Free Time

This week, I received an email from a blog reader about what I do with my free time. I do tons of stuff actually, as I am interested in just about everything. Since my eye surgery I have not been taking as many photographs with film and have gone more the digital route. I hope to pick it up again when the weather gets a bit warmer. I read, I crochet, I bead, I write letters, I cook, I watch movies, I teach English, I paint and do tons more. All of this stuff can’t go on at the same time so I end up doing things in phases. This week it’s a painting phase.

We have several artistic family members: Sara is an artist (see her site here) I like to take photos and cook, Kentra cooks for a living, the other Gia just finished classes in a cooking program and likes to cook, Tia is a great little artist, and Anna, well she is the jock of the family and plays soccer, hikes, kayaks, and hashes (runs around in the boonies/jungle for fun), I forgot the other Gia is jockish too and has been paddling forever.

Here are a few of my samples:


Photo of an orchid


Its likeness with watercolors


I like to paint fruits and vegetables too


One of Sara's geisha studies


A painting by Sara I got for my birthday a while back. I hang it proudly in my kitchen.


What do you do with your free time?

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Chinese New Year

Today is Chinese New Year, the Year of the Dog. My father and mother, who are the hardest workers I have ever known, cared not for Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving or birthdays but we always closed up shop and spent Chinese New Year together as a family. (Officially, there are 15 days of festivities.)

As a child, I've never understood the Chinese calendar but after a bit of searching I found out: “The Chinese calendar has been in continuous use for centuries. This calendar measures intervals of time in seconds, minutes, months, years and centuries, entirely based on the astronomical observations of the movement of the Sun, Moon and stars. It is Year 4703 by the Chinese calendar.”

This holiday is celebrated internationally in Chinatowns all over the U.S. and the world. Anywhere there are Chinese and Chinese influences, there will be celebrations. Many ethnic groups such as the Mongolians, Koreans, the Miao (Chinese Hmong), the Vietnamese (see Tet), Tibetans, the Nepalese and the Bhutanese (see Losar) take part in the festivities and traditions.

More food is consumed during the New Year celebrations than any other time of the year. I remember pots and pans filled with dish after dish after dish. My parents used to make a vegetarian dish called 'jai' for our family, what I loved most about 'jai' was the black moss seaweed that looked like a fistful of hair! A good friend of my parents owned a Chinese restaurant we used to frequent once a week and this is where we headed to watch the Lion Dance and see them light firecrackers in the evenings. After my grandma passed away, my mom would go to her grave and light incense. This is also the time to remember our ancestors and their influence on our lives.

The best part of the day is the gathering of family members and gifts of red envelopes in Cantonese: 'lai see', from married couples to unmarried members of the family, usually children. Red envelopes traditionally consisted of amounts, which were considered multiples. Amounts like $2 (two pieces of $1), or $20 were acceptable. The gift was originally a token amount but I often got as much as $20 from my parents and their friends. My mom’s mom usually gave two, $1 dollar bills. After living in Seattle for 13 years without the foundation of our family close to me, (my parents), I can say I am a bit rusty at the traditions of this special holiday but when I think about how I’ve celebrated it before, my memories don’t fail me.

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The Right Tool for the Right Job

My dad used to say to me all the time, "Find the right tool for the right job and your work will go more quickly." I believe this wholeheartedly. As a child, I watched my mom hand chop meats to make fresh ground pork and ground beef for wonton fillings and fried lumpia/spring rolls. Now that my dad has the job of making his special wonton fillings for our families restaurants', he uses a food processor. The wonderfully light and silky texture of my dad’s wonton has not changed but his method’s have. (Probably due to the fact, he has to feed a crowd.)

Today as I was cleaning out my kitchen drawers, (what else is there to do when you are homebound because of snow), I looked at my kitchen tool collection.
Normally I do not collect much of anything, I keep things I like, things I use, but in the kitchen it's a completely different story. I LOVE to have all types of kitchen tools. For example, I do not eat crab or lobster often but when I do, I like to have crab crackers ready and meat picks to get into those tight crevices.

