And what are we going to eat? Vito Giannuzzi asked himself. Our Maizza chef is more of a dancer than a Yogi (foto below) but since he wanted to prepare a wellness menu for the GARUDA group, with a couple of dishes that should stand out as much as the fitness part, he came up with unique ideas like this one:

Cappelletti out of Senator grain, vaporized, with a stuffing of beans and liquid chicory, with candied red onion and a paté of dried tomatoes  

Senator Pasta 100 gr
Beans puree 100 gr
Chicory 100 gr
Gelatine 10 gr
Dried tomatoes  10 gr
Red Onion 10 gr
Prepare the pasta with a stuffing of pureed beans and chicory. Cook the red onion in slightly acid water. Cook and prepare as seen on the picture.

Vito Giannuzzi, Maizza chef: “For the practising GARUDA student eating is pure energy. Keeping up the energy flow – that’s the idea! Consciusness is the key: Eating without haste, enjoying every bite as a part of a big flow. Harmony and consciousness were my inspiration for the dish I created. The ingredients are supposed to reflect the poverty of our territory and the history of our ancestors. They used to work hard on the fields and in the evening they ate what the land had to offer. Simple but nutriscious food like Senator grain, flour of raw wheat, beans and wild chicory – all that sort of stuff. The dish expresses simplicity, pureness and a healthy approach to food – in respect for nature, rediscovering natural flavours, and, most of all, listening to what our body needs.”

PS: This foto is for those of you who wouldn’t believe that our chef actually is a semi- professional dancer. “Bella figura!” Not only behind the kitchen pots…

Here’s what it takes to get into the “Coccarito” mood:

Coccarito

4/10 Tequila
4/10 Ginger ale
2/10 Lime juice
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
a spring of lemon thyme

Mix all the ingredients in a longdrink glass. And be sure: Every sip is a sweet summer promise…

Hata Yoga & Vinyasana Yoga

It consists of body exercises, positions, dynamic and static sequences, guided relaxation and breathing cycles coordinated with the asanas. Asana postures allows to re-educate wrong postures, to correct repetitive and purely routine movements and to acquire greater stability, solidity and flexibility. It also allows to loosen up muscle tension, inner conflicts and to experience a state of unity between body and mind. It helps the development of a deeper sensibility, enhancing the expansion of consciousness and intelligence and the awareness of one’s own resources and strengths.

Shiatsu

Shiatsu derives from the Japanese words shi (finger) and atsu (pressure).
Shiatsu considers body, mind and soul in their totality, that is each of these parts integrated with each other. This is why this practice tries to understand the causes of energy unbalance producing physical distress, rather than considering the symptom of the problem alone.
Shiatsu uses different diagnosis and treatment techniques employing the most simple and essential of man’s means: hands. The mere pressure of thumbs and palms acts on localized areas of the body along the paths of energy meridians. In this way organs and inner systems are stimulated and harmonized, thus activating the natural process of self-recovering.

The treatment can take place on the floor on a comfortable futon with the original technique of master Namikoshi. The session lasts about one hour. The treatment is practiced with loose clothes and, above all, not made of acrylic or synthetic fibres, therefore tracksuits, sweatshirts, kimonos.

The Zen Shiatsu practice gives manifold benefits. Though it is not possible to make a thorough list of positive benefits, some of the advantages of the treatment can be mentioned: it gives total psychophysical wellbeing, fights stress, improves and promotes metabolism; it helps to solve hormonal and bowel problems and disorders, alleviates neck pain, backache and headache, improves circulation, improves the drainage of the lymphatic system and the sleep-wake cycle.

For detailed information contact our reception desk.

Busy times in olive country Puglia! We, too, have started our olive harvest around the masserias. The first bottles of COCCARO and MAIZZA oil have arrived: The long and dry summer 2012 made it more delicious and tastier than ever. Who wants to join in or combine a fall vacation with a few hours of relaxing olive picking: There’s thousands of trees around! We’re looking forward to having you back.

You like the smell of freshly prepared bread just as much as we do? You’ll definitely have to try Matera and Altamura bread then! Rich in history and tradition the bread is made from durum wheat re-milled semolina, a mixture of wheats grown on the central-north Apulian plateau, known as the “Murgia”, and on the Matera hills. One of the most significant aspects of Altamura bread, together with its special flavour and digestibility, is its prolonged capacity of preservation. The bread keeps its taste and crunchiness for up to five days from the date of production. Altamura bread has an outside crusty and crunchy brown crust and an inside cell-like straw-coloured soft part. We’re recommending it toasted, for breakfast, or cut in thick slices as a side dish.

Don’t miss Masseria Torre Coccaro in the fall! There’s so many more things to see and do than you would probably expect. You’ll find our garden greener than ever: The orange and lemon trees, pomegranate and prickly pears are full of ripe fruit that you’ll find at the breakfast buffet; fresh fennel and broccoli make a great side dish for lunch or dinner. Like walking on sunshine: All the pathes around the masseria are covered with red and rosé bougainvilla petals. Our AVEDA Spa is open, gentle and professional massage therapists are awaiting you. Go have a swim in the pool before you have your treatment or spoil yourself with a purifying steam bath! Enjoy peaceful days under the blue Puglia sky, go have a walk along the adriatic coast, try an aperitivo by the sea and finish off with a highlight: a romantic candlelight dinner on the covered terrace or, more intimate even, in front of the fireplace in one of our cosy “salotti”. There’s plenty to experience around the masseria – come by and find out: We’re expecting you!

Whenever somebody asks her why she began to work as a fotographer, Francesca Moscheni quotes a great photographer, Eduard Boubat: “for the light”. No wonder the idea to come down to Puglia appealed to her from the beginning: The “FEINSCHMECKER”, famous german food magazine, had asked her for the job: Since Francesca is well known for portraying styles, objects and persons, their october 2012 cover story on Puglia Cuisine (c/o Stefan Maiwald) was a perfect match. Moscheni immediately became friends with our chefs Vito (Maizza), Luigi (Coccaro Beach Club) Donato (Coccaro) and their teams and took a huge variety of highly emotional fotos all around the masserias, not to mention the chefs themselves and their working environment. Sure, her passion for cooking and trying all kinds of food from all over the world helps her a lot in the business. Couldn’t find out her secret of keeping in perfect shape though… Anyway: We’re glad we got to know each other and more than happy to be able to show a few pictures as seen the FEINSCHMECKER article right here in our blog, just to give you an idea of what her work was about. For those of you who might not get a chance to buy a copy…

Great news from our artist in residence friend Giovanni Troilo! Some of you may have seen the foto exhibition at Masseria Torre Maizza: In the old olive mill, called Frantoio, we’ve been presenting a “best of” collection of his work on the book “Apulien” (Corso). The foto we’re showing above is the winner entry for the IPA, book/people category. We’d like to congratulate our dear and creative friend: Complimenti, caro Giovanni, well done!

For those of you who want to know more about the award – here’s the official press release:

2012 International Photography Awards Announces Winners of the Competition: Giovanni Troilo was Awarded: 1st place in Book – People category for the winning entry “Apulien”
About IPA: The 2012 International Photography Awards received nearly 15,000 submissions from 103 countries across the globe. IPA is a sister-effort of the Lucie Foundation, where the top three winners are announced at the annual Lucie Awards gala ceremony. The Foundation’s mission is to honor master photographers, to discover new and emerging talent and to promote the appreciation of photography. Since 2003, IPA has had the privilege and opportunity to acknowledge and recognize contemporary photographers’ accomplishments in this specialized and highly visible competition. Visit www.photoawards.com for more details.