When you start planning a trip to Italy most people automatically put Rome, Venice, Milan and Florence on their itinerary, creating a travel package filled with history :: storia, romance, shopping and art. Is that enough for you? What about adventure and sport? What about nature and Italy’s renowned agriculture? There is so much more to discover in Italy than the well-beaten tourist route. If you crave a holiday that is active, then you won’t want to miss one of my favorite spots in Italy: Riva del Garda on Lake Garda.
Riva del Garda is nestled between the Dolomite mountains on the northern most tip of Lake Garda in the region of Trentino. It is paradise for outdoors enthusiasts and foodies. You can pass your day: hiking on ridges overlooking the lake with views that will take your breath away, mountain biking through the rugged :: aspro terrain, or take part in one of the many lake sports like kite surfing, wind surfing or sailing. After working up an appetite you can head to one of the numerous restaurants along the lake front or for a more unique experience bike or drive five minutes to the agriturismo, Madonna delle Vittorie, for an outdoor lunch surrounded by vineyards and olive groves.
The word “agriturismo” is a combination of the words “agriculture” and “tourism” in Italian (agricoltura and turismo). It is a style of vacationing in Italy where you have the opportunity to stay in accommodation on farms. Madonna delle Vittorie offers spacious vacation apartments amidst nature :: natura where you can relax in a peaceful setting. Their restaurant serves traditional recipes using high quality local ingredients as well as their own production of wine and extra virgin olive oil.
I had the wonderful opportunity to pass the day with Fiorindo Bonora, owner of Madonna delle Vittorie. After a delicious lunch (see photos above… um, yum!) he gave me a private tour of his oil mill :: frantoio where he explained the process of pressing their Garda Trentino olives and how they extract only the superior quality extra virgin olive oil, like Olio Extra Vergine di Oliva Garda Trentino DOPand the most prestigious, Olio Extra Vergine di Oliva Denocciolato.
He also let me in on the three main reasons why Lake Garda extra virgin olive oils are among Italy’s best:
1) Variety in the soil.
2) Mild climate.
3) Local air.
Wind is important to the production of wine and olive oil as it helps prevents mold and disease from infecting the vineyards and olive groves ::oliveti.
We then headed to the winery where Trentino DOC red and white wines are produced as well as sparkling wines before touring his vineyards and olive groves that stretched out across the valley floor and crawled up the mountain side throughout Arco, Riva del Garda and Nago-Torbole. By reservation you can also organize a guided tour through the oil mill and winery :: cantina including, of course, tastings of their high quality wines and olive oils.
Due to passion and attention to detail by Fiorindo, his family and staff, it is no wonder that Madonna delle Vittorie has a ranking of 4.5 out of 5 on Trip Advisor.
While in Riva del Garda, don’t miss out also on a unique dining experience at La Berlera, a restaurant inside of a cave! They also use Madonna delle Vittorie products in their restaurant.
Note: This post is not paid by Riva del Garda tourism or Madonna delle Vittorie. I just thought you would be interested in discovering one of my favorite locations and an agriturismo that is worth the visit here in Italy.
Avocado in a cookie. Sounds strange, right? Yet, for those who want a healthier substitution for butter, avocados are your best friend. Masked by cocoa you can’t taste the avocado in these healthy chocolate, avocado and cherry cookies; you just get to reap the health benefit of avocados and their silky texture. Did you know that avocados are among the healthiest foods on the planet? I think this news calls for another cookie:-)
I slightly adapted this recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod. Since I always try to substitute wheat for white flour in recipes,I decided to give it a go with these. If you are looking for a super sweet indulgent cookie, these are not for you. If you are looking for a not-so-sweet but flavorful cookie that you can feel good about eating, then this may just be your new favorite recipe.
These are great breakfast cookies, hiking cookies and make the perfect mid-day snack. You can also transform them into vegan cookies, simply by using vegan chocolate chips.
Substitute butter with avocado, one of the healthiest foods on the planet, to create a delicious and moist chocolaty cookie that is vegan friendly.
Serves: 1 dozen
Ingredients
1¼ cup (235g) whole wheat flour
1 tsp (2g) cornstarch
1 tsp (5g) baking powder
½ (2g) tsp sea salt
⅔ cup (56g) unsweetened cocoa
¼ cup (59ml) melted coconut oil
¼ cup (51g) mashed avocado
¼ cup (50g) white sugar
½ cup (100g) brown sugar
½ tsp (2.5ml) vanilla extract
⅓ cup (78ml) soy milk
¼ cup (40g) dark chocolate chips*
¼ cup (41g) dried cherries
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C) and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Stir together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt and cocoa in a medium bowl.
