tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18895913315805316132024-02-07T06:07:31.652+01:00Getting Lost in SicilyScotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00995656893337392919noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889591331580531613.post-69134670844273113582010-03-03T21:46:00.009+01:002010-03-03T22:59:55.153+01:00Bean there, ate that<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1UtF3w5x4SSmreJI605LvncUCQVqgyh7u_ByiAka6-EaDyqIR6-ChnMwQoa_rPz4QK_EfqazDM816CkB9kZi91c0SymFJaKGj7ORjXVSTUSHF2L4oOU8k6vuMXi-dAwZdipi9fLZAZlaA/s1600-h/Immagine+067.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1UtF3w5x4SSmreJI605LvncUCQVqgyh7u_ByiAka6-EaDyqIR6-ChnMwQoa_rPz4QK_EfqazDM816CkB9kZi91c0SymFJaKGj7ORjXVSTUSHF2L4oOU8k6vuMXi-dAwZdipi9fLZAZlaA/s200/Immagine+067.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444514524094854370" border="0" /></a>It's been an interesting couple of weeks here in Sicily. I was lucky enough to be introduced to some great people in Palermo, including <a href="http://www.facebook.com/daviderivi?ref=sgm">Davide</a> (who took me to the place on the left this past Saturday for a party - imagine hundreds of people dancing in this funky looking piazza - and introduced me to <a href="http://www.ilcucinario.it/SCHEDE%20A%20TEMA/LE%20STIGGHIOLE/STIGGHIOLA.htm">stigghiole</a>), the two <a href="http://www.facebook.com/dave.guevara">English</a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/davpal1">Davids</a>, the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7UKllR0Edo">Canadians</a> - Frank, Sabrina and Nick, some Germans, Estonians, Welsh, Polish, Philippinos - I hope I'm not leaving anybody out. <div><br /></div><div>Of course, I really wish that Angela was here to meet all of these people with me and share these experiences. I know that everyone would love her and it would be a lot more fun. January and February flew by, and I'm hoping that March goes by quickly. I mean, how long can I be expected to go without my <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/sbcase/Arod#5369083906938421538">special lady</a>???</div><div><br /><br /></div><div>I haven't been doing a ton of cooking lately, mostly simple stuff, but tonight I decided I was going to finally make something with fava beans, especially since they've been looking so good at the produce stand a couple of blocks away (they've been piled up in huge mounds outside everyday for awhile - the beans must be good, because by the time I <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJyYwkD2cycK9hsOkCBdzHLGtewFTdX8sT49hdr4JBniRyby0C2XM6S35Rpf7T3SGKN5gX_Tqo7ElTabYIg3y43WWy7W5FObGeBhMbFJqnsInpm_Oa2NTBbmYmrrWrk0-Nj-cAbRkH0j9a/s1600-h/IMG_2057.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJyYwkD2cycK9hsOkCBdzHLGtewFTdX8sT49hdr4JBniRyby0C2XM6S35Rpf7T3SGKN5gX_Tqo7ElTabYIg3y43WWy7W5FObGeBhMbFJqnsInpm_Oa2NTBbmYmrrWrk0-Nj-cAbRkH0j9a/s200/IMG_2057.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444521563436369810" border="0" /></a>come home every night, they are practically gone!). I removed the beans from their pods over lunch (is there a word for this? My brain is on lockdown - I want to say de-podded, but not only is that completely wrong, it makes me sound like a moron). I went into tonight without much of a plan, except that I knew I wanted to use the <a href="http://www.italianmade.com/foods/subcat23006.cfm">pecorino sar</a><a href="http://www.italianmade.com/foods/subcat23006.cfm">do</a> I bought today at the new market in town, plus some lightly fried garlic. Cheese and beans wasn't going to be enough, so I made some pasta to go along with everything. When the pasta was done, I blanched the beans in the pasta water for a few minutes while I heated up the garlic in a little bit of olive oil. I minced some huge parsley leaves, set that aside and then dumped the fava beans in an ice bath. I pinched the beans out of their protective sacs and quickly tossed them in with the still-warm pasta. On top of that went the cubed pecorino cheese, then the minced fried garlic, the parsley, a heavy pinch of salt and some freshly ground pepper and finally a healthy drizzle of my friend <a href="http://www.zingermans.com/Product.aspx?ProductID=O-AOO">Nunzio's olive oil</a>.<br /><br />Ultimately, ever<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi217hbXMgsYXnjB3-pvwoxXlLS_FDSz6ngaK8JdJQVUhqSYPpbYK_9S7ECjP7cqQ1jfHrD9rKo7WQ2pHwbbMN-XMU-unKEsPGE-oyZoTVewCpIMG2TN8VV14dAhV0qynZyKtw85lbBT5O_/s1600-h/IMG_2069.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 127px; height: 169px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi217hbXMgsYXnjB3-pvwoxXlLS_FDSz6ngaK8JdJQVUhqSYPpbYK_9S7ECjP7cqQ1jfHrD9rKo7WQ2pHwbbMN-XMU-unKEsPGE-oyZoTVewCpIMG2TN8VV14dAhV0qynZyKtw85lbBT5O_/s200/IMG_2069.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444526613780201138" border="0" /></a>ything came out great, although next time I think I'll use a firmer pecorino and shave the cheese over the plate at the end, instead of using a softer cheese and cubing. Also, I wonder if roasting the garlic would be a better idea - the <span style="font-style: italic;">fave </span>are sweet and nutty; while the garlic was a nice contrast, I wonder if frying it made it too pungent. Maybe roasting would keep some of the contrast but also allow the sweetness in the garlic to pair up nicely with the <span style="font-style: italic;">fave</span>? Any thoughts 5 followers???<br /><br />And no offense Davide, but this was much, much better than lamb intestines in the middle of the night (although my friend tells me that if you find the right place for <span style="font-style: italic;">stigghiole</span>, they melt in your mouth like butter...).<br /><br /><br /></div>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00995656893337392919noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889591331580531613.post-48899126714993665392010-02-22T20:09:00.009+01:002010-02-22T22:09:52.723+01:00Extra acciughe...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8KZP4EbAnGC_tj1J5oYlzlOVVcF7hYxq5urS1fGJWJUIrbsusIjfyJTqddZ0QxWR6pyo-p534gB9bbb00fV5du4vwMA4N1FgXL88MH8Q8ZKRe7C91EyUTLqmM3eIbbHZtRJerPKXhkSz8/s1600-h/alici.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8KZP4EbAnGC_tj1J5oYlzlOVVcF7hYxq5urS1fGJWJUIrbsusIjfyJTqddZ0QxWR6pyo-p534gB9bbb00fV5du4vwMA4N1FgXL88MH8Q8ZKRe7C91EyUTLqmM3eIbbHZtRJerPKXhkSz8/s200/alici.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441174841660688562" /></a><br />If I had access to a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5cYgRnfFDA">time machine</a> and could go back twenty years, I'm sure that 11 year-old me would have a lot of questions for grown up Scott. "You live <i><a href="http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/europe/italy/sicily/maps.html">where</a></i>?!?" or "how'd you get to be so awesome???" He might want to know if girls will eventually start talking to me and I could tell him that the answer is, "<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/sbcase/ReenMike#5358692033053159394">Yes</a>!"<div><br /><div>I could also warn lil' Scott about the future - which girls would be nothing but <a href="http://sonoranalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/crazy_woman.bmp">trouble</a>, where not to hide beer in and around the house (answer: the bushes, the fridge in the basement) and how to plan for a career in a normal 9-5 establishment (ok, I still have no idea about that last one...).</div><div><br />Eventually, I'm sure I would bring up food. At 11, I wasn't really that interested - I knew that I hated pesto, if only because my father had several hectares (look it up Americans, it's like an acre) of basil growing in the backyard. My brother, who became a vegetarian when he was 7, insisted on eating nothing but pasta with pesto, pretty much up until he came to visit me here in Balestrate, when we fixed him with a tasty <i>panino con prosciutto cotto</i> at 5am in the morning, after several <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/m-gbalvbJMxBnRAnRAyRfg?authkey=Gv1sRgCMmCgJr7qcjC1QE&feat=directlink">Morettis</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>I would probably tell mini-Scott about all of the great food here in Sicily - the <i>arancini</i>, <a href="http://siciliancookingplus.com/delicacies/13_Vasteddawhatis.html">the </a><i><a href="http://siciliancookingplus.com/delicacies/13_Vasteddawhatis.html">vastedde</a></i>, the fruit, the vegetables - I could go on and on. I'm sure that I would mention one thing that would come as a shock to my pint-sized self: I love anchovies. If you had told me 20 years ago that I would eat anchovies on a near-daily basis, I would not have believed you. To me, anchovies were something gross - salty and slimy. Maybe if you wanted a <a href="http://www.fast-rewind.com/loverboy.htm">secret rendevous with Kirstie Alley</a>, you'd order them on your pizza (random reference, I know), but otherwise, if an anchovy was walking towards me, I'd cross the street and walk on the other side. No thanks, not interested.</div><div><br /></div><div>Today, however, I use anchovies in all kinds of ways. Just today, anchovies were incorporated into my lunch and my dinner. For lunch, I made <i><a href="http://annatascalanza.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=33:tutte-le-ricette&id=73:pasta-con-i-broccoli-arriminati&Itemid=78&lang=en">pasta con i broccoli </a></i><i><a href="http://annatascalanza.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=33:tutte-le-ricette&id=73:pasta-con-i-broccoli-arriminati&Itemid=78&lang=en">arriminati</a></i>, literally pasta stirred up with cauliflower (here in Sicily, cauliflower and broccoli are synonymous, at least from what I understand; if you were in Puglia, cauliflower would be <i>cavolfiore </i>and broccoli would be plain ole' <i>broccoli</i>). I made this dish over the weekend and liked it so much that I wanted to make it again. It is a classic Sicilian meal - cauliflower, saffron, pine nuts, onion, currants, anchovies and toasted breadcrumbs are pretty much the only ingredients. There are many different variations; I used the link above, but you could also try Mary Taylor Simeti's book <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pomp-Sustenance-Twenty-Centuries-Sicilian/dp/0880016108">Pomp and Sustenance</a>.</i><i> </i>The first time I made it, I melted some anchovies over direct heat in a tablespoon of olive oil. Simeti includes a note, which I ignored the first time, suggesting to steam the anchovies in oil instead of using direct heat, because the anchovies could turn bitter. I adjusted by including this step today and it did make a noticeable difference in the anchovy flavor of the dish - less harsh, definitely more sweet, with a pleasant suggestion of fishiness. In the end, the anchovies were mixed in with all of the other ingredients for one of the most complex and tasty lunches I've ever made for myself. </div><div><br /></div><div>For dinner, I minced more anchovies and sundried tomatoes and I stuffed and steamed a couple of <a href="http://gettinglostinsicily.blogspot.com/2010/02/old-movies-and-timeless-recipes.html">artichokes</a> again. I seriously love this dish. I served it alongside a simple sandwich of prosciutto cotto, lettuce, mustard and good crusty bread from the <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=38.050419,13.002244&spn=0.002116,0.005284&t=h&z=18&msid=111181372468087536746.0004803605be803379cc8">#1 bakery in Balestrate</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>Sorry, past me, but anchovies are pretty damned tasty. You've got another 15 years or so of anchovy freedom, but soon you'll be singing the praises of these slimy little suckers, just like Huey Lewis sang the praises of going "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8Rngy90Q14">Back in Time</a>."