food and italy

My friend and I got together on Saturday to start planning a trip to Italy this summer.  It’s still in the very beginning phases and my husband’s not really convinced that this will really happen—but a girl can dream, can’t she?  It’s been ages since I’ve been and literally daydream about going back.  What better way to transcend the winter doldrums then picture yourself boating into the Blue Grotto in Capri?  Biking into a vineyard in Tuscany?  Having a candlelit dinner on a terrace in Amalfi?  Shopping in Rome?  Eating until you can’t possibly eat another bite?  {sigh}  Yesterday, I made escarole soup.  It warms my soul and makes my husband very happy (he LOVES soup!).  It makes the house smell amazing as the garlic and onions cook in the olive oil.  While I’m doing this, I notice how pretty everything is; the garlic and onion skins translucent and delicate, the way the escarole opens up and gradates from dark green to light, from yellow to white with ridges and ruffles all the way through.  They say you eat with your eyes first.  So eat up!  Enjoy 🙂  xoxo