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"Foodie"
These are resources I didn’t find in our local library. I’ve gone ahead and requested that they purchase these, so hopefully I’ll be able to read them one day soon. Make good use of your library’s “suggest this purchase” page! These are food-related books but I’m sure I’ll be adding more.
By tomorrow evening, our freezer will be filled again… (I do have a few roasts left, from our last order!)
We get our beef from Elizabeth Cox and family. We bought from them for the first time last year. No regrets. Love supporting local farms!!
With Panera, that is.
Over the years, the quality has just gone down steadily, After the merger with Au Bon Pain, I was predicting that it would come to this, eventually. And it has 
. To me and my bread-loving family (the ones that are not allergic to wheat anyway), it’s nothing more now than a pricey fast food place. Their sandwiches are pretty much run of the mill. They may call them fancy names but they are not as interesting or as healthy as they were years back when they first got started as St. Louis Bread Company.
If you could have had SLBC’s Salami on Swirl Rye back in the day, the bread’s crusty exterior a pleasure to munch on, the tightly woven texture of dark and white dough, layers rolled and baked to chewy perfection, the excellent salami sliced thin and piled high, pungent peppers punctuating each bite, the red onions, paper-thin, the crunchy FRESH lettuce (none of that limp stuff masquerading as a healthy green even though its edges are way past their prime), juicy tomato peeking out, and alfalfa sprouts on top, slightly laced with grainy mustard throughout, touch of mayo, a fragrant slice of Emmenthaler tucked in…. you would know what I’m talking about. That, by the way, was dd’s (now 19) favorite sandwich and mine. On our way home from her half-a-day preschool we’d sometimes stop by SLBC to grab a bite. I’m guilty of sometimes convincing her to give me the bigger half of the sandwich, after all, I was the bigger person (she is now, but that’s beside the point).
Sigh…. Panera, what happened to you? Now your bread is more white, your crust is still pretty but you’ve managed to lose your crunch, your French onion soup is just thinned salty brown gravy, your Greek salad is unrecognizable, your cinnamon rolls are dry. I hate to say this but I can actually make better bread than you now. And while the $8 I spent on you years ago was worth every single penny, I wouldn’t want to buy your $8 sandwiches now, even if you took your price down to $4. You’ve kept your pretty but you’ve lost your substance. What artisan bread? It seems you’ve also lost your touch. Your stock may be soaring but your bread leaves me cold. I don’t think we should see each other anymore.
Got this from a farmer on the CinciLocavore list:
Scroll down to the bolded portion to find out what consumers can do to help out our farmers.
The Senate’s version of the food safety bill, S. 510, is expected to come to the floor in mid-April. While the Senate Committee made some changes to try to address the concerns of the local food movement, the bill still contains several provisions that would be extremely harmful for small, local food producers — both farmers and people making value-added products.
All of the well-publicized incidents of contamination in recent years occurred in industrialized food supply chains that span national and even international boundaries. The food safety problems in this system can and should be addressed without harming the local food systems that provide an alternative for consumers!
We are asking the Senators to support amendments to exempt small-scale and direct-marketing producers from the most burdensome requirements of the bill. These producers are already regulated by local and state authorities, and extensive federal regulation is both unnecessary and potentially crippling.
Please consider signing your ORGANIZATION on to the following “Dear Senator” letter by replying to Judith McGeary at FARFA or Margie MacDonald at WORC by TUESDAY, APRIL 6. You can email jmcgeary@att.net and/or mmacdonald@worc.org
For individuals, we encourage you to call or email your Senators to urge them to work for amendments to protect small and local producers. We’ll also send out an action alert next week with more detailed suggestions.
Thank you!
Judith McGeary
Margie MacDonald– Judith McGeary
Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance
www.farmandranchfreedom.org
Phone: 512-243-9404*Support Fresh, Safe Local Food in the Food Safety Bill*
Dear Senator:
The undersigned organizations represent consumers, small farmers and ranchers, and local food producers who have serious concerns over the pending food safety legislation, S.510, the Food Safety Modernization Act. We urge you to support amendments so as to improve food safety without unnecessarily burdening and handicapping small-scale, local food producers.
