Chocolate is cheaper than therapy, and you don’t need an appointment...

Chocolate makes you feel loved! and if you are treating Mum to a holiday villas in Lucca and spending Mother’s day the glorious Lucca villa rental called La Collina del Sole then pop into the local town of Castelnuovo and seek out Antica Pasticceria, in our travels around villas for rent in Tuscany we have not found its equal, as being chocoholics; Chocolate is important to us whether we rent a villa in Tuscany for fun, whether we are at work or whether we are advising fellow travellers of the delights and places of interest around villa rentals in Tuscany Among the favourite experiences that we love in the Garfagnana area is the Bar and Patisserie called Antica Pasticceria …You may think that you have just walked straight onto the set of Charlie and Chocolate Factory as you drink in the heavenly fumes of freshly crushed roasted cocoa beans, and stare awe struck at the rows of finely crafted chocolate figurines, which range from chocolate-shaped Ferraris to chocolate-shaped crowns and frogs. Behind the glass tops a very beautiful woman (the wife of the chocolatier) will allow you to sample some of the mouth-watering chocolates on offer, they are all hand-made, and they all rival the chocolate at Fortnum and Masons…

Why not try some of their truffles…They range from the amaretto, which is a bittersweet chocolate ganache with a nutty Amaretto liqueur and chocolate drizzle. Or a smooth dark chocolate with a red-hot explosion at the finish as it is dusted with hot chilli pepper powder. The chai chocolate truffle is a bittersweet chocolate ganache with a heavenly blend of exotic teas and spices, or the champagne truffle which gives the dark chocolate ganache a light, creamy flavour. For the more exotic amongst you, sample the flaky fresh coconut pieces swirled into an all-white chocolate truffle with a creamy, melt-in-your-mouth centre. Or the Dulce de Leche chocolate truffle which combines Argentina's signature blend of milk caramel in a white chocolate and sweet cream ganache, enrobed in rich dark chocolate. For the decadents amongst you there is the Poire au Cognac, which takes the natural juices from the local pears added to a smooth white ganache, enrobed with dark chocolate. Antica Pasticceria has an impressive fan-following. Locals frequently pop in to eat their favourite cakes, biscuits, croissants, mousses and confections. One can even order a traditional Tuscan hot chocolate; the hot chocolate arrives piping hot, a deep caramel colour with cinnamon sprinkled on top, it is so thick and creamy that the spoon stands up straight in the cup! All their items are made with traditional recipes and choice local organic ingredients which gives their products a distinct and well-rounded flavour.

You are the butter to my bread…

Valentine's Day is celebrated with great enthusiasm in Italy. So get ready to celebrate when you rent a villa in Tuscany Valentine’s Day was initially celebrated as a Spring Festival by Italians, worth remembering when you stay at La Collina del Sole a beautifully located villas for rent in Tuscany This Lucca villa rental is within arm’s length of the Apuane Natural park hence for a romantic holiday villas in Lucca respite surrounded by nature at its best this villa rentals in Tuscany is the best thing going. Valentines celebrations were held in the open air, where young people would gather in orchards or ornamental gardens where they would enjoy listening to music and reading poetry together. Later they would stroll off with their Valentine into the gardens. The custom steadily died out over the course of the years and has not been celebrated since.In Turin, betrothed couples used to announce their engagement on Valentine's Day. Therefore several days ahead of February the 14th shops would guild their windows with china baskets loaded with delectable Valentine's Day candies tied with ribbons - these were to be presented as gifts to the newly engaged valentines. A bizarre tradition that Italians used to uphold was the practice of unmarried girls waking before sunrise on Valentine’s Day and standing by their window to watch a man pass by. This was because Italians strongly believed that the first man an unmarried girl laid her eyes upon on Valentine's Day would be the man she would marry within a year! Lucky postman! For the lovers of Italy, Valentine ’s Day is called “il giorno della festa degli innamorati”. A popular Valentine's Day gift in Italy is Baci Perugina - "Baci" chocolate "kisses" are small, chocolate-covered hazelnuts containing a small slip of paper with romantic poetic quotes in seven languages. These love notes are written in either: Italian, English, French, German, Greek, Spanish, or Portuguese. I thought I would leave you with a thought for the day that I read last time I ate one of those tasty balls of hazelnutty chocolate goodness… “Love doesn’t make the world go round, but love is what makes the ride worthwhile.”

