A taste of Spring and freedom

From the archive | Revisiting a favorite story from the early days of our community, and a rice cake that honors both Easter and Italy’s Liberation Day

After a lovely, long Easter weekend, we jumped straight back into the rhythm of our cooking classes. Between teaching and tidying up the studio, I’ve been stealing a few quiet hours to tend to our garden, gently coaxing it out of its winter slumber and into the lively season ahead.

So this week, rather than writing something new, I thought I’d share one of my favorite pieces from the archive: a story and recipe from three years ago (you’ll spot a very young Livia, too!), when this community was still in its early days, much smaller but already full of warmth and curiosity.

It's a little celebration of finding joy close to home, and it includes a recipe for Torta Carrarina, a traditional cake often baked for Easter or Italian Liberation Day on the 25th of April. Whether you’ve been here since the beginning or only recently joined, I hope you’ll enjoy this gentle stroll down memory lane.

I’ll be back with a brand new newsletter next week, with a new chapter of A Year in a Tuscan Cooking School.