All of the well-publicized incidents of contamination in recent years – whether in spinach, peppers, or peanuts – occurred in industrialized food supply chains that span national and even international boundaries. The food safety problems in this system can and should be addressed without harming the local food systems that provide an alternative for consumers.
The growing trend toward healthy, fresh, locally sourced vegetables, fruit, dairy, and value-added products *improves *food safety by providing the opportunity for consumers to know their farmers and processors, to choose products on the basis of that relationship, and to readily trace any problems should they occur.
Farmers and processors who sell directly to consumers and end users have a direct relationship with their customers that ensures quality, safety, transparency and accountability. In addition, small-scale food producers are already regulated by local and state authorities, and the potential risk their products pose is inherently limited by their size. For these farmers and processors, new federal requirements are unnecessary and would simply harm both the food producers and their consumers.
Although the Committee-passed bill includes some provisions for flexibility for small and diversified producers, S. 510 still would establish new hazardous analysis and risk-based preventive controls for all facilities and authorize FDA to dictate growing and harvesting practices for produce. These requirements will impose significant expenses and burdens on individuals and small businesses.
_Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls_
We therefore urge you to support Senator Tester’s amendment to exempt small, local processing facilities from the bill’s hazard analysis and risk-based preventive controls requirements and traceability requirements.
1) With respect to the hazard analysis and risk-based preventive controls, add the following new section to Section 103:
(l) EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN FACILITIES – This section shall not apply to a facility for a year if the average annual adjusted gross income of such facility for the previous three-year period was less than $500,000.
2) With respect to traceability, add the following new section to Section 204:
(f) EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN FACILITIES – The traceback and recordkeeping requirements under this section shall not apply to a facility for a year if the adjusted gross income of such facility for the previous year was less than $500,000.
_FDA Produce Standards_
We also request that you consider an amendment to exempt direct-marketing farms from the FDA produce standards. With respect to the produce standards, add the following new section to Section 105:
(g) EXEMPTION FOR DIRECT MARKET FARMS – This section shall not apply to farms whose annual value of sales of food products directly to consumers, hotels, restaurants, or institutions exceeds the annual value of sales of food products to all other buyers.
Food safety is a priority for us all. We share the concerns that have led to this bill and appreciate Congress’s commitment to addressing these problems. Thank you for your consideration, and for your support of a safer, more sustainable food system and consumer access to healthy, local foods.
For more information, contact Sara Kendall at 202-547-7040 or sara@worc.org, or Judith McGeary at 512-243-9404 or Judith@FarmaAndRanchFreedom.org.
*(signatories as of April 2, 2010)*
_National and Multi-State Organizations:_
Acres, USA
Adopt a Family Farm of America
American Grassfed Association
Constitutional Alliance
The Cornucopia Institute
Family Farm Defenders
Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance
Freedom21
Organic Consumers Association
Small Farmer’s Journal
Small Farms Conservancy
Western Organization of Resource Councils
Weston A. Price Foundation
_
State and Local Organizations:_Carolina Farm Stewardship Association
Dakota Rural Action
Dakota Resource Council
Empire State Family Farm Alliance (NY)
Idaho Rural Council
Independent Cattlemen of Nebraska
Innovative Farmers of Ohio
Maine Alternative Agriculture Association
Massachusetts SmallHolders Alliance
Northern Plains Resource Council
Oregon Rural Action
Powder River Basin Resource Council (WY)
Sustainable Food Center (TX)
Tuscaloosa Property Rights Alliance (AL)
Western Colorado Congress
It’s 2:09 am and yes, I’m still awake. Made allergy-free brownies for Aisa’s party with her college friends (+the Walshes) and I forgot that I made it with regular coffee, STRONG-BREWED even… and now everyone’s asleep and I’m still awake. I’m going to be dead in the morning, just when little one will be running around wreaking havoc everywhere. But yum. Haven’t made those in a while and forgot how good they were!
Yena’s Question of the Day:
“Mom, when I’m older, will I go through “the phase” too?”
What phase?
“You know, the one that Paco’s in right now and that Ate Aisa went through….?”
Oh, *that* phase. 
I love eight-year-olds!!
