Life, Love & Recipes from My Tuscan Kitchen | June 2026 🇮🇹

Ciao Reader,

This is a summer letter.

A summer that arrived all at once.
​I don't want to describe it with poetic words, talking about blue skies that almost don't seem real, or golden fields. They're all here, of course: the high summer sun that leaves you dizzy, cicadas singing as if they've lost their minds, stolen naps in the shade, the breeze drifting in from the Mediterranean, hay bales dotting the countryside, children playing on the beach, and feet burning on the hot sand.
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But instead, I want to read to you what I've been reading in the news, translated for you.

''As if the Cerberus heatwave wasn't enough, keeping temperatures above the seasonal average for over a week, we're now preparing for the arrival of the African anticyclone Charon. Meteorologists say this is one of the most extreme weather events ever recorded in June, both for its intensity and how long it is expected to last across at least half of Europe. Over the next few days, parts of Italy could reach temperatures as high as 40°C (104°F).''

Paris, Milan, Rome... with the humidity, the heat feels more like Bangkok than Europe.

We're lucky to live in the countryside of the Tuscan coast, where the temperatures are always milder, and the Mediterranean breeze is a real relief. Despite the heat, the long days of work, and the endless to-do lists, I truly love this time of year.

The days stretch on forever. We have dinner outside among our vegetable beds, where we've placed our table for the summer. We hop on our e-bikes and ride into town for pizza in the evening. Most days, we don't even use the car anymore.

I’ve been keeping very busy with cooking classes and wine tours, and it’s been such a beautiful mix of work and connection.
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This season, we’ve had several wine tours, accompanying our guests through the discovery of our Bolgheri DOC, this small corner of Tuscany that I truly believe deserves its five stars in the wine world. We visited iconic wineries like Ornellaia, as well as smaller, family-run producers where our guests could sit down directly with the winemakers, listen to their stories, and understand the passion and life behind every bottle.

My kitchen has been just as lively. I cooked for many different groups, each one bringing its own energy and curiosity, but one in particular was especially festive: Alison and her family came to Tuscany to celebrate a family wedding, and the whole experience turned into a joyful, shared table full of laughter, cooking, and celebration.

And... I’ve been very busy enjoying my garden!​
My greatest joy this year has been my poppies. I scattered just one handful of seeds with absolutely no expectations. Now, every morning, before I've even brushed my hair, still wearing my pajamas, I rush outside to see what has bloomed overnight. Every new flower feels like a little surprise waiting for me. It's such a simple pleasure, but it has become my everyday luxury. Poppies only last a day, so I try to enjoy every single bloom during those quiet moments before the day begins. In those minutes, surrounded by their colors, I feel like I'm in my own little world.

In just a few weeks, we'll celebrate six years of our beloved Cooking Club. We've cooked together through more than 100 live classes and shared over 100 Italian recipes.

The other day, I stumbled across this Facebook post that my daughter Elsa wrote after our very first online class in 2020. It still makes me smile.

"If there's one thing my parents have passed on to me, it's the ability to adapt. Today, my mom, Chicca, taught her very first online cooking class, and I helped her. It was strange to see our kitchen empty, no mountain of dishes to wash (yes, I washed plenty of them all summer!), and no American helpers staying in our home. But the most unbelievable part was seeing 80 people connected from the other side of the world, cooking along with us in real time. If Americans couldn't travel, my mom found a way to bring this magical experience to them."

It's incredible to believe how much has happened since this very first class and the community we built!

Our last live class was my favorite; we made handmade pasta. Here are some beautiful pictures and notes from our Cooking Club's members. We made handmade pappardelle together from scratch, rolling the dough, cutting it, and sharing that simple joy of making pasta the traditional way, all together from different parts of the world but connected through the same table.

If you want to try making handmade pappardelle and top them with my summer roasted vegetable sauce, you can get the replay and detailed recipe here: https://cookingintuscany.cc/register/june-13-handmade-pappardelle-with-summer-roasted-vegetables-class/​

Thanks Reader for reading this newsletter! Please feel free to reach out; your feedback means so much to me. It encourages me to continue sharing these slices of Tuscan life with you.

With love,

Chicca

PS: If you want to visit Tuscany and stay with us as an independent traveler, you can check La Casa Toscana​, our farmhouse settled in the heart of the Wine Road, among vineyards and olive groves.

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