A Mediterranean Farm Kitchen is all about life and living in a small Italian hilltown. it is an eclectic colection of recipes inspired by dinners with neighbors and friends. village festas and communal meals. Each recipe reflects the everyday odors that fill the lanes and kitchens of a small Tuscan pasese. it is the food of the colorful Mediterranean, hearty and flavorful, emphasizing redily available ingredients and lots of fresh tastes. Beth Elon divides her year between jerusalem and Tuscany, where she has lived and farmed on the edge of a small village since 1972. Her most recent book, THE BIG BOOK OF PASTA, topped the best seller list in Israel for over six months....

Just when we thought we knew everything there was to know about Tuscany, along comes Beth Elonâ€"cookbook writer and 30 year resident of a small village at the foot of the Appeninesâ€"who takes us along the back roads and through the ancient hill towns to remote restaurants that are for the most part overlooked by tourists and known only to the locals. At each restaurant the cooks share their highly personal recipes for regional dishes made with local ingredients.

With this guide in hand, you’ll not only know where to dine, but what to order when you get there. Each regional section begins with illuminating and absorbing explanations of what makes Tuscan cooking so unique: location, location, location. You’ll read about a bean so beloved by a village that it’s been elevated to cult statusâ€"but that is totally unheard of a few kilometers down the road; the specialty of the Zeri Valley, a milk-fed aboriginal baby lamb, that is almost unknown elsewhere in Italy; the endless array of vegetable tarts found only in Lunigiana and Garfagnana.

Elon has organized ten itineraries that also include stops at gourmet shops, food festivals, greenmarkets, and private kitchens. Along the way, she points out significant architecture, historic sites, churches, art, museums, and points of interest in the memorable landscape. The indispensable travel information in this guide is enriched by the author’s deep personal knowledge of the history and legend of the regionâ€"and her delightful voice and beautiful writing....

Each of the ten itineraries in this cookbook/guidebook takes readers through parts of Tuscany that still remain largely undiscovered and into the kitchens of more than fifty superb but little-known restaurants specializing in regional cuisine–those that are for the most part overlooked by tourists and known only to the locals. Each regional section begins with illuminating and absorbing explanations of what makes Tuscan cooking so unique: location, location, location. You’ll read about a bean so beloved by a village that it’s been elevated to cult status–but unknown a few kilometers down the road; an aboriginal baby lamb that is almost unknown outside of the Zeri valley; the endless array of vegetable tarts found nowhere in Tuscany but Lunigiana and Garfagnana. With this guide in hand, you’ll not only know where to dine but what to order when you get there.

In addition to 100 recipes, also included are nearby points of interest, descriptions and contact information for restaurants, trattorie, gourmet shops, wineries, olive oil producers, local markets, and regional food festivals, and how to find the monasteries, workshops, and artisans’ studios that offer local items ranging from herbal beauty products to traditional ceramics and handwoven linens....