A story in the making for thousands of years. A number so large that, when it relates to our life today, it is hard to put it in perspective. The history of pasta, like many foods, is clouded with stories that are passed from generation to generation. Clarity on this issue, like pasta water, gets cloudier over time... not clearer.
The ancient Etruscans inhabited Etruria, the area known today as Tuscany, Latium, Emilia-Romagna and Umbria, in central Italy. Some 2400 years ago, the Etruscans of Etruria started to create flat noodles made of farro.
Imagine that every Sunday in the kitchen, the matriarch of the family would create Stringozzi, a long, narrow, flat, squared-edged noodle for la famiglia. With a careful hand, she would create a figure-eight pile of noodles to eat on Sunday - as well as for the rest of the week.
This is what Giuseppe Cognoni's mother still does every Sunday for her family at home in Umbria. Giuseppe's children eat pasta almost every day, where his wife combines ingredients like rice, peas, tomatoes and, of course, olive oil.
Pasta crafted just nine kilometers from the Cognoni family home in a city of only 387 families, these three new artisan pastas are made by the local pasta maker. Following his desire to work with only people who he feels have the same passion for food that he does, Giuseppe personally chose this small producer of pasta who creates these pasta gems.
Etruria Gourmet has taken these classic shapes and paired them each with their own type of flour. Stringozzi is made with Durum Wheat semolina, Umbricelli is 100% Farro flour, and Pappardelle is made of Durum Wheat semolina and local eggs.
After all is said and done, the history of pasta is less important than finding that special pasta amongst all the options that are available today. These three are some of the most memorable and finest quality we have come across. Not "fancy" or made by some exotic "designer" of pasta. Just pasta the way it should be - familiar family pasta that is delicious to eat.
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Monocultivar – Leccino
Organic Olive Oil – roll back the prices!
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 Etruria Gourmet is known for its classic, Italian olive oil. This is a new oil for us, and is made with 100% Leccino olives. It brings with it the wonderful feel of Umbria. Grown just a few kilometers away from Giuseppe's home in a relatively new orchard of 15 to 20 years old. The Leccino olive produces a smooth, mild oil that is green in color with a golden yellow hue, a fruity aroma and delicate almond flavor. The pepper comes early, complimenting a good, olivey flavor.
Leccino trees yield more olives per hectare, and the Leccino olive produces more oil per olive. Historically, Leccino is used as a pollinator, and to blend with Moraiolo and Frantoio. But Leccino olives also make a wonderful oil all on their own.
Because it is a new oil for us, and the yield is very fruitful, we are making this the best deal in Italian oil we have seen since I can't remember when - perhaps 6 years ago!
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San Marzano D.O.P. Tomatoes - Italy
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 Match these tomatoes with the pasta and the oil, and you have perfection!
Why are these canned tomatoes so good? Healthy, ripe tomatoes are processed the day of arrival, preserving all of the genuine freshness and perfume of the tomato. And there's no added salt - very unusual for canned tomatoes in the United States. Control exactly how much salt you'd like in your recipe, with no worries about excess sodium. Like some other wonderful European agricultural products, these tomatoes have a D.O.P. certification (Denominazione di Origine Protetta), ensuring their provenance and quality.
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...your smoked hams and smoked turkeys for the holidays. Hard to believe but the holidays are quickly approaching! Order now to lock in your price. You have about a week before the price starts to change... Rick is hoping that the price will come down per pound, but so far we haven't seen it. In fact, pork prices are up $0.10 per pound over last year and we haven't even hit that critical ordering time that happens as the holidays approach.
 
Order carefully. Pick the product that fits your desired arrival time and holiday. Every year, Thanksgiving always gives us heartache as a holiday comes on a Thursday. This means overnight service to be safe, at twice the shipping charges. Thankfully, if you want it for Christmas, the holiday falls on Friday this year. This means we can ship on Monday and still have lots of time to make sure you get what want before the big day!
Order now, we always sell out...
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For the first time – fresh, never-frozen Sablefish
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 With only one week left for line-caught Sablefish, you should order immediately to get this rarely-seen Alaska-caught fish. Sablefish, often called Black Cod, is not actually a cod at all. Rich in omega-3 fatty acids, it is one of those fish that are just plain good for you. Sablefish are the highest valued finned fish per pound caught in Alaska.
This never-frozen fish from Alaska is only available a few times a year - and we want you to get dibs on the last of the line-caught Sablefish. As always, we have a extremely limited quantity available.
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See What You Missed In Previous Newsletters
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Recipes of the Week
The arrival this week of Keith Snow's new cookbook, The Harvest Eating Cookbook (Running Press, 2009), reminded me that it is pasta season again. But usually, when I am looking for traditional pasta recipes, I turn to Marcella Hazan's Marcella Cucina (Harper Collins Publishers, 1997). Giuseppe also offered up a few of his family's favorites.
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