The
weather has been very nice here in Northern California the last three
or four weeks. Up to this past Sunday we actually had record braking
temperatures; it was that hot! It was perfect for the last of the figs
to finish ripening, though they are more of a late summer fruit. They
have not lost any of their sweetness; they are just as succulent as the
first ones.
Yesterday was a good day for a trip to
Luigi and Giuseppina's place; hadn't seen them
in a while. I got there and Giuseppina was already at the door. We gave
each other a hug and I went to say hello to her 94 year old mom.
After
that she called me in the kitchen because she had saved me a plate of
spaghetti from their lunch. They were still warm and delicious. She is
incredible! And
can she cook!
Luigi was out back in
the
"repostigli" (storage rooms). Those rooms are so well organized they
look neat as pins. And he loves to be out there overlooking the
vineyard, the trees, the vegetable garden. He come in a little later
and we sat and talked for a while. I love to talk with them; I could
stay the whole day and think nothing of it, if I had the time.
He'd been picking fruits and vegetables. He brought in 3 different kinds of
figs and a box of peppers. By then, Giuseppina had already asked me if
I wanted to take home some persimmons.Not the flat Japanese kind
called "fuyu". Their tree didn't produce many of those this year, but
they had way more than they could eat of the pointy, larger kind. I
don't have a tree of those, so I said I'd take a few. Luigi promptly
went out and came back a little while later with the bag of persimmons.
He handed it to me the and told me to bring the bag back; it was his
favorite!
Then he disappeared again and came back a few minutes later
with wine..."for Thanksgiving dinner", he said.
Needless
to say it took both of them to help me carry stuff to my car as I had
some books to carry. We all feel good when we don't waste what we grow,
so we share with other people and among ourselves whatever the other
doesn't have.
As the saying goes,"Waste not want
not"!
Back to Frutta Fresca - Fresh FruitDolci - Desserts