</div></div>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00995656893337392919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889591331580531613.post-40366391818958989492010-02-14T21:37:00.005+01:002010-02-18T23:13:16.808+01:00Layla in ItalianoLast week, while visiting one of the <a href="http://www.villareale.info/it/home.xhtml?">producers</a> that I work with, I met another ex-pat living and working here in Sicily. Hayley met her husband in England and they moved to Sciacca seven years ago. I feel bad, because I kind of gave her a hard time when she told our clients that caponata was sort of like "English chutney" and I pointed out that caponata probably outdates chutney (although I was thinking of chutney as coming from England - I didn't take into account it's <a href="http://drummieschutneys.co.uk/history.aspx">roots</a>). Anyway, after the presentation, I spoke with Hayley about her experiences here in Sicily - I was especially interested about how she became fluent and more importantly, how long it took her. It would be worth mentioning at this point that I am incredibly impatient when it comes to learning a new skill - in my life I've taken sax, drum, piano and guitar lessons, but I couldn't stick with it for more than a few lessons. I remember my third guitar lesson vividly - I wanted so badly to be a virtuoso, for my teacher to say "you have been blessed with a gift!" - that I couldn't stand struggling through the basic chords. I wanted to be playing "Layla" and instead I was mired in the drudgery of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm."<div><br /></div><div>Back to Sciacca. Hayley was great - as I've found most ex-pats, she was more than willing to talk about her experiences and offer sage advice to the new guy. She talked about going through three stages - the first stage, when she first moved here, was simply being able to survive and communicate on a basic level. She said this took her a couple of years. After that, the second stage, was when she was comfortable enough to find her own voice in Italian. This was something that really struck me - it seems simple, but I think I needed to hear someone else say it. I'm not at that point yet, but I'm trying to do more to engage people and not simply shy away from conversation. Finally, Hayley said that the third stage for her was becoming fluent. I hope it doesn't take me seven years, but I've grown to accept that these things don't happen overnight.<div><div><div><br /></div><div>Since I moved to Sicily, I've tried all kinds of ways to study vocabulary words and nothing really seems to work - it always seems forced when I just sit down and write flash clads. I've decided to kill two birds with one stone - since my family (for some reason) likes to hear from me on this blog, I am going to start keeping track of new words that I learn. The nice thing is that I can add a few words at a time and save the draft - when I have ten or so words, I'll post everything. Of course, for my Italian-speaking friends, I am bound to make mistakes - please don't worry about correcting me in the comments, or by slapping me across the face with some <i>baccala </i>while yelling "Get your act together!"<br /><br /></div><div>In order to keep this blog from becoming completely boring, I'll try to work in a story or an explanation why I had to look these words up in the first place.<br />Words for today:<br />amabile (ah-mah-BEE-lay) - lovable (or with regard to vino, sweet), tender, nice, amiable (well that makes sense...).<br /><br /></div><div>friggitoria (free-gee-tore-REE-ah) - a shop where they sell an assortment of fried foods. That's what it's called? At least now I have a name to go with the place that's fattening me up!<br /><br /></div><div>merenda - meh-RAYN-dah - an afternoon snack or break. I like these!</div><div><br /></div><div>fluidificante - flew-ee-deef-ee-CAHN=tay - this could be one of my new favorites - not only because it sounds like what it describes, but because I learned this word by using the wrong word in its place. I went to my friend <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Balestrate-Italy/The-Venue/97450830861">Domenico's bar</a> the other night to watch the Manchester United - A.C. Milan match and I showed him my list of <i>calcio </i>terms. I filled up a couple of pages in my moleskine notebook with words and phrases that would help me become a better <i>ultra tifoso </i>(Italy's version of the hooligan). My old favorite phrase was <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUwdTye3g5E">"Autogol clamoroso"</a> - which is basically a shocking own goal. Domenico, fascinated by my nerdiness, quickly noticed one mistake - I wrote <i>terzino volante</i> to describe an attacking defenseman. <i>Terzino </i>was correct, but Domenico said that you would never really say <i>volante </i>- in fact, the more appropriate phrase would be <i>terzino fluidificante</i>. I've got a lot to learn about <i>calcio </i>in Italy, but spending some time with Domenico was a great learning experience - I made a mistake and then learned the more natural way to speak. Maybe learning "Layla" wouldn't have been so tough after all...</div><div><br /></div></div></div></div>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00995656893337392919noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889591331580531613.post-19053574001442582922010-02-11T23:09:00.014+01:002010-02-12T00:25:35.533+01:00Old movies and timeless recipes<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqdTn-CTeXKHr77MvjcCO3ILBw2n7iuDHy3S0zBPEtzdfcDM_4BjdDwOQz8QvUuVvS0jltr7clNqELy1PFcZUs5rOOW90QeeY9_DTRYCuJrmJhJe03K0CU7J8vX1oRZunrH0YvQDt7Z8sx/s1600-h/AP324~Ladri-di-Biciclette-Bicycle-Thieves-Posters.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqdTn-CTeXKHr77MvjcCO3ILBw2n7iuDHy3S0zBPEtzdfcDM_4BjdDwOQz8QvUuVvS0jltr7clNqELy1PFcZUs5rOOW90QeeY9_DTRYCuJrmJhJe03K0CU7J8vX1oRZunrH0YvQDt7Z8sx/s200/AP324~Ladri-di-Biciclette-Bicycle-Thieves-Posters.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437124463331536034" border="0" /></a>It's been pretty quiet here in Balestrate over the last couple of weeks. Either last weekend or the coming weekend should have been the annual Carnevale festival, but this year the town planners just couldn't come together with a plan, so it was cancelled. The piazza is quiet, most of the restaurants are closed for the season (although there is a new creperia/gelateria/bar opening soon that looks pretty good. For a tiny town of 6,000 people, we'll now have 7 sources of gelato!). <div><br /></div><div>I've been trying to catch up on old movies that I've somehow missed over the last 30+ years. 12 Angry Men, (spoiler alert: he didn't do it!), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (made the opening scene from Inglorious Basterds seem derivative, just swap beans for milk), On the Waterfront (my favorite IMDB trivia - Marlon Brando wasn't in the car when the camera was only on Rod Steiger in the famous "I coulda been somebody" scene - he was at an appointment with his therapist). </div><div><br /></div><div>I've also really enjoyed watching Italian movies in their original language, with English subtitles - it's been a great way to hear Italian and instantaneously see the translation, although I really try not to watch the subtitles. In the past few weeks, I've watched I ladri di biciclette (Bicycle Thieves), Cinema Paradiso and I plan on watching La Dolce Vita and Rome Open City. I loved Cinema Paradiso, of course, as many of the scenes were shot in familiar places and the story was so touching - I'll admit I got a little lump in the throat at the montage of cut scenes at the end! And Bicycle Thieves - I always thought it was "The Bicycle Thief", but if you've seen the movie, you'll understand why the true Italian translation makes sense - was truly amazing. I might be mistaken, but I think the stars were not professional actors (someone correct me if I'm wrong). The son was so good, the expression on his face when he sees what his father resorts to in order to keep his job. It's such a testament to great storytelling and direction that a movie with such a simple premise could be so riveting and devastating. </div><div><br /></div><div>I've been cooking some as well - mostly because having the stove and oven on helps keep the apartment warm. My grandfather sent me his split pea soup recipe and I jazzed it up a little bit with some stinco di maiale (ham hock). The ham was delicious, so sweet - it was my first time using the hock for soup making. Not a ton of meat, but for 2 euro, I got at least 5 servings of soup out of it! </div><div><br /></div><div>My fruttivendolo had a sign out for a vegetable called "coste" (Phillies fans: not that <a href="http://www.chriscoste.com/">C</a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQqPsJJ4qlEPGUaVNMGHaoN_auFsX8nlsyVtD53fFbEEpVrDjPmmTOFDegl9IeFVw97Z6wN-T5pAffdMM71FjIKYHpSTc5wtuGFATq9iOIga1tM8o9mOAs7a9to5QqaE9-pbfYOwQZvOzC/s1600-h/IMG_2009.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQqPsJJ4qlEPGUaVNMGHaoN_auFsX8nlsyVtD53fFbEEpVrDjPmmTOFDegl9IeFVw97Z6wN-T5pAffdMM71FjIKYHpSTc5wtuGFATq9iOIga1tM8o9mOAs7a9to5QqaE9-pbfYOwQZvOzC/s200/IMG_2009.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437125405766322498" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.chriscoste.com/">oste</a>) that I thought looked like bok choy. I looked it up in my Italian dictionary and there was no translation. My friend Fabbiola, who works at the little market, suggested that it was similar to chard. I tasted it raw - it had a crunchy texture with some nice salinity. I brought some home, steamed it with some couscous and a little olive oil, soy sauce and cumin. </div><div><br /></div><div>I made stuffed artichokes twice this week - they were so good the first time, I wanted them again right away. Again, nothing too fancy, just some breadcrumbs, parmigiano, minced anchovy, sundried tomato, chopped celery leaf (in place of parsley - the fruttivendolo was out and I've got a big <i>mazzo</i> of celery that needs to get used up), and minced garlic. I learned a cool trick from Mark Bittman - Ang and I have been watching the <a href="http://video.nytimes.com/video/playlist/style/the-minimalist/1194811622323/index.html">Minimalist </a>videos off the NYTimes website for the past year - he suggests if you don't have a steamer, you can turn two ramekins upside down in a pot, fill it with a little water, and then put a plate on top of the ramekins. You put your food to be steamed on the plate and cover and you have a DIY steamer! (This may be common sense to most people, but common sense doesn't always come easily to this brain!) Anyway, I steamed two artichokes for 35 minutes and made a little <a href="http://fussylittleblog.com/2009/05/04/make-your-own-damn-sauce/">pasta </a>to go along with it. Simple and really, really delicious.</div><div><br /></div><div>Finally, I turned<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7CVbQyp6GAMUc8qr9H8CnTWL7nFiWPqfgMgHYDwbnD55_zcHAza96-WTAH2YtP0-zbo5shw2ylbrlSvzG6B7ILCIs5kiLsr5W2u0uSUrpMqVkN8oDrm-ydV7ea9rKw8yvawSoyxiU5ff3/s1600-h/IMG_2027.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7CVbQyp6GAMUc8qr9H8CnTWL7nFiWPqfgMgHYDwbnD55_zcHAza96-WTAH2YtP0-zbo5shw2ylbrlSvzG6B7ILCIs5kiLsr5W2u0uSUrpMqVkN8oDrm-ydV7ea9rKw8yvawSoyxiU5ff3/s200/IMG_2027.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437128682422604562" border="0" /></a> that famed master of Italian cuisine, the maestro of la cucina, the one, the only...Jaime Oliver. OK, it was a macaroni and cheese recipe. I don't even know how I ended up on <a href="http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pasta-recipes/macaroni-cheese">this pag</a><a href="http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pasta-recipes/macaroni-cheese">e</a>, but something about fontina, mascarpone, parmigiano and mozzarella spoke to me. I couldn't tell you the last time I made mac & cheese (maybe back in the Beige Block days at Penn) but this seemed like another easy and delicious recipe to try out. It was indeed - although I think I'm going to continue to pay more attention to what the nice little nonna down the street has to say about Italian food as opposed to Mr. Oliver.