Italy Retreat

The next to the last village of the 5 villages (Cinque Terre) is Manarola. Although the towns are overrun by tourists , Manarola remains uncorrupted by tourism. There are only a few stores. The restaurant recommended by author Fred Plotkin, in Italy for the Gourmet Traveler is "Ristorante Marina Piccola, Via Discovolo 38. You can eat outdoors to enjoy a good meal, beautiful setting and atmosphere. The pesto is excellent; as are the muscoli ripieni. Grilled fish is very good, and the wine is from the Cinqueterre cooperative."

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the walk from Rio Maggiore to Manarola is an easy 20 minute stroll. For more adventure, we'd walk on some of the other trails in the Cinque Terre.

The walk from Manarola to Corniglia is 3km long and takes about 1 hour. Parts of this trail are again pretty easy, but it is steeper and at times the ground is uneven under foot. The most exhausting part of this section is at the end, once you arrive at Corniglia train station. The station is located at the bottom of the hill, by the ocean, but the town of Corniglia is located on top of the hill....and there are approx 365 stairs to climb up to get up to the village!!

The section between Corniglia and Vernazza is the most scenic part, through varied landscapes - you walk through olive groves and forest, and then along the cliff edge, with spectacular views coming into Vernazza. This section is 4km long and takes about 1.5 hours to complete.

The section between Vernazza and Monterosso is the most difficult. It is 4kms long and has lots of ups and downs and steep stairs. It is little less scenic than the others, but you do get a good view of some of the local vineyards. The fun of hiking the trails is that you know that you can find delicious gelato in the next town or enjoy a glass of wine or expresso to celebrate your accomplishments.

Have you been here. Any advice?

Here we are, 33 posts about Italy that began in January of this year. Although La Dolce Vita (The Sweet Life) Transformational Workshop does not start until September 12, the deadline has arrived and there is only one spot remaining. I thought I'd post the details again so you can join us in paradise. If you look at older posts, you will see beautiful photos of the Cinque Terre towns and more on the Italian Riviera. This trip is not to be missed!

8 Day Women's Retreat-September 12-20, 2009
$1300 Room double occupancy, Workshop, Breakfast
(Transportation, other meals not included)

Registration Deadline: June 30 2009

Monterosso al Mare, Italian Riviera
This transformational workshop will be focused on helping each woman to live "la dolce vita" (the sweet life). We will increase our happiness quotient, create a life we love, come home with less baggage, and help create clarity, possiblilites, and freedom from limiting beliefs. We'll also enjoy the pleasures of eating delicious Italian food and traveling to the breathtaking towns of Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera. 641-472-0414 in the US.

The Italian Riviera coastline is dotted with charming fishing villages, rocky cliffs, and sandy beaches. The mountain valleys are covered with flowers and herbs that scent the air and provide the tastes that are a part of life in Italy.

This September I'm combining my passion for Italy with my passion for helping women expand their possibilities to create a life they love.

What to Expect on This Retreat:

After a delicious breakfast of local fruit, cheeses and homemade breads, we'll meet to begin learning the Option Method Dialogue - questions that you will take with you to continue experiencing the happiness gained during this retreat. You will broaden your belief of what is possible and begin to expand and live "La Dolce Vita", the sweet life.

We'll continue with techniques and exercises after lunch that will help enhance clarity, creativity and happiness.

Some afternoons will be filled with visits to the beautiful Cinque Terra (five towns), as well as to other picturesque seaside villages that cling to cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean. Our time outside in the lush splendor of Italy will inspire us to find our inner beauty. Italy's gift to the world is to teach us to enjoy beauty and pleasure in every aspect of life-food, family, fashion, art, language, nature and love.

As women, we are notorious for giving and supporting others, whether we have careers in or out of the home. Now, let's do something for ourselves. Give ourselves the gift of happiness - a chance to travel to Italy with a group of like-minded women for the purpose of finding and living pleasure, joy and love every moment of our lives.

During this Italian Retreat, discover how to:

~ Manifest greater possibilities in your life
~ Awaken happiness while gently dissolving limiting beliefs
~ Dive into the passions of Italy while tapping into your own passions
~ Navigate more easily through life's transitions and changes (job loss, empty nest, divorce, moving....)

I hope you can join us to create more of what you want in your life!

