Podcast From Italy: Ashley & Jason Bartner

This week’s podcast we sit outside, mid-day on the patio and answer your questions sent in via email/instagram/Facebook - everything from what we miss most from the States to how to make pizza sauce! We share our local recipe for Nocino (walnut liquor/digestivo). Of course, an update on the garden and Dr. Gaggi! And more details on the Virtual Move to Italy Workshop and Cooking Classes. Thanks for listening!

Thanks for waiting, there hasn't been much new in our neck of the woods. We give you an update on the restrictions and openings in Italy. Jason shares a few common bread baking problems and tips to he's learned along the way. And Gaggi returns to the Garden...

An update from deep in the Italian countryside! Bartering is alive and well in the foot hills of the Apennines, and we are now making our living off our free-range eggs! We answer your question on if we will reboot our online cooking classes, announce the ‘winner’ of our photo submission request and share our new favorite Italian TV show, Cammionisti in Trattoria. Jason scratches the surface of his bread baking obsession. Ashley reads a few chapters from the book - The Art of the Mushroom Hunt, A Patron Saint and The Harvest. Thanks for listening!!

An update from our neck of the woods in Le Marche, Italy during the nationwide shutdown/lockdown. Living la vita lockdown (a bad pun for Jason!), staying home & healthy, busy as usual with projects around the farmhouse and hoping for the best come April! Be sure to share your photos of where you listen to the podcast with #podcastfromItaly or message us on Facebook or Instagram!

A Coronavirus update from our neck of the woods in Le Marche, Italy. Back to work and Ashley's quickly on the IR (injured reserve)! The weather took a strange turn from mild and sunny to a snowstorm in hours. Plus Ashley reads another 2 chapters from the unpublished, unfinished book!!

A warm winter across Italy is bringing Spring vegetables to the market in February. Jason goes down the rabbit hole on local items for sale on FB Marketplace. He shares a few of his big finds! In celebration of carnevale we prepare cresce di Pasqua but end up with 8 kilos of FAIL! Water cooler talk in town is all about curing sausages! We learn we are not alone with some of problems this year curing our salami & sausages. And in the midst of winter projects we explore a nearby ‘ruin’ on our continuing quest to find our ‘forever home’ for one day…

Preperations for carnevale are in full swing & the parade of endless sweets: castagnole, struffoli, cookies and so much more!  We finally answer your burning question, Where’s the Tractor? Which leads us into a discussion on the garden and learning how to start thousands of seeds for our tomatoes, onions,… everything! On a recent wine tasting (for research purposes only), I happily discover a nearby winery, is one of the last in Italy making vin santo in the antique way - hanging the grapes in the kitchen rafters & letting the fireplace slowly smoke & cure the grapes before they make the wine.   Another chapter from the Book: This Ain't No Bathtub Gin    

Preparing for a move to Italy? We share a few of the most frequently asked questions and offer our candid answers: How much does it cost to move to Italy? Can I buy a house in Italy as a Foreigner? and How to Open a Bank Account in Italy.   An update on the 2020 Salami & Sausage making and the annual “Great Salt Debate” with Dr. Gaggi. We chat about the real cost of cheap flights and a truck stop find in Imola! Winter projects continue and it’s time to plan out our new greenhouse!   I read 2 chapters from the Book - Running Over the Hill & Guests - a look back at our first summer in Italy. Thanks for listening!!  

A jam packed post holidays podcast! After a quick look at the 2020 calendar of cooking workshops we're planning at the farmhouse, we jumped right in. We had a lot to talk about this episode: From the death defying drive over the Apennines with Gaggi & Ashley’s debut at the Christmas concert, to our thoughts on Livorno. Then we spent New Years in Corsica and finished the holiday season with the annual Festa della Befana in our neighbouring village of Urbania. A little reminiscing about our first time to the festival, 14 years ago! The conversation turns to the difficulties & realities of farming in Italy today. But what we are really excited to talk about is Avanti un Altro, a spectularly Italian, over the top, game show!  We share why this has become our new favorite, must-see TV show!  

A recap of all the holiday happenings in town from cappelletti making with Dr. Gaggi to Christmas cookies, Jason's scarring trip to the salon, 'war games' and packs of wild boar... there's lots going on in our valley lately! Plus Ashley reads a chapter from the book - remembering our first Christmas in Italy and that it wasn't what we had imagined... Buon Natale!!