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00995656893337392919noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889591331580531613.post-59052163036947521192010-01-28T23:16:00.010+01:002010-01-29T12:15:23.221+01:00All by myself...Once again, I've let a huge amount of time lapse between posts. I was gone for a month, n<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9PPN5kxCr4w/S2IPXT6SqYI/AAAAAAAAK4k/uX0asgrOSYE/s1600-h/Sunset+at+Da+Vittorio.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431920993718413698" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9PPN5kxCr4w/S2IPXT6SqYI/AAAAAAAAK4k/uX0asgrOSYE/s200/Sunset+at+Da+Vittorio.jpg" /></a>ow I'm back in Balestrate, but this time I'm alone - Ang is staying in Philly for a few more months to help out her sister with her new baby and work and save a little. Last summer was great, but we pretty much relied on public transportation to get around Sicily. The trains here are somewhat reliable, but s...l....o.....w. (And occasionally they break down. In the summer. When it's 1000 degrees outside.) Towards the end of the season we rented a car<i> </i>and it was great - we drove to the other side of the island and the puttered around to a bunch of little spots that we normally wouldn't have access to. Anyway, the thought behind Ang's 3 month working stint is that we could do more of that this summer if we had a little extra saved up. Plus, we'd like to fly up to Milan to see my friend from high school and Africa is literally a short boat ride from here. We like to joke that we can see Gaddafi's house from here...<br /><br />So I am on my own. It has been hard so far, I've only been back for two weeks, but it feels like much longer. I decided that I would start this blog up again - I know that it won't be widely read, but without having someone here to talk to at night, it's either this or watching Season 2 of Mad Men over and over and over (that wouldn't be so terrible - that show is pretty amazing). Plus I am rededicating myself to learning Italian - I've set a goal to practice at least for 45 minutes a day, I'm writing down words that I don't know and generally just trying harder to listen. It has been more difficult than I imagined; my vocabulary could be a lot better, but every now and then, when I'm not really thinking about it, I'll just start having a conversation in Italian. They are usually pretty short and I'm sure grammatically incorrect, but I'm able to get my point across, understand the response and not get flustered. If I can grasp on to those moments, hopefully they can power me through the tediousness of learning the basics of a language from a textbook.<br /><div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div>I've been doing some cooking as well. It may come as a surprise, since my profession is food, to learn that I am not the world's greatest chef. Hell, let's knock me down a peg or 10. I just learned how to dice an onion the other day. But I do love to eat, and for the past 4+ years I've been completely spoiled by the love of my life, who also happens to be a damn amazing chef.</div><br /><div></div><div>It's been so amazing to be here in Sicily with Angela and see what she can do with the local ingredients available to her. I'll never forget, after we had been here only for a couple of months, when we invited two of our friends from Balestrate over for dinner. I have a photo of them from that night, but what I wish is that I had taken a picture of their faces when this American girl served them caponata - a dish that originated centuries ago several kilometers from here and that they had grown up eating. I could see the skepticism in their eyes - then they tasted it and their faces changed - and they went back for seconds.</div><div></div><br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4eUtvqxHDI1DEvdNztQCa3qORTA1hQkn2foR_60Jrb634ijAGgvE3BRP0bZAL4YfjONj4sRWoFhTkDt8EbvYc4qV3CDUexYnl2in3F-TvGQzUCl0cLXiv-WFqJVkYshkjVJEBPLqPwcNz/s1600-h/IMG_1985.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431919013586126754" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4eUtvqxHDI1DEvdNztQCa3qORTA1hQkn2foR_60Jrb634ijAGgvE3BRP0bZAL4YfjONj4sRWoFhTkDt8EbvYc4qV3CDUexYnl2in3F-TvGQzUCl0cLXiv-WFqJVkYshkjVJEBPLqPwcNz/s200/IMG_1985.JPG" /></a>Angela left me a couple of quick and easy recipes to start with, one for pastina, which is just pasta cooked in chicken stock, with an egg mixed in at the end and another for cous cous with steamed veggies, cumin and soy sauce. I've made both twice and tonight I made a soffritto (simply onions, celery, carrots and garlic sauteed in olive oil until golden) and then tossed in some canned tomatoes, tomato paste and anchovy paste. I tossed the sauce with some bucatini, grated some Parm (I was desperate for parm last Wednesday, all of the other stores were closed and for some reason the <i>banco di salume</i> only had preportioned cuts of parm in shrink wrap. I'm trying to use this stuff up so I can get another hunk of the <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikGkedjRMKYZeMnA_XAqYqY6i6gspPV-qLtzGHI_8eQteY4-tS7xPSFZIrfkCkZuUs2rErGljGYQiFA8HTtZdPl2NbKqB4O9o-Fz93HDkuMAnaqv4QhT2N6zN4f1a8vAt-NkQF53hi0Kwc/s1600-h/IMG_1994.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431920158647650706" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikGkedjRMKYZeMnA_XAqYqY6i6gspPV-qLtzGHI_8eQteY4-tS7xPSFZIrfkCkZuUs2rErGljGYQiFA8HTtZdPl2NbKqB4O9o-Fz93HDkuMAnaqv4QhT2N6zN4f1a8vAt-NkQF53hi0Kwc/s200/IMG_1994.JPG" /></a>real stuff. Bleech...) and drizzled some of our friend Nunzio's olive oil on top. With some bread from the 2nd best <i>panificio</i> in Balestrate - it's closer to the office than the best - it made for a pretty nice meal. The way I see it, I'm using these three months as a test period, kind of like America's Test Kitchen. I'm going to figure out what I can and can't do well in <i>la cucina</i> and then knock my lady's socks off with my skills when she gets back. That and my funky dance moves.</div><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><div></div></div></div>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00995656893337392919noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889591331580531613.post-21708594288771718552009-11-07T22:37:00.013+01:002009-11-08T18:30:45.446+01:00SoSushi - why sushi in Palermo is so good...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrpMueHaTxSFONF0893lZ91EbSCAgOKnS2inrTLJ4U2I4qgWBdgQqiZQNiaK5cD8uft61vLu2l4eAa8HhWnu7K22ox0Q3WZ8YBJZunyxtbeq5ZECjYqAS4nzEKl8bYxObO1ed3KKLcFGxM/s1600-h/IMG_1391.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrpMueHaTxSFONF0893lZ91EbSCAgOKnS2inrTLJ4U2I4qgWBdgQqiZQNiaK5cD8uft61vLu2l4eAa8HhWnu7K22ox0Q3WZ8YBJZunyxtbeq5ZECjYqAS4nzEKl8bYxObO1ed3KKLcFGxM/s200/IMG_1391.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401783556382524258" /></a><br />Angela and I have been in Sicily for well over a year now and as you all know, we've been eating pretty well. While Balestrate is pretty quiet in the winter, we're not that far from Palermo, so most weekends we hop on the train and go to the city - we love to go to the market (usually Ballarò, our favorite), or just grab a snack and walk around. The street food in Palermo is famous for good reason - you can easily eat awesome stuff like <i><a href="http://www.parlafood.com/panelle-fried-carbs-sicily/">panelle</a></i>, <i><a href="http://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art230.htm">pane ca' meusa</a></i>, boiled octopus, and <i><a href="http://allthingssicilianandmore.blogspot.com/2009/07/sfincione-di-palermo-pizzafocaccia-type.html">sfincione </a></i>on the cheap. Palermo is a town for eaters, and so far, we've never left the city hungry. <div><br /></div><div>Amidst all of this great food the one thing we've been missing is sushi. We were serious sushi hounds back in Philly, making frequent trips to our favorite restaurant in New Jersey, <a href="http://www.mikado-us.com/sushi_hibachi_restaurants/sushi_cherry-hill.html">Mikado</a> (good and cheap), or occasionally splurging at some of the nicer spots closer to home. Actually, the best sushi I've ever had came from our friend Han - when I was working at Di Bruno Bros., my desk was in the basement, far away from the rest of the offices (it's not <a href="http://ralphlosey.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/milton-waddams.jpg">as bad as it sounds</a>, I enjoyed the peace and quiet). My work area was right next to the prep room where all of the sushi for the store was prepared by Han, who had come to work for Di Bruno's from Genji. Han was a little crazy, with a thick Indonesian accent that made him hard to understand half of the time, but he was pretty skilled when it came to making awesome sushi. I would take a couple of minutes to sit down at my desk and Han would come out of the prep room, ask me if I wanted anything and then come back with a plate of sushi, regardless of my answer, the rice still warm, everything really fresh and clean. I'd wolf everything down and go back out on the floor happy and full. </div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, I miss those days and I know Ang misses getting her sushi fix as well. You can imagine how excited we were when I found out about a new sushi restaurant that just opened in Palermo a couple of months ago called <a href="http://www.sosushi.it/">SoSushi</a>. SoSushi is a fast growing chain of Italian sushi restaurants, mostly focusing on take-away and delivery service. We hopped on a train yesterday and headed to the city, with the sole intent of trying this new place out.</div><div><br /></div><div>Without going into every little detail about our lunch, I have to say that SoSushi was very good. The owner, Andrea, and the head chef, Shien (not sure on the spelling, but I'm pretty sure he's not related to Martin or Charlie) were very welcoming - our excitement was pretty obvious and it was rewarded with a couple of extra items that we didn't order. Shien talked about how they have to keep everything pretty standard for now, as people in Palermo warm up to the concept of sushi (for a population with such access to exceptionally fresh fish, you'd think they'd be lining up for this stuff), but the fatty tuna sashimi and the additional plates that we tasted gave us a pretty outstanding example of how good sushi could be in Palermo.</div><div><br /></div><div>The key to all of this is the fact that the local fish merchants don't normally have much of a market for some of the key cuts used to make the finest sushi and sashimi. For example, I was surprised to see tuna belly as part of the standard lunch combo. Shien explained, with a devilish smile, that most restaurants in Palermo don't use the belly, so he can buy it for much less than you would expect. I haven't had a lot of experience with tuna belly, but this was a real "wow" moment for me - it was so buttery and silky, I felt like all of my senses were switched on to appreciate this moment of pure enjoyment.</div><div><br /></div><div>This was also true for tuna cheek, which we watched Shien prepare with a pocket blowtorch, lightly cooking the outside for a warm exterior and a cool interior. Tuna cheek is another rarity - normally a costly ingredient that merchants reserve for their best customers. Here in Palermo, Shien knows what to ask for and the merchants are generally happy to sell a part of the fish that otherwise might go to waste. </div><div><br /></div><div>The other standout was the sardine - a more <a href="http://siciliamo.blogspot.com/2007/09/recipe-of-month-sarde-beccafico.html">widely utilized ingredient</a> in <i>la cucina povere</i> - served sashimi style with a tiny dollop of minced pickled ginger and chive. Pretty, delicate and delicious - Ang and I turned to each other, smiling, our mouths full, our stomachs happy. When we left, we walked on to our next destination, going over each dish, feeling like we had discovered something new and exciting about Palermo - we want to spread the word, but don't tell the guys selling the fish!