Hiking the Majella (2)

Eremo San Giovanni, Vall'Orfento, Parco Nazionale Della Majella

Undoubtedly the most evocative, spectacular and least accessible Celestinian sanctuary of all the hermitages of the Majella.  A place to just sit and think and wonder.

Eremo San Giovanni:  Parco Nazionale Della Majella

Sentiero dello Spirito: Multi-day hike through time & wilderness

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Hiking the Majella

A few snaps from a recent romp up the hill to the Tavola dei Briganti, Majella National Park (17/06/2016).

Love this place

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Cachi, the sweetest treat of the winter

Winters here are full of splashes of bright orange dappled throughout the countryside, the cachi (persimmon) stunning against the snow.  But there are just so many, and what to do with them with them all?  Tragic not to make use of such sweet abundance.

Eaten raw, they leave a strange furry matting to the roof of your mouth, cooked they just go to mush, and there's only so much mush you can eat. 

And here's the trick.

Dry them.

They crystallise and become the most delectable candied fruit.  A very naughty, but very very nice, sweet treat without a single additive or grain of sugar in existence.  

They can be chopped and mixed into your warming winter porridge; add a spoonful of cinnamon and you have the food of the gods.  

You can make a fruit cake out of them, a tart, or a loaf, coat them in chocolate, or just simply pop them in your mouth when you get the munchies.  And not so much of a whisper of a furry mouth.  Win, win, every time.

So here's how:

1.  Pick the fruit with some stalk still attached (you'll need this for hanging them).

2.  Peel the fruit, leaving a small disc of peel top and bottom.

3.  Hang them somewhere dry and airy, leaving space between each one.

4.  Give them a squeeze every now and then to encourage the sugar to the outside.

5.  After about 3 months they're ready to be munched.

Couldn't be easier.

And they look very pretty too.

Enjoy.

Pick your cachi (persimmon) with a small length of stick still attached

Peel them, leaving a small disc top and bottom

Hang them in a dry, airy space.
Don't forget to squeeze them, cachi's need love too

After about 3 months they're crystallising nicely

Simple pleasures

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SMOOCHING WITH THE HIGHER PEAKS OF THE MAJELLA

Late summer, the perfect time of year for exploring the higher peaks of the Majella.  Today's summits were Monte Focalone (2767m) and Monte Acquaviva (2737m).  

The plan was also to do the Cima delle Murelle (2598m) and descend via Monte Ugni (1350m), but time was getting on.  On hold for another day. 

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