Here are a few photos of my most cherished tools:


Back to front: 1) A great paring knife, for all those little jobs you don’t need the big guys for. Paring an apple, slicing off a piece of cheese for a snack or poking a potato before putting it in the oven. 2) Old fashioned fish scaler that can be bought at Asian stores. This little tool can scale fish in minutes! 3) A lemon/lime reamer is essential when you need citrus juices for marinades, sauces and dressings.


Back to front: 1) I never grew up with a garlic press but I have to one now. It minces the garlic very finely and evenly, no chunks. 2) A silicon pastry brush-No more loose hairs, no more stinky brushes that are hard to wash. I just pop this in the dishwasher. 3) Fish tweezers are fantastic for removing pin bones from fish fillets and make eating fish much more enjoyable, in my humble opinion.

If I had to recommend ten tools to someone just setting up their kitchen I would suggest they start with the following:

1. A knife you can rely on and something to sharpen it with.

2. A great vegetable peeler: for peeling all vegetables and tubers, for making zucchini ribbons, Parmigiano curls, chocolate curls and much more.

3. A good set of wooden/stainless spoons for stirring pasta, polenta, soups, sauces and just about everything.

4. All the stuff for measuring: measuring spoons, cups (for both liquids and solids), a scale, a thermometer for meats and a candy thermometer.

5. A set of silicon spatulas, I love mine so much. They are great because they can stand up to heat without melting, so great for melting chocolate, making sauces. There is nothing worse than stirring a dish with a plastic spatula and then finding out the end melted.

6. A balloon whisk, just one of life’s essentials.

7. A super long pair of wooden chopsticks for deep frying, stir frying and picking up “stuff”. This is the Chinese in me talking, mine are about two and a half feet long.

8. A strong and sturdy cutting board, the debate goes on whether wood or plastic is better. I’ve solved that problem, I have both. The plastic one I use for meats and fish and can bleach if I have to. Usually I put it in the dishwasher to sanitize.

9. My wok, the most versatile tool in my entire kitchen. I can make ragu, soups, stews, braise meats, make a omelet, fry rice, deep fry anything, cook rice, the list goes on.

10. Last but not least…. (I have to go to the kitchen to make sure I did not forget anything.) Aha! I almost forgot about my pepper grinder. If someone told me I could not have fresh ground pepper, I think I would just cry.

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Gina Juice

I stole this idea from Sandra. She wrote about a persimmon-y drink from Korea. I used to drink this all the time on Guam and in Seattle and loved to have a drink with my name on it. I was happy to find it in Torino too. 

Torino Gets Ready for the Olympics

Ever since I moved to Torino about 11 months ago, I knew about the upcoming 2006 Winter Olympics. As a matter a fact, two months ago I went to a photo exhibit at the Gallery of Modern Art in Torino that featured all the changes that have occurred all over the city due to the approaching games.

There are new billboard ad’s up with mostly watches that feature top skiers, skaters and other miscellaneous athletes. Silly circles are being installed all over the city with flowerbeds in the middle. red flags are popping up all over the city “Passion lives here” is the motto which makes me chuckle since Torino’s reputation isn’t passion at all. A handy new Olympic priority lane has been painted into the roads of Torino, its yellow with a blue 5-Olympic rings symbol. I think its fine for the three weeks that diplomats, journalists, athletes and possible VIP’s from all over the world converge on Piemonte.

I am however still worried about the fact the main train station and the little train stations are a mess. The work to improve many areas of the city is far from over. Cranes and forklifts block rush hour traffic, while traffic cones dot every roadway. I hope they get their butts into gear and clean up the mess because in 2 weeks all hell is going to break loose in this city.

Read more about the Olympics in Torino here.



It snowed today for the 2nd time this winter.


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A Bureaucracy Victory-Well Sort Of

"Italy is in love with paper." says my husband.
"All shapes, types, and sizes."