</div>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00995656893337392919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889591331580531613.post-1741435086462268492009-09-07T18:33:00.010+02:002009-09-13T01:29:47.537+02:00Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?So, we haven't written an entry in a few months. We've been a little busy sucking up the Sicilian sun, drinking lots of garage wine and eating plenty of tomatoes. Scott's been busy with work and I've been busy with my casalinga duties, you wouldn't believe how much dirt accumulates on the kitchen floor everyday.<br /><br />September is here. Most of the tourists have left town, there is no longer live entertainment every night in the piazza and no more late night parties on the beach. The fall is officially upon us. Usually the end of summer and beginning of autumn is my favorite time of year. Probably because I'm usually in Philly and I'm just not a huge fan of summer at home. I hate being stuck in the city and having to endure sweltering heat and no beach in sight. Ugh. Being in Sicily during this change of the seasons has had the opposite effect on me - there's not as much to do in town, no more summer visitors staying at our place and the sneaking reminder that I won't be home for Halloween or Thanksgiving, my 2 favorite holidays.<br /><br />So, to cheer myself up right now I'm going to do a short recap of the summer fun-ness that we had but didn't blog about. Here are the highlights:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUjYoYdrM4SsrJWSk3Fp8wOVeSpWrHzwJicDXDVacztwxKCVLUNWxRng2_9tC7GUMz2VwAf5IyiwDoJFJGF_IgKfi6QV-U7J9T-qX3gc1pi6xkJheYIHTTbk_q5mst2tSudenJJS4hbfI/s1600-h/IMG_0494.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUjYoYdrM4SsrJWSk3Fp8wOVeSpWrHzwJicDXDVacztwxKCVLUNWxRng2_9tC7GUMz2VwAf5IyiwDoJFJGF_IgKfi6QV-U7J9T-qX3gc1pi6xkJheYIHTTbk_q5mst2tSudenJJS4hbfI/s200/IMG_0494.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380720914894469026" border="0" /></a>-<span style="font-weight: bold;">Hiking up Mount Etna with Reen and Mike</span>. Dressed very inappropriately, we all decided to drive as far as we could up the volcano and then start walking. Reen and I were wearing ballet flats, big sunglasses and scarves, the boys were wearing equally silly footwear, but we did it anyway. I should also mention that we were surrounded by goats for the entirety. It was surreal. During our 2 day road trip we also managed to fit in Céfalu, Ortigia, Siracusa, Alcantara and dinner at a crazy pizza place in Acireale. Not bad, eh? Thanks for driving like a total lunatic, Mike! We never could've done it without you. Look at the picture closely, we are dressed like idiots AND we're standing on a volcano AND there's a bunch of animals behind us.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">-Riding bikes at <a href="http://picasaweb.google.it/sbcase/Favignana#">Favignana</a>.</span> We took a hydroil to an island just off the tip of Trapani and rented bikes. It was absolutely gorgeous.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">-Alex Case.</span> He decided he wanted to come for a visit and booked the flight a mere week before. He came in like a tornado, turned this town upside down and had us out nearly every night until 5am for 10 days. Can you believe that there is a bar in town that serves pasta and sandwiches at 5am? Well, Alex found the place and I think we drank them out of Birra Morretti, too.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">-La France.</span> I hit up Paris and Chartres with my Mom and sister and we had a blast. We walked, talked and ate for 3 days straight. I couldn't have asked for anything better!<br /><br />One good thing about the fall here in Sicily? The olive harvest is coming soon. Yum.angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08560232271018488162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889591331580531613.post-10646795674652375342009-05-28T23:13:00.004+02:002009-05-29T00:09:55.826+02:00Mi manca la mia mamma e papà<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfYG1XSh4MB-LdsC2yyACu2GiiWAUim7ilgCfcH7Ah_xk977DxIwVbp-YQiLLuneO75zHk6oK2tlYrU-_WVX0pro7WZXOnO3ZWC4-D9QDzphsb3hv0uyJu4dxp4Fvj7bnDlJ7KIa91TnU/s1600-h/DSCF2712.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfYG1XSh4MB-LdsC2yyACu2GiiWAUim7ilgCfcH7Ah_xk977DxIwVbp-YQiLLuneO75zHk6oK2tlYrU-_WVX0pro7WZXOnO3ZWC4-D9QDzphsb3hv0uyJu4dxp4Fvj7bnDlJ7KIa91TnU/s200/DSCF2712.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340990884772738514" border="0" /></a>Patty and Tommy hit Sicily on Thursday, May 21. We had a hell of a time with a few minor setbacks due to the awful train system in Sicily. We tried to go to Trapani on Friday, but after the train was 50 minutes late we decided to blow it off. Instead we went home and had a fabulous lunch, drank some cheap wine and waited for the arrival of Uncle Nick and Barb. We drank more wine, ate again and slept a little. On Saturday we all tried to get the early train into Palermo - also with a minor transportation glitch. The train broke down in Partinico so we had to wait about an hour for a bus. The bus took us to another train station - where we had to board another train to Palermo. The funny thing is that if we had a car we would've been there in 40 minutes, but since we have to rely on really old trains to get around it took us nearly 3 hours to get there. Thank God we weren't trying to catch a flight! Actually, I guess that wouldn't have mattered because the flights are always late here too. Whatever!<br /><br />We visited the temple at Segesta on Sunday and took it easy on Monday. A great few days, but I wish it could have lasted longer. My Mom can party, she had me up until 3:30 am and we were just chit chatting away the whole time.<br /><br />Mom, please come back and help me with my casalinga duties! Dad, please come back so that the vino lady's sales can skyrocket again! Between my parents' visit and Terry and Jamie's visit we've ensured a bright future for the wine lady's children. Salute!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2hE3HtVgMErIW9joYYoWmEff3KHKQqTMCo629Zue58EbI_RpjVJVw0_IN_1NuU-wYMpN9CslCnFCgbYqKJvbKY2njhYoZIR-repuH3_68R60QPj5dX0GXukhslQq-CJlB-VIYlZrWVFw/s1600-h/DSCF2811.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2hE3HtVgMErIW9joYYoWmEff3KHKQqTMCo629Zue58EbI_RpjVJVw0_IN_1NuU-wYMpN9CslCnFCgbYqKJvbKY2njhYoZIR-repuH3_68R60QPj5dX0GXukhslQq-CJlB-VIYlZrWVFw/s200/DSCF2811.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341000140576647906" border="0" /></a>Ti amo mama e papà. Molti abbracci e baci. Ci vediamo presto!angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08560232271018488162noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889591331580531613.post-19840762583537341592009-05-28T23:02:00.004+02:002009-05-28T23:12:57.682+02:00Why did you leave?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhozgbyaJ_Pi5rZfx75aghQahZcPMONl8ongW8r7VBLrOUawR1DQjhFfFryhha6-36P_U8zzhHxT5fEKB0MQJUV4vZlY6AWJhyphenhyphenrBBap8iHHe68JBDIFEPDb-hPqTIQifJGaBk5op68XSTw/s1600-h/DSCF2695.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhozgbyaJ_Pi5rZfx75aghQahZcPMONl8ongW8r7VBLrOUawR1DQjhFfFryhha6-36P_U8zzhHxT5fEKB0MQJUV4vZlY6AWJhyphenhyphenrBBap8iHHe68JBDIFEPDb-hPqTIQifJGaBk5op68XSTw/s200/DSCF2695.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340985772948821698" border="0" /></a><br />We miss you and the terrazza is calling your names. Please come back!angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08560232271018488162noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889591331580531613.post-76302655073623693942009-05-09T21:46:00.004+02:002009-05-09T22:59:44.077+02:00"The Pioneering Parent" - or "My Mom Comes to Italy"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9PPN5kxCr4w/SgXuKjO-r_I/AAAAAAAAHRA/Rc759QNo8nE/s1600-h/IMG_1143.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9PPN5kxCr4w/SgXuKjO-r_I/AAAAAAAAHRA/Rc759QNo8nE/s200/IMG_1143.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333931198714392562" border="0" /></a><br />It's been an interesting 8 months. We've moved 3 times. We've been through, according to my friend Erik, the rainiest winter in Sicily in 100 years. We've learned some Italian (still working on the Sicilian!) and eaten a lot of gelati (and in Ang's case, more spleen sandwiches than are probably recommended by the Surgeon General*). But last week was the probably the most special - my mom came to visit us here in Italy!<br /><br />It was a great trip - we still can't believe how much we did in a short week. First, Ang and I flew to Rome to meet my mother. We stayed at a nice little hotel (thanks to Katie Parla's recommendation) called <a href="http://www.hotelgrifo.com/english/hotel.htm">Hotel Grifo.</a> It was located on a quiet little street called Via Boschetto, just around the corner from a metro stop and a short walk from the Colosseum, the Forum and Piazza Venezia.<br /><br />We were really happy to be able to show my mom around Rome. Sometimes I forget that the best travel experiences are those that are unplanned/unexpected - I think I wanted to show my mom as much of the city as we could in the short time that we had, but in reality, the most memorable part of the trip was walking up the hill next to the Arch of Constantine. We weren't really sure where we were going, but something propelled us up that hill, until we reached a church at the top, with its doors wide open to the street. There was a wedding going on inside - the bride and groom were standing at the altar and there was the most sweet sounding, hypnotic music coming from the inside. There was a live band playing (including someone on the bongos!) and the audience, including the groom, started singing. The music sounded like it was african or caribbean inspired - definitely not something you'd expect to find coming from a church in the middle of the Forum. Anyway, we all agreed, this was the most memorable moment of the trip. Really, really beautiful.<br /><br />Anyway, the rest of Rome was great and a lot of fun. It was definitely a lot more crowded over a holiday weekend in May than it was our first time through over Christmas. We discovered one nice thing, however, and it seems that tourists en masse haven't found it yet - the new glass elevator that takes you up to the top of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument_to_Vittorio_Emanuele_II">monument to Vittorio Emanuele</a> - a.k.a. the Wedding Cake. It offers incredible views of the city and a bird's-eye view of the Forum - I would say it was worth it for 7 euro. Of course, we did some of the touristy things as well. Ang and I downloaded a couple of Rick Steves podcasts that actually ended up being really helpful at St. Peter's, the Pantheon and the Colosseum (the forum was a little confusing, especially since Ang had the IPod and my mom and me opted for the audio guide at the main gate - which I thought was pretty terrible). Ang lead us on a great walking tour of the Jewish Ghetto, where we ate lunch and got screwed by our own people - we were rushed making a decision for lunch (we waited too long to decide on a place to eat and then they were all closing) so we ended up getting a little bit of food and wine and paying 8o euros for it. Thank you, fellow members of the tribe!<br /><br />Of course, we more than made up for that the next day by finding a cool little place called Lo Zozzone near Piazza Navona that served pannini made out of pizza bianca, sliced in half then stuffed with the fillings of your choice. Excellent with a beer and also really cheap!<br /><br />Anyway, the rest of the trip was a bunch of meandering and hilarity, but I won't bore you with all of the details - there are some fun pictures up at <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/sbcase/MomSTripToRomeAndSicily#">http://picasaweb.google.com/sbcase/MomSTripToRomeAndSicily#</a>.