Testing: Part II

Testing: Part II

OK, here goes. I'm going to try to insert random fotos here into this blog post which has no other content than to insert fotos. These pictures were taken last week in Assisi. OK, that worked , This is a detail of an inlaid tile mosaic table top. It was beautiful and I wish we could take it home with us, but it weighs a ton and costs even more! OK, now I just have to refine my technique, and get Bill to teach me how to clean up my blurry pictures, and then....well....chi sa ????
Thank you for your patience during these tests. :)

Things Italians Eat - Part II: Fiori di Zucca (Zucchini Flowers)

One would think that I am obsessed with flowers. I've written about searching for weeks for the perfect field of poppies. I'm in awe of all the varieties of wild flowers that paint the hills with brilliant yellows, subtle pinks and royal purples. And every time I think I've seen the most beautiful display of colors, more flowers bloom and change the landscape again. Last week it was roses in every color - climbing roses, miniature roses, varieties I've never seen before. Also blooming now, along all the highways is Oleander, in a wonderful array of color.

Zucchini flowers have always been a mystery to me. They're delicate and pretty, but unlike the ornamental flowers I've been admiring, they are also food…to me a challenging, exotic and particular item to prepare. And who eats flowers anyway? Well, Italians certainly do.

When zucchini began appearing in the markets, they showed up with the blossoms still attached. What is one supposed to do with that? Now the blossoms are available at the green grocer (without being attached to a zucchini). No one I know has ever cooked them. I've only ever seen them on restaurant menus, where I have ordered them in anticipation of an exotic delicacy. Having never cooked them, I asked the woman at the fruit and vegetable shop how they are prepared.

Here's what she said:

“It's very easy. Stuff them with a little mozzarella and anchovy – just a tiny bit of anchovy. Then make a batter with some flour and water and a little salt....not too thick. Dip the stuffed blossoms in the batter and put them directly into a skillet of hot olive oil.”

Typical of Italian recipes exchanged verbally, exact amounts are not mentioned. You're simply supposed to know how thick/thin to make the batter, how much anchovy is “a tiny bit” etc. Actually, it was pretty simple. The blossoms were easy to stuff, the batter was easy to whip-up and all that was left to do was to eat the little delights. And they were delicious. I will make these again! Yum!

This is only a test...........

OK, so I really don't know what I'm doing here, but I usually just write the copy and Bill does all the technical stuff. So now I'm going to try a little test to actually see what's involved in putting a post up on this blog myself. Hmmmm.....where do I insert the pictures?
OK, found that.Now I'll try to insert a picture into the middle of the text and see how that goes.....
Well that didn't work out very well, did it? Does anyone out there know how to put the pictures into the middle of the text......instead of bunching them all up on top??

OK, then, this concludes this test. bye now.

BOLSENO INFIORATA

Some Italian immigrants to America sought streets paved with gold but they left behind streets that were literally paved with flowers. Corpus Domini (the Miracle of the Eucharist) is celebrated 60 days after Easter throughout the Catholic World. In many Italian towns it is celebrated by the creation, in a single day, elaborate floral designs (infiorata) on the streets using colorful and fresh flower, leaves and seeds. All of the designs are completed by late afternoon; just in time for a procession of the faithful and blessing of temporary alters. After the ceremony the carpet of flowers are washed away to miraculously return the next year.

In 1263 the Miracle of the Eucharist took place in Bolseno’s Church of Saint Christina. A German priest, who doubted that the Holy Eucharist is the Body of Christ, while celebrating mass witnessed blood from the Host make its way to the Saint Christina’s crypt. The priest’s belief was restored and Pope Urban IV, who was living in nearby Orvieto, declared it a miracle.

We arrived Sunday morning in Bolseno, to watch the infiorati being assembled. At dawn artists’ draw or print outlines on thin plastic sheets taped to the street; simpler designs are drawn directly onto the pavement with chalk. Then teams of workers begin the tedious process of striping flower petals, leaves and seeds from their stems while others apply a thin layer of black, wet sand-like material over the outlines of the designs. By mid-morning more team members begin filling in with colorful flower petals, seeds, leaves, beans, and other materials to complete the compositions. Everything is continually misted with water to keep the vegetation moist, colorful and aromatic. Once completed, all of the designs are judged to determine which one is the best; every team’s work is appreciated and recognized for their efforts.

