You Deserve A Break Today . . .

You see them posted along the SS1 in coastal towns miles east and west of Sanremo. At first you think, "there's one here, too?" then you realize it's just an ad for the “one and only” in Piazza Colombo. Once in Sanremo it's hard to miss, especially with a larger than life Ronald greeting visitors at the door! The first and famous one in Rome is, at least, respectfully hidden a few paces to the right of the Spanish Steps, but the one at the Pantheon is boldly opposite the great dome--to be fair, that location and dozens of others started out as a Burgy, the Italian answer to American Fast Food. Eventually, Burgy was "made an offer they couldn't refuse" by Ray Krok and his boys; all Burgy locations either succumbed or converted. Americans have their mafiosi too!

I ask, "why?" Why do Italians want American fast-food when they have some of the best fast-food and have had some of the best fast-food long before Ray and Ronald ever flipped their first burger? 

In Sanremo, just off the Piazza and just a few places beyond that “other place” is la Tavernetta the best focaccia in the world--sorry Liguria Bakery in North Beach, yours' used to be this good! You go in la Tavernetta. . . elbow your way to the counter. . .they ask you what you want and if you'll be eating it, "subito?". . . they hand it to you on a plate or piece of paper. . . you eat it. . .  usually you order more. . . you eat that. . . then you pay!  Fast-food?  It's even "Faster-food" than fast-food because you eat it before you pay.  Why take up all that time paying while the food is cooling off? And who wants to handle money before you eat with your hands?  Fast-food?  The Italian's have it down!  

Here it's Focaccia, Farinata, and Torta di Verdure, in la Sicilia it's Arancine and Cannoli. Each region has their special variety of fast-food and all of it can be consumed on your feet, and before reaching for your wallet!  Italy is fast-food heaven!

On the other hand . . . 

The next terrace over from ours is owned and occupied by Beppe and Marisa from Bra. Bra is located in Piemonte and is on our list of places to visit! Besides being a beautiful Baroque town, Bra distinguishes itself as being the headquarters of the "Slow Food" movement! In a nutshell (pun intended), Slow Food promotes excellent food and drink; grown, raised and prepared by traditional means in an effort to sustain food products threatened by convenience foods and industrialized farming. The movement has reintroduced varieties of vegetables, fruits, meats and cheeses our grandparents ate. If you've eaten "heritage tomatoes" you've eaten Slow Food.  It's beyond organic and it started here.  It's delicious but it takes time, lots and lots of time, like a good polenta! 

If you've made polenta, real polenta and not the kind that comes in tubes, you know it takes an ample amount of work. Boil the water with a fist-full of salt, whisk-in the corn meal then stir continuously for 45 minutes. Use a long wooden spoon to avoid the burns that bursting bubbles of polenta can cause. Pour it out and enjoy in countless ways! We, the Ghiorzi's,  pour our polenta out onto a board and let it harden, then, cut into squares, we layer it with sauce and cheese and put it in an oven to bake (polenta al forno). There are instant varieties of polenta and there is a "microwave method" I've used many times, but there's nothing like the slow-stirred kind. I think la polenta is proof that Slow Food is a good thing!

Italian food culture is complicated, it's a culture of contrasts. Fast-food vs. Slow Food; the two can live side by side as long as the ingredients are top notch. Ironically, Italian fast-food is often prepared with Slow Food ingredients and techniques--the only thing "fast" about it is how it's eaten! There's nothing like grabbing a piece of focaccia or an arancina and gobbling it up subito. . . and. . . there's nothing like savoring a slow-stirred polenta! Goodbye "microwave method" I'm in Italy now where we "eat first-pay later" and take our time when it matters most; "hand me the spoon Ma, it's my turn!"  Unless you have one of these . . . 

God bless Italian ingenuity. . . it's not about saving time it's about having more time to prepare more! Buon Appetito!

Before and After. . . a garden update!

I haven't blogged for a week or so. . . ' been too depressed.

