A Hundred Years? Or Just Five Days?

Sicily is so delightful, I’m actually suspicious. The air is like little kisses-Santa Barbara is like that too, so it’s a Mediterranean climate thing, with all its eddies and flows: jasmine, lavender, rosemary, juniper, sage, and of course, citrus. But it’s not California; it’s Sicily. Why does everything look fantastic, even when it’s decaying back to the earth? It smells grand, everywhere. Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting one of our new citrus suppliers, and arrived just in time to watch the weeks last processing of green mandarin.

 Long ago we had the three Mandarins, not just the one, and hopefully we can go back to three as soon as the season permits.

First, there is green, unripe Mandarins. These have a tart, acidic edge to their sweetness, nothing surprising about that. The green mandarins are the freshest, most vigorous of the three, and most useful in perfumery...according to Mr. Sandro. And he would know.

Green

Second, and with their season just barely starting, are the Yellow Mandarins. They are just ripe. Now, these are pure happiness. Yellow Mandarin oil is a smile, a laugh, a delight, and a zest for life. It is impossible to smell yellow Mandarin oil and not have your spirits lifted up immediately. Yellow Mandarin makes you dance, frisk and leap around like a baby horse.

Yellow

Third, and not starting the season for another month at least, is Red Mandarin. This is the one you find most commonly. It’s the more mature fruit, and the biggest crop of all Mandarins, and, I think, the one you usually see under the name “Mandarin.” This oil is still wonderful, still mouth-watering, but without the green acerbic edge or the maniacal burst of happy wonder. Red Mandarin is calm and mature, serene and soft.

I’ve spent most of my time in the north of Sicily, on one of the Agriturismos, midway between Termini Imeresi and Cefalu, in the hills. It’s name is Terre di Himera and I will give the link at the end of the post. It’s about a nice a place as you will find in this world. First, the owners, Marie and Fabrizio, are so kind, so helpful, so gentle, and they cook dinner. Now, this dinner, (and they easily accommodate vegetarians,) is entirely made from local ingredients. Meaning, the olive oil is their own, pressed from their own trees, the bread (and pasta) is made from local Sicilian flours, not replicated elsewhere, not even in New York, people. The vegetables and cheeses are all from the immediate area (with the possible exception of Parmesan,) as does the wine, the grappa, the fruits (prickly pears, apples, pears, lemons, pomegranates, etc) and even the Gelato.

Pistachio and Coffee

 In fact, just nearby, in the town of Cerda, sits the most respected Gelateria in Sicily. Antonio Cappadonia is the Maestro. I tried one of the chocolates, the lemon (!), the almond, the pistachio, and the coffee. They were life changing flavors, seriously. I can’t even write and wig about them. Like nothing I ever tasted before. And let’s just say that texturally.........it’s a new meaning for “Creamy.” And yes, they were fragrant gelati. Perfume/ice cream.....here it is, just as I thought. They are a perfect and logical extension of each other, thank God. And yes, I met him. And I hope to be able to write about something in the future.....you wouldn’t believe the jasmine here.

 The animals at Terre di Himere are friendly, cared for, and gentle, not scared of anyone, as they meet with kindness daily. The cats even know enough to sit at the doorway to the kitchen, not inside, as they practice their pitiful mews to show how they are really starving they are, poor things.

 I can’t say enough about the food. If you come here, you will probably think you should try a variety, try a restaurant, as well as the home cooked food, and maybe you will find a good meal. But if you love good food, and think that something made with love and care, with the world’s best and freshest ingredients (and not expensive at all either,) is interesting, then just tell Marie or Fabrizio that you would like dinner, please. You won’t be sorry.

 The lodge is wonderful in itself, populated with aromatic plants and happy animals, and everyone is friendly, even the other guests.

I must admit it’s fantastic to be in an environment where everything doesn’t have to be a secret, emotions can be shown, relations can be natural and normal, food enjoyed, and animals petted. It’s a big relaxing breath of fresh air.

Terre di Himera

A Festival of Love and Prettiness!

The T.C. was here, finishing off what Jon started, and doing different, additional things. Jon made the bones of the Enfleurage Frankincense & Myrrh Distillery and the T.C. made it come to life. I just serve the cookies!

The distillery is operating, although I need to make some small adjustments. We are getting great oil and hydrosol but it could break my head a little less. We’ve got shelves up now and half a ton of luban off the floor, and it’s looking like a real, proper, frankincense distillery. Which, of course, it is. I forgot to take pictures of this room and am on my way to mystery destination, which I will hopefully come back from with all my organs! But it’s not Africa...

The Visitor Reception/Maglis is done, and I’ve put a few pictures of it here, albeit with some light issues from the chandelier and windows. But that’s the camera. The view from inside out is coconut palms, hibiscus, jasmine, bougainvillea.....and some spectacular green parrots. The space is great, and we’ve already hosted our first groups, from Germany and Austria. Visitors see the stills, smell the frankincense oil, eat frankincense ice cream, taste frankincense oil in local honey, and drink hydrosols. I answer questions as best as I can. So far, so good. And we’ve still got a few things coming.

Even my office is great! I had just shoved stuff in there and the Feng Shui was terrible. The T.C. changed all that, and now it’s just as cozy as can be. Again, pictures to follow. It’s a festival of love and prettiness!

He cleaned off the back porch (an odd thing for an American man to be doing in broad daylight in Salalah,) and he made it absolutely adorable. Now it’s a warm and welcoming place to sit and relax and watch the moon rise through the palm fronds. Slowly slowly it’s metamorphosing into a really great place. It’s like a butterfly, all golds and greens, unfolding its wet wings and taking a few short cautious first flights.

If it weren’t for the T.C. and Jonathan, and Anwar, our fantastic graphic designer (who is still fine tuning our beautiful new logo,) I don’t know where we’d be. Not here, that’s for sure. Enfleurage Middle East is now the perfect complement to the store in New York. I hope that many people come visit us, especially from the US.

 As the fine-tune tweaking continues, and the distillery slowly gets to the point where it can exist on its own, you can bet that I already have the next project ensconced in its chrysalis.

There’s always so much to do.....I am thrilled that things have worked out the way they have, in almost every respect. The new season has started, the ocean is slowly calming down, the sun is out and temperatures are fine. My frankincense trees are excited and exploding baby green growth all over. A small house plant I had in Dahariz is now about 12 feet tall and just sprouted huge purple flowers hanging like udders. Knee high bushes and thigh high trees are suddenly dwarfing me. The garden is singing like a cartoon glee club, and birds and butterflies are coming to stay.