Foods of Italy

I love that each region of Italy (& even each town) has it's own culinary traditions. Here in Treviso, food is taken very seriously. In season foods are used - in the fall you'd find mushrooms in almost everything, through the winter it was radicchio (the special kind called Treviso which looks like fingers, not a ball), and now we are on to asparagus and another tender spring shoot which I can't recall the name of. It's the same with meats, I suppose. From what I've heard, lamb is eaten on Easter, but not as common throughout the year. At one point, at the fish market, I saw a bin of live animals which looked like miniature crayfish. Today, I saw bins of snails. I had to take a picture - sorry for the poor quality. Yes, I've tried escargot. To me, it tasted like butter & garlic. I'm not sure if they have a taste of their own under the sauce but I don't think I want to find out. My children would definitely not eat them, so there's no point in figuring out if I'm brave enough to cook them. But here, on the right, are net bags of live snails. And, on the left, a bin of live baby snails. What would one even do with those little ones? Are the shells soft enough to eat whole? Sometimes food here baffles me.

I felt the same way recently when I saw older ladies buying artichoke stems. STEMS. Isn't that the bitter part that we all cut off? At the market artichokes are sold whole, as we normally see them. There are small ones & regular sized ones. They also have them with the stems on. Each stall also sells just the hearts, floating in liquid (not sure if it's water or something else, probably to keep them from turning brown), and then, there is a bin of stems. I'm happy to know that all parts are used, but I haven't yet figured out how.

Two weeks ago I attended my first cooking class here in Treviso. It was held in a demonstration kitchen at a home goods store near my home. The class was taught by a female chef & there were 11 ladies & one man in the class. We drank prosecco, had appetizers, and mainly watched, but also helped make (& then eat!) fresh egg pasta and four different sauces, lasagna, and panna cotta for dessert. I think the man was just there for the company & the food, because he never once got up to see what was happening on the stove & he didn't help at all (except to pour the prosecco). It was all in Italian & it was great! My only complaint is that the class was from 7:30-11:30 at night. After eating such a heavy meal so late, it was hard to sleep. But I learned a lot of new tips. I'd never made fresh pasta before. Also, I now have some new ideas about how to put ingredients together for sauces. Later that week I made a vegetable bolognaise at home & everyone really enjoyed it. Next lesson will be poultry & white meat. Another heavy night, but I'm sure I'll learn a lot.

Roma Diary by Ellie

This picture is of me and Liam inside the Pantheon.

Friday 25 Feb., 2011

Today after school we took the train to Rome. I read and ate the pizza my mom gave to me. When we arrived, it was freezing cold outside but soon we took the taxi to our apartment. After that, we watched a little TV and fell straight to sleep.

Saturday 26 Feb., 2011

Today I woke up and got dressed. Then I watched a little of Cuccoli Amici and went out of our apartment and luckily, there was a cafe where I had a chocolate croissant and then we took the bus to the Colosseum and walked around. But then it got super cold and we walked to another cafe where I had a toast (it was very yummy) and we walked to the Forum and I bought a splat-piggy. Then we had lunch at Enoteca Cavour and then we walked to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. Then we got a 2-scoop gelato and went to a restaurant near our apartment.

Sunday 27 Feb., 2011

Today we got up early and walked to the Vatican but when we arrived, there was already a 3-hour wait so we went to Castle St'Angelo and then went to Piazza Navona where we got a picture drawn of me and Liam. Then we went to the Pantheon and it rained through the hole in the dome. Then we had dinner at Campo Dei Fiori and when we started walking it started to pour and we saw lightning and heard thunder. By the time we got back to our apartment we were soaked.

Monday 28 Feb., 2011

Today we woke up extra early and went straight to the Vatican and luckily we made it! Then we went to St. Peter's Cathedral and saw the really high dome with paintings and windows. Then we went to the Vatican Museum and it was only a 1/2 hour wait. We got to see the Greek statues and the Sistine Chapel. Then we went to the train station and had more gelato but we accidentally got on the wrong train and had to get off in Florence. In Florence we got lunch and went on the right train and came home and ate at a restaurant near our house.

Note from Hart: This was a homework assignment for Ellie - finally got her to write! Guess the food was most memorable for her. Funny, though, I thought there was only one very good meal there (Enoteca Cavour, suggested by Rick Steves). I loved the lunch in Florence, though! The sights were amazing to see again after so many years. It was fun to share tidbits of info. with the kids, although Liam's new catchphrase is "I hate ancient things". That kid!!! I'll post pictures of our trip on FB, since I can't do more than one here.

Venice with the International Women's Club

This is not the narrowest street in Venice!