<br /><br />I will write more about the Sicily leg of the trip later on. Ang told me that its time to give the blog a rest - its 11pm here on a Saturday. What can I say, we are nerds. <br /><br />Ciao,<br />Scott<br /><br />* I'm not sure the Surgeon General ever said anything about eating spleen sandwiches. If you are the Surgeon General, or have ever been the Surgeon General, please don't sue me.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00995656893337392919noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889591331580531613.post-76334535681172658552009-04-17T22:55:00.008+02:002009-04-18T20:31:54.842+02:00Old Friends, Ancient TraditionsOn Good Friday a very, very old friend came to visit. After some catching up over lunch we jumped on the train to see <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIonEKzCwPs">La Processione dei Misteri </a>in Trapani. The famous Easter procession begins on this day every year and it is the longest in Italy - 24 hours. Huge wooden sculptures representing different moments in the Passion of Christ are slowly walked throughout the town by groups of men called "i portari". The men huddle together and hold each other and their statue up while walking slowly and <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSf-cgP0Rk4MneM-tWq9pIY4V7nl_Xma7UtMjoqq0LKMhG6tUAg2ja9518m57yqzeM2OTpjf1-MV-IQdJQ6MuTtp25cMbCecbobxWO36lGlTzyL5mZrR6Q7EW2PzwJxv6-PSn2dom_Mz4/s1600-h/Sicily+047.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSf-cgP0Rk4MneM-tWq9pIY4V7nl_Xma7UtMjoqq0LKMhG6tUAg2ja9518m57yqzeM2OTpjf1-MV-IQdJQ6MuTtp25cMbCecbobxWO36lGlTzyL5mZrR6Q7EW2PzwJxv6-PSn2dom_Mz4/s200/Sicily+047.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326099350302169730" border="0" /></a>swaying side to side. Each statue is accompanied by a group of local musicians. One statue was being followed by a group of singing children. I think Cathy and Scott would agree with me when I say that it was unbelievable...to say the least. It's pretty difficult to describe, so click on the above link to watch a video of it.<br /><br />On Saturday we visited Palermo, the craziness of the markets, the cheap street food, the grafitti and trash... it never gets old and I love it even more every time I go back. Dinner that night was at the new Venezuelan/Sicilian restaurant in town. Yes, you read that correctly. Arepas, 2 pizzas, salad and a liter of wine - not bad for €10 each. After dinner Cathy and I ducked into midnight mass to check it out - a huge turnout and the whole town really seemed alive that night. A raucous night of drinking more wine and discussing deep subjects such as circumnavigation, honey and faith followed. Don't ask.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8EWm3Et_r7_nd5N0GbGkeUTftIgHJcKVMk8_dRVul1L-r119axfYFeaYDazyNCRdwe2wTQyxzuh2k4Dlyf_qQ6KZxR6i30evIfqnCgrQVTLAQudh1Cyx_iaa0_-mFTJZeIsfWu3SufQ/s1600-h/DSCF2569.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8EWm3Et_r7_nd5N0GbGkeUTftIgHJcKVMk8_dRVul1L-r119axfYFeaYDazyNCRdwe2wTQyxzuh2k4Dlyf_qQ6KZxR6i30evIfqnCgrQVTLAQudh1Cyx_iaa0_-mFTJZeIsfWu3SufQ/s200/DSCF2569.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326097164019260898" border="0" /></a>On Easter Sunday we took a nice long walk on the beach, caught up on the newest episode of Lost and made a fantastic dinner: risotto and steamed artichokes. It was a great weekend and it seemed only fitting that I spent it with a friend I've had for nearly 20 years. It felt as close to home as we could get.angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08560232271018488162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889591331580531613.post-6615696753322686332009-03-15T21:17:00.006+01:002009-03-15T22:41:37.425+01:00Ang teaches me a valuable lesson...Angela brought up a good point during our most recent trip to Palermo. If you ever hear a group of kids yelling "<span style="font-style: italic;">Che schifo!</span>" ("How gross!") behind you, DO NOT turn around.<br /><br />I made the mistake this past Saturday, as we were sitting down to enjoy our <span style="font-style: italic;">gelato al gelsomino con brioche</span> (jasmine gelato on a brioche, or as we like to say, a gelato burger or "frozen doughnut", 'cuz that's what it sorta tastes like...). A gaggle of kids - an appropriate word, given our semi-understanding of the language, when we hear a group of kids talking it sort of sounds like a bunch of "gaggling" - sat down at the table behind us. I would guess they were all around 12-14 years old. Ang and I have different feelings about groups of kids - I think I usually find their childish antics somewhat amusing, at least until they throw fireworks at my feet, while Ang would probably opt for grabbing each of them by the ear and giving them 1) a lesson on behaving themselves in public and 2) a haircut. Since neither of those things are within our range of abilities language-wise, Ang usually chooses to try to ignore it.<br /><br />So the kids sitting down behind us are starting to get crazy. Out of the commotion, one of them starts yelling "Che schifo!!!" repeatedly. Of course, I turn around and Ang ignores them. The kids, one by one, are sticking their fingers into a heaping cup of gelato, much to the disgust of the owner. Plunging their fingers, filled with gelato and cream, into their mouths, they start circling the owner for another swipe. The poor little boy started to shriek, outnumbered by his friends and unable to protect his dessert.<br /><br />Ang and I didn't stick around much longer - the kids were <span style="font-style: italic;">pazzi per lo zucchero</span>. We decided to take a walk along Palermo's waterfront promenade and Ang pointed out that I had made a poor decision in looking back to see what the kids were doing. She had a point, "che schifo" could have been anything - I got lucky. The kids were being pretty annoying, and I hope that the owner of the plundered ice cream didn't eat the remainders (although something tells me that he did; this is, after all, the town where men used to rent candy suckers<span style="font-style: italic;"></span>. Yup, kids would line up to pay to suck on a piece of candy for a few minutes before it was yanked out of their mouth - it was tethered to a string - and given to the next kid in line!). Given the propensity for bizarre sights in Palermo, things definitely could have been a lot worse!Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00995656893337392919noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889591331580531613.post-37870604772254408052009-03-11T22:44:00.007+01:002009-03-12T00:05:57.512+01:00We're movin' on up!We have a sweet new apartment that is ready for visitors, so book your tickets now while the airlines are having ridiculous fare sales! Well, I should say that it is sort of ready for visitors...<br /><br />Electrical problems (ahem, serious electrical problems, like the ones that <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIqeDUCD1aAEdtBhMo9nX18Qk0Z8V-NHSmoaQ8yeRi8k0ret-VYD8AaVQEVM_B9lQBTtdxmILqqX2HQu0Q0vnlzEJEWZT4W4j2li_9rg6C-scNUwcGWmsT7pjeViQbalZafj5PkCe7uks/s1600-h/IMG_4217.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIqeDUCD1aAEdtBhMo9nX18Qk0Z8V-NHSmoaQ8yeRi8k0ret-VYD8AaVQEVM_B9lQBTtdxmILqqX2HQu0Q0vnlzEJEWZT4W4j2li_9rg6C-scNUwcGWmsT7pjeViQbalZafj5PkCe7uks/s200/IMG_4217.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312067258353644754" border="0" /></a>could cause fires) prompted us to move out of our apartment on Via Marconi. We were innocently sitting in the kitchen one night eating dinner and watching <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affari_Tuoi">Affari Tuoi</a> when a spark (read: tiny fire) lit up the wall above the tv and then everything went black. It was fixed the next day, and by fixed I mean a new wire was attached and everything was wrapped in black electrical tape. I'm not an electrician, but exposed wires all over the place, most of which are jumbled up and taped together, seems like a catastrophe waiting to happen.<br /><br />After this, our 3rd blackout, we were told that the apartment had to be completely re-wired and some other renovations had to be done also. We could leave the place and go back in a month when everything was done, or we could just leave. The choice was obvious.<br /><br />The week before we moved into the new place was one fun filled day after the other. Our landlord began doing work on the facade of our house, waking us up at 7am everyday with incessant banging. We didn't have water for a day, which meant I couldn't do wash, and even after that when the water was back on I couldn't hang any clothes outside because of the mess. Our landlord and his workers were in and out of our apartment everyday, tracking dirt everywhere. One morning I stepped out of the shower and saw a shadow of a person walking by the bathroom, I was not pleased. And Scott was even less-pleased than me.<br /><br />So, we welcomed our new apartment with open arms. I was so happy when we moved everything in, so happy to use the new kitchen, so happy to turn on the exhaust fan above the range, so happy to take a shower and have it be big enough that I could actually turn around. Life was sweet. At least until 5 days after we moved in....<br /><br />I went home one night and was walking up the stairs and noticed some pieces of plaster on the step. I was puzzled by this, as I sweep the floor everyday (like a good <a href="http://www.incamerano.net/bpope.html">casalinga</a>). I quickly turned the corner and saw that the floor in the spare bedroom next to the kitchen was completely covered with plaster and glass. And, this is the best part, the ceiling was gone. The light fixture must have been too heavy and not anchored correctly, so it fell down, shattered and brought most of the ceiling with it. So much for a new house with no problems! What were we thinking? This is Sicily after all!<br /><br />I ran to the office, told Scott and Fabrizio, and after a quick glimpse at the mess we jumped in Fabrizio's car and drove to our landlord's house. We explained the problem and drove back to the apartment to show him. He came back the next morning to fix it (which was Friday March 6) and said he would come back 3 days later to paint. It's still not painted.<br /><br />Don't you think it's a little strange that this occurred in the ONLY room that we didn't have any stuff in? It was going to be a guest room so it only had a bed and a chair in it...neither of which were damaged. We got lucky, I suppose!<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEFPTOFITEYoQrf8L3UBUBJStf8zJtJVFJJez5mL56Bmm9zjRua40VeZpxZ92nxynKpRXY3rCM8Gp5OPZb1BDEyOWOJz7rSnwJZqxBsfNkYhQEW9N5PYVxtPmd1sk3vXJcAcFvpoViggM/s1600-h/DSCF2371.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEFPTOFITEYoQrf8L3UBUBJStf8zJtJVFJJez5mL56Bmm9zjRua40VeZpxZ92nxynKpRXY3rCM8Gp5OPZb1BDEyOWOJz7rSnwJZqxBsfNkYhQEW9N5PYVxtPmd1sk3vXJcAcFvpoViggM/s200/DSCF2371.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312069605415848418" border="0" /></a>This is a picture from the terrazza.<br />And the visibility wasn't even that great,<br />so imagine what it looks like on a clear day. <br />This is why we fell in love with this place!<br /></div>angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08560232271018488162noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889591331580531613.post-77028449144513367932009-02-16T11:19:00.004+01:002009-02-16T11:50:30.701+01:00Valentine's Day and a trip to Palermo<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9PPN5kxCr4w/SZk-HoX3f_I/AAAAAAAAFp8/HOjHhB00hz0/s1600-h/IMG_4181.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9PPN5kxCr4w/SZk-HoX3f_I/AAAAAAAAFp8/HOjHhB00hz0/s200/IMG_4181.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303338337023000562" border="0" /></a><br />Here's a<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/sbcase/VDayManfrediSAndVillaNiscemi?feat=directlink"> link to our most recent round of pictures</a>.<br /><br />Ang made a couple of amazing pizzas on Friday, along with a delicious dessert. So awesome, words don't do them justice, so I will let the pictures speak for themselves.