So Michael and Amy Walsh and Josh, Aisa’s friend, were talking and talking and talking tonight. Bibles (Douay, 2 NABs, Navarre AND Google — we couldn’t find our RSV-CE) on the table. I interjected a comment or two here and there. Aisa too, of course. But wow, *love* these conversations. I wonder if that’s the kind of exhilaration Augustine and his friends felt all those centuries ago…. talking about the faith, asking each other questions, challenging each other’s beliefs, reasonings, etc., mulling, turning things over, digging, scrutinizing. I *love* being around people with this kind of passion for Christ and for understanding His teachings. It probably could have gone on forever were it not for the kids who were sleepy and the homework (and real work, as in JOB) that the college studes had hanging over their heads…. but yeah, we have to do that again.
Elvin and Candice, if you happen to see this, we missed you. You would have loved it.
Oh and yeah. The menu. We made/served
spaghetti puttanesca
crisp spiced nuts
mild cheddar
smoked whitefish salad with water crackers (I promised Paco we were going to get this and we did, finally!)
warm lentil salad
olive oil citrus cake with grapefruit glaze (Yena made this), and strawberries
iced chai green tea
allergen-free brownies
Michael and Amy brought salmon fish head curry and quinoa
PJ brought some potato casserole with chex mix something that was all kinds of delicious
Alyssa (?) brought a marbled yellow/chocolate cake with chocolate glaze
Josh brought a mesclun salad topped with blue cheese, pine nuts and cranberries
Aaron brought palmiers and pastry cream
and Joe brought quinoa and his guitar
Navid brought chicken that looked very tempting (it’s Friday!)
So it was actually a feast, on a Lenten Friday, no less…. but there were reasons the party had to be held today….
while they use the world and the things of this life, they use all such purely and honestly, and no further than is needful for their condition—such are the truly devout.
To the devout, EVERY SINGLE THING can and will be and is used solely as a tool to draw oneself closer to the Almighty.
Ciabatta + My Favorite Dipping Oil
Ciabatta… an improvised one so I don’t have a recipe. I had some leftover poolish from making a celebration bread… so I added some flour and salt, a bit more yeast then some water…. too much flour, added water… which is harder to do so I broke the dough to bits and let it soak in the water and ran the mixer every 30 minutes or so, until it finally came together…. but then it was too wet, even for ciabatta, so i added a bit more flour. The end product came out very well, except it could have used more salt…. so, dipping oil to the rescue.
To make the dipping oil, heat up in a saucepan:
1/4 cup extra virgin oil
1 large clove garlic, crushed and minced
a pinch of red pepper flakes
a few minced manzanilla olives (the ones stuffed with pimiento — kalamatas or other olives can also be used here but I prefer the green)
2 minced anchovies
1 sundried tomato soaked in oil, chopped finely
pinch of sea salt
couple grindings black pepper
small splash of balsamic vinegar
…. until sizzling. Let cook for a bit over low heat until fragrant. Serve with the bread. Yum yum!
I’ve tried this before, but this is the first time I actually cooked so much it will maybe last two weeks. Maybe. Remember I have an 18-yo and a soon-to-be-13-yo. They eat. A lot. Or actually they don’t. Because when I cook I usually don’t have enough for everyone — can you believe that?
Anyway. Here’s what I cooked today.
2 pounds ground pork — for their favorite “talongganisa“. All that needs to be done is chop up eggplant and stir-fry it together. Will serve over rice.
1 pound pork sausage — into sausage gravy. Add freshly baked biscuits and we’re good to go. Plus fresh fruit will make a great breakfast.
3 packages andouille chicken sausage — the 18-yo cut everything up (it’s fully cooked) and the 10-yo repacked them into 4 containers. One will probably end up in pasta sauce (tomato based), one in lentil and brown rice soup. I don’t know yet about the others. Maybe a mustard-and-sausage combo with some molasses bread…we’ll see.
1 large pasta pot of chicken stock — from turkey wing tips and the back and wings and gizzard and heart of 1 chicken … for quick soups throughout the week.
1 rump roast in the crock pot, with tomatoes, onions, and savory (I ran out of thyme). I’ll add Tabasco tomorrow, and serve it with LOTS and LOTS of veggies.
1 chuck roast in the cast iron skillet — simmering right now in lots of water — I’ll leave it overnight. Don’t know yet what I’ll do with it. Maybe “roast beef” done my mom’s way — a bit on the sweet side. Haven’t done that in a while.