In a separate bowl, beat the following ingredients together with an electric hand mixer: coconut oil, avocado, sugars, vanilla extract and soy milk.
Add the flour mixture and beat until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and dried cherries.
Divide the cookie dough into 12 balls and place them on the prepared cookie sheet. Slightly press down to flatten the cookies with the back of a spoon. Bake for 10 minutes and allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
*Note—For the vegan version, simply use vegan chocolate chips.
This is my Italian aunt-in-law Anna Rita’s borlotti bean recipe. Ahhh, the beauty of marriage. Not only am I lucky to have married an amazing man, I have also acquired a wonderful family :: famiglia that includes some exceptional cooks. What more could a food blogger want than to learn authentic Italian recipes, like Homemade 7 Grain bread from her mother-in-law or this borlotti bean recipe from her aunt-in-law? I feel truly blessed:-)
I still remember when Mr. Italicano and I had just started dating and how he would rave about this bean recipe to almost an incessant point. I didn’t understand what.the.big.deal.was….I mean, come on, there are just beans! Well, truth be told, my attitude changed the first time I tried them for myself and literally ate three large helpings in one sitting. I was addicted, and like him began to drool :: sbavare the moment one of us started talking about these plump oblong borlotti beans in there fragrant sauce (also called cranberry beans).
The secret is in the spiced vegetables that truly leaves your mouth in food heaven. Although you can make and eat these beans the same day, I highly recommend that you make them the day before. They are good the same day but *delicious* the day after since they have had time to marinate in their sauce. The scents of cloves :: chiodi di garofano and cinnamon that fill the house are an added plus, making me want to make this recipe just to be surrounded by these comforting aromas that remind me of home. What are the smells that remind you of home?
A quick shout-out to my Aunt Jane. After she had so patiently listened to me ramble on about this recipe when she came to visit last summer. Aunt Jane, here you go…finally!! 🙂 And, here is another recipe with borlotti beans: vegetable couscous with borlotti beans.
Forget the meat and try these borlotti beans for a healthy and delicious dinner that is packed with protein.
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Vegetable bouillon cube
½ large white onion, finely chopped
3 carrots, finely chopped
3 celery spears, finely chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1.2 pounds (1/2 kilo) shelled borlotti beans
6 datterini or grape tomatoes, skins removed (I usually keep a bag of datterini tomatoes in the freezer then just run them under water and their skins pop right off)
10 cloves
½ Cinnamon stick
Dry white wine, as needed to cover all the vegetables and beans
Instructions
Bring a large pot of water to boil, add a tablespoon of course salt then add the borlotti beans and cook until they are half way cooked, about 10 minutes.
In another large pot, add the extra virgin olive oil, vegetable bouillon cube, onion, carrots, celery and garlic. Cook on medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
Add the borlotti beans, tomatoes, cloves and crumble in the cinnamon stick. Add enough white wine so it covers all of the vegetables and beans. Stir well. Cover and let simmer on low for around 2 hours, checking periodically to make sure that there is some liquid at all times, adding a bit more wine or water if needed.
I recommend making this recipe a day (even two) in advance and storing them in the refrigerator with plastic wrap then reheating or serving them cold.
You may have used honey, maple syrup or agave nectar to naturally sweetened your baked goods or morning bowl of yogurt, but now I will tell you about apple saba, a natural sweetener:: dolcificante naturale that many of you might never have heard of but what the Romans commonly used over two thousand years ago.
I met a lot of great artisanal producers at the Cibustradeshowa few months back. Among them was La Vecchia Dispensa, a producer of traditional balsamic vinegars and other delicious products likefruit condimentsand organic apple saba,just to name two. So, what is apple saba and how is it used? Apple saba is a thick sweet syrup made from 100% apple must. It is commonly used as a condiment drizzled over fresh cheeses :: formaggi and gelato or to naturally sweeten baked goods or pasta fillings.
In the region of Emilia Romagna, grape saba (which is made with 100% grape must) is commonly made in-house and used to flavor ice and snow— the original and all-natural slushie or snow cone. I remember doing this as a child as well, but our version was less healthy as we would add milk, sugar and food coloring :: colorante per alimenti to the snow. I’m glad to know that a healthier version exists and can’t wait for the snow to fall to try out both grape and apple flavors :: sapori. In the meantime, I couldn’t resist inventing a recipe with this organic apple saba that La Vecchia Dispensa was so kind to send me, and therefore came up with one of my new favorite bruschetta recipes: pear, walnut and burrata bruschetta with organic apple saba.
