finding my bread and butter

more sharing less caring, the power of having no expectations, fig sap perfume, wild strawberry hikes, and the best bread and butter I've ever eaten.

I get asked the question “what’s your favorite food” often. I used to feel pressured to conjure up a polished response. Something with complexity, deep flavor, and nutritional value. But my honest response has been, and always will be, freshly baked bread (slightly warm if I’m being greedy) and a thick slab of salted butter (with each bite). I can’t tell you how much joy this humble combination brings me. So, when I sat down to finally publish this substack I’ve been contemplating for the last two years, I decided not to overthink it and just share my honest, unfussy, unpolished truth. My bread and butter.

There is so much I want to share - beloved recipes, favorite restaurants, city guides, funny travel anecdotes, travel tips (learned from mistakes), playlists to curate any vibe, things I’ve bought and loved, things on my wishlist, etc. I’ve put off sharing for so long because I was overwhelmed with refining what my angle would be. How I’d organize my thoughts, which topics paired best together, and if people would even care to read what I write. It wasn’t until I read the first issue of Jasmine's substack that really lit the fire under my ass. Who cares!?!?!?! Well I care, and I hope some of you care, but I am no longer paralyzed by the need to have it all figured out. The biggest realization and grand reveal so far in my 30’s has been… quite literally no one has it sorted. We’re all just out here trying our best. Progress over perfection baby. More sharing less caring.

Please bear with me as I find my footing with this. In a later sub, I plan to share my story of how I became a private chef, or rather how this career path found me, and how I ended up at a culinary program on a tiny Aeolian island off the coast of Sicily…Until then, I’d like to start very presently with my most recent travel experience that kickstarted the creativity and inspiration I have been seeking since summer started.

Milan

I was recently in Milan with my parents and one of my best friends, Jess. My quick recap on this amazing city: don’t go in August (sadly most of the restaurants recommended to me were closed), and don’t miss Al Matarel. Nonna has been making pasta by hand here at 6am here for the last 63 years. She goes around to each table and you can literally see the love for what she does in her eyes. Get the veal milanese, tagliatelle with mushrooms, and ossobuco. Bless Nonna.

Neither of us had a return flight, so after I said goodbye to my parents, we decided to rent a car and head north. I’m usually pretty hands on when it comes to trip planning. This time, I surrendered all control and just told Jess to surprise me, that I trusted her. When I tell you she understood the assignment, it would be the understatement of the century. SHE BLEW ME AWAY. With a mix of serendipity, good luck, intuition, and our beloved Yolo Intel, this has been one of the most sensory awakening trips (I’m currently on the flight back to Paris from Verona, Italy).

lake garda + dearest Lana

We drove from Milan to a small town in South Tyrol, Italy called Lana (more German than Italian), stopping halfway for lunch in Lake Garda. I love road trips to begin with, but with a backdrop of the Italian alps and the playlist below, this was the drive of a lifetime.

We took a tour of the impeccable Villa Feltrinelli and had aperitivo lakeside. With buttery green olives and a spritz in hand, it was hard to imagine the day getting any better.

After only 2 more hours, we arrived at our destination, Villa Arnica. Over the next few days, we hiked, stopped and smelled the roses (every single one), ate wild strawberries, wandered a botanical labyrinth, foraged wild mushrooms, and indulged in some of the best produce I’ve ever had. My eyes were in a constant state of disbelief of the beauty in this region. While this town is technically in Italy, it’s an hour’s drive from Germany and Switzerland, making it an alluring concoction of European cultures, unlike anywhere I’ve ever visited.

I could write a novel on dearest Lana, but I will do my best not to bore you in my first post and stick to the bread and butter. Pictured below is the remains of some of the best I’ve encountered. The mini bread boule arrived piping hot, quartered, with a crisp exterior crust, pillowy airy center, and emitted an intoxicatingly steamy glutenous aroma. The butter in a glistening quenelle, what Thomas Straker's dreams are made of. Although the butter was already salted, I deeply appreciated the additional side dish of coarse sea salt. This was at 1477 Reichhalter.

Each morning we awoke at 6:45am to be precise, thanks to the local church bells and roosters on the property. Breakfast is included in the (already very affordable) rate (aka free in girl math), and let me tell you the omelette was hands down one of the best I’ve ever consumed.

Later, after one of my favorite meals of all time at Miil, we walked off lunch in a botanical labyrinth (????), tapped into the purest form of childlike wonder, and applied my favorite scent of the summer - eau de fig parfum, or the direct application of the milky sap from the stem of an unripe fig. Don’t google it, some sources say it’s toxic and others say it’s full of nutritional value. I’m no figologist, but I never broke out in hives, and I smelled like this Le Labo candle the rest of the day.

