August 15th was the festival of Ferragosto in Italy. A day (and sometimes a whole week) where we all take time to relax and be with friends. We organized a little barbecue in the yard and invited a few friends for dinner. In festive style…we even decided to decorate a little more than normal. An Italian celebration wouldn’t be complete without a few flags thrown in for color, right?


We dined on simple fare…everyone was in charge of not only bringing their own steak but also grilling their own. We also grilled some lovely eggplants given to me by a neighbor and garnished them with fresh sprinkled parsley and a dose of our olive oil. Next we sliced some deliciously ripe from the vine tomatoes and added a little basil, salt, and more olive oil for another side dish.


We finished with two delectable homemade desserts, a cheesecake with frutto di bosco and a tiramisu mascaropone. We had so much fun that the last guests left at 3:30 in the morning. I feel so lucky to have found a community of supportive friends here in Italy. The evening was picture perfect and pure heaven in my book. Grazie amici miei…thanks my friends!

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