Today when I received my permit to work in Italy, I marveled at how delicate and thin it was, like vellum or tracing paper. This piece of paper was supposed to be with me at all times, in addition to my passport, my driver’s license and any other document I have handy. I immediately made a copy of it and stored the original in a safe place. It was ready wrinkled and torn from having sat at the questura for 10 months. I have also made a copy of my passport and carry that around instead of the original although the original is required to check into hotels and when they stop you for security checks on the motorway.

Some other things I have noticed about documents here in Italy:

1. The Italian drivers' license is not laminated. It is a regular piece of paper folded in half (to about 3" by 5".) Your photo is affixed to the license with a small staple that looks as if it could easily be removed. Your license is not a valid form of identification. It is valid for 10 years.

2. Your resident card states where you have your residence and this has no relation to where you actually live. It is also a regular piece of paper (about 3" by 5") and is placed in a plastic sleeve. You must have this at all times, as it is a valid form of identification. My next step in Italy is to get this. If you have this then you do not have to carry your passport around unless you are checking into a hotel, on the motorway or entering into any official government official to try to do official-type business.

3. In many government offices things are still done the old-fashioned way. Some processes are computerized but many are not. For example, when we went to Rome to check if our marriage had been registered. I marveled at the rows and rows of cabinets in the hallways of the registry building. They were unlocked and filled with files upon files of divorce records, not very private in my mind.

Here is a sample list of a few things you might need to do anything official in Italy:

1. The completed application
2. Two to five passport style photos
3. Doctor's certificate and a copy or two or four.
4. Permesso di soggiorno and a few copies of it.
5. Your passport and a few copies of it.
6. Your residence card and several copies.
7. Your rental agreement and a copy. (For parking permits)
8. Your work contract and a copy. (Also for parking permits.)

The list goes on and on and I don’t want to ramble or it is already too late?



The little circle says my permesso was ready in April of 2005, even though they never published my name outside the questura. They never sent the police to verify where I lived and when we returned in October to check it out, they said it was not ready. The big circle says that my permesso never expires. This is rare since you usually have to renew it every 1-3 years. Chalk one up for me!

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Ribs, Ribs, Ribs

One thing that is hard to find here in Italy for me is good BBQ sauce, liquid smoke is unheard of and molasses is rare. So of course when I get cravings it’s time to improvise.

First I started with the BBQ sauce, I like my ribs sweet and spicy, while I know others like theirs tangy and salty. I had an old recipe for the sauce and winged the rest. I modeled my sauce after a brand called “Armadillo” that I used to use in the States.

BBQ Sauce

1 C. Ketchup-I used regular ketchup and banana ketchup (from the Filipino store and yes made from bananas)
1 C. cider vinegar
2 T. orange marmalade
1 T. peach preserves or apricot
¼.C honey or corn syrup or molasses or a mix of all-I used honey
½ t. salt
Freshly cracked pepper
¼ t. garlic powder or flakes or 1 garlic clove minced
¼ t. onion powder or flakes or 1 T. minced onion
1 t. hot sauce of your choice
Pinch of dried cumin powder
Pinch of dried coriander powder
2 T. tomato paste

1. Place all the ingredients in a deep sauce pan and let simmer until the sauce is thick. Stir frequently. Taste and adjust the seasonings to your liking.

2. Place ribs, baby back, county style ribs or beef ribs in a plastic bag or container and pour cool sauce over the ribs to cover. Let marinate at least 24 hours.

3. Place ribs in foil in a 325 F. preheated oven and let cook for about 1 hour. After an hour open up the foil to let the ribs brown and the sauce caramelize.

4. Serve with baked potatoes or better yet good ole potato salad. Yummy!





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The Newest Member of the Family

Everyone in my family has quirky eating habits. The cat is included.


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Lunch in Cuneo-Osteria della Chiocciola

The province of Cuneo is located in extreme northwestern Italy, in the Piemonte region. It is 45 minutes by car southwest of Torino. The capital city of the province is also called Cuneo. As we drove into town I read on a sign, "Cuneo: La Province delle Castangne" (The Province of Chestnuts.) We were searching for a place to have lunch and found this place via The Slow Food Guide to Osterie of Italy.