On our last day in dearest Lana, we drove an hour to Lake Carezza, to hike in the dolomite mountains. It was so jaw-droppingly stunning it looked fake. To add to the fantasy, there were wild raspberry and strawberry bushes, wild mushrooms, and not a lick of an American accent in earshot lol. No really, I don’t think we encountered another American the entire trip. One hostess literally asked us, “where are you from, and why are you here?”. Locals are both incredibly proud and incredibly humble when it comes to their little corner of heaven on earth.

The strawberries were already sweet as candy, but something about picking it off the stem and delicately savoring the micro burst of strawberryness in the middle of a hike made it even sweeter. I mean come ON… look at her! Harry’s could never…

Our last supper in Lana capped off the trip perfectly. We went back to Miil because it was just that good. I had been eyeing the short rib ravioli from our first visit, and couldn’t possibly leave this town without trying it. To no surprise, it was so good I will most certainly be flying back to this remote part of the world to enjoy it again. In conclusion, I believe that dearest Lana would have exceeded my expectations in any case, but given my blind trust and not knowing where we were going or what we were doing, I was able to drop in, remove expectations, and savor every precious moment. I am so grateful for this experience and will cherish the memories, flavors, and laughs for a lifetime.

recipe i can’t get out of my head

Gazpacho in summer…groundbreaking. But this bowl of garden sunshine (also at Miil) reminded me how the simplest dishes are often the most impressive when executed well (imho), hinging on all ingredients being in peak season and sourced well. If you’re having a tomato girl summer like the rest of the globe, you’re going to want to attempt the recipe below:

ingredients

• 2 lbs of the freshest ripest juiciest tomatoes you can get your hands on (the variety used above are pineapple yellow tomatoes), cored and roughly cubed.

• 1 pepper (bell, cubanelle, anaheim, your choice), cored, seeded, and roughly cubed.

• 1-2 cucumbers (depending on size) peeled, seeds removed, roughly cubed.

• 1 shallot, roughly chopped.

• 2 tsp red wine or sherry vinegar (high quality).

• 1/2 cup FANCY olive oil, not the kind you fry with.

• Kosher salt, and coarse finishing salt (to taste).

• basil or basil oil (if you’re fancy) to garnish and/or chili oil.

directions

1. Combine all the veggies in a high speed blender. Blend on high for 2-3 minutes until very smooth (work in batches if needed).

2. Lower the speed and pour in vinegar, 2 tsp salt. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the mixture thickens and emulsifies.

3. Strain the mixture into a large pitcher or mason jar(s) using a fine mesh sieve. I like to do this twice so it’s glossy and tastes like literal velvet in your mouth. Refrigerate overnight, and wait to adjust seasonings (salt/vinegar) until the following day. Serve chilled. If you’re hosting and want to impress your guests, serve in a bowl over a bowl of ice, pictured above. niiiiiice touch. Make me proud and pair this with some high qual b+b (fresh, warmed, spreadable, salted, you know the drill).

things i bought and loved

Prior to embarking on this very spontaneous trip to the mountains, I stopped by Oysho in Milan to pick up a pair of trainers and some appropriate hiking attire. I have no pulse on whether or not Oysho is cringe or cool in Europe, but I’d never heard of it prior to this summer, and frankly I don’t care because I’m obsessed with everything I purchased. I don’t believe it ships to the US, but run don’t walk if you find yourself in the UK/Europe.

1. this PJ set. SO soft and I feel chic and feminine when I go to sleep.

2. i haven’t shut up about these trainers. they’re the slip-on sock type and feel like a hug for your feet.

3. this perriwinkle (honestly no other way to describe the color) linen button down, comes in a zillion other colors and is a summer staple I’ll be wearing year round.

4. Time to stop gatekeeping my signature scent. Layer this and this. I love that they’re roll on and can fit in my purse.

5. This wide leg jumpsuit from COS looks great belted or unbelted and is the perfect attire for overeating.

6. This is my new favorite dress (also COS). It looks and feels like a vintage gem and will be a piece I reach for again and again.

7. Finally bought a pair of those Italian velvet slippers. Can confirm they are extremely comfortable and effortlessly chic with any outfit. Here is a similar style that ships to the US.

8. I have this thing with buying rings (costume/vintage) while traveling to a new favorite place. The rings usually find me… like this one I spotted at a Sunday flea market in Milan.

what’s inspiring me right now

I’ve always been intrigued by identifying plants and flowers around me, I think it’s an amazing way of staying present and aware of my surroundings. It’s also a fun party trick when you’re on a hike with friends and can say “that’s actually edible”, and proceed to take a bite of a random flowering bush that’s part of the cabbage family. You’d be shocked how many unsuspecting bushes around you are actually rosemary. I highly recommend you rub your hand along its stem and rub the sap in your hair, on your wrist, or just stick the whole stem in your car’s air vent for Italian air freshener. I’ve downloaded the iNaturalist app to expand my botanical repertoire.

Ok that’s all for now! I hope you enjoyed. Thank you for being here! More very soon…