Hunting for Porcini Mushrooms

Porcini mushrooms love cool damp ground, so in the spring and the fall when the leaves are falling and rain is frequent, the porcini start to pop from the ground.

Yesterday, we woke to a heavy fog over the vineyards and Fausto, Giuseppe’s dad told me this morning was the perfect time to hunt for mushroom. Of course, he was already out and scouted the area.

I quickly don my work clothes and add a vest because it has gotten chilly these last few days. The

only scarf at my fingertips is a Burberry one, a little glamorous for hunting mushrooms but I wrap it around my neck with a chuckle. Down in the cellar, I slip on my muck boots and grab a small wicker basket and head out into the brisk morning air. I feel excited, just like a five year old with my Easter basket going out to find colorful eggs hidden in the lawn.

Finding mushrooms takes knowledge, keen eyesight and a little luck. First, you must think, “If I were a porcini, where would live?” Fausto knows a shady spot, down a slope, close to the lake with lots of moisture and a canopy of trees for both protection from the sun and to create a ground cover of leaves. We stop short and he tells me to stand only where I can see dirt without leaves. I don’t want to step on one by mistake or kill a baby that is too small to see. Then he takes his stick and marks out a 4 foot by 4 foot spot and tells me to find a mushroom. I scan the ground and see nothing but brown. I see dried leaves, small twigs and dirt.

Fausto takes a giant step into the space and with two fingers moves away some leaves and

there is a 3 inch diameter cap of the mushroom, just as brown as everything else. He carefully pulls the whole mushroom from its little nest and gently brushes off the dirt. Now I know to look for a lump in the browness. This is not going to be as easy as I thought, but I am up for the challenge.

Soon our little basket has 6 beautiful, fragrant porcinis. I want to keep looking because it is fun and I want to get all we can, but Fausto says this is enough for our lunch today. We can come back tomorrow and get more. This is a new concept for me. Enough is Enough. Take what you need just for today. Carla, Giuseppe’s mom rolls out some homemade tagliatelli pasta, Giuseppe pours the Chianti and I send up a little prayer of Gratitude. Life is good. Life is very, very good.

Fall Festival Time in Tuscany

Fall is the time when each little village has its festival. In Montevarchi, we have been celebrating the "Festival of Forgiveness" for almost 700 years. On the main street of downtown, Via Roma, restaurants and bars put up tents and offer home cooked food, wine and beer. They dress up in medieval costumes and accept only old coins for payment. We change a euro for "varchi." They are heavy old coins that come in a little draw string pouch. Each person walks around with a pouch of money tied to their belt.

A parade with music, men in tights, women and children in old customs, horses, drums and flags marches through the streets, then makes its way to the main piazza just as the bells chime for 8pm . The priest, in full long dress, blesses the town and the people before the games begin. The game is a medieval ball competition that is a cross between basketball and tag football with the goal being to put the ball into the well. Dirt is put into the circle of the piazza and hay bails mark the perimeter and a well in places in the middle. Only men play this very physical game and take it very seriously. There is a team for each quadrant of the town. They too wear old costumes.

You can celebrate fall with us by opening a bottle of wine and toasting to forgiveness. In the heat of summer, we drink the Malvasia. It is light and clean and goes well with summer vegetables and fish. As the weather cools, we start drinking more Chianti. The Chianti is always best with food, especially all the wonderful homegrown tomatoes we have in the garden now. It is well known for being a classic table wine found in every Tuscan home.

We eat every lunch and dinner together sitting at the table with a tablecloth and of course red wine. After lunch at noon , we stay at the table for at least an hour and let the food digest. In summer, we usually nap after lunch and stay in the house until around 5 pm when the temperature cools down before going back outside. Dinner is usually served at 8 or 9pm because it stays light so long in summer. Now as the days are getting shorter, it is still hot but the mornings are fresh and the evening are getting a little chilly.

The weather has been great for the grapes. Hot dry days and cool nights are perfect for the sugar content. The grapes are getting bigger and are a deep purple color. We still have about three weeks until harvest.