Beans Before

I planted my Fall/Winter garden in August in part to have fresh vegetables for the winter, but most importantly, to see if I could! Here we are in Italy and that's what Italians do; they plant their orti and eat fresh verdure! We priced a motozappa (roto-tiller) and decided our budget couldn't handle it so, with hoe in hand, I turned the earth myself. . . just a plot or so a day. By the end of the first week our land looked more like a grave yard than a garden. I then sowed my beans and broccoli, my lettuce and celery, my zucchini and cabbage and four baby artichoke plants, and all was well. With gentle daily watering the plants sprouted and turned their little green heads to the sun! Our beans worked their way up the poles; the lettuces began forming heads; the zucchini were outgrowing their plot and had to be thinned. I was re-learning about nature and how she works and a feeling of contentment dawned.

Cabbage Before

Artichokes!

Now that the garden was established I turned my attention to the mechanics and hardscape of the land. There were drystone retaining walls to rebuild; walls that had fallen a century or two ago. We had eroding and ever-lengthening slopes to address or we'd lose part of the upper terrace to the lower terrace. I rolled up my sleeves and dug out a few stones then convinced Rich to join in the fun!  In a few days we had a good start on a section of wall between two ancient and still-standing parts. We argued about the best ways to build this wall but, regardless, the work steadily progressed. We were pleased and Rich was a little less "overwhelmed" with the all work a terreno requires. Things were starting to take shape, we were proud of our accomplishments!  We took a break from the garden during a rainy couple of days and focused our attention on the "fresco" work in the guest room of Casa Zappiana.

tap tap tap!

While we were happily "chipping away" at our guest room some uninvited "guests" were "chipping away" at our garden!

&                               &                             &                      

Finally, the weather cleared and we decided to clear our dusty lungs with some country air. We drove out to the land with no specific agenda; perhaps a bit of weeding, or wall building, or both! On the drive we had convinced ourselves that our plants were happy in their beds and we shared our anxious desire to see if the rain and run-off might have toppled the restored section of wall. We hopped out of the Scioneri and I rattled the chains and unlocked the padlock of our "sturdy, but needs proper hinges," gate. I surveyed the land and . . . ,"oh!"  "Oh!"  The wall was in place all right; those rocks were heavy, they didn't budge, but the garden. . , "my garden. . . oh!"   "S**t!"    "Oh!"   "Son of a f@#$%@#$%^!" "Damn cinghiali!"   "I broke my back for this?"   "How 'n-the-hell did they get in?"   "Damn those cinghiali!"    Etcetera.   Rich quietly picked up a few of the scattered plants and re-earthed them knowing that there was nothing he could say to quell my temper and stop my toungue.  Okay, perhaps I'd exaggerated a bit, the damage was not that bad. . . that day!

Beans After 

I had heard about the ruin that boars can bring but somehow I thought our perimeter was secure and, knowing how Italians like to "embellish" their stories I guess I always thought, it can't be that bad!  It's that bad! Obviously not satisfied with their first visit the boars came back again and again, night after night, "rooting" only where the ground was soft and moist, i.e., my planting beds! Battle lost, Rich gave up replanting the scattered remains. In the end the beasts had destroyed the entire lettuce and zucchini beds; the artichokes were no more; the cabbage patch succumbed on the third day; they left one bush-bean plant and gingerly destroyed the pole beans without toppling the flimsy poles I rigged. I'm still marveling about how they managed that, did they think I wouldn't notice? Smart bastards!

Cabbage After

                                                                        

Artichokes?

At this point we've decided to work only the  hardscape of our garden. We need to complete our walls and address the erosion issues. We plan on mending fences (not with the cinghiali) and replace our gate hinges. I'd like to put in an irrigation system with timed watering when, eventually, there's something to water.  There's some work ahead and I suppose winter's the time to do it. Winter's also the time to enjoy cinghiale . . . in a stew!

Through it all the wall grew . . .

Wall Before

And now!

End of Spring

29 Settembre 2010