The International Women's Club of Treviso went on a guided tour of Venice last week. We took the train down together & the guide showed us a lot of things that you can't find in guidebooks. For instance, in each piazza or square there is an old well - there are drain holes on the ground near the well, which let rainwater flow through sand & clay below into a big basin which collected the water for drinking. I had seen the wells before, but never noticed the drain holes!

Also, there was a triangular shaped carved stone that you have to walk under at Ponte del Paradiso. It was put in place to join the houses of two families that were linked when a son from one married the daughter from the other.

We visited a church that looked large, but plain on the outside, Franciscan Gothic style, called the Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa. Inside, Titian is buried (even though he died of the plague & nobody who died of the plague was to be buried inside the city, they made an exception for him). His painting, the Assumption of the Virgin, is above the altar and the largest altarpiece in Venice. There is a monument for him inside the church, designed by Canova and also a monument to Canova (whose body is buried in his hometown of Possano, but Canova's heart is in an urn inside the monument in the church).

I also found out that at three spots along the Grand Canal, you can take a gondola "ferry" across the river for only 50 euro cents! What a deal for anyone who wants to ride a gondola but doesn't want to empty their bank account.

At the end of the day, I went off to the Jewish Ghetto (the first ghetto) with an Israeli friend of mine. She picked up some kosher meat & I ate an amazing bowl of matzo ball soup. Then, we ran all the way to the train station, just to see it pulling out as we arrived. Luckily, trains depart from Venice to Treviso every 20 minutes. We weren't even late to pick the kids up from school!

Asolo & The Rocca

For those of you who have children, do you sometimes wonder why they have such bad attitudes? We literally give them the world & they appreciate nothing. I'm exaggerating, of course. But yesterday we decided to take a trip to the small hillside town of Asolo (seen down below in the photo) and the fortress on the hill, The Rocca (where Ellie is standing in the photo). This town is only a 40 minute drive from Treviso, less than the distance from Palo Alto to Santa Cruz, a drive we used to do ALL THE TIME. However, the kids seem to just want to stay in the house all the time now. If we stay in the house, we might as well be in California. I think we should get out & see this new land of ours. So, out we went.

There was so much complaining on the way, I wondered if it would be possible to enjoy ourselves at all. But once we arrived, things seemed better. We walked through the narrow streets of Asolo and up 267 steps to the fortress above. The kids barely complained at all during this part of the trip & it was the most difficult physically. Once at the top, there was an amazing view. I had been here once in November, with my hiking group, but the Rocca was closed that day & I really wanted the rest of the family to see it. The pathway & steps were lined with olive trees. In November I got to see some old Italian men harvesting the olives. Inside the Rocca, there was a medieval looking wooden staircase/scaffolding to allow us to the top of the fortress wall. The whole thing was a little scary - luckily none of us have a terrible fear of heights. Ander was safe in a backpack. Ellie was a little worried. We stayed away from the edge.

After the hike, we ate a simple but very authentic meal at a little restaurant in the center of Asolo. It consisted of hearty bread, rustic salami, prosecco, polenta, and penne with sausage & treviso (a type of radicchio). Then, Justin & I got a coffee, & the kids had their first gelato in some time. Nobody complained on the way home, & our evening was pleasant. I think that with children it is easy to get into a rut no matter where you are, to stay home is the easy thing to do. But once we are all in the habit of going out & exploring the world, maybe there will be less resistance from the get go. It is especially difficult now that the children have so much free time (they were over-scheduled in Palo Alto), but if we do it together we can have a lot of fun!

The Circus (Circo)

Ellie liked the horses trotting in formations, the little ponies, and the dogs doing tricks the best.

Liam liked the seals balancing balls on their noses, clapping, shooting baskets, and pretending to go to sleep.

Ander was entertained by everything: tigers, camels, yaks, zebras, a hippopotamus!!! (so sad), clowns, juggling, magic tricks, horse vaulting, acrobatics.

Everyone enjoyed the cotton candy.

Justin was happy to have found out about the circus from a co-worker & to get front-row seats for only 6 euro.

We were happy to see that they put a cage up before bringing out the tigers (since we were in the front row)!

Although the circus was similar to one I went to when I was a child (& could not exist now in the US) & we found the situation for the animals so sad, I'm glad we had this experience. It was a one time event for me as a child & it will be a one time event for my kids as well. I was glad to have the chance to talk to them afterwards about what I liked & didn't about the circus - this entertainment comes at a cost.