1 package (4 pieces) turkey wings, roasting right now in the oven. I’ll add carrots, celery and onions tomorrow and roast it a bit more, then make gravy and serve with Thanksgiving accompaniments. Yeah, I know it’s June, but doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy some November food, right?
1 London broil marinated in a tequila-lime marinade (the 7-yo and 18-yo worked on the mixture). Will take it out, defrost, then grill. Slice thinly and serve with green peppers and onions (also grilled), salsa and homemade wrappers. Ooooh, and avocado!!
I still have to do the following tomorrow — planned to do today, but I got started late. Next time I’ll start as soon as we get back from the farmer’s market! And I’ll also have the teens clean the kitchen thoroughly the night before. That should save us some time.
- mix up the burgers — garlic, bread crumbs, Worcestershire, maybe some I’ll incorporate some Grana Padano in (not for hubby though). Oooh, and I’ll have to try adding some Irish oats (soaked). I haven’t tried that yet. And I’ll see what other herbs and spices I can get rid of — some of those have been sitting in my spice cart way too long.
- cook or at least marinate the chicken drumsticks and thighs. Maybe Pinoy adobo or asado.
- marinate the chicken breasts, perhaps another tequila-lime mix, so we can grill and add to salads.
- bake 4 loaves of bread for the week
- make chocolate gelato to use up the milk
- make limone gelato using the Italian lemon drink I got from Whole Foods — experiment of the week, let’s see if I can copy my 12-yo’s favorite flavor
- wash, dry, chop parsley and cilantro, so it’s “instant” when we need it.
- grill the red peppers and marinate in balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
- grill the zucchini the same way.
- saute the bok choy and beet greens in olive oil and garlic so I just have to reheat them during the week in the skillet. Or maybe I’ll serve them cold.
- make red cabbage and apple saute. To serve with one of the pork dishes.
- mix for scones and muffins
To do during the week:
- make the salads… hmmm…. ranch dressing probably
- guacamole
- fry fish for 1 meal
- salmon cakes for 1 or 2 meals
- one more experiment of the week if time allows — har gow — maybe on Wednesday
- fresh mangoes for dessert
If this works, I’ll do it again next Saturday!
Shopping in Pescara/Chieti
First, where to shop.
A block away (on your right when you’re facing the sea) is Falcone Mini Market (Viale Alcione, 201) — they have basics if you run out of something: local olive oil, local wine, butter, milk, sliced bread (though they carry the San Carlo brand which we find too dry), plus produce — garlic, onions, different kinds of greens, whatever’s in season…
Three blocks to the left or so — and you have to cross the street — is Conad — in a basement (Viale Alcione, 22), so you might miss it if you’re driving by. It’s a mini-supermarket, larger than Falcone.
If you walk towards the back of the apartments and keep walking you’ll come to an underpass (a bit creepy but when we’re in a group it’s fine) — go through it and out — and cross another street — and you’ll come to a small shopping center. The meat shop is “Osmi Carni“; there’s also a fruit and veggie vendor, and another mini-supermarket which we haven’t been into. The crossing can get a bit tricky though, as the street is busy.
– Paco: and the walls of the underpass are all covered w/grafitti
Past Falcone on your left, if you keep walking about 10 minutes more or so, you’ll come to a bigger plaza/strip mall, but no groceries here. However, you’ll find gelato shops, pastry, pizza and bread, a few bars (not like bars in the US, but really just places where people stop to have a snack). Nothing spectacular but good for when you’re out for a walk and need to get a quick bite with the kids.
– Paco: and there is also a church and a huge plaza there. (Mom: I’ll get to churches in my next posts 
)
Past that, about 15-20 minutes more — there are more pizzeria, gelateria, etc. Hombre is quite good for pizza — prices run around 6 Euro for something that will fill up Aisa . And Il Gelatone — E knows about that since it’s right by the hotel he stayed at — has excellent gelato. But I digress… (gelato does that to me)
–Paco: It’s all homemade gelato there (w/ excellent Limone)
–Aisa: ~ Ma, are you kidding me? I could’ve had another whole half. The gelato helped, though. Thanks.
–Aisa:~ You can taste the alcohol in the Crema Rum… I’m sure Uncle Eric could tell you that.
