Around 11:30 we gathered in the kitchen to make our first meal: Baked eggplant with fresh herbs and topped with breadcrumbs and olive oil, Oven-roasted peppers and tomatoes with fresh herbs and olive oil (are you sensing a theme?), focaccia bread, sparkling water, and wine. A lighter sort of fare for which I’d later be eternally grateful for.
While I waited for the others to show up, I took some photos of the collection of antique cookware and crockery still in use today. The liquor stash was truly astounding with much of it being homemade or very old.
Rita gave each of us a little notebook so we could write down the steps in the recipes as we went along. The little recipe book I made was a nice little treasure to bring home.
So, without further ado, here are a few of the snapshots I gathered as we cooked our little hearts out in Rita’s 400-year old farmhouse kitchen. The lady you see with Anara cooking bread is “Victoria” who Rita hires to help with guests in the Agriturismo. With her difficulties walking, it’s becoming harder and harder to do what she obviously loves by herself.
We started with chopping up the veggies for the 2 veggie dishes and set those aside.
Next, we took turns learning how to mix the focaccia dough “just right”, learning that there is a certain skill in the wrist-flicking action that has to happen in order to lighten up the dough with air bubbles. I was not doing it right and swiftly replaced with my daughter who garnered high praise for her “perfect technique”.
About 12:30 the local cheesemaker also arrived to give us our lesson in making homemade cow’s milk burrata and mozzarella knots. This would be for dinner and breakfast the next morning as that had to cure for a bit before eating.
By 1:30 the cheese was made (yes, we all made a few mozzarella balls!), the focaccia was baked to a golden perfection, the vegetable dishes were hot out of the oven, and we all sat down to meal of epic deliciousness. The wine flowed, we told stories about our lives, and had such a lovely, wonderful time over our first meal.
But the day was still young, and more Mola di Bari exploring was to be done! Next up: I get a marriage proposal from a fishy kind of guy.