There’s a hilariously clear difference between “travel” and “vacation.”
If you’re on vacation, the deal is simple: you leave Point A (a.k.a. the place where your laundry normally is, and that one unfinished to-do list live) for Point B. You throw the clock in a drawer and park yourself there long enough for your limbs and guts to finally rest…
Welcome to Open Celery! our monthly Vegan Friendly newsletter.
A four-handed gourmet adventure dedicated to Plant-Based Recipes, Cooking Insights, and Stories… Made in Italy! 🇮🇹 The fruit (veggie and dessert) of the collaboration between Simona (Personal Chef) and Orsola (la Gourmet Traveler+)
Published in Italian (cliccate qui per 👉 Apriti Sedano! Newsletter) and English, here’s happily edited and translated by Orsola (aka ockstyle) 😀
You sleep like a “slightly” overfed cat in the shade, eat with the kind of appetite that would make your doctor raise an eyebrow, and—miracle of miracles—digest everything without a single dramatic protest. And, at last, crack open that beach-umbrella novel you’ve been eyeing for months, fully intending to finish it! This fantasy, of course, only works if small children—or grandchildren on loan—are not currently orbiting you like noisy little planets… Amori di nonna!
Travel, though? A completely different story. Travel means launching from A toward a parade of points B, C, D, and “how-the-hell-did-we-end-up-here,” all on a schedule that somehow always feels tighter than your favorite linen pants after three days of gelato and other delicacies.
With travel you’ve got a cultural, natural, exploratory, or food-and-wine destination complete with carefully planned stops and the occasional reservation you made three months ago in a burst of optimism.
Travel at times may feel like a compulsive collecting spree: experiences, questionable gadgets, mysterious extra pounds around the midsection, or those charming muscle strains from rappelling on a double rope because “it looked fun on Instagram,” of course.
In both cases you may find compelling taking endless photos and videos—because nothing says “I’m living my best life at 50-plus” — documenting every single moment just to poke a healthy little green-eyed monster neighbor, who’s still stalking you on Ig (or on Faceb…, for the distinguished senior gallery).
The Traveling Chef
Of the France trip, the vacation that never was, and fresh chili peppers.
I still don’t know exactly how to label my recent France adventure, but it was definitely not a vacation.
The grand plan: slash across the country diagonally, rack up a ridiculous number of kilometers, hit a few Loire Valley castles, and land at Point B—Mont-Saint-Michel… Classic traveler energy.
I started by hopping off the ferry in Livorno straight from Sardinia (where, most locals and tourists alike were already slowly roasting under the July/August sun).
Quick detour to see friends near Pisa, then on to Savona—my hometown—for the mandatory relative-and-friends pit stop, and finally up to Sambuco (CN), the little mountain village of my childhood. We used to spend Christmas and a big chunk of every summer there, blissfully cool at the foot of Monte Bersaio while the rest of Italy was melting.
Funny how the beauty of nature stays in the background when you’re young, too busy with other dramas to notice.
Destination France… (I’ll tell you about it in a few days!)
Regarding the chili peppers: did you know they actually cool you down? Being a vasodilator, chili makes you sweat—your body’s built-in air-conditioning system. According to macrobiotics, those tropical spices (yang, expansive, yet cooling) grow exactly where they’re needed. So maybe not the most logical choice for our climates… but when you’re roasting in August, who cares about logic?
A simple recipe is waiting for you further down in the recipe corner… I’ll hand the keyboard to Orsola now.
The Gourmet Traveler+
I’m back in Rome, “surfing” that classic August atmosphere. Semi-deserted city —especially during the furnace hours— shops shut for Ferragosto (around the 15th) with cheerful resignation, and the heat itself dictating every single step or plan.
No need to conquer monuments or collect experiences like Pokémon. Instead you find yourself moving at half-speed, surrendered to the hunt for shade in this thick seasonal air, wondering why you ever thought “sightseeing” was a good idea after 11 a.m. Meanwhile locals sneak in a proper Roman pennichella [pen-neeh-kæ’l-lah]… a siesta if you like!
