Blog

Tuscan Pan Forte is an ancient, and may I say better, version of today’s fruitcake. Very delicious with lots of unique flavors, easy to make, and even easier to eat.  A colleague in Italy, Judy Witts Francini, (divinacucina.com), posted a recipe that she loves.  She has a wonderful blog and cooking school near Florence, Italy. […]

Twas three weeks before Christmas, at IL Fiorello’s Olive House. All creatures were stirring, in the little hen’s house. The barrels were stacked, with love and great care, In hopes that more olives, soon would be there. The gift packs were nestled, all snug on the shelves, With dreams of great feasts, and gifts for […]

Thanks for all the olives We are swimming in olives thanks to all the growers bringing in tons and tons of olives. Our goal is to make wonderful beautiful oil. We wish everyone could see the process, revel in the olives, hear the machinery run, and taste delicious Olio Nuovo.  But for those who cannot […]

OCTOBER MUSINGS FROM IL FIORELLO As the events of the past two weeks, the Great Fires of California, have affected all of us, I want to take a minute to pause and thank many people for all their efforts.  Staff who drove down the vineyard dirt paths to come to work.  Staff, who even though […]

  At our Visitors Center, people are always interested in why and how we prepare food, create recipes, and match oils with food. Here are some of my simple tenants for IL Fiorello.   Use good, clean, and fair ingredients. This is also the hallmark of Slow Food and sensible eating Don’t complicate your life […]

  What do people say? What questions do they ask in an olive oil tasting experience? The other day, a group of visitors were talking with me about the experience of running a tasting room for olive oil. They asked me what questions we get during our olive oil tasting events. Last year we presented […]

  August is tomato season in Suisun Valley and let me tell you- It is Everything Tomato at IL Fiorello! We have a lot here at the Farm. We’ve had to chase the mockingbirds away from them! Our chickens love the little red and yellow cherry tomatoes. They chase each other like little kids to catch […]

  In our tasting room I am frequently asked about fraud in olive oil. The USP* warns that the amount of food fraud has increased by 60% over the last few years. They state that the most adulterated foods are olive oil, milk, honey, syrups, lemon juice, pomegranate juice, tea, spices, and seafood. After the […]

  We are growing grape stakes and milk cartons! Looks that way but not really, soon you will see little green sprouts. To the Farmers, this means that grapes are going to be planted. The grape stakes and the milk cartons protect and support the young grapes. No harvesting or suckering is going on in […]

Making Nocino, Italian walnut liquor, usually this is made on June 24th, St John’s day. But as you can see these walnuts got a little large very early. The alcohol turns bright green from the walnuts, as do your hands. Cut the walnuts in quarters and soak in alcohol for a few weeks or longer […]