Gala Placidia's activity

I agree, Cornflour is the secret ingredient that gives those soups the glutinous texture. It is used in many types of soups and sauces. I love to add sour cream and chives to my tomato soup. In agreement with Helens, soup is the best comfort soup, particularly in winter, although there are some excellent cold soups for summer. They all make a meal in itself, particularly if you add some extras to them. I particularly like the traditional fish and seafood soup from Livorno called "cacciucco"-

I have also noticed it. No tomato soup tins or dehydrated sachets for sale not only in Italy, but also in Spain. I have to make my own or buy some in France (fortunately, I am only 30 km away from the Spanish/French border. Plenty of other soup varieties available in Italy and some of them are excellent. Many of the "minestrone" variety with beans, "orzo" and also "funghi porcini" creams, quite decent; however, no tomato soup. On the other hand, there is a traditional Tuscan recipe for tomato soup, called PAPPA AL POMODORO (Tomato soup with fried bread) INGREDIENTS: 4 tablespoons olive oil 1 onion (chopped) 3 garlic cloves (minced) 750 g tomatoes, peeled and cut into pieces, or, if you are in a hurry use a couple of cans of tomato purée 1 litre chicken stock salt and pepper to taste 250 g day old Tuscan bread, cut into cubes and fried in some hot olive oil basil leaves chopped PREPARATION Heat the oil and cook the garlic and onion until transparent. Add the tomatoes and cook for some 5 minutes. Add the stock, adjust the salt and pepper and cook for a further 30 minutes. (If you are using tinned tomatoes, you can increase the flavour by adding some dried tomatoes as suggested by Gail. You can also reduce the cooking time) Serve with the bread cubes and sprinkle with chopped basil. At the "Trattoria Bordino" near the Ponte Vecchio in Florence they serve an excellent "Pappa al Pomodoro"  

Thank you for the recipe. I guess that, as it is the case with limoncello it is better to use untreated oranges....

I'm afraid that I haven't tried home made Cointreau, although it would posibly be superb as it is the case with many liqueurs you make at home. Can you share a recipe?

Try to mix the yoghurt with mango diet jam. A real treat! The Séverin machine is very good also. So you made a good purchase. Also, with home made yoghurt you know that you are not using any nasty additive. Another idea, using one of those old fashioned coffee filters, drain the yoghurt overnight. You will get a very nice soft cheese to use on toast.

A beautiful story Anne, thank you. I agree, Ray should marry Elena after all those years....

Providing that the yoghurt is fresh and not pasteurized (the ones that can be kept without refrigeration), you will have a live culture. Buy a good quality yoghurt to start your batch and remember that you will have to do this on a regular basis. There are also the yoghurt-making machines which are excellent. The Moulinex one is superb. No more worries checking on temperatures, etc. Health food shops also sell live cultures for yoghurts. I make a very good yoghurt and I mix it with tablespoons of diet jam for variety. Nicer than the ones you purchase at the supermarket.

Be careful with "usucapione" or squatter's rights. There are several threads on this topic such as this one: http://www.italymag.co.uk/community/post/squatters-rights Also, do a search using the word "usucapione" and you will find plenty of information.

Excellent advice, Adriatica! A good warning for anyone wishing to buy in Italy.

I agree with Adriatica, lining the walls will temporarily hide the problem but you will soon see the damp and condensation coming through. This is what the previous owner of our watermill did in the downstairs cantina and we had to remove all the linings and allow the stone to breath. With proper ventilation, problem solved....