Dandelion Greens

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What's the best part about summer ending?? Dahlias!!!🌸💐🌸💐 Here's a montage of the mini arrangements I've made over the last few weeks! Available at @solunagardenfarm in @bostonpublicmarket while they last!😊 #localflowers #localflowerfarm #organicflowers #buylocal #supportlocal #dahlia #callalily #zinnia

Beautiful display from @somervillechocolatecsa at the Boston Local Food Festival yesterday! Somerville Chocolate offers a chocolate CSA consisting of small-batch bars made from SEASONAL CACAO, sourced directly from producers. That means each bar you get in the CSA is made from freshly harvested cacao! 😱 Amazing. Their chocolate was so flavorful and fruity, @helena_may_ thought the Hawaii bar tasted just like pineapple! If you're a chocolate nerd like me, check out their website and sign up for their CSA! 🍫🍫🍫🍫

Today was the Boston Local Food Festival and perhaps the last warm summery day before fall starts settling in! 🌻 I stopped by a bunch of vendors and learned about local organizations committed to food access, food rescue, and food in all its forms. I was really excited to visit the Trustees Mobile Farmers Market, which sources fresh produce and products from local farms and sells them at pop-up markets in areas that don't have fresh, local food readily accessible. The products (fruits, veggies, cheese, meat, milk, eggs, ice cream, you name it) are sold at discounted prices and customers can use SNAP/EBT and WIC. I got graham cracker ice cream from @crescentridge and it was the highlight of my day. 😊 Check out the trustees.org/mobile to see their schedule and what else they're up to!🥒🍎🥔🌶🍳🧀🌽

Finally (sort of) settled into my new home! Today I explored Haymarket, a flea market in one of the oldest districts in Boston (and the country) which also happens to be across the street from my work. 👌🏼 Streets are lined with tents and tables stuffed with amazing, colorful produce. The vendors buy their produce from wholesalers in the area, which all try to make space in their warehouses on Fridays before new shipments are delivered over the weekend. This results in tons of fruits and veggies that would otherwise get thrown away, which vendors can resell for insanely cheap (2 avocados for $1!!!🥑🥑🥑🎉🎉🎉). The best part is that the market takes place all year round! Looking forward to buying tons and tons of fruit and veg here every Friday for the rest of forever. 😊

If you're interested in history, tradition, small-scale farming, Italian cuisine, or just really really good food, check out my post on traditional balsamic vinegar (link in bio)! I had no idea how interesting the story of balsamic vinegar would be when I arrived at @acetaiamalagolidaniele as a volunteer through @wwoof. Give it a read, I'd be willing to bet it'll surprise you too. . 📸: the attic of the Malagoli's house, where the vinegar is aged in wooden barrels of varying sizes for 25 years (or more!). Some of these barrels have been passed down for several generations and represent hundreds of years of family history.

Had a productive first day home! 💙 The pick-your-own blueberry farm near my house had a full day of picking as much as you can FOR FREE. Yes free. Definitely worth the bee sting and blueberry guts all over my pants. 😋 I missed Maine.

It's never too early to fill up on chocolate, right? Last order of business before flying home! 😍Absolutely star struck by Cyril Lignac's pain au chocolat (and some chocolate samples I got to taste because I made friends with the lady at the counter). Leaving Paris with a heart full of gratitude and a backpack full of cheese, bread, and macarons. 🥖🍫😋🇫🇷❤️

On my last day with the Malagoli family, I got to help out with a cooking class where Barbara taught her students how to make a dozen different types of pasta from scratch. 😍 WWOOFing here these last two weeks has been a dream come true for me. I've wanted to experience farm life and the freshness of Italian cooking for as long as I can remember. When I planned this trip, I never could've imagined just how perfect this place would be. It's been a privilege to spend so much time in Barbara's kitchen, helping out in any way I can, mostly just trying to absorb all of her knowledge about food and farming and cooking and history and tradition. From lessons in the kitchen to the gallons of gelato we've shared, thank you to everyone at @acetaiamalagolidaniele for welcoming me into your beautiful home! I'm so incredibly grateful for all your warmth and generosity. Until next time. ❤️

Part 2 of my adventures in pasta-making: tortelloni (like tortellini but bigger)! 😍 What's cooler than making tortelloni? Making it in the city where tortelloni and tortellini were invented! Castelfranco Emilia has a festival in September every year with zillions of tortellini made by hand and served in broth, as is tradition and apparently the ONLY way to serve tortellini. . I didn't realize how particular pasta and pasta sauce combinations were in Italy. Bolognese sauce is for tagliatelle and lasagna, NEVER spaghetti or tortellini. And my host mom just about had a heart attack when I told her we make lasagna with ricotta at home. 😬 Wrong. It should be made with Parmesan and bechamel, never ricotta. So many things to remember. Lucky for me, this tortelloni recipe was easy! The pasta is just egg and flour, inside is just ricotta. We tossed them in a bit of oil and Parmesan and ate with a few drops of homemade balsamic vinegar on top!😋

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