Our Italian Restaurant(s): Florence, Part Two

Let's be real. The best part about Italy was the food. It seemed like we started the day with a big spread at our hotel (where there was always hot cappuccino, and gluten-free options for me), and then we spent the rest of the day figuring out what our next culinary indulgence would be. In between, we checked out some famous - and amazing - historical sites, museums, and churches, but it was really all about the food. In this series, I'll share the amazing meals we had, just in case you're planning a trip to Italy anytime soon ;)

While in Florence, we decided it would be fun to take a bus tour around Tuscany for a day.  We started in Siena, where this weekday farmer's market was going on. I desperately wanted to peel off from the tour and explore the market!

For lunch, we went to an organic farm and winery, Fattoria Poggio Alloro. Let's be real - this was the best part of the tour! Our tour guide went around the bus, checking on dietary needs, and gluten-free was no problem. We started with an olive oil tasting - bread for everyone else, and gluten-free crackers for me. The farm's olive oil was incredible, and I had to resist the urge to drink it straight out of the bottle.

The second course was pasta (gluten-free for us) with a light ragu sauce. The pasta was perfectly cooked, and the sauce was amazing too.

With each course came a new wine tasting - a whole bottle of wine for every four people! We quickly became friends with the people sitting around us as the wine flowed. After the pasta course was salad (with more olive oil), meats, and cheeses. I could just taste how fresh the salad greens were, and the meat and cheese were so good that we eagerly scooped up seconds when they came around.

The dessert course was cookies dunked in the farm's dessert wine, which really tasted more like liquor than any dessert wine I've ever had. The cookies had nuts in them, so I had to pass on that, but Mike said they were very good.

I hated to leave Fattoria Poggio Alloro, but I did manage to take little pieces of it with me: some olive oil and a bottle of their white wine, which was my favorite.

Next week: the best gluten-free pizza we've ever had!

Our Italian Restaurant(s): Florence, Part One

Let's be real. The best part about Italy was the food. It seemed like we started the day with a big spread at our hotel (where there was always hot cappuccino, and gluten-free options for me), and then we spent the rest of the day figuring out what our next culinary indulgence would be. In between, we checked out some famous - and amazing - historical sites, museums, and churches, but it was really all about the food. In this series, I'll share the amazing meals we had, just in case you're planning a trip to Italy anytime soon ;)

We stepped off the train in Florence ready to dive into the sights, but famished, too. We set off in search of some good gluten-free food and happened across this sign for Ristorante il Paiolo. Pinned to the sign: We speak English! Pasta no glutine. We thought, why not give it a try?  

Well, they didn't speak much English, and in my broken Italian I had difficulty ordering. They didn't want to feed me anything other than gluten-free pasta, not even a salad! They had two sauces, and we chose the tomato.  Since we were splitting a portion, this is what my plate looked like before I dove in.  The pasta was a bit undercooked for my taste. I'm not sure if that's the way Italians like it, or if they just have a hard time cooking gluten-free pasta. Unfortunately, the sauce didn't have much going for it either - it tasted like it came out of a can. Womp, womp. 

After lunch, we went to the Uffizzi Gallery, where we saw just about every single work of art I ever learned about in Art History class. It was fun and overwhelming at the same time. Looking at all that art worked up an appetite, so we set off in search of a better meal than our first one.  We found it at a restaurant called The Chimera. They didn't advertise it on the menu, but they said they could do any pasta gluten-free.

Mike and I split the house red, and finally caught on that it's cheaper to order a liter of wine in a pitcher or carafe than to buy a bottle of wine at a restaurant. You can see how disappointed I was about having to drink all that wine:

We split an arugula salad that we dressed at the table with salt, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. I had this pasta with clams, a light butter-herb sauce, and lots of pepper:

This time the pasta was perfectly cooked (hey! maybe Italians do know how to cook gluten-free pasta!), and absolutely delicious. Mike had torellini stuffed with ricotta and dressed with oil, tomatoes, and zucchini (not gluten-free, but he said it was pretty tasty).

The next time we're in Florence, we'd love to stop by Chimera.

Next week: Our whirlwind day trip around Tuscany, complete with a stop at an organic farm for a wine tasting and gluten-free lunch!

