TASTE: Lavender-Agave Limoncello

Inspiration for Lemons.

I'm already longing for my time in Italy. This past summer I took the most epic of all trips and backpacked through Europe with the love of my life. This is a trip we had been dreaming about for 6 years, and it came to a beautiful and adventurous culmination during the month of June. We ate SO well, and I've been mulling over a couple of exotic recipes that I want to attempt to make stateside. So maybe I can't exactly replicate this astounding margherita pizza from Naples (apparently the flavor is in the water), but I can try my hand at a few other tasty treats. The first of my European-inspired attempts is limoncello. FYI it takes a bit of patience to make this (so add PATIENCE to your ingredient list. Seriously.)

Limoncello is served in Italy at the very end of a meal, when your belly is gleefully protruding over your pants and your mouth is dumbly drunk from the pleasing combination of bufala mozzarella, hot doughy bread, fresh spiced basil-tomatoes, savory white fish, home made pasta and of course, wine. And dessert. And then more wine. Need I say more? Then, at the very end of the meal, limoncello seals the deal. It's the last kiss of the night before you roll yourself into bed. And it's glorious, to say the least.

I got this recipe from a dear old Italian woman who ran a restaurant up in the foothills of the Amalfi Coast. She laughed at me while she wrote the recipe down, saying, "You can try, but you won't be able to make this back at home." Apparently that is because the Italians use 100-proof alcohol in their recipe, which is, well, not exactly sold in the U.S. We basically have to make do with a lot of vodka. So I fashioned my own concoction based on her recipe, along with Giada's (obviously), this recipe from Linden Hills Co-op and this recipe from Imbibe. And I decided to make two batches, one regular and one using infused lavender and agave. Time to get crazy!

Lavender Agave Limoncello

Ingredients:

- 2 cups vodka

- 5 lemons, peeled

- 2 limes, peeled

- 1/2 tsp. lavender

- 2/3 cup agave

- 1 cup water

- Juice from 2 lemons

Method:

1. Using a vegetable peeler or sharp knife, peel the lemons and limes carefully. Trim away any white pith from the peels, as the pith can make the limoncello taste bitter.

2. Place the peels in a large pitcher and pour 2 cups of vodka over the peels. Add in the lavender. Cover the mouth of the pitcher with plastic wrap and set the pitcher in a cool, dark place. Allow the peels to steep for at least a week. (This is the part where your patience needs to kick in.)

3. After a week has passed, combine the agave+water+juice from two lemons in a saucepan and bring to a boil. I like to boil the sliced lemons in with the sweetened mixture (it gives it a yummy sweet-and-sour flavor!) After the mixture has boiled for a good 5 minutes, remove from heat. Let the mixture cool completely. (Again, utilize your patience and just walk away. You can do it.)

4. Once it's completely cooled, the agave+water+lemon mixture should be the consistency of syrup. Strain the syrupy through a fine mesh strainer. This should weed out all the lemons and seeds. Double strain if necessary. Set the syrup aside.

5. Next, strain the lemon peel-vodka mixture.

6. Combine both mixtures and seal in a glass jar. I got mine at Crate & Barrel, but I also used a mason jar as a second container. Store in the freezer for up to a month.

Now Enjoy! You can serve the limoncello in shot glasses at the end of the meal, or you can use it as a cocktail mixer. It's a snazzy beverage, perfect for the coming months' holiday celebrations.

To Make Regular Limoncello

Follow the above method with these ingredients: 

- 2 cups vodka

- 5 lemons, peeled

- 2 limes, peeled

- 1 cup sugar (I used raw)

- 1 cup water

- Juice from 2 lemons

Drink and Be Merry.

I hope you love this as much as I do. Soak up your inner-Italian and enjoy. It's a real treat.

Bon Appetit!

Ravello: Ancient Gemstone in the Amalfi Coast

Amalfi.

Here's the deal. The Amalfi Coast is as exotic as it sounds. Ravello is an ancient village tucked away, high in the cliffs of the rugged Italian coastline. This is a land richly swelling with fruits and flowers and humidity. Fat lemons sigh heavily from the luscious outstretched trees above my head. Butterflies frantically flock to and fro, kissing my shoulders for a fast moment as they bar hop from the hydrangeas to the birds of paradise. This is the home of limoncello, my newest favorite Italian discovery.

Our B&B hosts a quiet 4 rooms of visitors, welcoming its guests on a common shared patio. More like an orchard. More like... the most breathtaking views I've ever seen. EVER. And I've seen some pretty crazy stuff on this particular trip. The B&B, Ravello Rooms, sits on the edge of a cliff, with a 380 meter drop off into the Mediterranean Sea teeming below. It is sunset. It is perfect. The sky is cotton pink froth, misting into the sea with an indistinguishable route that makes you question where the sky ends and the water begins. Our B&B host, Guiseppe, has never left his hometown of Ravello. I can see why.

What We Do.

Breakfast is served on the patio. We make it last for a minimum of two hours each morning. Because these are $10 million views.

Beach time during the day. Alfresco dining each night. Moonlit midnight walks home along the mountain tops. My head swimming with fantastic frenzy. My skirt swirls softly around my legs in the warm wind that channels along these cliffs. I am not making this stuff up. This town. Is as crazy perfect as it sounds.

