Not The Stairway To Heaven

Draw a triangle between Milano, Torino and Genova and we were in the middle up a small country road out side a sleepy village of 700 people.

Well you can't win them all. The farm and all that it promised on the web was a little disappointing. Our room, even though we booked and confirmed 6months ago was now no longer available!! We find ourselves booked into the attic, normally his would have been a good experience BUT climbing a very, very steep stair case and then being led up to a incredible, plastic, clip together ...and not legal by Australian standards.....spiral staircase. I could not get our cases up the stairs and had to leave everything at the bottom, carrying only a backpack and toiletry bag. They creek and complain even underneath our very tiny light hosts weight, so we hold our breath and one at a time do the climb.  As we climbed I can't help but notice that the handrails were only attached to the central plastic pole by plastic cable ties ....I kid you not. Our room was big but soulless with our queen bed and 2 single beds with mismatched  blankets all under a head bangingly low vaulted beamed ceiling....cute view out the window but void of any  personality, we just were not feeling the love, we were like the surprise house guest that you don't want to come back.... so stick them in the attic! We had been booked into cook each night prior to arrival but that seemed to have also changed and we were told we could only cook on the  2 of the following nights....hmmm I think the look on Sandy's face summed up our feelings but we were giving them the benefit of the deepening doubt. 

Some how I think we were not booked it at all.

We hit the kitchen ready for action and well again it was disappointing, despite being told we would be doing some preserves and bread making it seems it was now a lot of  pasta, both filled and unfilled which we have mastered. The night dinners for in house guests were 5 courses and every night they were all different. The food was good and honest, the girls were growing and using their products well and the season was only just kicking off.

We cooked several cakes for breakfast using a basic batter mix and dividing it into 3.

The first one we added a full lemon skin and all that had been blitzed.

The second we added 400 gms of chocolate made from powered Lint and solid melted dark.

The 3rd we added 400gms sliced new season peaches. The peaches were crisp and green but full of flavour and surprisingly  ripe.   

Tonight's starter was a simple Waldorf style salad served in a stack but with tinned tuna substituted for chicken. Followed by a spinach roulade stuffed with chicken and Parm ham. Next our little ricotta and herb filled tortellini with meat ragu. Then a frozen finger of American grape ice cream. The girls make the sauce in season and use it in the ice cream and as a sauce on top....cute in advance idea.