"The Legend of The Villa della Luna" ~ by Jana Kolpen

Hello and welcome! Today I am joining the Novel Bakers as we take a look at the charming book "The Legend of The Villa della Luna", written and designed by Jana Kolpen and Mary Tiegreen.
(This is the second in the series, following "The Secrets of Pistoulet" which we visited two days ago.)


(Click the image to learn more)


Mlle. J has been invited from Paris to visit Italy ...

To give you a little background; from the back cover:

"Welcome to The Villa della Luna where the past embraces the future. Within our gates are doors to be opened, tastes to be savored, old legends to be traced, and new ones to be created."
"When Mademoiselle J. arrives at The Villa della Luna, she is searching for a way to open her heart. As she wanders through The Villa's ancient gardens and strolls along the rugged Italian coastline, she comes to learn the legend of the rose garden that blooms throughout the year, a memorial to a tragic accident that took one lover and left the other afraid to love again. Should Mlle J. approach this grieving man? Helping her to decide are three wise teachers and the fortitude of such recipes as Pasta Vivante, for those are are afraid of the passion of life, ant the Focaccia of Forgiveness and Release, for those who need to let go of an emotional burden."
~*~*~*~*~

The books are adult fairy tales, but with words and lessons of wisdom woven throughout.



"Before climbing into the oversized bed with many down pillows,  Mademoiselle filled the inviting claw-footed tub with warm water.  Attracted by a slender bottle of gardenia bath oil sitting on a glass shelf, she put several drops in her bath."
~~~


Of course, I am particularly drawn to the recipes of the books, so that is what I'll be focusing on in this post!
Very little verbiage needed as everything is fairly self explanatory ~ I hope you enjoy!

I had planned on having a small outdoor picnic, but the weather did not cooperate, so we're indoors for the day:





























"Afternoons were spent in the cucina with Rita ..."




"One one such afternoon, Rita was preparing a pasta sauce she calls 'Vivante'.  The aroma of tomatoes, [along with Pancetta, garlic and Porcini mushrooms] strong and exciting filled the air with joy."




We truly enjoyed this pasta sauce!



In fact, it was my favorite recipe in the book.




I'm sure you could surmise this as I shared so many pictures of it !  
Boring?  
I apologize, I couldn't help myself.  :o)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

My second favorite recipe was for the Amaretti Cookies. 



They are so EASY to make, just ground almonds, sugar, egg whites, and almond extract.  (They are Fat-free and Gluten-free.)



Roll the dough into balls approximately "three fingers wide" balls*,   (instructed the recipe),  sift powdered sugar over the raw cookies, and let them rest for one hour before baking in a preheated 300º(F) oven  for about 25 minutes.

Note: My fingers are of average size; I hoped for average sized  Amaretti cookies so I made the balls about two-fingers wide, rather than three as the recipe suggests.   Hmmm, they spread more that I would have liked,  making larger cookies than I had hoped.  It could be that my hen eggs (the whites) were larger than those in the recipe.   That is one negative about the baked recipes in these books, they are entertaining, but rather vague, and if you're a baker you know that accurate  measurements are important. 
Not so important when it comes to cooking, but baked recipes require accuracy.  (My 2 cents.)  ;) Next time I would make the dough even thicker with more ground almonds,  or fewer egg whites, and form balls about the size of a small cherry tomato. The recipe is very good though, and if  anyone wants it, you can find it on my recipe blog.
Click here for Amaretti Cookie recipe.
* * *

After baking, cool them thoroughly and wrap in tissue paper . . .




 . . .  and put them on a pretty platter.




Preferably an Italian one. :-)
I've had this one for years and years . . . I'm not so much into acquiring new serving pieces at this stage of my life.  I know... BORING. 



PARTITO!




My cookies spread out to about 2 1/4-inches, a bit larger than I was aiming for ~ but no matter, they go very well with: 
 

(just a few roses left blooming, not many more until Autumn here...)




And a few hours later, after our feast, at bedtime,   it would be extra nice to place one of these:



Under your pillow for a calming and restful night.
buonanotte!

~*~*~*~*~*~

Thank you very much for coming to visit today, friends!

Please stop by to visit the other Novel Bakers today to see their gorgeous photos and interpretations of "The Legend of The Villa della Luna":

A Quiet Life
Home is Where the Boat Is
Rattlebridge Farm

Please check back Friday, when we'll meet up in Ireland with "Circle of Kindness", the third book in the series.

Have a wonderful day.