Join Me in a Quaint, Tuscan Town for Food and Fun!
Friends! Oh boy, do I ever have an exciting and, may I add, a mouthwatering book to show you!!! The gorgeous pictures alone will entice you to stand over a stove and stir up one of the many recipes, pronto!!!
The book?
Village Life: Discover Tuscan Inspired Hospitality and Intentional Living by Angela Corell
Many of you know of Angela and have read her novels, Granted, Guarded and Grounded. And/or, you may have read her book about their Italian fixer upper which I reviewed in March of ‘24: Restored in Tuscany: A True Story of Facing Loss, Finding Beauty, and Living Forward in Hope.
Here’s a photo of Angela and do checkout her website— it’s loaded with information and more recipes!! She and her husband, Jess, live in Stanford, Kentucky, so don’t miss things to do there as she offers a huge variety. Especially if you live in Kentucky, it’s a lovely drive over the river and through the woods.
So let’s dive into Angela’s newest book, Village Life, which releases Tuesday, September 9th.
First, for all you Jan Karon fans, she has a lovely endorsement of this book:
“Homesick for true hospitality, really great cooking, world famous wine made near your doorstep, the real deal of village life? Angela Correll’s tribute to her medieval Italian village, population 400, delivers all the sweet consolations of Tuscany. When you head to Italy, don’t leave home without it!” JAN KARON
Each chapter teaches us readers an Italian word to add to our vocabulary. We not only learn a tidbit of culture in the city of Montefollonico, and surrounding areas, we also get to read a recipe in each chapter which I mentioned earlier, a huge treat. Different places within the city are also pictured, dotted with beautiful flowers and scenic hillsides further enhancing your reading experience. While we’d all love to hop a plane across the pond, this is the next best thing.
Angela opens her book with,
Note from the subtitle we’ll also gain ideas on hospitality and how to live with intentionality. We see “hospitality is not ‘How can I make myself look good?’, but ‘How can I make others feel loved?’ (This reminds me of a lazy Susan we have at home that says, “May all who enter as guests leave as friends.”) Those of you who know Angela and Jess know they’re gifted with hospitality, many times giving you the shirts off their backs, also defining generosity. Their faith is a non-negotiable part of their lives and is graciously evident to all.
I also discovered Angela has a whole new line of Tuscan products via her Kentucky Soaps and Such store you may wish to try! (These include: Tuscan Summer Body Wash, Hand Soap, Goat Milk Bar, and Healing Body Cream all in this Tuscan Summer scent which is so refreshing and lovely. Angela’s goats’ milk lotion and creams are to die for! Check out: kentuckysoapsandsuch.com for more information.)
Each chapter of Village Life concludes with a section called “Bring Italy Home.” This section is the icing on the cake in all twenty-one chapters, offering movie suggestions (Italian of course!) as well as music to listen to, book recommendations (I’m adding these to my already growing list) and Scripture verses. What a resource!
I laughed out loud over chapter 8, called Il Cibo (The food). We learn a Tuscan diet emphasizes fresh ingredients. Some villagers will go so far as to show you pictures of their mushrooms they’re growing, “as if they’re their grandchildren!”
Chapter 16, La Camminata e la Passeggiata (The Walk) is loaded with both Angela and her husband, Jess’, walking adventures. Loads of areas in and around their little village offer many options to explore. We learn many benefits of walking. The chapter opens with a favorite quote from Hippocrates: “Walking is man’s best medicine.” I shout “Amen” to that after recently receiving my second hip.
I found it fascinating to learn that just below the village of Montefollonico is an area called the Val d’Orcia where there’s “an old pilgrimage trail called the Via Francigena, which means ‘the road from France.’ It begins in Canterbury, England and winds down through France and Switzerland to Rome, and even beyond into Puglia, where a ship can be boarded for the Holy Land. While either Rome or the Holy Land is the ultimate destination, the journey is about what happens along the way, what we learn about God, ourselves, and others, symbolic of our life on earth with heaven as our destination.”
Watch Angela and her photographer tackle part of this trail and see the surprising discoveries along the way. Don’t miss this chapter!
Chapter 18, Il Campo, (The Field) offers a lovely quote by Kentucky’s own Wendell Berry:
We readers also get to learn about the Tuscan harvest—the last days of the grape harvest and the beginning of the olive harvest. Mmmmm, I can taste the fresh olive oil now.
Chapter 19, Riposa (Rest), is a favorite of mine because it’s packed with reminders about keeping the Sabbath. Angela even recommends a book by another mutual friend and author, Dr. Matthew Sleeth, 24/6: A Prescription for a Healthier Life.
We learn Bueno Domenica is “a day set apart for a different rhythm: church, long lunch, rest, and dinner with family and friends.” Angela adds, “We need this buffer day to rest, prepare and be restored…Seasons are God’s way of giving us rhythms of rest, i.e. winter.”
Without revealing any more treats from the book so as not to spoil your reading pleasure, I’ll close like we usually do and say, “Run! Don’t walk, to your nearest bookstore and grab yourself a copy of Village Life: Discover Tuscan Inspired Hospitality and Intentional Living for you and perhaps for your friends, as it’s never too early to be thinking about Christmas gifts!
‘Til next time!
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the page above are “affiliate links.”