DEBORAH CROMBIE: I'm so happy today to host our dear Jungle Red Rhys Bowen's new book, THE TUSCAN CHILD, out today! I was privileged to read an early copy and I can tell you you're in for a treat--and that you'll also spend most of the book hungry! Here's Rhys to tell you more about the book and about her adventures in Tuscany. Research is hell, right?
Happy book birthday, dear Rhys!!!
RHYS BOWEN: We authors really suffer for our craft, you know! When I decided I wanted to write the Tuscan Child, of course I had to go to Tuscany to do the research. (I hear your groans). Luckily I was invited to teach a workshop in a Tuscan hill town so I went there knowing that I wanted to be a sponge while I was there and observe everything, taste everything, take in everything.
First there were the sights: the views across the countryside, the misty mornings, the abundance of poppies blooming in the fields.
There enticing alleyways and arches, old men drinking in the square, their loud voices echoing from high buildings as they argued.
Then there was the food: the fruit and vegetables in the market, the local pastas, the rabbit ragu and the desserts!!! Half a lemon stuffed with lemon sorbet or the panna cotta, the rich vin santo with biscotti to dip in it. You can imagine how I threw myself into this research with enthusiasm, can't you?
We worked hard at our workshop every day but in the evenings there were wine tastings, balsamic vinegar tastings, and visits to Etruscan tombs, to Sienna. We witnessed the Corpus Christi procession around the town, led by the town band.
And I had my water colors and sketch book with me to jot down some personal memories.
So when I started to write the book, the town was still so clear in my mind. I have relived the taste of those meals as I wrote the book (eating Tuscan food vicariously contains no calories)
Here is one of the simple recipes. You can also top the bruschetta with many other things: liver pate/mushrooms/ tapenade/braised fennel and pecarino cheese... the choice is endless.
Tomato Bruschetta
Serves: 12
INGREDIENTS
- 8 chopped ripe roma (plum)
tomatoes
- 5 leaves chopped fresh basil
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 pinch of dried oregano
- 1 dash of crushed red pepper
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch ground black pepper
- 2-3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 loaf of Italian-style (or
French) bread, cut into diagonal slices
- In a large bowl, combine the
tomatoes, basil, garlic, oregano, red pepper, salt, pepper and olive oil.
Use more olive oil, if necessary, to coat the entire mixture. Allow the
mixture to sit for 10-15 minutes for flavors to blend.
- In the meantime, preheat the
broiler. On a baking sheet, arrange the slices of bread in a single layer
and brown both sides slightly in the oven. Remove the slices from the
oven.
- Spread the tomato mixture on the still warm toasted bread slices and serve.
And I have been invited to teach that same workshop in Tuscany this summer. If you are reading this and have a novel you would love to jump-start or complete, I believe there are still one or two slots still open. Details are at www.minervaeducation.net.
THE TUSCAN CHILD is a sweeping story set in two time periods. In winter 1944 a British pilot has to bail out of his stricken plane over Tuscany. Badly wounded, he lands in an olive grove and is hidden in a bombed monastery by a local woman. In 1973 his estranged daughter is going through his things after his sudden death and finds a letter that was never delivered. It is a love letter to an Italian woman and contains a dark secret. Her journey to Tuscany to discover the truth of what happened in that hill town during WWII may prove more dangerous than she believed possible.
RHYS will give away a signed copy of The Tuscan Child to one lucky commenter today.
