Children bugs life

Its the time of year for bugs to start going into hibernation.  At last the mosquitos are starting to tire of biting and the lizards and geckos are all busy chasing each other.  We have some wonderful bug hunts here with our guests who love to see what we can find.  Today was a real treasure with a snakes skin coming out of a hole in the wall.  Our friendly snake (grass snake so harmless) must have decided to get out of the sun and shed its skin somewhere cool.  They are often lying along the edge of the stone walls and they seem to use the wall to help them to 'scratch' off the old skin.  It must be one for our children to take into school and show everyone before our guests can take some home if they would like. 

Wonderful meal with Dana and Melchiorre, Mangia Mangia

I have just had THE most amazing lunch with Dana and Melchiorre of MangiaMangia based in Umbertide, Perugia, Italy (http://www.mangiamangiaitaly.com/).  We had a meeting set up to talk about plans to have short cooking classes with young children in a child friendly enviroment.  The plan is to have a 2 hour class for very small children so that they can learn from a true Italian chefs.  Both Dana and Melchiorre are fully trained chefs and know all the tricks of working with fresh ingredients that are only available in season. 

We had agreed that we would try something different so rather than have a typical Italian lunch it was to be  a Sushi menu.  There was an amazing starter of Norimaki (seaweed rolls filled with rice and seabass), it was the most tender Norimaki I have ever tasted.  The rice was creamy and the roll melted in your mouth.  Next we had wild asparagus with quails eggs which you then rolled with a very thin pancake.  I have never had this before but I can say they were wonderful.  Finally came quickly cooked fresh spinich with pieces of seabass and anchovy fillets. 

The lunch was so tasty I will just have to set up a follow on meeting to discuss menus and plans for childrens classes with a child friendly menu.  

About Dana and Melchiorre: Melchiorre and Dana are a chef couple who are passionate about their cooking and passionate about the cooking experiences of their guests. The hold catering classes but can also cater for you at your home.