Little Sighs!

It's here! Our first delivery of 'Veru' stock arrived just two weeks ago. Selling well through West Street Deli, Salisbury (Iain, thank you for the delicious tarts which kept Giuseppe & I going on our way back to the Purbecks), Home Sweet Home, Sherborne (Liz has created the most beautiful homeware & foodie haven) & Deli on the Quay, Poole (Toby & Leslie are doing a fabulous job, their filled sandwiches are fantastic). We're really proud of all of our artisan producers who create the most delicious, quality, edible delights and storecupboard essentials every time. I'm especially delighted with our 'Sospiri', Little Sighs - I've been offering tastings at various Christmas fairs and they really do make people sigh with pleasure!

Giuseppe's Caponata Melanzane was featured in the Saturday Times a couple of weeks ago and I'm just so happy to always have a jar in the cupboard for those left over roast chicken sandwich moments!

With an 'Italian Edible Treats' course at the cookery school tomorrow, Giuseppe has been adjusting his recipes for ricciarelli, blackberry & fig marmellata and rosolio, much to my delight - I always welcome a tasting session!

A Truly Sicilian Olive Harvest

Sofia, Dante, Giuseppe & I have just returned from our annual olive harvest in Sicily (Giuseppe & Sofia pictured left). The olives in Gerbino were a little thin on the trees this year, but still produced the most delicious extra virgin olive oil. It's always good to get away and stand in the midst of the olive grove with the sun on our backs and beautiful biancolilla olives at our finger tips. We also took the opportunity to visit our fantastic producers - Mamma Andrea, the Scalia family and our great team of beekeepers in Cattolica Eraclea - all as inspiring as ever. In fact we can't wait for our first consignment of stock arriving next week. Tastings in Sicily are always a delight and this time was no exception - from panettone made with Sicilian almonds, oranges and lemons to the most amazing nero d'avola jelly made to accompany cheese or add to a fruit salad. We'll be looking at adding these and others to the veru range over the next six months.

Giuseppe & I have launched 'Veru Truly Sicilian', a range of Sicilian food products which we believes brings a little bit of what we love about Sicily back to Dorset. Illustrated with photographs of Sicily (as it was this Easter when we visited) - it offers an insight into the beauty and richness of this island at the southern tip of Italy, without overlooking the reality of daily life in Sicily. Inside each jar/tin/bag is a carefully prepared product reflecting the seasons and their fantastic produce - intense lemon marmellata, fragrant orange-blossom honey, hand-filleted anchovies, the best quality pistachios from Bronte, spiced hot chocolate, handmade almond paste sweets and finely milled semolina flour. Log on to www.verutrulysicilian.com to find out more and to try some great recipes Giuseppe has created to inspire you to get cooking.