Our Italian Restaurant(s): Rome, Part Two

Let's be real. The best part about Italy was the food. It seemed like we started the day with a big spread at our hotel (where there was always hot cappuccino, and gluten-free options for me), and then we spent the rest of the day figuring out what our next culinary indulgence would be. In between, we checked out some famous - and amazing - historical sites, museums, and churches, but it was really all about the food. In this series, I'll share the amazing meals we had, just in case you're planning a trip to Italy anytime soon ;)

Lest you think all of Rome was a bust when it came to gluten-free food, I want to share the culinary bright spot of our trip to Rome: Mama! Eat. This place was so good, we went here twice: on our second night in Italy, and our last.

This restaurant has a whole menu of gluten-free food. (They also have a regular menu.) You can get just about anything gluten-free, from fried chicken to pasta to pizza.

That's the gluten-free menu up there - so many options it was almost overwhelming! On our first trip, we split a liter of wine, an appetizer of prosciutto and mozzarella, spaghetti with half a lobster and tomato sauce, and panna cotta with chocolate sauce. All were delicious, and definitely gluten-free!

Our second trip to Mama! Eat was a late lunch/early dinner on our last day in Rome. We split a Besaola con rucola e scaglie di parmigiano (above - arugula salad with big slices of cured meat and parmesan), which could have been a meal all by itself.

 

But we didn't stop there. We ordered the gluten-free bread, which was tasty, and a pizza topped with ham and thin shavings of zucchini, which was also quite tasty. And then, because it was our last night in Italy, and because we weren't already stuffed after all that food, we split a panna cotta, this time drenched in caramel sauce.

Next week: Florence!

Our Italian Restaurant(s) - Rome, Part One

Let's be real. The best part about Italy was the food. It seemed like we started the day with a big spread at our hotel (where there was always hot cappuccino, and gluten-free options for me), and then we spent the rest of the day figuring out what our next culinary indulgence would be. In between, we checked out some famous - and amazing - historical sites, museums, and churches, but it was really all about the food. In this series, I'll share the amazing meals we had, just in case you're planning a trip to Italy anytime soon ;)

 We stepped of the plane, and my first thought was COFFEE! Unfortunately, we arrived at the hotel just after they stopped serving breakfast, so our very first mission in Rome was to find coffee. We landed on this spot, the Caffe' delle Arance (Orange Cafe) in the Santa Maria Trastevere Square. An itty bitty cup of coffee was €4,50, but it had caffeine, and we had a lovely view of the square.

After going back to the hotel and showering, it was time for lunch. We wandered around looking for restaurants with gluten-free options, and ended up here, at the Ristorante Carlo Menta.

They had one gluten-free pasta dish - penne in a creamy tomato sauce, with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. The pasta was a little on the al dente side for me, but it was my first hot meal since our wedding reception. Here's how I felt about it, and the jet lag:

After lunch, Mike proceeded to drag me around Rome - to the Colosseum, to the Roman Forum, to the Trevi Fountain, to the Pantheon. (All gorgeous. And all a blur, between the amount of time we spent at each - not much - and the jet lag.)

Somewhere in there it was time for dinner. We went to a restaurant called Il Miraggio, which is near the Trevi Fountain. There we had gluten-free pizza and a fantastic bottle of wine, but I somehow failed to take a picture of either.

When it was time to head back to the hotel, we got lost. One wrong turn and everything looked like we were almost at our hotel, but we were walking in circles. And then, I started to feel icky. Like I had been glutened, but I'm not sure if it was something I ate or the jet lag. Yikes!

Anyways, I don't think I'd go back to either of these restaurants. The food wasn't great, and I'm not sure whether they kept the food truly gluten-free.

Stay tuned for next week's installment, where Rome redeems itself with good truly-gluten-free food!

Weekend Links

I'm overwhelmed by the positive response to Ice Glider ... my very first published knitting pattern. It just confirms that I want to be designing more!

This weekend I did a little bit of everything...cooking, catching up on housework, knitting, working on some other projects, reading, and sleeping. I slept 12 whole hours Saturday night, which means that I must have really needed it. I hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend. Here are some links that caught my eye this weekend:

Knitting

I'm in love with this pattern. It's not a garment I would normally buy, but I have a good feeling about this one...

