Luce Dell'Amore

Dormant Blog

2013-09-28T08:54:00.002+02:00

Why has this been a dormant blog?

Just built a house in the UK and finally starting building in Italy - so you think we have the time to blog? Dream on!

Here is a taster of the UK property, just a little finishing and garden to do!

The Olive Harvest 2011

2011-12-03T14:06:00.001+01:00

The Olive Harvest at the end of 2011 has produced the most amazing oil so far, so amazing, that the oil we allocated for sale has now all gone.

We picked the olives probably a week too early and some of the olives were quite green but this has produced an oil with a bitter olive edge and a chilli kick, so it is full of all those good antioxidants that will help keep you healthy, as well as boost your good cholesterol and reduce the bad. It also tastes very good.

This year we tried for a new record - that no one fell out of a tree - but yet I again I managed it, but only once, although it was working on a tree next to the house so I fell on a stone path -ouch!

Other notable events, we now have an official 'olive picking lunchtime wine' (probably accounts for why I fell out of the tree!). It comes from a Salento cantina and you buy it from a local shop where they fill up your container from a petrol pump style dispenser. At 14.5 percent with a sweet edge that makes it velvety smooth, you have to limit yourself to no more than 2 glasses otherwise there would be no picking in the afternoon.

We also made a discovery about our olive crates, which demonstrates my crap Italian. When I bought the crates I thought the guy selling them said they were 20 kilo crates i.e. when they are full they hold approx 20 kilos of olives. This is important as to have your own pressing at the Frantoio (olive mill) you need a minimum of 1 quintale (100Kilos), so we worked on the basis that if you filled 6 crates we would have 120kilos, so enough for a pressing with a margin for error - well they were 30 Kilo crates, so we collected just under 200 kilos, not bad for 2 people collecting by hand in 2.5 days.

The Lambo

2009-10-28T14:15:00.001+01:00

It has always been a family joke that we have a Lamborghini parked outside our Italian house.

Here it is!

Before the Credit Crunch

2008-10-17T15:38:00.000+02:00

Before the credit crunch it seemed like a good idea to buy a second home in a warmer climate in a country we have always enjoyed.
Now that the credit crunch is here, it seems like an even better idea!

For those who don't know Puglia, it's unlike the rest of Italy. Often regarded as 'bandit country' due to the Mafia connections, it has remained undeveloped and is delightfully scruffy. In fact it is a well-kept secret that it is the favourite seaside destination for most Italians due to the climate and the clear blue seas.

The food is also amazing, not only because Puglia produces about 50% of Italian basics such as oil and pasta but also being a very poor area, they have had to make the very simplest of foods taste good, and from this, Cucina Povera was born! To try it, you have to visit.