15 December 2008

Almost 6 Feet Under and Marmelatta di Zucca


They say it was over 1.6 meters in 24 hours, that's 5 ft or a bit more.
It cleared briefly last night but there is more snow on the way.





Our entrance to our flat.


In the neighborhood


Digging his way to to get the chickens

Disappearing chicken coop


The road beyond us toward the garden.
Another Val Chisone extreme weather event.
2 years ago we didn't have any snow or winter and the spring arrived almost a month early. This year we had a fairly normal winter and then we had a very soggy late spring and everything has been arriving very late this year. Now we have a very early winter with record snow.
Latest update. Now it's raining on top of our 6 ft of snow. The rivers are overflowing and they are watching the Po in Torino and all the way down to Rome, where it has been raining non stop whilst we were getting snow. Strange days indeed

So nothing left to do make Pumpkin Jam or Marmellata di Zucca.
Once done, slather some on your favorite tea biscuit or do like Fabrizio's grandmother, and make a sandwich of Pavesini biscotti and dunk them in for tea, or for a more grown up addition, vin santo, marsala or something along those lines.
I actually double this recipe as we have quite a bit of pumpkin and the moment and it made a delicious crostata filling.


Marmellata di Zucca
  • 500 g (1+pound) pumpkin or butternut type of solid squash, cut up in medium pieces
  • 200 g(1 cup) sugar
  • zest of one lemon
Other optional additions
  • 50 g (1/2 c) toasted walnuts or pecans
  • 100 g sultanas or dry cranberries softened in a splash of warm cognac,
  • Vecchia Romagna, comes to mind


Combine the sugar, lemon zest and pumpkin in a large heavy bottom sauce pan. Gently simmer until soft. I usually smash the mixture after it starts to soften to encourage to break down and cook a little faster. Stir occasionally. Add additional ingredients just before the mixture is done.
Cool completely before storing in the refrigerator.
I never bother to jar it as it usually gets used up rather quickly.


9 comments:

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

We are in a deep freeze here for this week. It's too cold even to snow. When I lived in Eastern Canada I saw snowstorms just like the one you're experiencing. Great for the skiiers once the roads are clear. And yes...nothing to do but be in a warm kitchen making special treats for the holidays!!!

Anonymous said...

We have gotten nothing but ice so far. These are gorgeous pictures though. How did the chickens make out?

Rowena said...

That is just amazing! If we had that much snowfall the dogs would be ECSTATIC! I can already imagine the dachshund digging tunnels all over the place like a mole.

I hope things will taper down/melt away by the middle of January. We are plannning to be in yer neck of da woods to see the Spadonari dancers of Giaglione. Have you heard of them? It would be great if we could meet up!

Bella Baita Marla said...

At least Val, it isn't all that cold,in fact it's pretty balmy!

Maryanne, the chickens are well fed and watered, not squashed and hunkered down to do some egg laying. One of them the other day, got out and decided to lay her egg in the snow.
Che freddo culo!

Rowena,I think if they saw how much it is they might not be all the overjoyed untill all the paths were cleared.! Name the place, we'll try to meet up. Fabrizio says he has heard of them, but not sure where or what.

Anne in Oxfordshire said...

Wow ...that is one big snowfall. We don't have any, just wind and rain :-(

Fern Driscoll said...

Wow - you can't even get to your wood-pile it looks like. That is an awful lot of snow. Hope you got all the shoveling done before the rain arrived.
Aren't chickens hilarious? Have you ever given yours spaghetti? Be sure to have a camera nearby when you do...

Proud Italian Cook said...

Wow Marla, I hope you stored up plenty of food! How would you ever travel down that road? Ahhh, but it is truely beautiful and a sight to see!

Bella Baita Marla said...

Anne, they are predicting wind to clean some of this up, hum we shall see.
Fern, Fabrizio dug all of that snow out the past two days, whew what a chore!
Marie, they kept the road pretty clear amazingly, but we generally only go into to town one or twice a week, so we're use to being stocked up.

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Marla, I don't know whether to be more overwhelmed by the snow or the jam. Both are beautiful but I imagine the jam is easier to enjoy!

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