<br /><br />We had a really nice visit with our friend Manfredi Barbera, his wife Paola and their son Lorenzo in Palermo on Saturday. Manfredi produces the most famous olive oil from Sicily (you may have seen <a href="https://www.netkitchen.com/convitoitaliano/images/large_olive_barbera-frantoi.jpg">this bottle</a> in specialty food stores in the States), and he lives, with three cousins (in separate apartments) in his families' beautiful villa smack in the heart of the city. We thought we were meeting him to go out for lunch, but he prepared a feast for us and his in-laws, who came over to visit - neonata (which are tiny baby fish, served raw with lemon juice and olive oil), calamari (a recipe so perfect that Manfredi's friend Lidia Bastianich included it in her book <u>Lidia's Italy</u> (<a href="http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2008/04/manfredis-steamed-calamari-recipe.html">Manfredi's Steamed Calamari</a>, although Manfredi pointed out that he uses balsamic vinegar and omits the peperoncino, but Lidia didn't think she should include Balsamico, from Reggio-Emilia, in a Sicilian recipe!), two pasta dishes (one I couldn't eat because it had shrimp, but Ang assured me it was delicious) and fantastic <i>dolci</i> for dessert. Manfredi is an inspiring guy, after lunch, we talked for a few hours about Sicily and its hidden attractions, the olive oil business and food in general. Afterwards, he had to go out on business, so he took us to Villa Niscemi, a beautiful home preserved for the last couple hundred years and now home to the Palermo county seat. It was closed, but Manfredi was able to convince the guards to let us in to take a look around.<br /><br />We were so happy after lunch - Manfredi and Paola were so warm, their house was so amazing and the food was awesome! He's a busy guy, and Paola has another son on the way, but we're hopeful that we can get together again soon. Altogether, it was a pretty awesome day!<br /><br />(Oh, and when we got back to Balestrate, our electricity blew out in the kitchen and bedroom. Our landlord fixed the problem this morning, and luckily the stove still worked - for cooking dinner, for heating up our precious hot water bottles - but still, it was kind of a bummer after spending the day in Palermo!)Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00995656893337392919noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889591331580531613.post-56629985626623832712009-02-10T22:53:00.012+01:002009-02-12T00:24:06.090+01:00The tuna that didn't get away<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0DDj3t69tHecWxp0pGUhtBXT6hKAowTBUUOjSttUWJjA6axCtYqpNkFs4alFh-sh1k-AcTRfTumuLEqiQNgA_KPsnxZOuKfrzJLuAA1EjCEMvz9d5Qd_lhwiKKGpo9BJckL6n4GhZaLy7/s1600-h/IMG_4131.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0DDj3t69tHecWxp0pGUhtBXT6hKAowTBUUOjSttUWJjA6axCtYqpNkFs4alFh-sh1k-AcTRfTumuLEqiQNgA_KPsnxZOuKfrzJLuAA1EjCEMvz9d5Qd_lhwiKKGpo9BJckL6n4GhZaLy7/s320/IMG_4131.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301293002719092642" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div id="lhid_caption" class="gphoto-photocaption"><div class="gphoto-photocaption"><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption">Last week, word spread q</span><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption">uickly around town that a few</span><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption"> tuna had escaped a farm in the middle of the Golfo di Cas</span><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption">tellam</span><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption">a<wbr>re. One of the lo</span><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption">cals, a man I would refer to as "Griz</span><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption">z", spent three nights on the beach stalking the tuna. He eventuall</span><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption">y speared (yes, speared) three and brough</span><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption">t them to the fishmarket<wbr>. This was big news - tuna don't usually appear at the markets until the summer.</span><br /><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption"><br />Gioacchino and I went to see Tot</span><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption">o, the owner of the <span style="font-style: italic;">pesche</span></span><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption"><span style="font-style: italic;">ria</span>. Sure enough, hanging in front of his shop </span><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption">was a beau</span><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption">ti</span><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption">ful tuna.</span><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption"> Next to the fish was a wooden table, where Toto sliced tuna steaks to order, under the watchful eye of his appreciative customers.<br /><br />Gioacchino and I got to talking about how he wo</span><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption">uld prepa</span><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption">re his tuna. "Tartare, baby." (</span><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption">Gio likes to add "baby" to anything that gets him really excited. When the exchange rate goes down: "</span><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption">1.26, baby." When you ask him what he would like to drink: "Negroni, baby.") His technique is simple - marinate the tuna in olive oil, lemon juice, parsley and chives, all of which he grows on his property. Add a little salt and pepper and </span><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption">your done. He goes off on a tangent about how good fresh tuna is with just a little soy sauce and suddenly the crowd turns on him. The little that </span><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption">I understand goes something like this: "In Sicily we eat like Sicilians. Screw your soy sauce!" I t</span><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption">hink I heard a "minchia" in there for good meas</span><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption">ure.<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhESOTGmLL4bXI2FngOyyggYGiL7A-5b3CxTzqnC67pBvErpefRqOYydCGG5BKjFiLF7Tr_qIYQzccgG3zcss-RGwNv-RXhvExZsyOsVbbU6RgeBIl6HDsaijSNrdazLT_wtySXq4lUlhwg/s1600-h/DSCF2299.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhESOTGmLL4bXI2FngOyyggYGiL7A-5b3CxTzqnC67pBvErpefRqOYydCGG5BKjFiLF7Tr_qIYQzccgG3zcss-RGwNv-RXhvExZsyOsVbbU6RgeBIl6HDsaijSNrdazLT_wtySXq4lUlhwg/s320/DSCF2299.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301296387548326962" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption">Gioacchino corrected himself and offered to bring over some lemons and chives for our marinade</span><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption">. This is our sack of goodies on the right. Ang diced up the tuna and started on the marinade. I</span><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption">n addition to the olive oil, lemon juice and zest, chives and parsley, she added minced garlic (what can I say, the girl loves garlic!).<br /></span><br /><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption">I haven't eaten a lot of tuna tartare in my life, but I think I can say that it will be tough to beat what we had last week. The tuna was i</span><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption">ncredibly delicate. When Ang took the bowl out of the fridge, she took the plastic wrap off and immediately grabbed my arm. "You have to smell this!" The lemon, tuna, chives, ga</span><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption">rlic and oil together was so remarkable - it instantly got stored in the memory banks, along with the smell of freshly pressed olive oil and walking b</span><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption">y a merchant selling Sicilian oranges.<br /></span><br /><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption">Anyway, here are a few more images from the meal. Ang toasted up some croutons which added a nice contrasting crunch to the silky tuna. Throw </span><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption">in some hard boiled eggs and a dressed salad and this dinner left us pretty excited for the start of the summer and tuna season!<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLsSlofUa2_LxLdw3aFsImMjenM7-8M333tR9jcsrXLK8V8QPfI6BDukh674YhlMIWTNvRcsd8WAsxJnEocQd5TJWDiiWsx_jXX_91AnrhOVBnpu_OAHCw_y5-Ld_L2vfrMAI1G2GV9DBO/s1600-h/DSCF2300.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLsSlofUa2_LxLdw3aFsImMjenM7-8M333tR9jcsrXLK8V8QPfI6BDukh674YhlMIWTNvRcsd8WAsxJnEocQd5TJWDiiWsx_jXX_91AnrhOVBnpu_OAHCw_y5-Ld_L2vfrMAI1G2GV9DBO/s200/DSCF2300.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301310765515480658" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJTmDtf1AcvA7f8JweO-BC3K-FGyZRQCi55pyL6scQS3vUUmkfrEdrulKwISkKodnfClbeJpZGYF_NIyYg8ckA2kkoCSzQVUspUNnqVdQB3jmb6lSDyhPluBerJlzTgX3j3M85-r127GjO/s1600-h/DSCF2302.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJTmDtf1AcvA7f8JweO-BC3K-FGyZRQCi55pyL6scQS3vUUmkfrEdrulKwISkKodnfClbeJpZGYF_NIyYg8ckA2kkoCSzQVUspUNnqVdQB3jmb6lSDyhPluBerJlzTgX3j3M85-r127GjO/s200/DSCF2302.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301311481430320818" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="" class="gphoto-photocaption-caption"><br /></span></div></div>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00995656893337392919noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889591331580531613.post-35508386632914780802009-02-10T22:39:00.003+01:002009-02-10T22:44:55.397+01:00Giving in to pressure from abroad. Our website's title is now in English!Welcome to our new home - gettinglostinsicily.blogspot.com. Make sure you bookmark that. Tell your friends. Take out an add in your local paper. Spread the word.<br /><br />Seriously, we gotta start making some money off this sucker...<br /><br />Thanks for reading!<br /><br />The Getting Lost in Sicily Team<br />a.k.a. Ang & ScottScotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00995656893337392919noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889591331580531613.post-63706204456291515102009-01-05T23:51:00.002+01:002009-01-06T00:40:21.249+01:00The worst...This <a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ilsole24ore.com%2Fspeciali%2Fqv_2008%2Fqv_2008_regioni%2Fqv_2008_regioni_settori_classifica_finale.shtml">quality of life poll</a> ranks the 20 regions of Italy, with Valle d'Aosta coming in 1st (apparently the pigs must climb onto the table and salt-cure themselves up there). Our beloved homeland, Sicily? Dead last in 20th place.<br /><br />That's ok - we never thought to consult one of these so-called "reports" or "fact-based studies" before we decided to leave the States. Sicily continues to be a mystifying place - everyday we find ourselves bouncing from bewilderment to <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/g8XGLajnxwIJ386_jAJNqw?feat=directlink"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">laughter</span></a>, from frustration (with learning a new language, with the<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9PPN5kxCr4w/SWKUeXFiuwI/AAAAAAAAE8M/JZwy1MGBpN4/s1600-h/IMG_4025.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9PPN5kxCr4w/SWKUeXFiuwI/AAAAAAAAE8M/JZwy1MGBpN4/s320/IMG_4025.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287952161800633090" border="0" /></a> maniac drivers, with the constestants on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affari_Tuoi"><span style="font-style: italic;">Affari Tuoi</span></a> who keep pressing their luck despite the generosity of the <span style="font-style: italic;">dottore</span>) to enchantment (catching a glimpse of an elegant past or discovering a new favorite <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/gXF4rVoQvM0dzWL3ZHzxag?feat=directlink">"gelato burger"</a> place.