Osterie are simple eating establishments, generally they are less expensive than trattorie. They usually have local dishes and a restricted menu. The wines are often local and moderately priced as the mark up in osterie tend to be much less than in trattorie and ristoranti.

I once went to an osteria in Milan that served great fried risotto. The waitress told me I could not have any if I did not finish my salad. She was 70 and her mom, the cook, was 90! Needless to say I ate my salad right up.

I ordered the tasting menu and Deme ordered the Chiocciola menu. Mine had 5 dishes and his had 4. I tasted half of every dish before I passed it along to him and he did the same. Thank goodness the portions were not too large or I would not have made it out the door.

Without further adieu, here were the dishes we liked best.


Pate di fegatini con crostone=Liver pate with crostini. This pate was dense and sweet not bitter or gamey tasting at all.


Carne cruda battuta al coltello=Hand chopped raw beef. Many times this dish in made with a special type of cow or veal that comes only from Piemonte. I never used to eat this in the U.S. but love it here.



Sformato di carciofi=An artichoke dish in which the artichoke is placed in a form of some sort usually with and egg base. Artichokes are in season now in Piemonte and this is a very common way to serve them.



Risotto alla versa=Risotto of Verza ( a type of cabbage) Our favorite dish on the menu, hands down. The risotto was perfectly al dente, the verza was flavorful, it had just the right amount of cheese and the broth did not overpower the flavor of the vegetables.


Sorbetto di ananas=Sorbet of Pineapple. I loved the texture of this sorbet. It had just a touch of liquor in it and was a pleasant end to lunch.



As we went to pay the bill, Deme spotted some old Gambero Rosso food guides. We opened one up and spotted his name in it.


Osteria della Chiocciola
Cuneo-Via Fossano, 1
+39 0171 66277
Closed on Sunday
Reservations not needed but recommended. The tables are set on the second floor as the first floor features a generous wine cellar in which you can taste and purchase wine.

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Two Words="Cat Arrived"

After three days at the kennel at the Atlanta airport, the cat arrived today via special courier. I was glad to see he was sitting in the front seat with the driver instead of being placed in the back with the other piece of luggage Delta Airlines misplaced.

In his kennel, my sister placed a cat bed, in which someone added shredded paper. Also under the cat bed were several layers of newspaper. When I took Bak-Gai out of the kennel, the shredded paper was soaked and stiff. The cat bed was soaked through and the layers of newspaper were wet and smelly. At this point I burst out crying as I saw his back legs were stained with newsprint from sitting on urine-soaked-paper for who knows how many hours. His usually brilliantly white coat was a bit dingy in places and his head is listing in the photo because he also has a case of ear mites. After he settles down, he'll need a bath.

As he walked out of the kennel, he recognized Zavier right away even after 11 months. Zavier licked his ears and ran to get his ball so they could play. The cat however looked stressed as he roamed from room to room, under the bed and after checking the entire apartment out, he made a beeline for the water dish. After a good drink, he was hungry, which I was glad to see. This afternoon I am taking him to the vet for some fluids in case he is dehydrated, then we will have all weekend to get re-acquainted.

He has lost a total of about 2-3 pounds over the past 11 months and I place to give him tons of TLC so he can get strong again. I even bought his favorite meat today, beef liver and kidneys. I cannot thank my sister enough for taking care of him this past year. She tried and tried to make him comfortable but he just never fully adjusted. Now that he is here with me, I feel like a giant weight has been lifted off my shoulders and those of my sister. Thank You Kentra, I will never forget your help this past year and I will remember your support forever!

It's obvious Zavier recognized the cat.


Poor Bak-Gai looked happy to see clean, fresh water.


Zavier tries out the cat's new bed.

I have never been so happy to see a cat going to the bathroom. I stole this line from Cyndi but it echos how I felt.


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I am Addicted to Drop Shots

Isn't she the cutest? Here is Chiara dancing and singing to Madonna. Sorry this is sideways but I don't know how to adjust it.


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Out of the Mouth of Babes

Just when I thought I could not feel worse, the cat was left at the airport AGAIN because of a miscommunication, I received this funny letter from my little sister which made me feel better.




