100_0861I’m visiting my sister in Tuscany on my way to a conference.  She runs a cooking school, Organic Tuscany.  The students are all housed in an 18th century villa near Certaldo.  We’re staying here too because the villa is huge and has a swimming pool.  The students seem to be having a great time.  They cook from 10.30-1.30. and then eat what they made for lunch. The incentives are place to pay attention in class!  In the afternoon, they go somewhere for an organized trip – today Siena, yesterday San Gimignano.  My sister has set this up. I’m very impressed as I could never pull off something like this.

We didn’t want to disturb her this morning during class so we did our own disorganized trip to Volpaia.  We went there ten (!) years ago before we had kids.  We had a nice, semi-challenging hike to the hill-top where Volpaia sits prettily.  I remember it well as my pre-made boring pecorino sandwich looked much less interesting that by wife’s finnochiana.  That’s where the salami-exception to my “vegetarianism” began.  The beginning of a key hypocrisy is always memorable, however many mild hypocrisies you commit daily.

I indulged the big one again at La Bottega di Volpaia where we shared a salami plate.  I followed this with spectacular potato tortelli in a fresh porchini sauce.  My wife enjoyed her classic ricotta ravioli  in a butter and sage sauce and the kids even ate their spaghetti with pesto.

The drive up there is great too as long as your stomach can withstand the hair-raising near-crashes with Italians speeding in the other direction while hogging the middle of small, windy roads.  The lunch was so good and the drive so picturesque that we might risk it again.