Back to grocery shopping. On your left, when you get to the roundabout and turn right (Via delle Naspee) — then drive to the next roundabout and take the 2nd exit — which is actually the entrance to a shopping center — there’s a bigger Conad on the left, past the two department stores, this one with a parking lot. This is good for after-work runs if you’re pressed for time or only need a few items.
Further away, there are LOTS of options. If you bring a GPS with you, you’ll get at least 20 various places — Conads, Sidis, Tigre, Eurospin, etc. We haven’t shopped at those since if we’re driving farther anyway we might as well take the highway and get to the LARGE shopping centers.
Near the guys’ work place are Auchan Aeroporto and iPercoop. (There’s another Auchan near work but it’s not as nice, though it’s less crowded.) Both are large supermarkets — think Wal-Mart or Meijer, and you can get just about anything you want. If you need other things — cookware, beddings, sports equipment, clothing, etc. there are also stores within the mall dedicated to these. That’s what I love about the malls here — they’re not centered on cinemas or food courts or “flagship stores” like Lord and Taylor or Macy’s — the “flagship store” is the FOOD STORE. And the food store really is the main attraction and draws the crowds — try shopping at around 8 pm and you’ll see what I mean. I wouldn’t recommend this on a weekend (Uffa! That’s “argh” in Italian) — if you’ll remember life in Clarks Summit, Dickson City was the “night/weekend life” for the people there. There’s a similar feel here, but I won’t begrudge the Italians their love of food.
Here are their websites. I subscribed to their newsletter prior to leaving the US, that way I got a good idea of how much things cost on sale, before actually getting here, and I was able to give A an idea of how much our weekly budget would be grocery-wise:
AuchanClick on “Offerte” to find out what they’ve got on sale currently. If you want to see their ad online, click on the drop-down menu where it says “Visualizza Volantino On-Line” and select your location (Scegli la localita): Pescara Aeroporto. It’s open from 8:30 am to 9 pm. Their address is Via Tiburtina Valeria, 386 – 65129 Pescara (PE) — however, the first time we GPS’d that we got lost. Ask Alfredo which highways/exit to take, I guess. And Lina would know.
Ipercoop‘s ad is right there on their front page. Here’s their location. It’s the same exit as Fameccanica but you turn left at the roundabout instead of turning right.
There are other iPer in the area — a favorite of ours is the iPer La Grande (i’m guessing there’s various “levels” of iPer) in Citta Sant’Angelo — Via L. Petruzzi, 140, Città Sant’Angelo (Pescara).
These are all closed on Sunday; though I know for a fact some of them were open on Sundays in the spring. Maybe they change their hours seasonally?…
If you want to try another area, Ortona Center, about 20 minutes away, has another large iPer and the drive there is quite nice. There’s a large Scarpe & Scarpe (footwear) right by it, and there are more stores inside (mostly clothing + Bata (more footwear)).
-Aisa: ~ I wouldn’t advise planning to buy clothes here; it would be much wiser to come prepared to wear only the clothes you’ve brought for your entire stay. Yes, there are lots of clothing stores at the malls, but they’re mostly designer stores, and it’s pretty bad If you happen to find good deals, check the labels, because more often than not, the ‘good’ deals are MIC not surprising. Then again, maybe I’m just extremely picky xD but if there’s one thing I’m [very thankfully] spoiled in in the US, it’s Goodwill.
The largest mall in the area (some people refer to it as the American mall, including Jay B.), is Megalo. In the upper level are several restaurants if you need to grab a bite. As E has noted, there’s a preponderance of underwear stores here (actually, everywhere). On the other hand, I am quite taken by the spacious AND VERY CLEAN restrooms at Megalo, AND the food vendors in the halls. You can shop for beans and other dry goods, plus olive oil, dried tomatoes in oil, hot sauces, salami, pecorino, etc. That is, of course, if you aren’t all shopped out yet from being at the iPer.
There’s also downtown Pescara which I’ll cover in a separate post — if you can imagine shopping in downtown Cincinnati that’s what it’s like.
-Aisa: ~ And yet it’s not. Aisa would like everyone to note that she is NOT a city girl — far from it; she has more than once found herself walking in downtown St. Louis with Mama and felt that she can’t breathe. The point she would like to make is, despite not being a city girl, she LOVES downtown Pescara. The mountains and sea and buildings that are rarely taller than five stories make for a very pleasant experience.