You’re my sweet honey pumpkin pie…

For such a famous vegetable, the pumpkin has a dull reputation; in the United Kingdom except for a bit of excitement around Halloween, it is dismissed. On the other hand, Italians, love pumpkins far too much to smash them in the streets for a bit of fun. In the tiny medieval-walled town of Venzone they have dedicated an entire day to the pumpkin. Each year, a contest awards prizes for the largest, heaviest, longest, most aesthetically pleasing, and most unusual squash!  Venzone is in the North East of Italy, a delightful cross mountain drive from La Collina del Sole towards Venice, past Bologna where you can take in a bit of culture while you rent a villa in Tuscany Italy takes food seriously - as you will find out when you have holiday villas in Lucca Tuscan food in particular is pivotal to life when you stay at villas for rent in Tuscany this is why one experience we love at our favourite jewel among villa rentals in Tuscany called La Collina del Sole is a learning to cook like Mamma opportunity, where the cooks of this amazing Lucca Villa Rental will teach you all the secrets and shortcuts of Mamma’s Italian cooking including pumpkin based dishes.The pumpkin has dense, flavourful and silky flesh which makes the flavour an ideal canvas for the savoury and sweet culinary creations whipped up by Italian cooks. The pulp can be made into savoury pumpkin tarts flecked with prosciutto, or a pumpkin-honey-candied orange filling coupled with a walnut-flour crust. Long ago, vendors would walk the streets selling great slices of pumpkin, the vibrant orange fleshy vegetable is rich and sweet enough that once cooked it can be eaten as a confection. Balancing wooden planks piled high with roasted pumpkin on their shoulders the vendors would offer up their sugary snacks by shouting, "Suca baruca, suca baruca". One of our favourite recipes that we have come across during our stays at La Collina del Sole is the penne with pumpkin, bacon and balsamic vinegar. Here is the recipe…enjoy! INGREDIENTS: ⅝ lb pumpkin 3 ½ oz bacon 2 oz parmesan cheese parsley to taste rosemary to taste 1 clove of garlic A few drops of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar ½ onion 1 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil ¾ lb penne pasta

PREPARATION: Peel and remove the seeds from the pumpkin. Cut into cubes of about 0.5 inch each side. Place the rest of the pumpkin, the onion, and a little salt in a pan and cover with water until it boils. When the vegetable is cooked, whip until you obtain a cream. First cut the smoked bacon into pieces of about 0.2 inch in length and then cut in Julienne style. Mince the rosemary, garlic and parsley. Put a pan on medium heat, add a drop of oil and fry the smoked bacon. Remove the smoked bacon from the pan, add the pumpkin and cook, adding salt and pepper to taste. Add garlic, rosemary and the bacon to the pumpkin and after 2 minutes of cooking, add the pumpkin cream. In plenty of salted boiling water cook the pasta, drain and add with the previously prepared sauce. Add the Parmesan grated, plate the pasta and drizzle with Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena before serving.

If I could marry pastry cream I would...

