Next week I will be leaving for Sicily, where I will be hosting two back-to-back yoga retreats. I have been so incredibly busy, with teaching classes and workshops and planning Sicily 2017! You haven’t seen many blog posts from me, but I hope to post more often these next few weeks! I am very excited to share this sun-kissed island with this year’s yoga retreat participants.
Last time there in Autumn of 2014, we did a cooking course with the chef Maestro Peppe Barone. It was a great experience. He and his staff welcomed us. We cooked and later ate the fabulous meal we cooked under Chef Peppe’s guidance. Afterwards, we walked the lovely Baroque town of Modica. Below are the photos from 2014. We will be going to the same cooking school with my yoga groups this year. I sure hope you are not hungry as you see the photos below! The food that stands out in my mind -and taste buds- are the cannoli!
I am so excited for my yogis! They are in for a treat. Of course the food below belonged to the Autumn menu. The spring menu will be completely different and equally delightful!
The enchanting town of Modica (Sicily)
The beautiful interior of the cooking school and restaurant in the heart of Modica. Beyond the doors on the right is a lovely terrace surrounded by lemon trees.
A Michelin Star Restaurant, Fattoria delle Torri has the honor of having received many awards!
Action! One of the chef’s assistants teaches Don how to make the pasta for the ravioli.
Ricotta Ravioli made with the pasta in the previous photo.
And the finished product! Perfection.
Making Caponata. Every village makes caponata slightly differently! Since we were in Modica, Chef Barone added pure dark chocolate powder to the caponata. When I told my uncle in Grotte about this, he crossed himself twice, saying over and over again incredulously, “Chocolate in the Caponata?”
An interesting note about Modica. Modica is known for its chocolate! When Columbus went to the Americas, Sicily was under Spanish dominion. Some of the men who traveled to the New World with Columbus were Sicilians from Modica. They brought back chocolate beans and the ancient Aztecan recipe for making chocolate. To this day, chocolate is made in Modica using the ancient Aztecan recipe. View this interesting article on the history of chocolate and Modica.
A serving of caponata. I can almost taste it!
Making arancini (rice balls): Saffron makes them yellow.
The arancini before getting pan fried to become orange-golden like the color of oranges (Arancini refers to “oranges”). In the center, you may discover melted cheese or a bit of ragu.
Action in the kitchen…making pasta
This is what the pasta looks like after it is cut into tiny pieces…
One of the meat dishes…
And what would life be without cannoli? Ok, now I know your mouth is watering! This was filled with ricotta and studded with pistachio nuts.
Week One Group from 2014 sits down to enjoy an incredible meal.
Afterwards, we walked the town of Modica to explore and digest! Otherwise, how on earth would we be able to do our afternoon session of yoga?
In Modica, Karin and I saw this street called Via Ritiro (Retreat Street) and had to do a yoga pose!
Modica! It’s a jewel of a town.
Looking forward to getting there soon! Sicily’s my favorite part of Italy.