Today was only day 6 of the lock down but I have been up at Casa Debbio for about 12 days. Apart from not being able to go to the bar for morning coffee, is not a trial, but I do have to plan my days to keep occupied.
One way is to cook. On my last shopping trip before the lock down I found some barba di frate or monk’s beard, also called agretti. It looks a bit like chives and taste a bit like slightly bitter spinach. It grows in sandy seashores along the Mediterranean coast and particularly popular in Tuscany.
It is only available for about 6 weeks in spring. It is easy to prepare. The bottom part of the plant needs to be cut off and the rest well washed as it can have quite a lot of dirt attatched. I then boiled it for about 5 minutes in salted water and drained it.
I fried some spring onions, a few anchovies and a couple of chopped tomatoes in olive oil. Once these had softened I added the cooked agretti. At the same time I cooked the spaghetti. When it was ready I added the spaghetti to the pan and mixed it all together.
I still had half a bunch left so the next day I made some mini frittata…also delicious. I hope I can find some more agretti before the season is over..
The last couple of days were a bit overcast and miserable, so the gardening was limited.
Today we had sun, but there was a mean little wind. I did venture out to inspect the latest happenings in the garden. My peonies have grown millimeters and I found a few more baby acanthus to transplant. They seem to pop up overnight.
Despite the wind it was a beautiful day.
One of the new weeping cherries is doing well.
The quince tree has buds.
The kiwi on the fence I s covered in buds.
Ginestra is about to bloom.
One of Jim’s projects, the wall behind the house, is growing like mad. The descending rosemary is looking great under the bay trees. It is going to have to go on without him. He was supposed to arrive from Australia in about 10 days, but who knows when he will be able to come to Italy.
The blossoms on the older weeping cherry are growing daily.
The lavender under the chestnut trees didn’t do well last year. When we planted it the chestnut tree was ill and we cut it right back and the lavender had plenty of sun. Now that the tree is doing well it throws too much shade on the plants below it.
We pulled them all out and planted hydrangeas which are more shade tolerant. I’m hoping they grow quickly.
The major excitement today was a walk to the village to put some rubbish in the community bins. We have no rubbish collection at the house.
The track to the village is lined with primulas and hellebores.
The villages look even more sleepy than usual.
Normally on a Sunday afternoon people would be gathered in the piazza enjoying a coffee or a glass of wine outside the bar…not today. There were a couple of people about, but everyone kept their distance. It is very sad. Everyone is doing their best to beat this thing. There are lots of older people in the village. It would be devastating if the infection found its way here.