And then there’s the open market on Mondays — there are others in the area, but we’ve only been to one of them. If you talk to Anne Marie she can tell you more about it as well. You can do your produce, cheese and meats shopping here, eggs too…. and everything else really — shoes, clothes, home decor, cookware, etc. One word of caution: there are many things that are made in China… but you’ll also find lots of things that are Italian-made. You just need a discerning eye. One guy tried to pass off some espadrilles as “Made in Italy”, but really, at 1 Euro a pair, you have to be suspicious .
– Paco: It also gets pretty tight in some areas, you might want to keep the kids close and keep an eye on them, and keep the valuables stowed.
A couple more notes on the shopping experience itself:
When using your credit card/debit card, take your passport with you and present it along with your card. In case you didn’t know, call your bank first before you leave the US, or they’ll suspect fraud and only the first transaction will make it through. You get shopping carts Aldi-style — stick a Euro in the coin slot to get the cart out; later, return the cart and pull out your Euro. Great fun for the kids.
– Paco: and all four wheels [of the cart] rotate; fun for drifting in less crowded areas, but not that fun when it’s heavily-loaded. I try to keep the heavier stuff towards the rear, it helps a little.
In the next post I’ll tackle the “what”. I’ll just go through a list of everything I can think of, and whatever I miss I’m sure you’ll enjoy discovering on your own
if you know the names of specific stores, you can look for it on the Italian yellow pages:
if you just have a category in mind, sometimes google maps is better for finding things.
Really affordable mozzarella — the kind we buy at Jungle Jim’s for $9-10 a PIECE. This here container has 10 balls, at 4.50 Euro (it was on sale — regular price is 6.10). – March 19
Aisa having fun with the mirrors at home (the blue-looking area in the very back is the laundry room). – March 20
and then with Nino… – March 20
the gang at La Rusticana – March 20
and Paco and Migi
my foccacia — eggplant, artichokes, corn (!), tomatoes, olives, mushrooms, zucchini and potatoes. La Rusticana’s foccacia is similar to cracker crust pizza, but no sauce and no cheese, and simply topped with fresh veggies. Drizzle olive oil on top and you’re all set.
and my dessert — gelato amarena, 3 layers of delish
Aisa with the pizza oven, and the pizzaiolo
More notes. Can’t really write blog posts (unless I write them ahead of time) because our “high speed Internet” (HAHA) fluctuates so unpredictably. Like 435 Kbps one second and 0 the next. Ugh. But. Not complaining. It’s still better than no ‘net at all. And our family isn’t suffering from it — in fact things are happening pretty much the way we expected. Already we feel closer to each other than before. That’s a great blessing!! Isolation has its perks!
And we’re not actually as isolated as we thought — had people over the day after we moved in — 3 co-workers and the wife of one of them. Then Friday we went out to eat out at their favorite arrosticini place (except we couldn’t have arrosticini because we were abstaining from meat, so we’ll have to go back sometime to try it)… yesterday we had one of our favorite people with us the whole day and again today for half a day. Tuesday will be dd-17′s 18th birthday. That should be fun. She’s asked for homemade tiramisu for dessert… and some creamy pasta for dinner… maybe I’ll add an antipasto platter…. and whatever else I can come up with.
I’m torn about this — it’s Lent and while I’m grateful for the opportunity to offer up things, e.g., this life of “doing without” …. there’s so much here that totally makes us feel spoiled. It’s hard to feel the sacrifice when you constantly are surrounded with blessings. I still have to figure this one out.
Let’s take food, for instance. How can one possibly feel deprived when even the cheapest generic extra virgin olive oil is still very, very rich and fruity? When good red wine is available at 2.99 Euro? (We haven’t bought any, but had a sip of our friends’ order. And our favorite produce is unbelievably affordable? Case in point: artichokes at 49 eurocents each, fennel at 1.49/kg, giant oranges and lemons (local) at 2+ euro/kg? Sigh. I suppose we could just *not* eat… Even eating leftovers is not much of a penance, like tomorrow I’m having what’s left of a salad from the market — radicchio, rice, corn, tomatoes, capers, carrots, tuna… it’s so yummy and fresh.
