The truth is I underestimated the fatigue and overestimated my strength.<\/h5>\n
From May to the present, I have organized a move, remodeled my house, and moved again to return furniture, clothes, and belongings. Before all this, I spent months emptying closets and drawers and filling boxes.<\/p>\n
The day I took down the curtains, I thought, this is it.<\/p>\n
Before the renovation began, I walked through the empty rooms, feeling both tired and happy to start what my husband and I had been planning for at least two years.<\/p>\n
The artisans started their work in late May and have almost finished. There is still something to make, but in the meantime, we have already scheduled the return home of the household goods that survived my decluttering rampage. So, while waiting to sort out the final details, I will spend August emptying boxes and sorting things out. If I’m lucky, I can rest for a few days.<\/p>\n
Now you know there was a valid reason for my absence.
\nAnyway, after surviving the move physically and emotionally, I began the renovation. I built the new kitchen based on my design. I no longer count the miles I drove looking for materials or the hours of labor to assemble furniture, sand, and do other things.<\/h5>\n
If the cooking project interests you, I wrote about it in Food Notes from Bologna<\/strong><\/a>, my newsletter (you can read it without subscribing, but if you support my job by subscribing to it, thank you):<\/p>\n These hot, busy, and tiring days have left little room for cooking and even less time to take photographs. Without it, I chased for weeks, then months, for the inspiration to choose a recipe to return to the blog.<\/p>\n Then, it suddenly came while I was making purple potato gnocchi. Always covered in dust like an antique, beleaguered by the questions the renovation artisans ask, expecting sensible answers, I searched for a weekly moment that would rejuvenate me.<\/p>\n And since I love to buy food as locally as possible directly from producers, I found it at the farmer’s market in Castenaso, a small town on the outskirts of Bologna, where Casa Nora is located.<\/p>\n It is an old early-twentieth-century house located a few kilometers from Bologna’s center. After serving as a private residence for over a hundred years, it has changed use, becoming a room and breakfast, and now a law firm where I live temporarily, sharing space with lawyers and clients during the day. Her father left her this house, originally a tower later incorporated into the dwelling. When she married Corrado Ungarelli, the dwelling, which bears her name on the side columns of the entrance gate, <\/span>Villino Eleonora<\/span><\/em><\/strong>, became the family home until the last descendant decided that, since she had no children, the house should revert to the Putti family, that is, my husband’s family.<\/span><\/p>\n We take care of it, custodians of a place where the old happiness that reigned here still reigns.<\/p>\n When we turned the house into an R&B a few years ago, many village elders stopped me to tell me they remembered Mrs. Nora because she was a good person. She always had some candy that she fished from her skirt or overcoat pockets.<\/p>\n I have mentioned Casa Nora many times on the blog but had never told who Nora-Eleonora was.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I was talking about the Castenaso farmers’ market. It is very genuine; the farmers are from the area and practice sustainable agriculture. I finally found zucchini with real flavor, carrots with an almost balsamic taste, small cherry tomatoes, and the season’s first potatoes. AAnd although a small, delightful purple potato variety is typical of the Bolognese mountains, I cannot tell you how surprised I was to find a kind of Italian vitelotte<\/em> grown by a lowland farmer.<\/p>\n Vitelotte Noir<\/em> differs from the Italian ones in size and skin thickness; the Italian ones are larger and have thinner skin.<\/p>\n The Italian variety of purple potato resembles the yellow ones, but differs only in color.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n I topped the purple potato gnocchi with a quick, to-be-prepared stracchino cheese fondue flavored with grated lemon zest and sprinkled with chives at the end. You can either arrange the sauce on the bottom of the plate and lay the gnocchi on top or stir in the pan.<\/p>\n As you can see in the photos, I’ve done both, so you can see these gnocchi hold up well, and you can stir them into the sauce without fear of breaking.<\/p>\n Potato gnocchi is a wonderful Italian classic. If you like regular gnocchi, you will love the pop of color and taste of these purple potato gnocchi.<\/p>\n Buona cucina, Monica<\/p>\n\n
\nI thought this was the right recipe for the blog, and soon after placing the purple potato gnocchi on the semolina-floured tray, I felt an urgent need to write.
\nBefore the recipe, I want to share one more thing.<\/p>\n![\"Homemade](\"https:\/\/www.tortelliniandco.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/FE268C68-BC70-41AF-A0EA-C4DB186B84FF.jpeg\" "\\"Homemade")
<\/p>\nNora House, where I currently live<\/h4>\n
\nIt’s funny; despite my years away at university, I had never had lawyers as housemates.<\/p>\nNora was Eleonora Putti.<\/h5>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.tortelliniandco.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/F5188CA6-3D34-48CB-8D87-3595372CE07E-1.jpeg\" "\\"Italian")
<\/p>\nThe farmer’s market and purple potato gnocchi<\/h4>\n
\nYou may not know that Bologna is devoted to growing potatoes, so much so that the Patata di Bologna variety is a POD.
\nAt the end of July, the first harvest comes in. Because only a few hours pass from harvest to the market stall, they taste as earthy and intense as I like.<\/p>\nAt the market, I also found purple ones.
\nPurple potatoes originated in South America but have been grown in Europe for centuries. Due to their unique color and health benefits, they are popular, especially in France and Italy.<\/h5>\nKeep in Touch<\/b><\/h5>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.tortelliniandco.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/IMG_2100.jpeg\" "\\"Homemade")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.tortelliniandco.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/IMG_2092.jpeg\" "\\"Homemade")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.tortelliniandco.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/IMG_2092-160x160.jpeg\")
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