Education
for Sustainable Living, Environmental Respect, and Celebrating the Quality of
Life.
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Bonaglia Family Probably the thing that made Terre Madre the most interesting conference was the opportunity to stay in the homes of farm families. The task of finding homes for all the 5000 people was truly nothing short of monumental. Our host family were dairy and beef farmers in the town of Druento, located just outside of Torino. Renzo and Maria have been farming in Druento for many years. Their son Angelo works with them on the farm. Mirella, the younger daughter, lives at home and works for an architecture firm in Casella. Anna, Maria's older daughter, is married to Dinello and they have two children Luca and Serena. The youngest member of the family is Luna, a young pastore maremano pup. Local foods are core to the Bonaglia family. Every morning Maria had fresh milk from the 25 cows that she milked twice daily. Renzo and Angelo were busy making sure the animals were fed and content. They grow corn, small grains and hay to feed the animals, and they also raise pigs, chickens, and rabbits for personal consumption. Somehow, during their busy day, Maria and Mirella always found time to make incredible Piemontese meals. Following a morning primo collazione of a bowl of cafe' with fresh warm milk and cakes and breakfast goodies, we would come home to incredible three and four course dinners featuring dishes like bagna cauda, salami (home made, cured in their cellar), baked robbiola cheese, polenta con tartuffi, and pollo con vino bianco, and unforgettable tiramisu. The meals were exquisite, the conversation warm and fun, and Dinello's home made barbera wine was "da morire" ... to die for. Maria and Mirella certainly know their way around the kitchen, but what made the meals particularly impressive were the quality and the freshness of the ingredients. Garden grown peppers and fresh anchovies in the bagno cauda, fresh chicken in the pollo, and daily fresh dairy products were just incredible. Finally, the Bonaglia family were so kind and generous to us. They gave us enough wonderful goodies to send us on our way on the train south to Panicale that we hardly had to purchase food the next week. As I think about all of the amazing places and conferences that I have had the chance to attend, I have never had the chance to grow close to a family. This was truly remarkable. Thanks to SlowFood for their ingenuity and hard work to make this happen.
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