Sunday, December 14, 2008

Sicilian Olive Oil - No Ka Oi!

With this being our last olive season in Sicily, we were determined to find the best olive oil on the island. All local connections pointed towards Ragalna, a small farming town on Etna about half an hour from our villa.

After three years in Sicily, olive oil is as much a part of our life as each other!



We connected with a Ragalna farmer who comes to our hometown of Nicolosi to press his best! And so we arranged to sample his finest and experience the process!




Here he is standing with his hand picked olives.



Only 20 percent of the olives becomes liquid gold. The rest is discarded. So you can imagine how many olives, and how much toil it takes to make just a liter.

Sicilia Olive Oil - No Ka Oi!

This is more than just a cool shadow of the group. If you click on it, you can see up close that it's a huge pile of olive debris - all that's discarded post-press. Nearly 80% of every single little olive!



Here's the gang out of the shadows.



The good stuff is made to a paste and hand spread over these huge circular palates for pressing.



And here's what happens next. Cold pressed, fresh olive oil. If you received a bottle of this, this is where it was born!

Sicilian Olive Oil - No Ka Oi!



The process took half a day as we waited patiently, salivating, and reveling in the fact that this olificio and beautiful place is just 5 minutes from our house and we never knew it was there!

So we entertained ourselves by enjoying the scenery. Can you find the dog from the goats?



...And of course, we passed the time sampling some novello vino. The grape harvest wraps up in November and for three months, the featured beverage of Sicily is the fresh, new wine - that's unfermented and without any preservatives.



And here is the final product, creamy, buttery, delicious olive oil - a phenomenal extra virgin olive oil from one of the country's most superior olive oil producing regions. We prefer to eat it fresh with a little bit of salt, red pepper flakes and a pinch of fresh flat-leaf parsley. And some fresh baked bread from the local bakery to mop it up. Our favorite heavenly treat! Or drizzle it over your ragu or fresh tomato sauce before serving! Or in salad dressings. Or sprinkled over fresh sliced tomatoes. You name it.

37 & Fabulous!

Some people dread getting older but for me, but besides being fatter with less hair and sexyness than in my 20s, I have never been happier. Age sheds so much of what doesn't matter - mostly things that relate to ego and fear.



With age, once clouded priorities become crystal clear. The concept of long term goals becomes exciting! And the joy of the moment and potential for the future have never mattered more.



This birthday we learned that the two year extension in Sicily has been scaled back to just a handful of months. So we have learned to count our blessings by the number of friends we love. And by the moments we share.



Christine suggested a north Etna hike through the forest for my birthday with our friend Ray as a guide.



Here's the gang deep in a cave!

37 & Fabulous!

The scenic drive, the damp scents of pine in the crisp fall air, and the joy of the hanai family that we've made made this such a perfect birthday!



My three favorite thoughts this birthday as I turn 37 are these.



Stop to smile for someone.




Breathe deeply.

37 and Joyful!

And take the time to look around you!



I love this photos of nature waxing and waning. It was the perfect analogy for my birthday and the old giving way to new in perfect balance.




Friday, December 12, 2008

Papa Joe Gets Older than Dirt!

We met Joe and Sue last spring when they arrived and were sponsored to the island by our friends The Burtons. Joe and Sue immediately became our hanai family. When Sue traveled home for a visit, she asked us to ensure that Joe had a nice birthday so we coordinated a little sha-bang to wish the old man a good one.



We learned that old men act different when their wife ain't around.

Papa Joe Gets Older than Dirt!

We had this fabulous Sicilian seafood lunch at the port.



And after a 3-hour lunch we realized we were just getting started. So we moved the party to Tony's house in Motta. Pat and I went for a swim in his pool! And the gang played poker, and we stayed long enough to get hungry again and Meg made lasagna....





...and little Mikey behaved like the stinker rock star he's gonna be some day! It was a birthday to remember that's for sure!