Food!

Cooking is now in full swing!

Most mornings (well, 11am-3ish...): I'm at Osteria del Gatto (which means doing a whole lot of watching and trying not to be in the way, pitching in here and there, washing dishes, being shown how to make certain dishes, being teased, and eating).

Most evenings: I'm at Societa' Dante Alighieri (which means I'm prepping the room for the students, I'm translating the chef's directions into English, doing dishes, helping with the cooking when it's small groups, being teased, serving dinner, cleaning, chatting, and of course, eating).

This is my chef at home: Gaitana. This is Stefania's mom. I think she has the mom syndrome of thinking everyone must not get enough food, and she takes it upon herself to fix that. "Mangia, mangia, mangia!" It's hard to say no, I don't want to hurt any feelings. Thank goodness it gets easier to decline though: there's another student (Kelli) eating here too, they have the excuse of my wedding dress to tease me about, and I can now tell her I love the food AND I'm full. phew!

A late breakfast for Kelli... but, Stefania is a doll and lays out breakfast for us every morning. Yogurt (which I'm going to miss!! it's so good, not too sweet!), cornflakes, fruit juice, various biscotti, toast, nutella, and WARM milk (love it!). Mmm... Really, Stefania is a peach.

Evidence that Janene is awful at taking pictures of herself. This was only like the fourth try...

This is Sogna (I'm actually not sure if that's how she spells it, but that's how it sounds, remember, the "gn" makes the sound you hear in the word "lasagna"), she's the boss of all bosses in the cooking department at Dante Alighieri. She has the best English out of all of them too. She comes when the groups are huge, 20+ people. She's great.

Alina (sp?), one of the helpers. And the makings for risotto ai funghi.

Sogna explained to me today that Italians don't eat turkey (tacchino) like Americans do. It has no flavor she says. She'd be appalled at Thanksgiving.

This is little turkey strips that were rolled up with bread/eggwhite/aromatic herb-ness inside. Delicious with a mushroom/garlic/oil/sage sauce poured on top.

Serena! I work with her once a week on Wednesday evening, with a huge group of tourists. The way she manages to orchestrate everything, antipasto, primo e secondo piatto, e dolce, for over 20 people, is simply incredible. Brava. And she always wears a chef hat, like so. Awesome!

This is Nando. He teases me the most. Good thing I grew up with brothers and a father, and I can handle it ;) His hat says Al Dente, the way you want your pasta. The sauce is simple, all'aglione (in other words, lots of garlic!!!). Just remember, the pasta goes IN the sauce, not the sauce over the pasta. I know this how? That is how I see it done, day in and day out, and the chefs always tell the class "E' molto importante, mettiamo la pasta nel sugo!!"

Love, love, love this appetizer. That's a bed of spinach, and a little flag of tomato, and in between is the really good stuff. I have to get the recipe from my roommate for this one. Carrot, milk, cheese, egg, olive oil, bread crumb coating. Suprising, but very pleasing.

Tiramisu'. Made with orzo instead of coffee for the BYU cooking class that I helped with last week. I liked it, a lot. Nando didn't eat any, he doesn't like the cream-based sweets. I don't think Enzo ate any either, but I heard him say that it's not as good as with coffee and I think that's why he didn't have any. Yeah, they all think we're weird for not drinking coffee or any alcohol.

Chickpea soup. Mmmm! Jasen, I'll work on clarifying this recipe for you, so you can use your dry beans. And Mom, I thought of you too, 'cause aren't soups just wonderful?

Maiale - Pork. I cannot tell you how good the pork I've had here is!! Luisa has a touch. Me oh my, I'm definitely trying these recipes again!

In the background you can see a piece of fresh baked focaccia. It's so easy, you can try at home!

and I'm giving the measurements how I learned 'em, you may have to do some converting

for about a 9x13 pan:

250mL water (plain old room temp is great)

400g flour

15g yeast

spread parchment paper in the pan. pour "un po' d'olio di olive" on the paper (when they say a little, they're very liberal with that term. pour in olive oil, don't be shy, enough to cover the center, and it'll spread once you put the dough on it). mix the yeast with the water, add to the flour and mix by hand. put the dough in the pan. spread it out, all the way to the corners. leave to rest/rise COVERED for about 20 minutes. poke down with your fingers, NOT with your whole hand (if you don't know what I mean, look up pictures of focaccia bread and look at the little finger-poke marks, and you have to make sure to poke it, otherwise you're bread will double in the oven). sprinkle some salt and rosemary on top. bake at 180-200 degrees Celsius (yes, you're going to have to convert that to Farenheit!) for about 30 minutes. you want it golden and crispy. and it's delicious.

I think this dessert is beautiful. It's a custardy, caramely, almond-biscuity treat!

Janene will miss fresh mushrooms. Very much. I came during mushroom season, and these little puppies are wonderful!

Jasen, be proud!! I ate a kebab the other day. Delicious. Thanks for reminding me, several times. Also, I went to a bakery the other day and found a bread that was more tasty than the typical tuscan saltless bread. And yes, it was cheap. I will miss fresh bread at my fingertips like so.

