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 | A Strange Summer Indeed, with quite a bit of rain, and relatively cool temperatures. As a result, the blackberries have been less sweet than usual, and are also waterier than they were last year. The grapes also seem to be less ripe than they should be at this time of year, and if things continue like this I think it will not be the best year for reds, at least in the center-north. Whites, on the other hand, will have lively acidities because the grapes will not be as ripe as they are in hotter summers (acidity declines with increasing ripeness), and lively acidity in a white is a Good Thing -- makes for an interesting and longer-lived wine. | |
Crostata con Le More, or Blackberry Crostata
If you have the occasion to go blackberry picking, and come home with a basket full, the most obvious option is to make blackberry jam. If you're the sort who looks ahead. However, if everyone is clamoring for blackberries, you can either serve them over gelato (vanilla, in particular), or use them to make a blackberry crostata. Either way, they'll go quickly.
| It's time to think about making Schiacciata con L'Uva!
In central and northern Italy it has been cool and damp enough that the grapes look less ripe than they should at this time of year, and are consequently not really sweet enough yet. But if you have access to ripe wine grapes, and in other parts of the northern hemisphere you may well, it's time to make schiacciata con l'uva, a rustic and very tasty Tuscan wine grape pie.
| Start with a Shrimp (or better, many)
When I was walking home last night, I smelled the rich and enticing aroma of shrimp on the grill, and once again wished I hadn't developed an allergy to them. If you are more fortunate than I, there are many things to do with shrimp, or even the American prawns that are now doing considerable damage to north Italian waterways and lakes (in addition to devouring local wildlife, they weaken the banks by tunneling into them).
| Live Where It's Cooler?
A few years ago I went to Maine in late August, and though it did get warm enough to think about swimming during the day, it cooled considerably at night -- into the low 50s F, or 10-12 C. Cool enough to think about making stew, and also spicing it up. You could go with either fish or meat:
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