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The Cat Saga Continues

After 11 months I finally got my act together and asked Deme to bring him back with him to Torino. After fluid therapy for his troubled kidneys, a teeth cleaning (extraction included), a laser procedure that repaired some gum overgrowths in this mouth, the cat was well enough to travel. He had all this done to him about 2 months ago and was deemed old but strong and resilient by the vet.

Medical records were copied, health certificates were signed, special prescription food was purchased, he was micro-chipped and so we thought it was all going to be okay. This morning when I went to pick Deme up from the airport, there was no cat. He never got on the flight that left Seattle and was headed to Atlanta, he missed his layover and is still in Atlanta now (along with another bag of Deme's).

Delta Airlines plans to have him on the same flight that he missed but one day later. I cannot tell you how infuriated I am. I called Delta constantly for 2 hours straight this morning until I spoke to someone who saw the cat and knew of his whereabouts. He is in the animal kennel at the Atlanta, Dennis, a great man, told me he took the cat out of his flight kennel and placed him in a cat run with a litter box and even told me he had some of the special kidney food that Bak-Gai is supposed to be eating. I was so worried that he might take a turn for the worse if he is not given access to a litter box and his special food. After explaining to Dennis all the intricate details of the cat's condition, he told me they had a vet on call and if need be he could get medical attention. I felt much better but not as good as I will feel when he is safely home with me.

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Cute Student #2

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Baby Artichokes

It was approximately 3 degrees Celsius this morning as Laura and I headed out to the outdoor market in my neighborhood. She was in search of a warm pair of gloves and I was shopping for lunch. I recognized one vender as a reputable man who sold me quite a few porcini mushrooms last Fall. Today he donned a warm hat and fingerless gloves as he trimmed the freshest baby artichokes I have seen in a long time. Both Laura and I immediately thought of artichoke salad as a starter for lunch. I had never eaten this salad until I moved to Italy, the artichokes in the U.S. are huge, with meaty leaves that are great in lemon butter but could never be eaten raw like these beauties.

Artichoke Salad
(Serves 2 as a starter)

4-6 trimmed baby artichokes
2 small handfuls of baby greens like mache aka corn salad aka lamb's ear lettuce
generous shavings of parmigiano cheese, use a vegetable parer
good olive oil
lemon juice
salt and pepper

1. If the artichokes are not trimmed then the outer leaves must be removed until only the tender purple leaves remain. The stems are then cut very short and trimmed. The open/flower end is cut flush where the leaves begin to turn yellow instead of purple, about 1-2 inches from the stem. When each artichoke is cut in half, they begin to brown instantaneously, so must be rubbed with a cut lemon. Remove the minute choke with a small paring knife or my trick a tiny cappucino spoon. Slice the artichoke halves fairly thinly and sprinkle with a few more drops of lemon juice and set aside.

2. Wash greens, dry and place in a large salad bowl. Add the artichokes, dressing, salt and pepper then toss. Layer the salad with the parmigiano shavings, repeat until you have about three layers. Serve as is or with crostini.



Look at the fresh artichokes, trimmed and ready for a salad.



The finished product.

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Lovely Liguria

I hit the jackpot this weekend and got a chance to spend some time in Liguria with my friends Antonio and Laura (American) who have a place in Sestri Levante. (Deme has been gone for work (in Seattle) for over a week. I missed the ocean and water so much and it was nice to see a coast, sand, boats, sea gulls, all the things that remind me of the Northwest and of Guam. The scenery is gorgeous and Laura has a great website in which you can see more photos. See it here.



Downtown Sestri Levante, the beach is right at your fingertips. The water was clear and oh so cold as Liguria was experiencing a cold snap this week.



As we walked along a trail from Santa Margherita to Portofino, I saw palm trees everywhere which made me think of an oasis.



This is a famous beach on the way to Paraggi, definitely a postcard photo-op.



A lonely fisherman braves the biting winds.



Portofino Bay, all you have hear about this place is true, it is gorgeous. Filled to the brim in summer, we were lucky to be able to stroll around at leisure.



