The Tuscan Year

"This is not the Neapolitan cooking Americans know; not a modern restaurant food, but an elegant peasant cuisine that wastes nothing." —Irene Sax, Newsday The Tuscan Year recounts the daily life and food preparation of a family living on a farm in Tuscany. Elizabeth Romer chronicles each season's activities month by month: curing prosciutto and making salame in January, planting and cheesemaking in March, harvesting and threshing corn in July, hunting for wild mushrooms in September, and grape crushing in October. Scattered throughout this lovely calendar are recipes—fresh bread and olive oil, grilled mushrooms, broad beans with ham, trout with fresh tomatoes and basil, chicken grilled with fresh sage and garlic, and apples baked with butter, sugar, and lemon peel, among many others. Alive with the rhythms of country tradition,  The Tuscan Year is a treasure for the armchair traveler as well as the cook. "Evocative narrative and authentic recipes are intertwined in . . . [this] beautifully written book about the food grown and prepared by a family living on a farm in Tuscany." ―Catherine Fredman, Food and Wine