½ûÂþÌìÌÃ

Tammy, the best advice I can give you is to get some basic ½ûÂþÌìÌà vocabulary, study road signs and not to pay any attention to ½ûÂþÌìÌÃ-English translations that you find in some places. Most likely, they are there to confuse you. A good example are the signs in English found at the Santa Maria Novella (Florence) parking...... really hilarious. You need an excellent command of both the ½ûÂþÌìÌà and English languages to guess what the meaning is..... Totally lost in translation.Anyway, Italy is glorious and worth a visit... in any language.

Having just returned from a short trip to Italy, I tend to agree with what has been said by everyone. Granted that it largely depends on whether you live in a large city or in the middle of the countryside and grow your own vegies...We live most of the time in a city in Spain very close to the border with France. It is an expensive area and I believe that costs will be very similar to what you would pay in London. Costs in the main European cities have increased dramatically over the past few years. Depending on the particular country, some items are more expensive than others and I do agree that the cost of utilities is very high in Italy.Still, it is a very personal choice to decide where you want to live and there are lots of things that you cannot put a price on. Wherever you feel well, there is your home "Ubi bene, ibi patria".

Experimenting with different toppings may be an interesting exercise. I do not like sweets; however, I add whatever I have at hand to my pizzas and some combinations, although not strictly traditional are great. I must confess that I have lots of problems whenever I try to write a recipe, because I do not follow them. I must also confess that this has lead to great disasters in the kitchen.... but that´s another story.....

Sorry to hear about your predicament, but your lawn will recover as soon as it gets some rain. I think that these have been pretty exceptional conditions as our area in Northern Tuscany is also called "Toscana Verde"...

As you rightly said, these uncomplicated little dishes make our lives easier and tastier. Also, it is always great to experiment in the kitchen and come up with interesting combinations.

Try low maintenance ground covers which will help with the slopes. Pig Face or Ice Plant (Messembryanthemum) will provide a colourful cover when it flowers in summer. You can find many beautiful colours. Blue convolvulus or Morning Glory (Convolvulus mauritanicus) is a rapid-growing trailer; however, you should keep it under control as it may become a problem. All ivies make excellent trailing ground covers but needs to be clipped into shape. Have a look at what grows well around you. It is your best bet.

Try to use untreated (no wax or pesticides) organic lemons. You will get better results and an improved flavour.

I tend to agree with the comments made by Anne and Angie, unless you are prepared to spend many hours looking after the perfect lawn... it will be a very difficult task in rural Italy.

It is also possible to bake a frittata. Just add whichever ingredients you have at hand (preferably some tasty leftovers) to 4 well beaten eggs and 1/2 cup of both grated parma or provolone and milk. Preheat the oven to 180-200 ºC (more or less 350 to 400 F, but , as you know all ovens are different..... Grease a shallow baking dish and pour the mixture. Bake it 35-55 minutes depending on the mixture you are using. Test the centre to see when it is done as if you were baking a cake.A great way to "recycle" pasta leftovers, particularly if the ragú you have used is a tasty one.

Very nice recipe and I am sure that the artichoke hearts give it that bit of extra flavour. I love artichoke hearts and I use them a lot in my cooking. Mixed with green vegetables such as silver beet, spinach and chard and using your recipe it makes a delicious dish for a light lunch or branch. Just add an "Insalata Caprese" on the side and it is just great.Fritatta is also an excellent way of using any leftovers and the eggs give it that extra protein.