If You Need Medicine, Come to Italy

Recently, we've all been quite sick. Our family never gets the flu shot & we never get the flu. This year, though, it got us. Although Italy has nationalized medicine, we are on a private insurance plan through Justin's work. Because of this, I'm no expert on the national system. I found a pediatrician who speaks English through an ex-pat friend of mine. The first time I took the kids in, she saw both Ellie & Ander (Liam hadn't gotten sick yet) & only charged 40 euro. Her office was not high-tech. In fact, to check if the kids had a temperature, she put her cheek on their foreheads! I don't think a doctor could get away with that in the US. But, I wonder, do we really need to know the exact temperature of a patient? Anyhow, it worked for us. We went back this week for a follow-up appointment, and she didn't charge me anything.

The pharmacy here is also ridiculously inexpensive. A prescription that I had filled in the US (generic brand) cost me $75. Here, I got the name brand version for under 15 euro. The pharmacy also carries homeopathic medicine, which is about half the cost of what you'd find in the US.

When a woman gets pregnant here, her doctor excuses her from work for the duration of the pregnancy. If you break your arm, you also are excused from work. I know this because two teachers at the International school are out - one for the remainder of the year, the other for 2 months. My friend told me that we can get a doctor to prescribe regular massages for stress relief & the insurance will pay for them. Hmmm. . . maybe I'll look into that. First, though, we must get over this flu!

Trader Joe's Bolognaise - Goodbye Forever!

Trader Joe's used to be my go-to store for almost everything. I loved that I could whip up dinner in 30 minutes using TJ items - usually enhancing them, but not always. Although my step-mom taught me to make pasta sauce from scratch when I was a kid, I've always relied on jar sauce since it is so easy. Even when I made lasagna, I'd use jar sauce - basically, I was just assembling my meals.

Here, there are no convenience foods. If you want an easy snack, and you can go out, your choices are: brioche (croissant), tramezzini (white bread sandwich with tons of mayo), toast (white bread, ham, & cheese), or at home you can have crackers or cookies. I have found granola bars & breakfast cereal, but most are very sugary or full of chocolate. Other options are fresh fruit & veggies, which we snack on a lot, and bread & cheese (& a variety of meats).

So, I'm learning to cook things from scratch. Last week I made black beans for the first time in my life. It's so funny that I asked Justin to bring cans of black beans from the US last Dec., but his bags were too heavy & he ended up having to dump them at the airport. Shortly after that, I found dry black beans at a specialty bio (organic) shop. And now, I know how to make beans!

Tonight I made a bolognaise sauce. I've been doing this every week since we've been here, & I think my sauce is getting better & better. The great thing is that I know it so well that I can just throw in whatever is in the frig. This one had onion, garlic, leeks, carrots, zucchini, and red bell pepper along with the tomatoes, meat, & spices I added. I also love my new cast iron cooking pots - bought just two, but I think I'll go back for a couple more sizes. And, we have a new set of knives that make cutting a breeze and a couple of great wooden cutting boards.

I'm very excited about learning how to cook more things from scratch, & am looking into some cooking classes here. When we come back I may resort to canned beans for a quick & easy taco-salad night, but I don't think I can ever go back to a jar of bolognaise.

Back to Square Uno by Hart

After spending a whole month in the US, (where I intended to keep up with my Italian, but forces beyond my control stopped me - kind of like what happens with exercise for me) I've pretty much forgotten everything that I learned. OK, so I can still go to the market & ask for carrote (carrots) and insalata (lettuce), but seriously, how hard is that? Luckily there are many words that are similar to English or Spanish. But, I realize, now is the time to get serious. I returned to a class I tried a while back. The problem for me is that the other students are not well educated in their first language. One lady told the teacher that she had 4 years of schooling. 4. I think you need to know what a verb is before you can conjugate it. But, I'm going to go there for a few weeks until I get back into the hang of it & then hopefully find something else. One teacher who was really nice offered to do a one-hour skype call with me each week (for free!) so I can practice speaking. She said that in the future maybe I can help her with some translations. I hope I'll learn Italian well enough for that.

In April, Justin's mom is going to come out to visit us for a few weeks. They have offered for me to have some time off while they take care of the kids. At first, I was thinking of going to Tuscany to take a cooking class, but I've found some interesting cooking courses here that I'm going to try out. Instead, I am now thinking of going to Venice (not too far, so I can still see the kids & Justin) for a week of intensive language study. It'll be like when I went to Costa Rica in college. Stay with a host family. 4 hours of language classes in the mornings. Outings & cultural classes run by the school in the afternoons. Hey, I'm not too old for adventure!