Thing is, I get fed at home, the restaurant and the school. The times I actually need to go get something to eat are few and far between. But at least I know where to go.

K, more recipes to come, I promise.

ci vuole un fisico bestiale luca carboni

(Thanks Ryan, for letting me know the first video wasn't working. I hope this one works)

So, I think the only reason I enjoy this song is because we listened to it in class several times a couple of weeks ago. It was to help illustrate the usage of 'ci vuole' when we studied that and 'ci vogliono'. Memorable if nothing else.

One wants a 'beastly' physique, not in the sense of being mean or manly or like an animal, but rather a strong and attractive physique. That was what I understood it to mean when they described it in class anyway. So, for various activities and situations that Carboni lists in his song, you'll want un fisico bestiale. You know, for things like 'to drink and smoke, to be in the world of older people, and because we're always at a crossroads, and we're little boats in the middle of the sea'.

'ci vuole un fisico bestiale sai, speciale sai anche per bere e per fumare...per stare nel mondo dei grandi...siam sempre ad un incrocio...siam barche in mezzo al mare'. See if you can pick out those phrases. It goes pretty fast, even when you do understand some of the language. ;)

Il Coccodrillo come fa?

Hehe, I hope I will always remember this song. Stefania and Gaitana sing it to Riccardo all the time. They'll ask him at dinner, "Riccardo, come fa il pesce?" or "Come fa il gatto?" like we would ask What does a fish do? or What does the cat say?

So, this song is about the crocodile.

'What does he do? There isn't anyone who knows. One says he eats too much...'

'Il coccodrillo come fa? Non c'e' nessuno che lo sa. Si dice mangi troppo...' (and I don't know the rest yet, and I want to figure it out without looking up the lyrics)

Volterra

Up, up, up! Lots of winding uphill roads to get to Volterra because of a closed-off exit under construction. Maybe it was a good thing though; it was a much more scenic view. By the way, the city of Volterra is actually behind me, the buildings down there may be part of 'le periferie', the peripheries, but I'm not sure.

I know I have so many landscape pictures, but I can't help it. I wish pictures with my camera could do it justice. It's amazing to be able to stand here and take it all in, all around. I love it!

This city reminded me both of San Gimignano and Siena.

However, San Gimignano seemed stagnant, like it would be deserted if not for the tourists. In Volterra this didn't feel like the case. It was much much more tranquil than Siena, and much cleaner. It really was a pretty city. Calm, relaxed, and small-townish.

I'm getting used to seeing things like this all over the place. I hope I still notice and appreciate them by the end of my stay though. There's so much in the details of all these cities.

My first thoughts were of the big chess set that Jasen and Neal played with in Germany, I think it was. Fun! I'm awful at chess, but I would have been willing to stop and play if someone else had wanted to.

Neal, why do I always think of you and then Loren and Russell when I see trolls or gnomes or dwarfs or the like?

This building was full of various statues, each of which had been "ruined" (according to David) with the addition of ties, scarfs and whatnot. I didn't much care for the bright satin on the stone either. Mostly it looked silly.

How many cities do you know that post a sign outside the city-center wall that tell you what to visit there? It made me laugh to think of the sign at the entrance of Castle Rock that lists all the churches in the town. Maybe it was the same sort of suggestion list, visit them all, pick your favorite... ;)

Roman theater. They wanted to charge you to go through a gate and get a bit closer. No thanks. We walked a bit up the hill and probably got an even better view of the whole thing. At least that's what I'll tell myself. I'm satisfied with 'free'.

Looks like someone cut this housing in half. The hallways can't be big enough for two people! Maybe there aren't even any hallways, just little rooms. Crazy. Dad, that would make the hallways in the old CR office quite efficient and roomy in comparison, no?

Alright, this building I had to take a picture of. I think they actively use it as a prison. We were walking next to it before, but I kept seeing signs on the fence that signified I wasn't to take any pictures. I controlled myself and didn't take any till I was in the public park next door. Anybody know why pictures from the ground of the walls of that place would be prohibited? *shrug...

Vineyard on the way back. So pretty. I can still enjoy the lines and the greenery of it all.

David moved while I was taking a panoramic shot with my camera. Now he has a twin.

grapes are neat.

I don't like eating grapes with seeds though! That's all I've had out here. Talk about a shock the first time I popped one into my mouth! Grapes shouldn't crunch like that. Yes, I am that spoiled, that seedless grapes are pretty much the only way to go now.

Just for you Mom, for all those neat spiderweb photos you've sent me.

staying in shape

It's raining again today, but I don't mind. It's nice to hear, green's a pretty color, and I love the way it smells. A little bit of home, right?

gotta love the ponchos. best fashion statement ever.

my guess is they're tourists.

please forgive the bad photography that put wings on our lovely poncho-model on the right. the fountain insisted on being part of the picture.

Kelli, Allyson and I go running in the mornings now. The Italians think we're crazy to be getting up early to go run, and as if that weren't enough, they can't believe we'd even do it in the rain. Different lifestyles.