"When in Rome, live as the Romans do; when elsewhere, live as they live elsewhere." — St. Ambrose
Than comes the slow drip of evenings, with a glass of aperitivo in hand, and the quiet comedy of sweating buckets! But you are in Rome right? Evviva!
Just a quick note about Ferragosto. “The name actually comes from the Latin “Feriae Augusti,” (Augustus’s Holidays). It was a festival in honour of the first Emperor “Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian Augustus” (18 B.C.) who gave the month of August its name.” (More on “Ferragosto and… the Bygone Flour”)
Here in the Eternal City it’s neither pure adventure nor pure idleness. It’s simply the wise local art of letting August do all the heavy lifting while you show up, moaning “sto a fa’ la colla” (Roman for “I’m melting into glue”), slightly hungry, and daydreaming about a “fraschetta" within Castelli Romani area, and the first cool breeze of September.
Some courageous locals (and tourists) are slowly roasting under that relentless August sun 🫣 —the beaches (or lakes areas) are gloriously full— and the city dwellers find themselves moving at half-speed thinking “nun ce la posso fà!” (I can’t take it anymore).
About fraschetta [fra-skæ’t-tah]. It’s a country-style hostaria/trattoria within the Castelli Romani area (about 20 minutes drive south of Rome), where you munch and drink la Romanella and vino novello (young wine) — depending on the harvest season.
The name fraschetta comes from the old custom of hanging a leafy branch over the door to signal “young wine is here!”
La Romanella is a sweet sparkling red wine (spumante rosso dolce) from that area.
“De gustibus non est disputandum” (there is no disputing about taste) —Latin maxim
The Recipes Corner
Seeing as our summers keep getting hotter, a little jar of chili sauce feels almost medicinal. Plus, the peppers ripen perfectly from August through October—exactly when you need to flush out all that accumulated heat.
The Easy Chili Sauce Recipe
If you’ve got a chili plant on the balcony and zero ideas what to do with it, here’s a dead-simple sauce that goes on literally everything.
📌 Please note! The info and directions provided for the recipe are indicative: the end result may vary from person to person — depending on how brave you are.
Serves: around 6 | Time: 30 minutes | Difficulty: ridiculously easy (but wear the gloves, ladies)
Ingredients
15–20 fresh chili peppers (medium-small)
1 garlic clove
1 tablespoon salted capers (rinsed well)
A generous bunch of parsley (about 50 g)
Zest of one lemon
Oil as needed to cover the chopped veggies
📣 Notes About Oil and Chili Pepper
For dressings and condiments, we use organic and cold-pressed oils like evo (olive oil) and/or sunflower seed.
Buy the ones stored in dark glass bottles or lined tin cans. NO plastic!
The Chef used nameless chili peppers (from her balcony). If you’re not a chili regular, ask at the market—someone will happily steer you toward the “friendly” ones!
Tools
Small knife, regular knife, colander, cutting board, garlic press, nitrile gloves (non-negotiable), bowl.
Method
Wash and thoroughly dry the chilies and parsley.
Put on the gloves and clean the chilies:
snip off the stems, slit them lengthwise, and remove the seeds.
Want more heat? Leave some seeds in. Your call.
Chop the chilies, parsley, and rinsed capers to whatever texture you like—fine or rustic.
Crush the garlic and toss it together.
Or just chop it with everything else, if you don’t have the tool.
Grate the lemon zest, just above the mix.
Transfer everything in a bowl (or a jar) and cover with oil.
Keep it refrigerated.
There you go, and Buon Appetibilis!
Serving Tips & Substitutions
Perfect on piadine, with hummus and avocado (as in the photos above), or just on toasted bread with almond or cashew spread.
Toss it through a salad or stir it into pesto for an instant flavor upgrade.
Swap in fresh cilantro and lime zest if you’re feeling tropical.
A tiny spoon of mustard? Surprisingly delightful.
Whether you’re baking in Rome, melting in Sardinia, or just dreaming of both from your own kitchen, August is best survived with humor, a little chili, and zero pressure to “do” anything except show up!
Happy August to all 😅
Baci e abbracci [bàh-tchee æ ab-bràh-tchee], xoxo Orsola and Simona