The Religion of Food

I haven't yet said anything about the food here so I need to dedicate a post to just that... Food, Glorious Food!  And nowhere else in the world will you find that food and dining is such an integral part of the culture.  In Italy, meals are partaking in delicious things but also 'eating with the eyes', as Stefano our program director put it.  Italians are interested in two things, he said, food and beauty.  And there is a partnership there that everyone expects and respects. 

Food is about gathering, conversation, ideas, expression, conversation about the food you're eating and the food you ate before and the food you're going to eat soon.  Last night we had our orientation dinner which was held at a trattoria in the medieval quarter.  The courses were antipasti (fritti ~ breaded and deep fried peppers, zucchinis and eggplant; Bruschetta with tomatoes and olive oil and bruschetta with tuna; assorted dried meats like prosciutto, coppa and another spicy meat), a red sauce pizza, paper thin and divine, followed by a sausage pizza, then a tiramisu-type dessert. 

Okay, it was fabulous and the whole thing lasted THREE hours... I was about to die.  But! It was glorious.  And I have to say I was dying to get to the supermarket today to stock up my kitchen in my apartment with tons of vegetables.  Three days in Rome of almost all pizza and pasta and I am quite yigsed out.  In Rome I ate some terrific street pizza, don't get me wrong!  One time I had zucchini flower and anchovy pizza that was enough to make you roll your eyes back in ecstasy... but a girl can only eat so much pizza.  At least that's the case for this girl.  Ugh.  I need veggies!!!

So you shouldn't be surprised that my first trip to the market brought home this:

Lettuce, tiny green beans, tomatoes, beets, garlic, prosciutto, Romani burro (butter from the Rome area), brigante pinna (delicious sheep cheese), latte fresca (fresh milk, unpasteurized), pane cotto a legna (peasant-type bread), ouva fresche da allevamento a terra (eggs from chickens who are free and eat off the ground), Nero d'Avola wine....

And then I made this enormous salad and ate the whole thing:

Ciao!!