After almost 750 this act of faith continues to enrich the lives of Italians who work together to create these fantastic (but fleeting) works of art with only the abundant natural materials found in the nearby countryside.

Only in Italy!

BRICKS, CONCRETE & ROOF TILES

Bricks have been around for about 10,000 years…they’re even mentioned in the Bible. The Romans used fired clay brick to build most of Rome and the rest of the Empire. Roman bricks varied in size and were often stamped with the mark of the legion that supervised their production. We recently visited Ostia Antica (Ancient Rome’s original port city) which was almost entirely constructed of brick.

Apparently the Romans used fired clay bricks to construct walls, columns, arches and vaults to create enclosed buildings. The buildings were then covered with wood framed roofs. Only the major temples and government buildings received the expensive marble veneers. Over the centuries, much of the outer marble and many of the old bricks were removed and recycled for other projects.

Romans also developed concrete (opus caementicium) that was used to construct the incredible dome of the Pantheon (my favorite building in Rome). Around 25 B.C. the architect, Vitruvius wrote “The Ten Books on Architecture”, containing descriptions of different concrete aggregates and lime mortars…sorry, too much detail.

In my humble opinion, the most interesting Roman building material was the tapered, curved clay roof tiles (often called Mediterranean Roof Tiles). By alternating the fired curved tiles on a sloped roof and holding them in place with mortar, gravity directs rain water down and prevents roof leaks…pure genius. Somewhere I read or heard the legend (entirely lacking historical facts) of how those roof tiles came into existence.

For centuries Roman brick makers also made flat rectangular tiles for the floors of buildings. As the story goes, the youngest son of a successful Roman brick maker fell in love with one of his father’s beautiful young slave girls. In the heat of passion, the young man caressed the young girl’s shapely thigh with his clay stained hand which gave him an idea. He took a few of flat soft floor tiles and shaped them over her thigh forming the perfect roof tiles. The next day he demonstrated to his father how the tiles could be arranged making a leak-proof roof. As a reward, the son was allowed to marry the slave girl and they lived happily, ever after. To this day these curved roof tiles are sometimes called “maidens’ thighs” or “coscia da ragazza”…a total fabrication but a cute story.

NO PLANS

We had no plans for Saturday. We slept late. When we finally got ourselves moving, we grabbed the maps and the Blue Guide. First stop was the bar in the park for caffe' macchiato under the umbrella pines. With no particular destination in mind, we followed the local road out of town. The hills was green and shady, curvy and quiet. The landscape were covered in wildflowers. Sheep grazed in the fields. There were few other cars on the road to disturb the stillness. The sun was shining, the air was warm. It was a perfect morning.

Thirty minutes later we arrived at the foot of the Palazzo Farnese in Caprarola. The palazzo belonged to Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (nephew of Pope Paul III) in the late 1500's. It dominates the little town of Caprarola. The palazzo is pentagonal in shape and is said to have beautiful public rooms with frescoed walls and ceilings, magnificent gardens and a grotto. Monumental steps, ramps and terraces lead to the main entrance. From this vantage point, we gazed out over the rooftops of Caprarola, and beyond to Monte Suratte. We will have the guided tour when our cousin visits in August.

We wandered around the main entrance and gazed up at it's arched and frescoed ceiling until lunch time. Caprarola sits along Lago di Vico, a little volcanic lake that is mostly surrounded by nature preserves. Little restaurants specializing in lake fish are scattered along the lakefront. We had a leisurely lakeside lunch of roasted corregone and a nice, light Sardinian white wine.

The late afternoon light was beautiful along the mountain road as we drove home. As we approached Soriano, that same light lit up the west side of Soriano's silhouette. Saturday was pure bliss.

Fiat 500, Ape, Vespa e Carrello

Some say that Ferrari, Maserati and Alpha Romeo set the world’s gold standard for sports cars and automotive design…but none of these vehicles have done more for growing and improving Italy’s the post-war economy and standard of living then the Fiat 500 (Fiat Cinquecento), the Ape (pronounced Ah-pay), the Vespa scooter, and in recent years, the ubiquitous supermarket wheeled shopping cart (carrello della spesa).