When your pleasures are simple, and it takes little to satisfy you, how do you find what it is that costs you something and hurts? I suggested jokingly to dd that perhaps the solution is to buy what’s expensive that we *don’t'* like — like McDonald’s food here where sandwiches are 3.90 – 5.90 euro… and therefore hurts the pocket… but that doesn’t make sense, does it?
Here at home I looked forward to doing without, and in some ways we are doing that, e.g., no dryer, so we hang our clothes outside, or by the radiator… the washer is so small it can only hold 1/4-1/3 of my US washer’s capacity… but then again we didn’t bring that many clothes so there’s not that much to wash… I don’t have my beloved pots and pans and what’s here are lightweight Teflon ones that I’d like to replace soon… but then again we don’t have to do much high heat cooking on them because most of the food here is best prepared the slow-food way… we’re stuck with Italian TV, no cable, but then we didn’t have cable in the US either, and Spongebob Squarepants actually looks okay when you don’t understand the dialogue. Plus we’re learning Italian slowly, bit by bit, everyday, so how can this be a deprivation… and since we don’t have much in the way of technology we’re learning to spend more time with each other, pleasantly.
I know that sounds silly considering we’re already homeschoolers and spend practically almost every hour of the day together, but even homeschoolers can fall into the tech trap (and other traps, such as overcommitment outside the home), that the improvement these days is apparent.
We’ve found two cozy churches — we’re probably going to stick with the one that’s 14 minutes away walking distance… and there doesn’t seem to be an English Mass anywhere near here, but today I think I got much from the homily which is probably 25% understandable to me. We end up talking about the homily right after Mass, checking with each other as to what we each understood — and in doing so we receive more fully the richness of the teaching, even if we only got it in bits and pieces… the sharing is what pushes it in, deeper.
By being here together, by ourselves, far from the things and people we’ve gotten used to, we are forging something that in many ways feels like a new alliance. Growing family is so much more purposeful and true in these circumstances. There are so mamy things we are thankful for. Lent this year, perhaps, is not so much the giving up of pleasures, as much as it is the development of a clearer perception of what gifts are. Here in Italy, away from our “regular world”, we have been given the gift of time, and clearly, the message is — don’t waste it.
Sunday Breakfast
Pane Bianco Barilla .89
Latte .65
Caffe Splendid Aroma Ricco 2.69
Mele Golden 1.19
Sunday Lunch
Braciole di Maiale 4.49
Ananas .99
Riso Parboiled Classico Flora 2.85
Sunday Dinner
Fesa di Tacchino a Tranci 4.99
Pomodori Ciliegino .99
Corvo Bianco Sicilia 3.29
Riso Parboiled Classico Flora 2.85
Monday Breakfast
Pane Bianco Barilla .89
Yogurt .65
Acqua San Benedetto Minerale 1.74
Monday Lunch
Orate Viversano Naz 7.99
Cuori di Carciofi Findus 2.95
Olio Farchioni 3.69
Riso Parboiled Classico Flora 2.85
Monday Dinner
Salame il Cru 1/2 kg. 6.95
Linea Osella 1.49
Aceto Balsamico di Modena Mazzetti 4.97
Arance Navel .69
Riso Parboiled Classico Flora 2.85
Tuesday Breakfast
Pane Bianco Barilla .89
Fruttolo Yogurt1.95
Tuesday Lunch
Fiorucci Suillo 1.80
Broccoli Romani .99
Riso Parboiled Classico Flora 2.85
Tuesday Dinner
Nasello 7.99
Riso Parboiled Classico Flora 2.85
Mele Golden 1.19
Wednesday Breakfast
Pane Bianco Barilla .89
Actimel 2.45
Wednesday Lunch
Pasta di Semola Formati Normali Voiello 1.50
Olive Snoccioloate Olivoli Sacla .69
Passata di Pomodoro Fresco Agride .85
Wednesday Dinner
Tonno In Olio di Oliva As Do Mar 3.19
Riso Parboiled Classico Flora 2.85
Ananas .99
Thursday Breakfast
Pane Bianco Barilla .89
Succhi Bravo Rauch Gusti Assortiti 1.19
Thursday Lunch
Filleti di Alici in Olio di Oliva Rizzoli 4.79
Vongole Veraci 4.99
Riso Parboiled Classico Flora 2.85
Pomodori Ciliegino .99
Friday Breakfast
Pane Bianco Barilla .89
Friday Lunch
Salame Felino il cru 1.35
Riso Parboiled Classico Flora 2.85
Cuori di Carciofi Findus 2.95
Friday Dinner
Filetti di Persico Africano 9.99
Riso Parboiled Classico Flora 2.85
Arance Navel .69
Saturday Breakfast
Pane Bianco Barilla .89.89
Saturday Lunch
Polio in Parti Confezione Risparmio 2.59
Riso Parboiled Classico Flora 2.85
Broccoli Romani .99
Saturday Dinner
Fettine Sceltissime di Bovino Adulto 8.99
Riso Parboiled Classico Flora 2.85
Mele Golden 1.19
Pampers 9.39
Scottex 3.69 (16)
Dishwashing detergent 3.29
Mentadent 1.55
Pescara
Via Italica, 117
Centro Comm.le Il Molino
www.supermercatigs.it
Total: 173.04
These will be Friday dinners:
This one sounds like fast food, but intriguing enough:
HelloPizza at the name.
