Thursday, July 28, 2016

Celebrating a Birthday in Sicily

Hello dear readers. I'm back home in hot, southern California.  My trip home was quite uneventful (thank goodness), and all is well here.  Lilly was so happy to see me.  Our good friends came by each day and provided excellent "catsitter" service.

While my family and I were on vacation, my daughter celebrated her birthday.  We were in the port of Messina, Sicily on her special day and mother and daughter went to Azienda Trinita where we toured the botanical gardens and enjoyed an authentic Sicilian cooking lesson.

We arrived late morning at the estate and this is the church across the street from the property...

Here is one of the buildings with it's beautiful garden architecture . . .

My daughter, Heidi, on her birthday at the estate . . .

We took a tour of the gardens on the estate before the cooking lesson.  I loved this quaint pond on the property . . .

There was also a small vineyard.  The current owner of the property is an landscape architect along with being a botanist.  We picked lemon leaves off the lemon trees to use for the cooking lesson . . .

The main course consisted of meatballs wrapped in lemon leaves . . .

This is a photo of Maria who was our teacher.  She is originally from Rome .. .

The first course consisted of zucchini ribbons in a vinagrette . . .

The lemon leaves wrapped meatballs before cooking . . .

 
We retired to the rustic style dining room and awaited for our food.  It had such an authentic, rustic charm . . .

This property has been in the same family for eight generations.  Salvatore Bonajuto is the current family member who is in charge.  The property is not that large but it does have some separate cabins you can rent.  We met a nice couple from the Netherlands who had rented from Airbnb and they accompanied us on the garden tour.

Our cooking lesson included these five items:
     - Antipasto (zucchini ribbons with lemon vinagrette and grated parmesan)
     - Carponata (eggplant and tomato served on bread)
     - Polpettine (meatballs wrapped in lemon leaves)
     - Spaghetti Eoliani (pasta with fresh tomato sauce)
     - Torta (Apricot tart made with a buttery crust)

And, we drank a red table wine made from the estate's vineyard.  It was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon together, mother and daughter, doing one of our favorite things; cooking.  When we returned to the ship, we celebrated in the evening as all of the family was present.

I hope that you dear readers are enjoying your summer holiday.  We returned home Tuesday evening and have been busy taking care of our home and garden.  My husbands tomato plants were stripped bare by some large, pesky tomato worms :(  But, the fig trees are bearing figs so that is good.  Please feel free to comment and share what has been happening in your part of the world.

With my best wishes,

Pat

Linking with: Five on Friday . . .



 

26 comments:

  1. Glad you're home safe and sound. What a beautiful place to spend a birthday. Love Italian food, it is my favorite.

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  2. It looks like a great trip and you safety came home. Never heard before, that lemon leaves are eatable (I'd like to taste)... and Lily must be happy, that you are back.
    Enjoy your weekend

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  3. Glad you had a lovely holiday. The day with Heidi sounds wonderful. I did a dY like that in a Thai cooking school,which was fun, but the setting was not as glamorous. I bet Lily was pleased to see you. I love the welcome back we get from our animals. Kate x

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  4. The food sounds amazing. I wouldn't mind sampling some of that.

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  5. What a wonderful way to spend such a special day, it sounds like you've picked up some great tips for lunch! So glad you are home safely. :-)

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  6. You sure had a memorable birthday celebrations, I bet the cooking lessons were fun. Have a great August!

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  7. A lovely way to spend a birthday and will always hold special memories. The food all looked delicious.

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  8. What a wonderful day you had together celebrating your daughter's birthday Italian style.
    Sorry you've lost your tomatoes!

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  9. It looks like the perfect way to spend a birthday, I would love to do a cookery lesson in Italy with my family. I am glad you are home safe and well, I bet Lily was delighted to see you back. Have a lovely weekend xx

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  10. So glad you are all safe after the coup. This birthday celebration looks absolutely delicious (though I think I would wilt in that heat!). Welcome home! Thanks for your kind comment.

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  11. What a fantastic menu to cook and eat! I am glad you have a lovely time. Happy Friday x

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  12. Sounds like a really wonderful way to celebrate a birthday!

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  13. The meatballs wrapped in lemon leaves sound wonderful. What a great way to celebrate!

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  14. Glad you are home safely! Your visit to the estate looks amazing. What a wonderful way to spend the day. Happy Friday... have a lovely weekend :)

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  15. I'm sure Lilly is happy to have you home. No better way to celebrate your daughter's birthday than to be together and lucky you, a cooking class too! Your Europe trip sounds lovely. Happy unpacking and have a great week!

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  16. What a wonderful way to spend your lovely daughter's birthday together! Beautiful estate and the food looks delicious. Too bad about the tomatoes, but fresh figs sound great. Glad you are home safe and Lilly is well, too. Hugs xo Karen

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  17. My favorite things also - travel and cooking. Even more fun if you have a daughter to share the fun.

    Did the lemon leaves add flavor to the meatballs?

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  18. What a beautiful place. A fantastic way to spend a birthday. I'm glad you all had such a great time. X

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  19. How wonderful to cook and eat with a professional to teach you. Looks like you had a wonderful time. thanks for sharing.

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  20. I am so curious about the lemon leaves and the flavour they impart, lovely post in a stunning location.

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  21. I am glad you travelled safely, Pat. You were certainly in Turkey during an eventful period. Sicily looks wonderful, and what a lovely way to celebrate a birthday! xx

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  22. Pat I'm glad you are safely home. I read back on some of your posts of your travels. You were in Turkey during interesting times, to say the least. I enjoyed the Ephesus photos. My husband was there a year ago but he is not one to take photos so I enjoyed seeing some of what he saw through your camera lens. Enjoy the rest of the summer!

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  23. Looked like a lovely time- and meatballs wrapped in lemon leaves sounds interesting! how did it taste? xx

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  24. Glad you are safely home and that the birthday celebrations went so well too!! The food looks and sounds incredibly delicious and in such beautiful surroundings too! Thank you too for joining Five On Friday. I hope that you have a great August and I look forward to seeing you again in September! xx

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  25. What a trip of a life time! That sounds simply amazing. I am so glad you were able to celebrate your daughters birthday together doing something you both enjoy! Pure Bliss. Thanks for sharing!

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  26. It is exciting that you and Heidi got to celebrate her birthday in a very special way. The lemon leaf recipe especially intrigues me! xx

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