Like Germany’s original Volkswagen (people’s car), the Fiat 500 (and its predecessor the pre-war Topolino) provided Italy’s cittadini (city dwellers) and contadini (rural folks) much needed, inexpensive personal transportation. This meant the ability to obtain employment in the cities or in rural factories where public transportation connections were lacking. These basic, no-frills vehicles were easily serviced, with rear-mounted engines, small tires, ineffective heaters and a canvas sunroof for much need ventilation in hot summer months. We bought a used Fiat 500 for about $400 when we lived in Pozzuoli back in the mid 1970s – it was fun to drive, easy to park and could negotiate the narrow streets and alleys that were never intended for anything larger than a small mule cart. What better way to explore Italy!

The Piaggio Company made (and still makes) the Ape and Vespa motorini (scooters). The Ape is essentially a three-wheeled motorcycle with an enclosed, two seat (side-by-side) passenger compartment and a small flatbed in the rear. It was designed for hauling small loads of agricultural and urban products, equipment and supplies; it was definitely not built for comfort. Their numbers have diminished in recent years as they have been replaced by more powerful (and comfortable) small service trucks.

As for the Vespas (Italian for wasps), they are everywhere and, like their namesake, may never become extinct. When driving in the cities and towns Vespas weave in and out of traffic turning what would be a one- hour, cross town trip by car into a brief fifteen minute commute. They’re parked everywhere, often ignoring parking regulations, blocking pedestrian walkways and always interrupting the midnights’ peace and quiet. Although, this year I’ve noticed a new hybrid vehicle (the all plastic mini-car)…it’s a Vespa on steroids (see our post about Massimo’s Mini Car).

The modern wheeled shopping cart was invented in 1937 by Sylvan Nathan Goldman (1898 -1984), owner of an Oklahoma City chain of supermarkets . He hired women and men that matched the ages of his customers to pose as shoppers in his stores, filling the carts and promoting their use with other customers. Mr. Goldman was awarded patent number 2,196,914 on April 9, 1940 with a seven year waiting list for his invention…Mr. Goldman died a very wealthy man.

With the rise in popularity of Italy’s supermercati, shopping malls and changes in shopping habits, wheeled shopping carts (carrelli) are common but with two significant improvements. Unlike their American counterparts, all four wheels on the Italian carrello rotate 360 degrees giving them the maneuvering ability of a fine Italian sports car…ideal for getting around the nonnas blocking the shelves and narrow aisles. The other improvement eliminates my pet peeve…carts abandoned by lazy, inconsiderate cretins in parking lots that block parking spaces, scratch cars and add cost to everything we buy (sorry for the rant). Here in Italy each carrello is chained and locked to a railing or stack of carts and can only be released with the deposit of a €1 Euro coin. Italians transfer their purchases from the carts into their vehicles, return the carts to their proper place, replace the key in the lock and get their €1 Euro back. Allegedly, there are a few American retail chains using this system but none that I’ve seen on the East Coast.

So there you have my take on the four vehicles that have transformed the everyday lives of Italians. But everywhere we go we still see people, young and old, with shopping bags in tow, (sometimes driving a Fiat 500…or an Ape…or a Vespa) but more often than not walking to and from the small shops and markets…the same way it’s been done for generations.

Vive gli Italiani!

NUTELLA TREES

Nutella trees...miles and miles and miles of Nutella trees...every road we choose, every drive in the country is lined with groves of trees that will shed tons of hazelnuts this fall. These nuts will find their way into biscotti and Baci, cakes, desserts and gelato (nocciola is my favorite), local specialty jams and liqueurs. But the most important job of these nutty little gems is to find their way to the Nutella factory, where they will be crushed and mashed and mixed and blended with chocolate in some magical, mystical Willy Wonka-ish way to create one of the world's most wonderful foods. Nutella, that decadent spreadable chocolatey-hazelnutty, eat-it-out-of-the-jar gift from Heaven, starts right here in our own back yard. We are surrounded by vast groves of hazelnut trees, lush and full, producing endless jars of deliciousness.

Little did I know of Nutella a mere 10 years ago, when for the first time I witnessed an Italian mamma on a Calabrian beach feed her children what appeared to be “chocolate sandwiches”. The woman was a family friend, so I didn't feel too embarrassed to ask her about this spreadable chocolate in a jar.

“You don't know Nutella?” she asked, stunned.

Since that moment on a hot Ionian beach, I have become intimately familiar with Nutella. I have baked with it, spread it on crepes, dipped strawberries into it, drizzled it on ice cream and of course, eaten it straight from the jar. I have, so far resisted buying one of those gallon jars sold in the Autogrills. They are a devilish temptation.