Celebrating Thanksgiving with a road trip thru the Alps to find our Christmas trees to bring home to Le Marche! Our set destinations: Verona, Vipiteno, Innsbruck, Soprabolzano, Moena & Trento - stopping for cheese, meats, wines, hockey and Christmas markets along the way! Sharing a few of our favorite meals & memories - we realize we eat a lot! Thanks for listening to this holiday episode of our inconsistent podcast from Italy!!

The last guests of the season have checked out and we've got time to fire up the mics for a new podcast! This episode: Truffle Season updates & inside scoop, we just finished a 4 night Truffle Workshop so lots of great info to share!! Just as we are finishing the season, the house kicks back and throws us a curve ball... Now that we are closed for winter, it's time to start planning our trip north to the Alps for this year's Christmas Tree! Plus we share the details of our first ever Advanced Workshop for returning guests only. Thanks for downloading & listening!!

It’s been a busy 2 months at the farmhouse so we start the podcast with a summer update on what’s growing, cooking, delivery of wood and our ‘staycation’ in Fano. The weather forecast for autumn: Truffles!!! The talk of town is this should be a good year for white truffles with the ‘hunting season’ opening 1 October in Le Marche. We a day at the Fano hospital for a small surgery Ashley needed and share some of our observations and differences in hospitals in Italy vs. the US. A big shout out to our podcast listeners turned guests - you guys are amazing, thank you for all your support! The 2020 calendar of workshops is available online at www.latavolamarche.com - we hope the rest of you can stay & cook with us too!

A jam packed podcast: from piloting a boat along the Adriatic coast (when we had no idea what we were doing!), a small town boxing match & festival where we grilled our own bistecca, a very official letter from the local Post Master to finally, how to navigate the toll booth's in Italy! Thanks so much for listening!

We're up early & excited to share with you a few of our favorite local gems! After a 'staycation' with friends visiting we rediscovered our love for Urbino, the Furlo Gorge, Urbania & Gubbio. A Father's Day gift guide for the pizza maker, with a round up of a few tried & true tools we use. Local gossip: EU & Regional elections!

Easter celebrations, Liberation Day, Primo Maggio - all fell within 2 weeks this year! A recap of the festivities and how to grocery shop during the holidays (when shops are closed Sunday & Monday and we have a dinner for 25 on Tuesday). We've been busy around the farmhouse with lots of projects that have been checked off the to-do list - new patio, irrigation and more. Plus another chapter from the book: La Transumanza (cow herding in Italy!)... and we announce the 2020 calendar for La Tavola Marche (farm, inn & cooking school!)

We are so excited to make a BIG announcement on our podcast!! A very big collaboration is in the works and we share it here first! Plus a visit to AgriUmbria (agricultural expo) to pick out this years hens. A garden & Gaggi update of course along with the wild price of shutters. Yes, shutters. Easter is on it's way and Jason has been busy practicing the recipe for a local Easter bread, crescia di brusca. Plus I read 2 more chapters from the untitled, unfinished, unpublished book!

A lot to catch up on since our last podcast! Just in time for Spring & Summer travel to Italy, we share the inside scoop on international drivers licenses and if it's worth the trip to AAA.  An impromptu discussion on grappa and what it really is and an update on the garden and the latest projects around the farmhouse. Plus Ashley reads 2 chapters from the un-named/published/finished book!

Whenever conversations in Italy turn to politics, multiple terms for 'B.S.' are woven like rich tapestry into the discussion. We decided to explore the complex levels of severity when using the term "B.S." in Italian! After a winter getaway to Budapest to see comedian Bill Burr we share a few of the highlights of this stunning city along the Daube. Our short trip gets longer as we are hit by winter weather delays and airport closures due to strikes in Germany & Italy! Back home, we're planning for the next season of guests and cooking classes including the Wood Oven Workshop. Jason explains the thoughts behind creating the workshop and menu choices to highlight utilizing the oven at different temperatures.    

 We visit Gubbio for the World's Largest Christmas Tree Lighting! Gearing up for the holidays with bread baking and cappelletti making. A quick medical report/update, tracking an animal in the fresh snow...it's never dull in the countryside!