The boat launch in Portofino-in the summer it launches hundreds of boats as the bay gets so crowded, the words "can" and "sardines" come to mind.



At the top of Portofino there is an old church and a grand look-out. Antonio snapped a photo of us shivering from the winds.


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The Cutest English Pupil Ever

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This is Chiara, one of my English students. She loves talking to the dog in English, one of her favorite phases is "Zavey, where's the ball?"

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The Cutest Pup Ever

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Poor Zavier, he does not take the cookie right after the roll because rolling on the rug gives him a charge and touching my hand for the treat gives him a shock.


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My little sister Tia sent me this handmade card for Chirstmas that I just received today. She cute out different colors of felt to make this 3-D and semi-interactive card. I just love it! There is a little elf with a felt hat and dress in Santa's workshop too.

The darling note inside, notice the alternating red and green letters.

Look at this cute pillow I got for Christmas from a cute little 6 year old girl that I used to take care of. I adore handmade gifts and this one is REALLY soft and cozy.

Self-Inflicted

Although I am bettering my Italian daily, something I am proud of, I still don't think I have a firm grasp of beauty salon lingo. How does one say "piecey, choppy, thin-it out, fringy, textured, and layers?" What about "Do you do razor cuts or slide cuts?" I really would have loved to say "Did you see that movie called Behind the Ropes with Meg Ryan? Can you give me a cut like that but just a tad bit shorter?" (It was not a good movie by the way.) There is no way I could have gotten my hair cut at the hair salon in Italy.

Being the handy, crafty thing that I am, I simply gave myself a haircut. I first called Mary Beth, a gal from TN, who gave me a trim about 2 months ago but she has moved on to an upscale salon in Como. With a good pair of scissors in my hand I began by chopping off the first 10 inches, the rest just followed.





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A Major Change

10 inches and counting...


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My Late Post About Christmas/New Years in Rome

We left Torino for Rome on December 23rd so we could be in Rome two days before Christmas. My niece, Ginevra and her friend Giselle and I set up the Nativity. Some of the little figurines were 40 years old, Deme remembered many of them.

After setting up the Nativity, we set up the tree. My mother in law also has a giant cactus in the house that is about 20 feet tall and we decorated that too with gold tinsel. It gives a new meaning to Christmas cactus.

The kids got books, DVD's, games and clothes, the usual stuff. One night we kept my nephew Giordano up until 3 o'clock in the morning playing the game of Risk, which is called Risiko in Italy. Fun was had by all and in the end, Irene, Deme's sister committed hari-kari because she just wanted to get to bed. I was great to spend the time with both children. Also, my mother in law has decided that she would really like to me to teach them English and so the lessons have begun.

For New Years we went out to dinner at a friend's house. My darling husband overdressed in a tuxedo while I got drunk of 2 glasses of champagne and wore jeans. That night everyone went out and we left Zavier at home alone. I thought he might be afraid of all the noise that was going on all around us but he was not. He was fine, we even called and left a message for him on the answering machine at home. What freaks we are!

When midnight hit there were explosions all over Rome. Everyone had fireworks and the night sky lit up with color and light. The smell of smoke and gunpowder was everywhere and it seemed like there was a heavy fog in the air. It was wild. If this would have happened in Seattle, I think that the police would have been called and someone arrested but when everyone is doing, it is hard to stop. From the terrace, we got a great view.

After 10 days, we are back in Torino. We only planned to be in Rome for a week but our car was broken into and it took a few more days to get it fixed. Very frustrating considering the fact that they did not take anything and it was pouring on Rome so our car got all wet. Mario the husband of Deme's mom said they were probably gypsies and did not know what to do with CD's and cell phone chargers. I am glad they did not take anything, I would have felt even more violated.

All in all the 10 days we spent in Rome were nice. My mother in law is starting to tear up when we leave and so I think that is our cue to try to move to Rome when we can.

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Being at my mother in laws house for 10 days really gave me time to do some research. Guess who this is? (To John H. and Alessandro M.-Did you ever think he could look so innocent?)