We are looking forward to participating in the hazelnut harvest. Just about everyone we've met has a grove or knows someone who does. “Will work for Nutella!' There will no doubt be Feste delle Nocce in many of the towns around the region to celebrate the harvest of this important regional treasure. These hills are alive with Nutella Trees!!!

C’è Pizza per Te

Our apartment came with a number of welcomed amenities (clothes washer, central heating and air conditioning) and several businesses on the ground floor (an interior design studio, a physical therapist’s office, a tattoo studio and…a great pizzeria. C’è Pizza per Te is owned by our upstairs neighbors, Valter and Olga. Since opening the pizzeria last November, they work 16 to 18 hours, six days a week (closed Mondays) making the dough and sauces in-house, baking the pizzas and preparing other dishes. They purchase only some of the toppings (cheeses, anchovies, tuna, fresh vegetables, etc.) but everything else is homemade. They kindly allowed us into their kitchen to explain their process and to watch how their hard work and talent keeps us well fed and happy.

Once their sons Andrea and Marco are off to school, the work begins. Valter begins each day by preparing multiple, 5 kilogram (about 12 pound) batches of two types of pizza dough; one for big rectangular pizzas that are cut and sold “by the slice” and the other for individual round pizzas. Once the doughs are mixed, they are left to rise. While Valter is busy in the kitchen, Olga walks to the piazza and does the daily family shopping. By late morning the dough is refrigerated to stop the yeast action and the shopping is done, Valter and Olga turn their attention to preparing the ingredients and toppings. There are liters of sauces to be made, kilos of vegetables to be cleaned and chopped, and always cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning. There must also be administrative work but I have no idea when they find the time for that.

After lunch Valter turns on the two huge ovens and by 3:30 or so he and Olga are stretching the dough, brushing the pans with olive oil and assembling the different types of rectangular pizzas that are sold by the slice. These pizzas are served at room temperature and include: tomato; tomato and cheese; onion and potato; mushroom and sausage; tomato and anchovy; and a very non-traditional pizza that has mayonnaise, lettuce, fresh tomatoes and tuna.
The individual round pizzas are prepared and baked to order, served hot from the oven. They resemble Pizza Napolitano but the dough has a different texture, taste and “bite”…Carol’s favorite is Valter’s Pizza Margherita (tomato, mozzarella) and I love the Napolitano (tomato, mozzarella, and anchovies). The renovation of the outdoor terrace is now complete, so with the warm weather we’ll be enjoying Valter and Olga’s pizzas along with a couple of cold beers as we watch the sunset on Soriano nel Cimino.

That’s amorè!

Pazza for Poppies

One of the enduring images I have in my head of the ultimate Italy is a field full of red poppies in full bloom swaying in a gentle breeze. There are tons of pictures and images of this phenomenon on the Internet, in travel books and in magazines. From the moment we arrived in Italy last March I've been waiting for the moment when we would arrive at the top of a hill along a country road and set out before us would be endless fields of brilliant, swaying poppies.

Everyone told me that I'd have to wait until mid-May for this long anticipated moment. Well, here it is the beginning of June and I'm still waiting. For 2 weeks now I have been a crazy woman wielding a camera, riding around the province literally in search of fields of poppies. They started sprouting in ones and twos a few weeks ago, and as my anticipation built for the “big show”, the poppies continued to bloom in small clusters along the sides of the roads, around guard rails and in open fields.

“Poppies with Guardrail” is not what I'd envisioned for the title of my perfect photo.

“The unusually cool spring weather has arrested the blooming of the poppies”, I am told.

“Just wait”, they say. “Pazienza”.

“Every field within miles of here will be full of them. You won't be disappointed”, they promise.

Well, yesterday, when I finally got a glimpse of a reddish field, it was impossible to get a good look because there were other roadside flowering bushes in the way (not that I'm complaining... just saying... I mean, the yellow ginestre are gorgeous and fragrant, but I'm looking for poppies here.)

Bill is being very patient, although he's getting a little testy lately as I'm constantly asking him to pull off the road so I can get a better look. There's just never a good place to stop. We're either on a curve or there's no shoulder or a huge truck is climbing up our bumper. While Bill is driving, hyper-alert for pedestrians, oncoming and passing cars, passing-on-the-right motorinos, euro-cyclists, weed-pickers, mushroom gatherers and other miscellaneous obstructions to road safety, I'm in Poppy-world, in search of the perfect photo! Wish me luck!!!!!