"Click Your Heels Three Times......"

There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home......
Fortunately for us we have two homes now. My old stomping grounds for most of my adult life being in Summit County Colorado and more recently here at Bella Baita B&B, above sleepy little Pinasca (Piedmont )Italy.
We clicked our heels 3 times and were transported back to our Italian alps home at Serre Marchetto and discovered that winter had finally come at last.
After a winter with "no snow" from all reports from Fabrizio's parents here at Serre Marchetto, a week before we arrived, it started snowing and has been keeping the water level up ever since.
It's been a hectic couple of months and I haven't been able to post much in the way of blogs. What few faithful readers I have had, I have probably lost, but hope I can entice them back now that I should be back on track soon. I hope to put a few recaps of of some of our cooking classes we did while we were in Colorado and other adventures that we had before getting back to our traditions and festivals here. Easter is this weekend and we've got guests arriving and classes to prepare for, sooo...stay tuned.

Happy Festa della Donna

A Happy International Woman's Day to all of you out there of that persuasion.

In the US there is no official celebration of Women's day but Italy still remembers what women have contributed to society and life as we know it. According to my husband, Fabrizio, the celebration took off after WWII, to acknowledge the contribution and sacrifice that Italian women made working in the factories and fields such during WWII when the men were not in such plentiful supply. In our Piemonte region I saw a program one day on the women of the war era that took on the planting of the rice that is so beloved by northern Italians for our very scrumptious world famous risottos. It was an interesting and inspiring look at how women rise to the occasion when needed and asked to do what it takes to get things done and carry on. so I just thought I would add my 2 cents and say
"Here's to all the strong, inspiring women that I have known and would love to know over the years, a mimosa frond for you!"

March Maddness Has begun!

The time is flying and I'm keeping my head above the water, barely! I haven't meant to abandon my blog and cyber friends and readers, but the pace is frantic and the computer connection has been trying. Our trip to Colorado has been fruitful and fun. We've been having many lovely meals with old friends and new. We have attended some milestone birthdays, weddings, Mardi Gras fun, dog sitting a sweet labradoodle wile her family went to Mexico and a bit of visiting for us with family and friends to make for a well rounded visit. We've taught a few classes in private homes and have two coming up thru the local Colorado Mountain College continuing education program, as well, so we are keeping busy.
The weather has run the gamut, from summery to downright frigid. This past week it howled all week long and has been -15 C, brrrrr!!!! I haven't forgotten how long the winter lasts up here in Summit County. Then, of course, when the sun comes out and it's sunny, warm and the skiing is easy, all the frigid pain melts away! I haven't forgotten how to do that either, just not as frequently as I once did. Powder skiing to ease the pain always mangages to do the trick. If that doesn't then some wine and pasta fills in around the edges. Our Zucca Agnolotti with our friend, Giovanni Manzone's Barolo wine to wash it down was a hit at one such gathering. A good time was had by all. More on that subject later......I'm up early tomorrow to make coffee for the folks on their way to the slopes out at Copper Mountain, so I need to turn in for now.
Buona Notte!

The Olympics One Year Later

It's hard to believe another year has past and we are thinking about the great times that we had last year during the 2006 Winter Olympics. We met loads of people and had a lot of laughs. We're still telling stories about all the people we had staying with us and around the valley and our nightly catch up briefings back at Bella Baita from the guests filtering back at all hours of the night and morning. Everyone would stop in for a bit of debriefing and a round or two of locally made beer, genepy or some such interesting nightcap. Now we're in Colorado and have had the privilege to meet back up with some of our former Olympics guests for dinner and hearing retelling of stories and new or perhaps unedited versions of some of the goings on of that time. Wow, what a truly memorable time we had. It was truly a once in a lifetime memory for us and our valley. The photo of the autographed flag below is, as one of our summer guests put it, "Fabrizio's treasure". It's adorning one of our rooms walls for now, but we are working toward a major transformation of our "disco" room into the "Olympia" room where we will be able to bring our cooking class to another level and have larger classes and a general all round room for groups and all sorts of activities. So while we are here in Colorado we are doing lots of promotion and have already done a couple of dinner demonstrations with a few more lined up. We're going to put Val Chisone on the map yet, and pick up where the Olympics left off. Torino had a one year after ceremony last saturday and although we missed it, we have been thinking about those days and nights, celebrating again with some of the friends we made during that time.
Here's to making more memories!

Bella Baita Road Show

Well, here we are again after a bit of a hiatus. A much longer hiatus than anticipated as we left Bella Baita for a trip across the big pond to the USA to mix a bit of business with family. The fires have been quenched in Val Chisone when we left with a bit of snow but not enough to make us hope for more moisture. We landed in Chicago, the windy city living up to it's name indeed and all thoughts of strange warm winters have become a distant memory. We visited with my brother and family enjoying the charms of this big city, seeing the sights as this is only Fabrizio's second visit to the states. We have been enjoying all sorts of interesting people and places. We have been keeping ourselves in culinary shape by doing a bit of cooking along the way starting one evening off with a bit of brushetta.

We hope to do a few cooking classes to promote our classes back home for this next season. It also keeps us enjoying great food and wine with others and as always, talking about our area and what it has to offer as well. I hope to bring you our road show for your enjoyment as we feature some of our classes and menus. Unfortunately, we have had a bit of technology melt down with my computer so progress is slow.

Stay tuned as we travel to Colorado and my old stomping ground for a bit of fun as we bring our Bella Baita road show to altitude.