DIY

We don't have glass recycling here, which is a shame. I have plant nannies, which put quite a few old wine bottles to use, but I'm itching to try some more DIYs with wine bottles. The biggest hitch is getting the labels off. Some peel off easily, while others are a bear. You can bet I'll try this tutorial next time I need to peel labels off bottles.

Garden

I never did jump on the pallet gardening train...mostly because I worried they'd look too silly (and that the dog would tear all the plants out...ahem). But I love this idea of turning a pallet into shelving for potted herbs. Is it spring yet?

Cooking

When Mike and I were in Italy, we had some amazing gluten-free pizza. The crust was so chewy and delicious, we had to double-check to make sure it was gluten-free. (It was. More about it soon.) Since then, I've been searching for a recipe to try. This one's next on the list. 

What caught your eye over the weekend?

Escape from Smog Lake Valley

Forecast: Widespread Haze. Widespread Haze. Widespread Haze. Day, after day, after day, after day. It's not a pretty sight. Or smell, for that matter.

Whether you call it haze, inversion, or smog, Salt Lake City has had an awful year for pollution. Of greatest concern are PM 2.5 particles, which "pose a health concern because they can be inhaled into and accumulate in the respiratory system." (Source)  With 42 "Orange" air quality days and 14 "Red" air quality days for particle pollution (source), Salt Lake City lands itself a spot at #5 in the American Lung Association's most polluted cities by short-term particle pollution.  Most of the "solution" relies on voluntary action and unenforced mandatory action. People are advised to drive less, use public transportation, and stay indoors on these days. Wood fires are prohibited, and industry is asked to "optimize operating conditions to minimize air pollution." 

Air pollution can cause eye and throat irritation; chromosomal damage to fetuses; exacerbate asthma, heart, and lung disease; and causes similar lung damage as smoking. Children and the elderly are at the highest risk, but we all wonder what the air is doing to us. 

Numerous state-sponsored studies put most of the blame on vehicles. And the air is noticeably clearer on holidays - when people don't have to drive to work. But there's more to it than that.It turns out that most PM 2.5 is created by a chemical reaction between sunlight and precursor gases in the air, and it's difficult to identify the sources of those gases, though wood burning is thought to contribute more than other sources. (Source) Nevertheless, Utah policymakers seem happy to blame the drivers - who need to be able to move quickly about a spread-out suburban community - and award permits for increased emissions to industrial polluters. 

Added to the physical health threats of the air quality is the psychological threat. How depressing is it to look out at this landscape every day? To worry about your health every second that you're outside? To dart from the car to the (hopefully) cleaner indoor air?

Not surprisingly, many people hop in their cars to get away from the smog. With its short days and cold temperatures, winter is depressing enough without being told that it's unhealthy to go outside. And during these inversions, all we crave is some fresh air.

Last weekend, as our Christmas/New Year's trip, we did just that. We packed a picnic cooler with enough food to last us two days, and headed down to Palisades, Colorado. Odie came too, and was thrilled to find a doggy park/trail right by the river. If he'd had his way, we would have stayed there the whole time!

But the real destination was the wine - Palisades has quite a few vineyards and fruit orchards, so we decided to tour wine country in the off-season. We saw this great license plate on the back of a pickup truck at one winery...

And saw some grapes left on the vine...

And a pretty sunset over a vineyard...

On Sunday, we had another nature walk with Odie...

But he was more interested in the frisbee!

On our way out, we saw this cute sculpture, titled "Rusty's Dream."

Palisades and its neighbor, Grand Junction, also suffer from inversions in the wintertime, but are less densely populated and don't have nearly the same levels of pollution as Utah's mountain communities. When we drove back to Salt Lake City, we were saddened to see that the smog hadn't dissipated - it had gotten worse.  I haven't lived here long, but I've gathered that the smog is usually at its worst in January. As we look forward to the New Year and the rest of the winter, I hope to see the state take a hard look at the real sources of pollution, stop finger-pointing, and take some real action to clean up the air.

Wine and Cheese

My ultimate dinner. Mostly it's about the wine and cheese. The fruit, because you need something fresh, and the bread and sausage for something with good chew to it. The bread is this baguette, smeared with roasted garlic butter and toasted. Perfect any time, but especially wonderful eaten on the porch, basking in the day's last rays of sunshine.