Celebrating is an important part of life in Italy. Except on the highways, life is slower in Italy, and you can enjoy your travels if you assume an Italian frame of mind. But needless to say, a big focus for celebrating in Italy is centered around food, which is an endless subject. For today, I'll just touch on a sweet recipe.

Since I was in charge of the Italian Cookie booth at our Italian Street Festival this past weekend mentioned in previous posts, I wanted to share some photos. Most members of our Italian American Club, SOFIA-Society of Fairfield Italian Americans baked cookies, many of which were handed down from their Italian grandparents. Bernadette remembered her Sicilian mother making fasciatelle cookies with almonds, but she didn't have the recipe. She googled what she remembered as the name and found Anna Maria’s Open Kitchen
This recipe is labor intensive, but so worth it. You can also click on the link to see a progressive pictorial view in creating these wonderful almond/honey cookies.

FASCIATELLE (pronounced fash a tae lay)
Preparing the dough
* In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, place flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
* Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is fully incorporated but still inconsistent.
* Add the eggs and continue to run the blade until the dough is fully combined and has a shape as a ball.
* Wrap the pasta dough in plastic and put in the refrigerator.

Preparing the filling
* Place the almonds in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. * Run the blade until the almond is finely ground.
* Add honey and run the blade until formed a smooth paste. Transfer to a bowl.
* Preheat oven 350 F.
* Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place on a work surface. Cut it in four pieces.
* Place each piece on a floured surface and using a rolling pin flatten to a square about 12 inches by 12 inches.
* Cut the square in strips about 1 1/2 inch (4 cm) wide and 12 inches long.
* Place the filling in the middle of each strip of dough, and then close it folding the dough on itself.
* Cut the folded strips in 4 inches (10 cm) pieces. Twist the cookies once.
* Transfer to cookie sheets covered with parchment paper. Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden.
* Before serving drizzle some honey on the cookies and spread with toasted sliced almonds.
Fasciatelle - Sicilian Almond Filled Cookies
for the pasta frolla
* 4 cups all purpose flour
* 2/3 cups sugar
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 16 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold diced
* 4 eggs

for the almond filling
* 12 oz (300 gr) whole unblanched almonds
* 1 cup honey
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

for finishing
* honey
* 2 oz (60 gr) toasted sliced almonds


What's your favorite Italian Cookie recipe? Have you ever made fasciatelle?

In celebration of the All Things Italian Festival in Fairfield, Iowa, I'm posting some tasty cookie recipes as everyone bakes authentic Italian cookies to be sold at he Festival. In case you haven't noticed, most Italian cookies are not very sweet, but are delicious with coffee. For a few more cookie recipes, see Viriginia at Italy lovers blog.

My friend Dena combined a two recipes to create this very tasty crescent shaped Sesame Seed Cookie. Her dad and another Italian recipe found online spelled the cookies phonetically. The spelling is probably Giugiuleni. (There are no J's in the Italian language).

Giugiuleni (pronounced JuJulanie)
Italian Sesame Seed Cookies

½ pound butter - softened
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Anise Flavoring/ extract
2 ½ cups flour (may need to add more)
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
Milk (for dipping)
12-16 ounces Sesame Seeds

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Cream together butter and sugar. Mix in eggs, vanilla, and a few drops of anise flavoring. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet mixture to form a soft dough. Pinch off pieces of dough and roll them into small thumb size logs (about 1 ½ to 2 inches long and about ½ inch thick).

Pour milk and a few drops of anise flavoring in a shallow bowl. Put sesame seeds in another shallow bowl or plate. Dip dough into milk and then roll them in sesame seeds to coat. Place on a greased or parchment covered cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. I make crescents.

Bake at 425 degrees for 10 – 15 minutes. Mine took longer. Keep peeking.

Cool on racks. Can be frozen. Makes about 2 to 3 dozen.

You can double the recipe, but try 5 eggs, not 6, and see how the dough looks.

Do you have any Italian Cookie recipes you'd like to share here? Buon Appetito!

I'm helping with the All Things Italian Street Festival happening this Friday night, June 5 in Fairfield, Iowa. Our little town square transforms into an Italian Piazza. We even have an Italian Juggler joining the performance stand. This is a short video of the festival a few years ago!