Guinea Pigs (Porchelini d' India) by Hart

When we first arrived in Italy, Ellie was especially homesick & told me that she really wanted something fuzzy to cuddle with & love (that was alive). Luckily our landlords said, "no dogs", so we didn't have to go into that discussion. After a lot of negotiation & research, we settled on the idea of guinea pigs. Then, we had a lot of trouble finding what we were looking for: two baby females. We went looking in a few different shops. Finally, I asked one shopowner if he could get what we wanted for us. He said he'd have them the next week. A week went by & then he said it would be another week. Uugh. Finally, I got a call that they were at the shop. But, that same day, I found out that we had to leave Italy to return to the states for about a month. Today, we went to the shop, & brought the little gals home. They are about 2 months old now. Even though they are both girls, Liam's is referred to as a boy & is now named Fluffy (or Fluffball for short). Ellie is still deciding on a name. Suggestions welcome!

Jet Lag Stinks by Hart

The only reason I'm even writing this is because I'm up at 3 in the morning & have already been up for 3 hours! I actually think my body could adjust to the 9 hour time change pretty quickly on my own because I'm so tired I can sleep at night no matter when night is. Unfortunately, my children can't meditate their way into sleep the way I can. Ander is especially difficult to convince that it is time to sleep when his body is telling him it's dinner time. Then, when he cries (although I'm doing all I can to settle him down), Liam is woken up. Liam jumps out of bed thinking it's morning when it is only 12:30am. Of course, all the commotion wakes Ellie, too. Justin has to work in the morning, so I'm trying to let him sleep, but I basically went from child to child for 2 hours before giving up & bringing them downstairs for quiet play.

I read that the keys to quick recovery from jet lag is exposure to sunlight as early in the morning as possible and physical activity. Last night (our first here) was worse than tonight: up from 12-5, then slept from 5-10am. But, we did get out of the house before noon & had a good long walk. The kids didn't really seem tired until their normal bedtime, so I had high hopes for tonight. I also read a suggestion that I not give food at night, only drinks. These kids are really hungry, though, so I did give them a snack. Liam was able to get back to sleep, so he'll probably be OK tomorrow at school. Ellie tried & tried, but couldn't. Maybe I'll have her try again at 4?

If any of you readers have experience with this, & would like to comment, I'd love to hear your suggestions! This is not the last time we'll have to make this trip, & I need all the help (& sleep) I can get!

Bird Poop by Liam

We came back to Italy. We couldn't open the gate for our car. Me and Daddy tried to fix it. We couldn't. Then we noticed there was bird poop on the sensor. Daddy cleaned it off with a wet towel. Then, the gate could open. The end.

California Vacation

Didn't I promise that I'd write here more often? Do all bloggers start off strong & then get distracted with life and other interests? Or run out of things to write about? I am going to keep working at this, even if it is hard, because it's a great way to keep a record of our adventures and to share them with our loved ones at home.

For the past month, we've been seeing our loved ones here in California, so there hasn't been much need for posting for others. But, in case we return to Italy & forget what we love about "home", here's what we've been up to:

• Staying in a rental house in Santa Cruz, 2 blocks from the beach.
• Spending a little time on any nice day down at the beach, playing, walking, digging.
• Playing at the many local (& well-equipped) parks.
• Meeting Logan, the kids' new cousin.
• Playing with friends in Santa Cruz & Palo Alto.
• Visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
• Visiting the Boardwalk (& riding the Giant Dipper).
• Visiting the Seymour Marine Discovery Center.
• Visiting the Palo Alto Jr. Museum & Zoo.
• Spending Christmas Eve, Christmas, and New Year's with family & friends.
• Eating a wide variety of foods (of course the kids keep ordering pizza whenever they can, but I'm loving the Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Afghan, Indian, Burgers, Mexican, etc. . . did I mention I've gained 10 pounds since returning from Italy!?!)
• Justin & I having date nights & even a few over-nighters!
• Romantic getaway to Sonoma including my first wine-tasting.
• Zipline adventure in the redwood forest for my birthday.
• Justin barely working for over a month!
• Ander stopping nursing, learning to walk, & really starting to talk.
• No good macchiatos, but yes yummy mochas.

I have a long (& boring) story about how & when we finally will get to go back to Italy. Even now, with only a few days until our flight, we're not sure. But this experience has given us time to slow down, spend a lot of time together as a family, and think about what we have & what we want from life. Justin & I have always been such planners. Now we realize that there are things beyond our control. We have each other. We have struggles, but together we can overcome them. We have been extremely blessed. Now, all the kids are asleep, the house is peaceful, and I am able to appreciate it all so much more. This California trip has been good to us. OK. Ready to go back to Treviso now!