<br /><br />We are starting to understand more and more how difficult the life is here for a lot of people - we haven't even traveled into the interior yet. A new friend, Luigi, who we met at a party on New Years Eve, suddenly broke from the evening's theme of levity when we asked him about getting to know the <span style="font-style: italic;">real</span> Sicily. Luigi had a sweet, calm way about him, but he dropped his smile and politely told us that we could never understand what Sicily is truly like. (We'd had some wine at this point, so I am paraphrasing) "Life here is hard. Everyone will be nice to you, because this is our way. But there isn't always work and the people struggle." The conversation lightened almost immediately when Giuseppe, our neighbor in town, asked us how we (Americans, because now we represent the nation) could possibly stomach coffee <span style="font-style: italic;">and </span>bacon in the morning (breakfast here is coffee and maybe a pastry). But we got the point from Luigi - enjoy our time here in Sicily. Enjoy discovering this beautiful and beguiling part of Italy. There is much to see here, the history, the food, the people. We're not quite tourists and we're not quite Sicilian. We're safe enough to enjoy the wonders of Sicily, but close enough to feel some of the sadness creeping in...Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00995656893337392919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889591331580531613.post-66169892930724496152009-01-03T02:00:00.005+01:002009-01-04T00:14:10.553+01:00New Years in BalestrateWe spent New Years Eve at our friend Gioacchino's house, taking in a ridiculous meal that consisted of an absurd amount of food. Here's what happened:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">negroni with snacks:</span> chips, cherry peppers stuffed with anchovies, olives stuffed with goat cheese, smoked salmon spread with toast<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">antipasti:</span> a cheese tart with gorgonzola, a cheese tart with parmiggiano, roasted peppers stuffed with sausage, roasted oyster mushrooms and eggplant with primo sale and lemon vinaigrette, zucchini and ricotta tarts<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">pasta 1:</span> vegetarian lasagna<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">pasta 2:</span> fettucine with meat sauce<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">meat:</span> veal roulade with peas, egg and prosciutto cotto<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">fish:</span> swordfish steaks lightly breaded and fried<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">vegetable:</span> peas, carrots and potatoes<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">dessert:</span> an assortment of cannoli, cream puffs, and other little sweets. oh and i musn't forget the ever-present pannetone.<br /><br />As if all of this wasn't enough, we were pretty much forced to eat lentils to usher in the new year. It's a tradition that eating lentils brings good luck and money in the coming year. I definitely reached maximum capacity and needed a bed as soon as possible.<br /><br />I'll leave you with my recipe for the stuffed peppers:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNiJKYJMEW16xdkv_QWA69U4mwExo0zlMTRd1pcsoUrD6NcJpHatbKLucdY6yU5laIw7E4In_tgch4iZhgAHm_ebBj1nW4BLCJsjwlIjB5W00A9GA1Agr7chI0GU5kuYGUcWt1meHwKw/s1600-h/IMG_3950.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNiJKYJMEW16xdkv_QWA69U4mwExo0zlMTRd1pcsoUrD6NcJpHatbKLucdY6yU5laIw7E4In_tgch4iZhgAHm_ebBj1nW4BLCJsjwlIjB5W00A9GA1Agr7chI0GU5kuYGUcWt1meHwKw/s200/IMG_3950.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287203947412799154" border="0" /></a><br />6 bell peppers<br />1 1/2 lbs. sausage, casing removed<br />1/2 onion, small dice<br />1/4 Cup pine nuts<br />3 cloves garlic, sliced<br />1 Tbsp cocoa, unsweetened<br />1 Tbsp cinnamon<br />1 Tbsp crushed red pepper<br />3 Cups tomato puree<br />parsley<br /><br />Roast the peppers until soft, peel off skin, and remove seeds. I had really big peppers so I was able to cut each one into 3 to get 18 servings. Brown sausage in saucepan, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPPagXxgu8izZz_QfbVlbz6Ihyphenhyphenqfcw7oDzVx8GUCEvnXZujgOSiUzWJKnMS1_ZXPLdmUSooNb0igoxgzqC9FNgUcO17qxayLuxSR5pFTV9eAtrIUBpVU8NabJx9_CiO8NdwMjlsV0jq4w/s1600-h/IMG_3959.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPPagXxgu8izZz_QfbVlbz6Ihyphenhyphenqfcw7oDzVx8GUCEvnXZujgOSiUzWJKnMS1_ZXPLdmUSooNb0igoxgzqC9FNgUcO17qxayLuxSR5pFTV9eAtrIUBpVU8NabJx9_CiO8NdwMjlsV0jq4w/s200/IMG_3959.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287203941726023362" border="0" /></a>Remove sausage from pan and set aside. Saute onion and pine nuts in some olive oil until nuts are browned and onion is translucent. Add garlic, cocoa, cinnamon, red pepper and tomato puree (and salt to your liking). Let simmer on low heat for at least 15 minutes...adding more tomato puree (or stock or water) if it gets to thick for your taste. Add sausage back to pan and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Add some parsley leaves at end for color. Place this mixture inside of flattened pepper and roll. We ate them at room temp...but hot would also be really good. Enjoy!angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08560232271018488162noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889591331580531613.post-71675689689675482652009-01-03T01:07:00.005+01:002009-01-03T01:59:30.843+01:00Christmas in RomeDon't get me wrong, spending Christmas in Rome was fantastic, but since I've never been away from home on a holiday before it was very, very strange. Even with all of the streets decorated, nativity scenes everywhere (and I truly mean everywhere) and countless sightings of Babbo Natale...it just didn't feel like Christmas. There was no Christmas Eve dinner with the family, no exchange of gifts, no pollyanna with the cousins (or the girlfriends, or the grade school friends), no Christmas morning breakfast at Mom and Dad's. It was surreal to say the least.<br /><br />The Rome trip started out with a bang...our flight from Palermo was delayed 2 1/2 hours. Instead of arriving at our hotel at 7:30pm like we <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6x4pGCdpQAXyIFK4ZcJfoLivqd3oC4ce6msUXSHlQb54UDRyxnH2WYSm1T6Z35QncYxgWLc8-m2VlG_727HnjaiGvFwkZGu6nO5UGfOGfMUpXRUwPlA04jwR00nDxrFrAMO5YqG-A-iM/s1600-h/IMG_3825.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6x4pGCdpQAXyIFK4ZcJfoLivqd3oC4ce6msUXSHlQb54UDRyxnH2WYSm1T6Z35QncYxgWLc8-m2VlG_727HnjaiGvFwkZGu6nO5UGfOGfMUpXRUwPlA04jwR00nDxrFrAMO5YqG-A-iM/s200/IMG_3825.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286856836277872626" border="0" /></a>planned, we got there at 10pm. For future reference: if you are going to Rome on Christmas Eve there is no subway service after 9pm. We didn't know this, even though we did exhausting amounts of research for this trip, including going to the Rome metro website, where nothing was listed about a 9pm closing time. Why am I continually shocked by things like this happening in Italy? At any rate, we walked from the train station to the hotel, threw our bags down and went out to explore. A night time walk past the Colosseum, Piazza Venezia, Fontana di Trevi, Piazza della Rotunda and onto Piazza Navona for a delicious pork sandwich for dinner. Not exactly my usual Christmas Eve dinner of fish...but it was late, restaurants were no longer seating for dinner, and there was a stand with a huge roasted porchetta calling our names.<br /><br />After the pork sandwich we got pizza. Overkill? Yes, but we don't care...that's how we do.<br /><br />The next few days were basically filled with eating and sightseeing. We went to the Basilica, toured the Vatican Museum, saw a display of 106 nativity scenes in Piazza del Popolo, went to an art gallery to see the works of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Bellini">Giovanni Bellini</a> (where we also saw Sam Waterston of my beloved Law and Order...I'm not joking, he was really there, Scott can attest), and visited the Pantheon.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAOggCX9IacgiVq9gpbUTrdkCzaRCm_23qY97lc6iU_PeVuTbGmluc3tmgwApjhXIcyJ4IQFcrNIDZQUV7wLKu197r5m-58mrDP5XsEggbLyzrCLGqtVhwcGrenaEoy5u6NFSpBR9UM5w/s1600-h/DSCF2165.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAOggCX9IacgiVq9gpbUTrdkCzaRCm_23qY97lc6iU_PeVuTbGmluc3tmgwApjhXIcyJ4IQFcrNIDZQUV7wLKu197r5m-58mrDP5XsEggbLyzrCLGqtVhwcGrenaEoy5u6NFSpBR9UM5w/s200/DSCF2165.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286859950980262914" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicuJB0UekcgYG9gYLC8BENZBieaKqC8nLQ1b_VZFpdKwRGMz2cEoJU8cQ899wiGLLeQ_xbQB-al73I4N1rvkQYVYTuddnClJvQ5Fs7jNZbvZQ31fjFAdGIFJDIUl9GKjnjy7skz4VCLxk/s1600-h/DSCF2166.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicuJB0UekcgYG9gYLC8BENZBieaKqC8nLQ1b_VZFpdKwRGMz2cEoJU8cQ899wiGLLeQ_xbQB-al73I4N1rvkQYVYTuddnClJvQ5Fs7jNZbvZQ31fjFAdGIFJDIUl9GKjnjy7skz4VCLxk/s200/DSCF2166.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286859957663772706" border="0" /></a>The culinary highlight of the trip was a great place called <a href="http://web.tiscali.it/culdesac/">Cul de Sac</a>. Teresa and I have eaten there before and I knew Scott would love it. We got wild boar pate, crottin cheese with truffles and head cheese salame. Soooo good and the place has a great atmosphere. The pate had chocolate in the middle, which we didn't expect because it wasn't written on the menu. It might sound strange, but it was absolutely delicious.<br /><br />We did a lot of walking, drinking, eating and touring. It was great fun, but not better than being with family and friends. No more holidays away from home for us.angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08560232271018488162noreply@blogger.com42tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889591331580531613.post-14603106245461977672008-12-29T15:21:00.005+01:002008-12-30T16:43:55.681+01:00Missing PhillyBeing away from Philly for the past few months has been pretty surreal. We're lucky to have access to the internet here in the office, where we've followed what's been going on in Philly as best we could. We watched all of the videos of the Phillies winning the World Series. I'm kind of glad that we missed (the attempted smashing of) <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4YwAehlWI8">the world's largest pinata</a>. We also missed some guy going <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/12/27/movie.shooting/index.html">crazy</a><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/12/27/movie.shooting/index.html"> at the movie theater down the street from our old house</a> (although we tried to avoid going to that theater whenever possible!). Now the Eagles are in the playoffs. At least we got to see this on YouTube:<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ADux4Nei2Zs&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ADux4Nei2Zs&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Smooth, Jeff. Real smooth.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00995656893337392919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889591331580531613.post-53257836851029665022008-12-19T23:41:00.002+01:002008-12-20T00:07:48.827+01:00Would you trust this lady?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9PPN5kxCr4w/SUwpFHxG2CI/AAAAAAAAEY4/-Ab3E1iVDbg/s1600-h/IMG_3792.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9PPN5kxCr4w/SUwpFHxG2CI/AAAAAAAAEY4/-Ab3E1iVDbg/s320/IMG_3792.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281641630959851554" border="0" /></a><br />Angela can easily disarm you with her cuteness, but be careful, she is deadly with a knife.