The day after New Years we had a little dinner party of 14 people. I made the dinner and Demetrio and a friend Marco provided the wine. The bottle to the far right (the blue one) is a normal sized bottle. We polished off three giant bottles, three mangnums (1.5 L). Thank goodness I did not wake up with a hangover.

My First “Real” Chinatown in Italy

The rain in Rome, which has been drenching the city for 10 days, finally let up yesterday. I have wanted to shop at the Chinatown in Rome for months. We parked in Piazza Vittorio and walked all around this piazza and its surrounding streets. Instead of being just a few shops here and there like in Torino, this area contained blocks and blocks of cultural shops. It was lunchtime; most of the Chinese shopkeepers were huddling in their shops eating noodle bowls. I could smell the aroma of chilies and broth wafting through the streets. The Chinese shops sold clothing, shoes, groceries and household items. I walked into a few shops to see what they had to offer. To my delight I found the same sharpening stone and the same meat cleaver I left in Seattle. Another good find was a Gambero Rosso recommended Chinese restaurant, I sampled a few traditional dishes and left the restaurant thinking “not bad”. We will probably go back again and sample more dishes next time. Check back for a full report with photos.

This area is known as one of the ethnic areas in Rome. In addition to the Chinese shops, I also found some great bead shops more like bead bazaars, which seemed to be operated by Arabic shopkeepers. There were simple beads, semi-precious stones of all types and silver by the gram. I took a mental note and planned to come back when my own supply needed replenishment. My main agenda on this day was to look for a tortilla press. After the bad experience I had at the Mexican place called Malibu in Torino, I thought I would try to make my own corn tortillas. Piazza Vittorio was a bit short on Hispanic shops so I did not accomplish my mission. Still I am not discouraged, the hunt will continue with an order from the U.S. or a more exhaustive search in Rome.

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Deme and the dog relaxing by the fire. Zavier has been worn out by all the attention he gets from friends and family that he falls asleep on a dime.

A New Years tradition in Italy, lentils and some sort of cotecino or zampone. Cotecino is a giant hot dog looking thing that comes in a bag. You place the bag in a giant pot of boling water and in about 10 minutes it's ready. Zampone is a similar type of thing but all the "meat" is stuffed back into a pig's leg/hoof and then cooked in the same manner. I think of it as a giant hot dog kicked up a notch as Emeril would say.

Take Me Out to the Cinema

This is my first post of 2006! I am looking forward to another year of blogging filled with more food, more travel, more ex-pat and blogging buddies and some new changes.

Last weekend our car was vandalized, the passenger side window was broken and the car got a bit wet, as it has been raining and cold in Rome for the last 10 days. Nothing was taken and so we were quite frustrated by the blatant act. With the holiday approaching, we knew it would be a few days before the window was repaired which gave us another 5 days or do in Rome. Being drenched, cold and downright dreary, we decide to go to a movie with Deme’s mom.

In Torino, one theatre plays movies in English/original version but at an inconvenient time, Tuesdays at 8 p.m. However, in Rome it is a different story. There are at least 3-4 theatres playing English movies a day. Today we went to see “Broken Flowers” featuring Bill Murray, Sharon Stone and friends. This was my first movie at the cinema in English in 10 months! I was excited, another reason to look forward to moving to Rome. Popcorn was had by all, there was a clean bathroom nearby, the seats were comfortable, the sound system was good, the assigned seats were right where we would have chosen them and the intermission was short.

Yes, you read right, the theatre seats were assigned when we bought our tickets. Not all theaters in Italy assign seats but many do. I usually like the sit in the middle of the row somewhere where I can see without straining my neck or squinting. Luckily, we got three great seats. In the middle of the movie, the film stopped rolling and the screen went blank, a bit of a moan rose up from the crowd.

I asked “Oh no, what’s wrong?”
Deme answered “The intermission.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot.” I answered.
(Last summer went to see Star Wars, in Italian, with the children and there was an intermission.)
“How long so these intermissions last?”
“Anywhere from 3-45 minutes.” he answered.
“Oh okay, what a pain.”

I was slightly annoyed but breathed a sigh of relief as the movie started up again about four minutes later.

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