I’ve already eaten three of these bruschette today. One in the morning for breakfast to test out the recipe then two alongside a side salad for lunch after photographing them. You think I would be satiated? Not even close. As I write this, I secretly am thinking about toasting another slice of sesame Sicilian bread, piling it high with creamy burrata cheese, layering on a few thin pear slices, arranging walnuts :: noci on top so I have a piece in each bite and drizzling the whole delicious masterpiece with organic apple saba. Oh, I’m being tortured as I write this post. Resist, Mrs. Italicana, resist! For now, at least. Tomorrow, I know exactly what I will be having for lunch…and maybe even dinner. 🙂
Note: This post is not paid by La Vecchia Dispensa. I promote companies who products I like and think you will enjoy. La Vecchia Dispensa was kind to give me some samples of their high quality products to use in my recipes.
Pear, Walnut and Burrata Bruschetta with Organic Apple Saba
2 slices rustic Italian bread, toasted (I used a sesame Sicilian bread which was divine)
Instructions
Divide the following ingredients in the order given on top of the two slices of toasted bread: buratta cheese, pear slices and walnuts. Drizzle the apple saba on top and serve alone or alongside a side salad.
Fourth of July is just a few days away and that means you all are getting ready to gear up on easy recipes that can feed large crowds. For those of you in charge of dessert for this festive day, this list is for you.
Growing up in Eastern Washington, my family took advantage of spending the hot summer day at the lake with 7-8 other families. We took over a big section of the beach with our boats, jet skies, umbrellas and lawn chairs. We spent hours in the sun playing in the water, wakeboarding or tubing, playing nerf football while zipping along the water on the jet skiis and having endless water gun fights before heading back to the cabin for a enormous pot luck dinner. Even though I had always over-snacked the entire day, I could never resist the mountain of food that lined the red, white and blue tablecloths. When the sun set we would head back out on the water, dressed in sweatshirts and long pants and cuddle together under blankets to watch the giant fireworks show that filled the night sky.
What are your Fourth of July traditions? Is it a BBQ with family or a picnic with friends?
Riva del Garda is nestled between the Dolomite mountains on the northern most tip of Lake Garda in the region of Trentino. It is paradise for outdoors enthusiasts and foodies. You can pass your day: hiking on ridges overlooking the lake with views that will take your breath away, mountain biking through the rugged :: aspro terrain, or take part in one of the many lake sports like kite surfing, wind surfing or sailing. After working up an appetite you can head to one of the numerous restaurants along the lake front or for a more unique experience bike or drive five minutes to the agriturismo, Madonna delle Vittorie, for an outdoor lunch surrounded by vineyards and olive groves.
The word “agriturismo” is a combination of the words “agriculture” and “tourism” in Italian (agricoltura and turismo). It is a style of vacationing in Italy where you have the opportunity to stay in accommodation on farms. Madonna delle Vittorie offers spacious vacation apartments amidst nature :: natura where you can relax in a peaceful setting. Their restaurant serves traditional recipes using high quality local ingredients as well as their own production of wine and extra virgin olive oil.
I had the wonderful opportunity to pass the day with Fiorindo Bonora, owner of Madonna delle Vittorie. After a delicious lunch (see photos above… um, yum!) he gave me a private tour of his oil mill :: frantoio where he explained the process of pressing their Garda Trentino olives and how they extract only the superior quality extra virgin olive oil, like Olio Extra Vergine di Oliva Garda Trentino DOP and the most prestigious, Olio Extra Vergine di Oliva Denocciolato.
We then headed to the winery where Trentino DOC red and white wines are produced as well as sparkling wines before touring his vineyards and olive groves that stretched out across the valley floor and crawled up the mountain side throughout Arco, Riva del Garda and Nago-Torbole. By reservation you can also organize a guided tour through the oil mill and winery :: cantina including, of course, tastings of their high quality wines and olive oils.
Due to passion and attention to detail by Fiorindo, his family and staff, it is no wonder that Madonna delle Vittorie has a ranking of 4.5 out of 5 on Trip Advisor.
While in Riva del Garda, don’t miss out also on a unique dining experience at La Berlera, a restaurant inside of a cave! They also use Madonna delle Vittorie products in their restaurant.
