Foodies!

On Sandra’s actual birthday, we were set for a day of food experiences. We would be cooking two meals with Carlos and Pascal, and then feasting on the fruits of our labor.

But before that happened, we needed Italian pastries, which were easily found in the town of Arcidosso. Yummy. Yummy. Yummy. We found lots of treats to get Sandra’s birthday started the right way, and got a bag of treats to go. Then we were due in the kitchen.

Cooking with Carlos was guaranteed to be an experience. Carlos looks like Santa Claus – white hair, bright blue eyes, and red glasses that are magnetized in the middle so when he takes them off it seems they break in the middle. Carlos is probably in his 70s, and like all Italians, takes himself very seriously.
Pascal, his girlfriend, would be helping out on our cooking tour. She was French turned Italian, had an olive farm and was just lovely. She had a subtle, yet big personality, which is a pleasant combination.

The menu we were to prepare was written on a chalkboard, aprons and notebooks marked ‘our stations’, and ingredients were laid out with care. For lunch we were preparing, bruscetta alla Toscano, pollo con pepperocini, and penne con pancetta and carciofi. Yep, today, I would definitely be putting on some weight!

The way cooking lessons went was this. Carlos would demonstrate, we would follow. He showed us how to chop and dice correctly. We learned the importance of olive oil and sea salt. We learned how to keep artichokes from turning brown. We learned why Tuscan bread is unsalted. And then we learned to fill ourselves with the lovely goodness that we prepared. Delicioso!