The unique Italian art for making pastry: Tradition, Technique and Taste! We have discovered where to learn these secrets while enjoying a Lucca villa rental overlooking the Carrara marble hills! It is called La Collina del Sole and has a variety of exclusive experiences that are only available at this villas for rent in Tuscany one of the best "unique to La Collina del Sole" experiences is cooking lessons with Maria you can choose what you want to learn from the suggested menu at this holiday villas in Lucca or send your request by contacting the owners of this award winning villa rentals in Tuscany and really get stuck in to the Italian culinary tradition which as you will discover when you rent a villa in Tuscany has been influenced by different populations such as the Roman, Greek, Arabian and Norman, this influence is particularly noticeable in the art of Italian pastries. The use of nuts and caramelised sweets folded into their all butter, sweet, light textured pastries are mouth-watering.In the past, the dessert course was created for the family to enjoy purely for special occasions, such as a religious festivity. Nowadays, however, as Italian food is considered one of the best all over the world, these deserts (luckily for us) are widely available! So why not pop down to one of the cafes and pasticcerias that surround La Collina del Sole this Special Italian villa for rent in Tuscany, and try a... GIANDUIOTTO - a milk chocolate sweet. Originally from Torino, it is descended from a traditional chocolate pudding recipe involving crushed hazelnut s and lady fingers. The concept of mixing hazelnut pieces and chocolates was born during Napoleon’s reign, when importing cocoa from South America became extremely difficult and was “bulked up” with hazelnuts. BACI DI DAMA – a "ladies Kiss". As legend has it they were created by a chef who worked for the Royal family of Savoia as he wished to impress King Vittorio Emanuele. The name most probably represents a kiss between two lovers and the shape of the “baci di dama” itself resembles a lady’s lips. These baci combine hazelnuts with butter flour and sugar until a rich, smooth and luscious texture is achieved. CASTAGNOLE - little fried dough balls flavoured with aniseed liqueur. Castagnole are made with an egg enriched dough, which contains baking powder, aniseed liqueur, lemon zest which is fried until golden. Crunchy and sweet on the outside; soft and warm on the inside. They are the typical carnival pastry. SFOGLIATELLE - shell-shaped filled pastries native to Italian cuisine. "Sfogliatelle" means "small, thin leaves/layers," as the pastry's texture resembles stacked leaves. Recipes for the dough and filling of sfogliatelle vary and include orange-flavoured ricotta, almond paste, and candied peel of citron. These desserts are well known for giving a sweet and powerful taste whilst retaining a light texture. Buon Apetito !

“Pick-me up” at la Collina del Sole…

Tiramisu literally translates into "pick-me-up" and is one of the favourite desserts requested from our suggested menus for in house dinning at La Collina del Sole our favourite Lucca villa rental. Some claim that this title refers to the dish being so delicious that the taste of it makes you weak at the knees; hence needing a “pick me up” in order to recover from the taste explosion. Another explanation could be the caffeinated ingredients in the dish; espresso and cocoa. When you rent a villa in Tuscany in order to pay this ancient pudding the respect it deserves particularly while you are staying at your holiday villas in Lucca, what better than to have it freshly made for you at La Collina del Sole by our team of expert chefs. This service is provided through the in-house dining experience. In Italy a meal usually concludes with fresh fruit rather than dessert. Therefore, the addition of a dessert marks a special occasion This may explain why Italian desserts are particularly memorable, presenting lavish arrangements of indulgent ingredients and truly unforgettable flavour combinations, such as those found in Tiramisu. Although having tried the dish once, food lovers may find the battle to resist indulging once again a difficult practice, particularly if you taste Marias Tiramisu when ordering your feast from the suggested menus as you enjoy the delights of villa rentals in Tuscany

Every Italian dessert is mindful of one distinct rule, which is to create a dish that provides pleasure above all else. A consequence of this rule came Tiramasu; an elegant and rich combination of lady finger biscuits, espresso, mascarpone cheese, eggs, sugar, Masala wine, rum and cocoa powder. Though you might think that the grouping of these diverse and powerful ingredients may not work, an intense yet refined dish emerges. The delicate flavour of the mascarpone contrasts with the robust presence of espresso and the sharpness of cocoa powder. These flavours fuse nicely, creating a velvety texture that provide for a luxurious treat. If guests are gluten or lactose intolerant, our chefs are more than happy to tailor the dish to your needs, as they provide entire meals tailored to food allergies and preferences, at La Collina del Sole we believe that we might as well give you the BEST experience you have ever had while staying at Villas for rent in Tuscany and if the feedback of our guests in anything to go by … we are succeeding and will continue to do everything in our power to offer an unforgettable holiday rather like the unforgettable Italian desserts !