Aisa uploaded the pics!
with rope-and-lattice butter-and-lard pie crust. Yum.
and the caramel nut tart which finally made an appearance again after all these years.
Lechon Turkey/Pabochon
1 10-12 lb. turkey, rinsed thoroughly, giblets, etc. removed
1 cup fish sauce (patis) (or 2 cups kosher salt or 1 cup table salt) (available in Asian stores, a good Filipino brand is Rufina)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
2 lemons or 10 calamansi (aka calamondin, a tiny, green, round citrus fruit found in Asian stores)
10 large cloves garlic, crushed but unpeeled
In a large stockpot or other container that will accommodate turkey, combine fish sauce with 2 gallons cold water. Add turkey, and additional water if needed to just cover turkey. Refrigerate for 12 hours. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, honey, oil and black pepper. Rinse lemons or calamansi and pierce with a fork all over. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Remove turkey from brine and rinse thoroughly under running water. Pat dry with paper towels. Stuff cavity with lemons and garlic. Truss turkey if desired (I prefer mine untrussed). Pour 1 cup water into a shallow roasting pan large enough to accommodate a roasting rack for the turkey. Set turkey breast side down over a roasting rack and brush all over with the soy sauce mixture. Roast for 45 minutes. Using paper towels, carefully turn turkey onto one side (wing/thigh up) and baste with soy sauce mixture. Replenish water if it’s drying up. Roast 15 minutes. Repeat with the other side. After 15 minutes, turn turkey breast side up. Lower heat to 325 degrees F. Start basting turkey every 15 minutes with juices from pan. Continue to roast until thickest part of thigh registers 180 degrees F on a meat thermometer. Juices should run clear, not pink or reddish. The last 30 minutes of roasting, baste turkey all over with soy sauce mixture. If turkey is browning too quickly, cover with a loose tent of foil. Remove from oven and let rest for 30 minutes before carving. Serve with lechon sauce.
Cook’s Notes:
- If using turkey that has already been brined, you may omit the brining process. (I like to brine my own turkey though so I try to buy unbrined turkey.)
- If you’re going to bake the stuffing in the turkey, omit lemons and garlic. Stuff turkey just before roasting. Do not fill turkey up completely, as the stuffing will expand as it cooks. The remaining stuffing can be baked in a separate dish. Trussing is not optional if you stuffed the turkey. A stuffed turkey will take longer to roast than an unstuffed one.
- A handy cooking time calculator can be found at Butterball.com
Easy Lechon Sauce:
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup minced onion
1/3 cup liver pate or liver spread, or liverwurst or finely ground chicken livers
1 cup water
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute garlic and onion until garlic is golden and onion is limp. Add liver pate, water, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring until smooth. Lower heat and add breadcrumbs. Let simmer 5 more minutes. Serve with turkey lechon.
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I thought all my Thanksgiving recipes that appeared in Asian Journal 3 years ago (?) were already here — but I guess I put it in the old “Beyond Adobo” blog. I’ll work on putting them here sometime. Sorry about that!