The sign says 'ex forte', the map claims 'fortezza di S. Barbara'. I'm going with the fortezza, I like it being the fortress. And this is where we run.

part of the awesomeness: it's got more twists and turns that a regular old track, no cars, and quite the view of the city.

yay, hill!

I have to come up and take pictures again when it's sunny. The rain didn't exactly cooperate for me to take pictures of the panoramic view.

friends, farewells, food (and lots of rain)

Friends from language classes at Societa' Dante Alighieri.

It was Chantal's last day, unfortunately. Now she's back in Scotland for school. This is a little corner of Osteria del Gatto, where I'm "working". Good food, good laughs, good times.

(Jenny, Tom, Ulrika, Chantal)

Cooking class at Dante Alighieri!

This particular night (Thursday) was so much fun! Only five students, me and the chef, Luisa. Much less stressful than the night before with 20 some-odd students. I actually got to participate in cooking the different dishes, and it was relaxed enough that I could get some pictures too. Take note: you can't really see it, but I have an official apron now, black with a little green-white-red striped ribbon down the side. It's 'cause I'm awesome.

The students ask me questions all the time, "do I add this now? is this cut right? why do I use this? can I find this in the US? how long do I let this cook?" and I have to do my best to answer, with next to no extra knowledge on these recipes. It's like I'm supposed to know what I'm doing or something...

rolling out dough for ravioli

Mom, those little plastic bags are not just for frosting anymore. We're making ravioli when I get back, be prepared! This is Luisa. She's my favorite chef so far. She calls all her students her "bambini"; we're her "babies" for the night.

the finished product, on my plate, for "cena"

Oh yeah, this is ravioli burro e salvia. In other words, ravioli (with spinach-ness inside) in butter and sage. That fresh sage flavor is my new favorite. Oh so good!!

toasted bread with a mixture of three soft cheeses spead on top, toasted again in the oven, with fresh sliced pear, a little freshly-ground pepper, and honey (miele) to top it off

Osteria del Gatto again; this was actually our first time eating there. It was starting to rain like crazy, so the five of us were relieved to get inside the restaurant. Unfortunately, the rest of our party was an hour late. Great! I felt so bad for the restaurant, I felt responsible somehow.

This was our farewell dinner for Alena. I'm sad she's gone. But she said, if I ever go to Munich we'll get together. What do you think Ryan? Let's make a trip to Germany! Jasen and Dad, you might want to come too, it'll be epic. ;)

(me, Benno, Martina, Jenny, and Kelli was taking the picture)

standing around outside afterwards, saying our goodbyes to Alena

Kelli, my roommate, and Alena

It was raining SO hard. So hard it was funny even. The streets were little rivers. Kelli and I were soaked through and through from the knees down by the time we got home. We started jumping in the puddles just because it wouldn't make a difference in how wet we were. And I may or may not have been "singing in the rain", hehe!

Tom and David (and Tomasso, right inside the door, he's the chef I've been working with so far)

I wish she had been here longer!!

Alena, and me

Murlo

I thought San Gimignano was small. Ha! It's got nothing on Murlo. But, like the rest of these small Tuscan cities I've visited, the view of the landscape is wonderful. You have to stop and admire, every time, it doesn't really get old, because it's so impressive.

I think we may have been the only tourists there at the time. Seriously, piccolissima!

Sorry Mom, I know you want more explanation with the pictures, but there's not a whole lot to say about 'em. I did find out from one of my teachers that Murlo is apparently a very important city, historically, because of the Etruscans. Can't offer much more info than that though.

Story time: There was an exhibition inside one of the very few buildings here. There were pictures from many different photographers, taken in various places all over the world. National Geographic style almost. It was quite neat to look at, and quite surprising to find it in the teeny center of Murlo, of all places. As we were looking a man came in out of nowhere to tell us that we could vote on a photo. Then he was gone. Alright, so we voted. What did we vote for? There were two pictures of the same place, picturing the same two people in slightly different positions.

The place: this corner, these steps, in Murlo. The people: an old old couple that we actually saw sitting here when we first walked past, and based on their pictures, sit there quite often. I just didn't have the nerve to go all the way over and take their picture, but I had to take at least one, for memory's sake. At least you can see the feet.

Also "in" Murlo is the house that a couple of friends from my language classes are renting while they take courses in Siena for a month. It's a little more isolated than they anticipated, with a nice treacherous 2 km dirt road to even get to it. After hearing about it, I couldn't help but laugh when I actually saw the road.

Anyway, a group of us enjoyed the afternoon there. Dinner was wonderful. The talking enjoyable. The weather cooperative. All in all, a great day.

Yes, my friends drink wine, and yes, they tease me about not drinking at all. Thus, they thought it very entertaining to have me open the wine bottle. Pictured first are our antipasti, our appetizers, and below: secondo piatto e i contorni, second course and side dishes. Mmm, I really do enjoy dinner in courses now. I really like aqua minerale gasato (thank you Jasen!). And I'm very much enjoying different meats and vegetables and ways of fixing them.

I love food. Food and friends? Can't get better than that.

The view from their out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere house. Bellissimo.

Mom, they say that in the mornings, they can see fog sitting on the trees in the little valleys. Remind you of anywhere in particular? ;)