We never stop staring at the sky. It looks like Peter's Never Neverland. Maybe it actually is. And I don't EVER want to grow up.

Pompeii

Full Disclosure.

We are back in the States! We are so ridiculously happy to be home. And to finally be catching up on some much needed Zzz's. However, I still have a treasure trove of good stories to share about our European adventures! Each time I hopped onto a plane, train or bus, I would pull out my tiny toy-like computer and go mad typing about the day's wild experiences. So with that being said, I have a few more tales I'd like to share with you... like this one:

Pompeii.

We had a big day. Traveled from Rome, stopped in Naples for a hot minute (and for a pizza!), and then trained down to Pompeii to see the oldest preserved city in the world. Post-Pompeii, we drove further down the coast to crash on the Amalfi Coast for a bit.

But for now, let me just tell you about Pompeii. Because wow.

History.

In 79 A.D., Mount Vesuvius erupted and emptied itself out over the city of Pompeii. Because of this shocking and unprecedented event, the entire population was caked in lava and thus, has been preserved for mankind to explore for over 2000 years. Absolutely incredible. I mean, really really sad (I would never wish for a people group to get wiped out by a volcano eruption), but incredibly informing about life back then. It's an archaeologists' playground. It's also holds many amazing and strange parallels to the world as we know it today. Back then, people lived in big houses. They had kitchens. They had gardens. Fireplaces. They decorated with mosaics. I mean, we do all of that today! It was really amazing to see such OLD ruins and think about the hundreds and thousands of years of life that have gone on, all the while that pile of rubble has just been sitting there. Baking in the salty air and sunshine. It just blows my mind.

So we explored the giant preserved city. It was hot. We found some gelato (praise the Lord for SOME updating to Pompeii) and we cooled off. I'm not a scientist or a serious history buff, but I was fascinated by this site and learning about the people back then. Being able to see where they walked (those cobblestones are seriously worn), how wide their doorways were (not very, ha), what kinds of kitchen utensils they used (all preserved!) was just really humbling.

// Don't freak out. These are casts made from the erupted material found in Pompeii. Excavators found that there were hollow spaces in the debris (where bones and flesh of people once were) that were long disintegrated. The air space formed a hollow, a "mould" which allowed archaeologists to fill the mould and see what peoples' last positions were. Kind of freaky, yes. But incredible, too. //

// Mmm we rocked our Merrells and Rick Steves Audio Tours with pizzazz. //

Mmm Reflections.

This rambling tour made me realize that all people, well, they are just people. No matter which era they lived in, no matter which language was spoken or which deity was honored. Whether it was 2000 years ago or 20 years ago or 20 minutes ago, we all need air to breathe. Water to drink (sometimes wine, let's just be honest.) And a good laugh, for the love of God. Oh, I am so thankful. Pompeii has made me thankful for this gift I often take for granted. Go ahead, take a deep breath and hold it in. Just for a moment. Feel your full belly and hear your heartbeat. Think of the few, most important people in your life and how truly beautiful they are. Now exhale. Realize, this tiny bit of life is an absolute miracle. Go on now. Enjoy your God-given day!

Venice: Decaying Decadence.

// All photos in this post are taken by the spectacular, marvelous love of my life, Steven L. Hale //

Venice.

I love this place. There isn't anything like it. It will erupt within you an artistic cheesiness you didn't think possible. You might just end up slow dancing at midnight in the streets, singing and swaying to the cicada rhythm of the big brass band that, yeah, just happens to play every night. Beware. You're in for it. Waking up on my first morning in Venice, I was stunned.

The Colors.

Shades of peach, slate, mandarin and emerald strike a reluctant harmony with the sweltering sky. Sweating in the humid noon sun, old paint peels off into the murky lagoon water. Plaster lazily chips away from its ancient structures, the stone underneath exposed like the forbidden height of a gartered thigh. Brick, once heartily bearing the weight of an era, now easily crumbles to the touch. This floating city made its name by comfortably supporting a thousand years of life on its latticework of islands. This is Venezia. My feet float over the bridge. I am barely able to contain the gasping thrill within my belly.

Inspired Island.

Now I see why the world's foremost artists, painters, musicians and bright minds found themselves amongst these crowded, echoey streets. Once a town of forbidden affairs, lavish parties and casino-esque night life, Venice is now just a hint of what was once a gallant and sensual city of watery lights. Yet it still maintains a decaying decadence that whispers of an older age, a past life of vibrance and debauchery. Sipping cappuccino in the early morning, devouring pizza and gelato in the afternoon, and laughing the evening away in a dance of vino rosso and limoncello will leave your limbs tired and your heart oh so full. My memory is a messy slide show of fragrant, loud images; the filmy, striped onyx blouse of the gondola man, the pouty red lips of the aggravated waitress, the golden look of love from my husband who dreamed of bringing me here years before we were ever together. What a culmination of dreams. So many vibrato melodies waft through the canals of Venice; I am lucky if I am able to recognize just one of the tunes. Venice will make you want to sing. And dance. And eat. And write poetry. And you should do them all.

Ciao.