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Greetings Fellow Travelers!
Tuscany has long been one of our favorite destinations. With matchless scenery,
scrumptious cuisine, and the dolce vita of everyday Italy, it's no wonder why so many people flock to this region. Even
Untours has two programs there: the Tuscany South and Tuscany North Untours. In this issue of the Untours Eurozine, see how easy it is to create
your own Tuscan Table of culinary delights with a visit to your local market.
Check out a recipe for one of the tastiest dishes to come out of Tuscany, and
preview three new in-town apartments in the Tuscany South program. Plus, if you're wondering what
are some of the differences between the two Tuscan Untours, we'll give you the
scoop.
Happy Travels!
Kim Paschen and Marilee Taussig
Co-editors, Eurozine
PS: See how our new rewards program Unpoints is at work...there are many ways to earn Unpoints that are redeemable for great
rewards! See below for details.
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Untours Eurozine
November 2005
How to reach us:
888-868-6871
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A beautiful spread easily assembled from a market visit
Photo by Andrea Szyper
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The Markets of Tuscany by Andrea Szyper, Untours Staff
I am half awake in cool sheets when I remember and shoot up in bed. “Honey, it’s
Saturday!” I shriek. 8:00 am. My husband is reading. “You’ve gotta catch the
chicken man!” Within 10 minutes he is showering and I am cracking the shutters
open to the cool Tuscan morning. Surveying the vineyards, our vineyards. Brunello vineyards.
Saturday is market day in little Buonconvento, when the largest square in the
pretty town center fills with stalls selling fresh vegetables, fruits and nuts,
house wares and meats. The chicken man serves up rotisserie chickens slow roasted
with herbs and garlic, crisp skins browned and fragrant. His cart runneth over,
but by late morning they are normally all claimed! Friends of ours learned this
the hard way, so he is out the door like a shot, before I’ve even had my morning
espresso.
He returns with two chicken halves to reheat for lunch and a bag of tomatoes
so firm, dense and flavorful, my father takes to eating them whole for breakfast,
biting into them like plums. The flat wax beans must be in season; they cook up
nicely with olive oil and garlic. And the white beans simmer in white wine, harmonizing
with the sage and rosemary we’ve picked on the grounds of the farm. Our Saturday
kitchen hums!
It’s always market day somewhere in Tuscany! Yesterday was Montalcino’s morning! Among the tables of potted flowers and the
produce men we found an incognito fish stand there, a tiny, clean tiled shop built
into the wall, only big enough for one person to enter at a time. The monkfish
we made Friday night was divine, preceded by a simple tomato sauce over hand-rolled
pici pasta! But as we walk off Saturday lunch there, we can hardly find the nondescript
locked door where the fishmonger greeted us yesterday morning. The street is tidy
and no odors remain. Just people like us out strolling after family lunches.
Join the Untours Tuscan Table, an Untour especially devoted to cuisine available
at no extra cost!
What’s Included:
Standard Untour services: airfare (from New York), 14-day car rental, 14 nights
in an Untours accommodation, all Untours support services, a cooking lesson, olive
oil mill tour and tasting, truffle tasting, and a traditional Tuscan meal
Dates: March 22-April 5, 2006 and April 5-19, 2006
Price: March 22, $2,099 and April 5, $2,469 (prices are per person, based on double
occupancy)
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Tuscan wine is the perfect accompaniment to Acquacotta
Photo by Andrea Szyper
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ACQUACOTTA ALL’USO DELLA VAL D’ORCIA (serves about 10)
Literally the recipe name means COOKED WATER IN THE VAL D’ORCIA STYLE. Traditionally, this soup was prepared in the fields and forests by shepherds
and woodsmen. It was prepared with only what they could easily carry with them
from home or what they could gather in the wild. So, there are many different
variations of this same recipe all over Tuscany depending on what was available
at different times of year or how far the Tuscans traveled from home. Needless
to say, eggs weren’t always available, nor were canned tomatoes for that matter!
Enjoy! Andi Cancelliere, Untours Staff
Olive oil 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
4 celery stalks 4 ½ lbs beet greens (or Swiss chard
or spinach)
1 medium red onion 10 cups boiling water
pinch of crushed red pepper 1 egg per person
pinch of salt loaf of crusty bread
1 cup red wine
-Coat bottom of large stockpot with oil
-Add finely chopped celery and onion, crushed red pepper and salt
-Saute over medium flame until golden/translucent
-Add wine and cook until it boils off
-Add tomatoes, cook for 10 minutes
-Add greens (or Swiss chard or spinach), cook 5‑10 minutes
-Add boiling water
-Bring mixture back up to a boil, cook for about 1/2 hour
-Before serving add one beaten egg per person to soup, stir and cook through
for a few minutes
-Add one slice of crusty bread at bottom of each bowl before serving
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Tuscany...whether you go north, south, east, or west, you'll find beauty at every
turn
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Q&A: What is the difference between the Tuscany North and the Tuscany South
Untours?
Tuscany North is located in a more metropolitan area of Tuscany. Pisa is about 15 minutes
to the south, Lucca about 15 minutes to the north and Florence about an hour to
the east. Untourists here have very easy access to those cities, the beauty of
the Apuan Alps and the coast, including the Cinque Terre. Generally speaking,
highways to major sites are closer to apartments in Tuscany North.
Tuscany South is the Tuscany of coffee table books, rolling hills, cypress lined roads and
quaint medieval hill towns. It's a much more rural area, located just south of
Siena, where you'll find rows and rows of vineyards, fields of wheat and in summer
a sea of sunflowers. Picture the images that Frances Mayes conveys in her books
about Tuscany, and this is what you will experience at every bend in the road
in Tuscany South.
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Unpoints member, Jean Agneta, earns 300 Unpoints by establishing a catalog display
at her local library. Send a CD of photos from your Untour and earn 10 Unpoints.
Create a slideshow or triplog of your Untour and earn up to 40 Unpoints. There are so many ways you can earn
Unpoints to cash in for rewards for books, gift certificates, and discounts off
Untours. Sign up for Unpoints now! It's easy and free! To get a jumpstart on adding Unpoints, stock your local library
or community center with catalogs and earn 300 Unpoints! Email unpoints@untours.com to request your catalog supply.
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The Tuscan Untour really goes to town!
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In Murlo:
Il Pozzo has one of our best-equipped kitchens in Tuscany! It is comfortably furnished,
with warm English-speaking hosts next door and it is within walking distance of
the Etruscan Museum and a pizzeria/trattoria that serves up hearty Tuscan country
fare.
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In Montalcino:
Sul Tetto is a beautifully outfitted 2-bedroom apartment in Montalcino with views from
every window! On a clear day, you can see all the way to Siena. Restaurants, shops,
and cafés are all within walking distance from the apartment.
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In Montalcino:
The Piazza apartment is on Montalcino’s main square, across from one of the town’s best
wine bars. Both apartments are an easy stroll to excellent restaurants and cantinas
where you can sample local wines. Market day is Friday!
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Idyll, Ltd.
415 E. Jasper Street
Media, PA 19063
www.untours.com
P. 888-868-6871
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