gubbio is one of northern Umbria's most stunning stone hill towns, and stands at the foot of Mount Ingino. It is difficult not to be awed by the stark beauty of this medieval town as you approach by car and see it's grey limestone buildings built along its steep streets that wind up the base of the mountain. Read More......

Grated Zucchini Bruschetta
We seem to eat a lot of zucchini every summer, and I really mean a lot. It seems that you wait anxiously for that first zucchini to appear in the garden each summer, but much too quickly you have more zucchini than you ever wanted and are scrambling to find ways to prepare them that won't bore the entire family.

I end up getting so busy cooking zucchini from our garden each summer that at times I forget to write out the recipe I use, and never even stop to think about taking a photo of the finished zucchini dish. Get The REcipe......

Bread & Cheese Meatballs
This dish is typical of cucina povera, or peasant cooking, and shows just how imaginative Italian cooks can actually be. Stale bread, grated cheese, and a few eggs are combined to create tender "meatballs" cooked in sauce.

This meatless dish is so satisfying that you will never miss the meat, and I like to serve this dish with some crusty Italian bread to sop up the tasty sauce. Add a crisp garden salad to complete the meal and you'll end up with a remarkably inexpensive delicious dish to serve your family. Get The Recipe......

Castelluccio, Piano Grande & the Sibillini Mountains 2013
Our family is visiting us again this summer and one of our first trips we took together to explore Umbria was to Castelluccio and the Piano Grande to see the yearly fioritura, or fields of wildflowers that take over the lentil fields along the feet of the Sibillini mountains. The flowers appear on average between the beginning of June until the second week of July though depending on the weather conditions each year, the best time to view the flowers may vary. Read More......