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00995656893337392919noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889591331580531613.post-2471701140301588182008-12-18T22:03:00.003+01:002008-12-18T22:14:46.841+01:00A Chocolate Tradition Thrives in SicilyOne of the perks of my job is learning about all of the amazing producers that we represent. We were tasting chocolates from Antica Dolceria Bonajuto at work this morning and I thought I would share <a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/1999/06/11/choc.2.t.php">this article about them</a>. If this doesn't make you want to get on the next plane to come and visit us, I don't think I can help you.<br /><br />I'll be heading out there in March, hope to have some cool pics to share then!Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00995656893337392919noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889591331580531613.post-79703976201987910222008-12-17T23:37:00.009+01:002008-12-18T21:55:21.393+01:00soup. vegetable soup.Apparently I'm one step ahead of the game. I made vegetable and bean soup tonight for dinner and then signed online to discover my weekly newsletter from <a href="http://http//splendidtable.publicradio.org/">A Splendid Table</a> contained a recipe for...you guessed it...a Tunisian version of vegetable and bean soup.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ-QJ-Ch45hGOAV8_Io7QOtfzVQHoRg-_YEO42gSR8YP-r_BKWZjjBLRa5RjXkKtHwfzsdoZ1OAENuLIWp6jMQUb5kys1uftvyr3woj9LvcGamylLNzUgpoF_xHiu0i75r3UsOMGoEB1U/s1600-h/IMG_3796.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ-QJ-Ch45hGOAV8_Io7QOtfzVQHoRg-_YEO42gSR8YP-r_BKWZjjBLRa5RjXkKtHwfzsdoZ1OAENuLIWp6jMQUb5kys1uftvyr3woj9LvcGamylLNzUgpoF_xHiu0i75r3UsOMGoEB1U/s200/IMG_3796.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281228838230902434" border="0" /></a>At any rate, I was milling around the kitchen thinking about what we could have for dinner, pen in hand ready to write a shopping list. I then realized that I had a refrigerator full of vegetables and a cabinet full of beans, so I couldn't really justify buying anything. Put everything in a pot, let it simmer, throw in some stale bread and dinner is served. Keep in mind I use dried beans so the cooking time is longer. By the way, I'm of the firm belief that soaking beans is bullshit. Rinse them, cover them with liquid and simmer until done. It will take a while, sometimes a few hours depending on the bean, but I tell ya..in my 28 years I've never soaked a bean and I'm not about to start. I guess you can't really sound like an old sage at 28. Whatever, you know what I'm saying.<br /><br />I didn't measure anything, so deal with it! This is what I put in it, and the order it was put in:<br />vegetable stock<br />chickpeas<br />cannellini beans<br />1 onion<br />salt and pepper<br />lentils<br />2 carrots<br />swiss chard stems (they take longer to cook than the greens)<br />stale bread (break it up with a fork once it's submerged in the liquid, if you mash some of the beans don't fret..it will add thickness to the soup)<br />3 stalks celery<br />swiss chard greens<br />celery leaves<br />rosemary and parsley<br />a dash of heavy cream<br />drizzle of olive oil once it's plated<br /><br />Scott had a good point: it would taste great with ham added. We ate it with some chickpea flour pancakes. A nice hot soup for a cold night in Balestrate. Well not really that cold, about 50 F, but it feels much colder. Soup is always better the next day, so lunch this afternoon was fab.angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08560232271018488162noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889591331580531613.post-20055481217848487372008-12-16T23:14:00.006+01:002008-12-18T00:26:20.181+01:00Funny/Strange/Random ThingsLiving in a unfamiliar country and not speaking the language (at least not yet -<span style="font-style: italic;"> ci sto lavorando</span>), we run into lots of small things that strike us as odd, funny or just plain different. Also, For example, seeing a random sign in English that makes no sense (like "speedy poops" at the airport, advertising <span style="font-style: italic;">arancine</span>. Not the best image to associate with food...).<br /><br />In no particular order, here are some things that we've encountered:<br /><br />1) When we told our landlord (who, along with his wife, is incredibly sweet and helpful) that our refrigerator door wasn't closing all of the way, he came over, took a look at it and asked Angela for some butter. He spread the butter on the lining, then, with Angela's hairdryer, dried the butter. I missed this whole encounter, but those who know Angela can probably imagine the look of disbelief on her face as this whole scene went down.<br /><br />2) The aforementioned "speedy poops". Should I have said something to the guy behind the counter???<br /><br />3) One of our favorite restaurants in Balestrate is a place called "Chicken's Corner." It's like the Kenny Rogers Roasters of Sicily.<br /><br />4) When we moved into our new apartment, there was a sign above the toilet paper that read "<span style="font-style: italic;">Carta nel cestino. Grazie.</span>" Which I understood to mean, "Paper in the wastebasket. Thank you." Obviously, this caused us some consternation, until we learned that we could flush without worry. Apparently, the woman renting the apartment before us was slightly anal (really, no pun intended, Ang made me write it!) and didn't want her guests flushing their toilet paper, for fear that they might clog the toilet. First of all: Gross! Second: I think you need to rethink who your friends are if they are backing up your toilet so much that you need to put up a sign asking them to cease and desist. Seriously, though, Ang and I shared a brief moment of panic when we thought we were going to need a separate basket for poopy paper.<br /><br />5) Walking around Palermo, it is hard to not notice that young men, usually in their teens, are sporting some pretty interesting hairstyles. Our favorite so far is the "brushed straight down, then halfway back spiked straight up, yet still ending up like a mullet in the back." Again, if you know Ang, you can imagine one of these kids walking by and Angela turning to me and saying "Hair!"<br /><br />6) We're really trying to learn the language, but occasionally the TV tries to trick us by playing shows in our native language. Like moths to the flame, we can't resist watching. The one problem? The shows are TERRIBLE. Embarassingly, shockingly, mind-numbingly AWFUL. Yet we continue to watch. The majority of the shows are on MTV Europe. The lineup of not-so-Emmy-worthy shows include: <span style="font-weight: bold;">From Gs to Gents</span> (it gets <span style="font-weight: bold;">worse</span> from here), <span style="font-weight: bold;">Tila Tequila's Shot at Love 2</span> (we are eagerly awaiting season 3), <span style="font-weight: bold;">Pimp My Ride</span> (not sure on the spelling - it might be Pimp <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ma'</span> Ride), <span style="font-weight: bold;">Next </span>(no really, next), <span style="font-weight: bold;">Made </span>(not on enough, the one show with an iota - relatively - of respectability) and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sweet Sixteen</span> (imagine <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veruca_Salt">Veruca Salt</a> with her own show on MTV. And she doesn't even fall down the egg shaft. I feel robbed every time...). I think we may have to resort to watching <span style="font-weight: bold;">Walker: Texas Ranger</span> dubbed into Italian from now on. At least that show's got Chuck Norris.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00995656893337392919noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889591331580531613.post-87478168634140665182008-12-15T23:07:00.006+01:002008-12-16T00:20:27.063+01:00We love grains!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAgIYlYCpLbK0lfbeE5yBeSH_QCdEahHdvflW29qvo70nOiS5K5Ij4j_fxlCENLZjgMxH7Ieq9RhVXhZ68s707D2NRx1GQo8io8-JTQV-HXfMpe7PMNRbO2pbe1mdzMoiIgPybfptYJB0/s1600-h/IMG_3780.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 148px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAgIYlYCpLbK0lfbeE5yBeSH_QCdEahHdvflW29qvo70nOiS5K5Ij4j_fxlCENLZjgMxH7Ieq9RhVXhZ68s707D2NRx1GQo8io8-JTQV-HXfMpe7PMNRbO2pbe1mdzMoiIgPybfptYJB0/s200/IMG_3780.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280155958985497826" border="0" /></a>If there is one thing I seriously miss from home, it has got to be steel cut oatmeal with maple syrup and raisins for breakfast. Mmmm, it's so good...especially on a cold winter morning. I find myself not really eating breakfast here, not a good habit by the way. Mental note: make banana bread and scones this week.<br /><br /><br /><br />Well, I'm pleased to report that Scott found a fantastic store in Palermo called <a href="http://http//www.frescobiologico.com/">fresco bioligico</a>. During our day of insane, mind <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDm0JDXogjiVBlmDuqWCauCsAaYmUahcEtaMK0kcM4awfX4w3jpXHpft1-1LPhMqQ7RL3mINGCd_DyM36X-kgToHT6rWPKOpJc31amePEEfkIJyNPO_b9FssrMuR4U2YkN9XnTUoZTlKE/s1600-h/IMG_3782.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDm0JDXogjiVBlmDuqWCauCsAaYmUahcEtaMK0kcM4awfX4w3jpXHpft1-1LPhMqQ7RL3mINGCd_DyM36X-kgToHT6rWPKOpJc31amePEEfkIJyNPO_b9FssrMuR4U2YkN9XnTUoZTlKE/s200/IMG_3782.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280155971046111250" border="0" /></a>numbing walking we wandered over there and to our delight found brown rice, oats and farro (for some reason none of these things are easy to find in Balestrate). To be fair, I should say that we found a hell of a lot more stuff that we wanted to buy, but didn't. We were trying really hard to stay within our food budget for the week. Anyway, last night's dinner was quick, easy and delicious!<br /><br />farro, fava beans and fennel<br /><br />1 cup farro<br />2 cups chicken stock<br />3 Tblsp balsamic vinegar<br />1/2 onion, medium dice<br />salt and pepper<br />1/2 bulb fennel, sliced<br />1 cup fava beans<br />parmigiano reggiano<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZtIwfMBLhTKlUjVGCdHgYTw_jRL1YrLM9cg4GM2o4RLLOdVyrZ9VyKk5D_mc4i_czDqvw1BFY5d8RfCRFFBIGRBv-_eW_4GcDNRee5wCcOAUJ8We5sP9NWhFYcL2ukZwO1JtWUWiFiDY/s1600-h/IMG_3779.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZtIwfMBLhTKlUjVGCdHgYTw_jRL1YrLM9cg4GM2o4RLLOdVyrZ9VyKk5D_mc4i_czDqvw1BFY5d8RfCRFFBIGRBv-_eW_4GcDNRee5wCcOAUJ8We5sP9NWhFYcL2ukZwO1JtWUWiFiDY/s200/IMG_3779.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280158797573516834" border="0" /></a>This is seriously one of the simplest and most delicious things I think I've ever made! Put farro, stock, vinegar, onion and salt and pepper in a pot over medium heat. When it comes up to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, slice the fennel and shell the beans. After the 15 minutes is up add the fennel to the pot and continue to simmer for another 5 minutes. Plate and add raw fava beans. (Note: the fava beans were so good raw that it would have been a crime to cook them at all.) Top with parmigiano and drizzle with olive oil.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1p5EIAe4SscVBnU9MHWNivfTa6A9a44j216TzEPp2ZiesQRvLgMdgTrwiLZMVZeTc8sbGLq6no5QOi1LQ5HIgtzCFY5l58gNaYXUwV0zeR7zXuv_agTSyArhNHEkyaiNJOxshhGyh9T4/s1600-h/IMG_3783.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1p5EIAe4SscVBnU9MHWNivfTa6A9a44j216TzEPp2ZiesQRvLgMdgTrwiLZMVZeTc8sbGLq6no5QOi1LQ5HIgtzCFY5l58gNaYXUwV0zeR7zXuv_agTSyArhNHEkyaiNJOxshhGyh9T4/s200/IMG_3783.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280158789485956050" border="0" /></a>What did I do with the leftovers, you ask? I hauled the leftovers out of the fridge, set it over a low flame and added a little more stock and vinegar. Once it came up to temp I set it on a plate. Add 2 over easy eggs, a sliced tomato, a little more parm, a drizzle of oil and voila...<br /><br />Add a fried egg to anything and I'm a happy girl.<br /><br /><br />I'm already thinking about the oatmeal I'll have for breakfast tomorrow!angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08560232271018488162noreply@blogger.com4