Monday, June 14, 2010

Italy Journal 1 - Food Shopping & Cooking

            Mi chiamo Diane. Sono Americana, di New York. Ho trentidue anni e ho un marito simpatico, si chiamo Kevin. Studio gastronomia e cibo italiana. Parlo inglese e un po spagnolo. Il mio indirizzo e via dei San Jacopo 13, en Fiorenzi. My name is Diane. I am American, from New York. I am 32 years old and have a nice husband named Kevin. I study cooking and food of Italy. I speak English and a little Spanish. My [temporary] address is 13 San Jacopo in Florence.
The lesson today was an introduction to Italy, including conversational basics in Italian, geography and basic food terms from various regions. We had a walking tour to the Mercato San Ambrogio. Since I arrived here, just two days ago, I have really experienced the significance and importance of food in Florentine society.
            Yesterday my roommates, along with other friends—a group of ten students—went to the Billi supermarket and shopped alongside the native Italians for ingredients to make our own Sunday evening family dinner. We went to the supermarket because it was Sunday and the open air markets were closed. At the supermarket, I was surprised to see so many imported foods, particularly in the produce department. Not knowing the language, it was tricky to decipher which foods were actually from Italy. After all, I didn't fly thousands of miles to get here and eat mangoes and bananas! As my husband, Kevin, back in NY, knows, I can spend hours food shopping, looking at all the ingredients and labels etc. Luckily my pokiness meant that we missed a rain shower—a blessing, considering how far the walk home would be. With groceries in tow, five of us headed back to our apartments across the Fuime Arno river and cooked an amazing meal of orchette with sautéed vegetables and cheese, along with a salad, garlic bread, and lots of wine. I chose the menu and cooked most of the food, teaching my new friends how to cut vegetables, wash salad, and make vinaigrette. It was amazing.
            Along the way to the Mercado today, I tasted a sandwich called Il Lampredotto, made of cow stomach. It tasted more like pork than beef to me, and with the texture of a fatty corned beef. It was fun to try such an unusual food. In the Mercado, I wished that I could remember more of the Italian language lesson just an hour earlier. Most of the vendors there did not speak English, but I still got along okay. The rainbows sea of fruits and vegetables was breathtaking. I purchased lacinto kale, cabbage, tomatoes, fennel, and the biggest celery I've ever seen. My roommates, Carolyn and Nicky, bought proscuitto and some cheese and we decided  share everything – tutti. Our little dinner group decided to collectively purchase ingredients to make a family meal of Parmigiana di Melanzane, eggplant parmesan, later in the week. An interesting fact about eggplant parmesan that we learned in class today is that it is not named for the cheese. Sicily, where the dish originates, has its own dialect that is unintelligible from regular Italian. The word 'parmigiana' means 'shutters', and refers to the thin stacks of fried eggplant, which resemble window shutters.
            In class we also learned about the differences  between peasant cuisine and rich cuisine, namely that the wealthier people historically ate more meat, such as Steak Florentine, and the poorer people ate more beans and vegetables. Everyone eats pasta. This sort of "peasant cuisine", making plant-based meals accented by meat and cheese is exactly the type of cooking that I enjoy most. Being in Florence, I do not miss my CSA (community supported agriculture) subscription food share because the food here is just as fresh and organic and wonderful.
            For dinner tonight I cooked my household a light meal of eggplant, garlic, tomatoes, fennel, cabbage and kale braised in white wine with garlic and pepperoncini, topped with Italian canned tuna. We had run out of bread and olive oil but it still tasted wonderful because everything is so fresh. After cleanup and homework, we will go watch the World Cup at the park and eat some gelato.
            Another part of the Florentine culture that I'm surprised to be enjoying so much is all of the walking. We walk everywhere. My apartment is a fourth floor walkup. It is steep. I forgot my pedometer at home in New York, but am sure that we are clocking at least five miles per day, if not more.  Most of my time is spent walking around in transit. The street vendors are annoying and very aggressive here, especially the men selling posters. It makes me laugh that someone would come to the Piazza Santa Croce, where we watched part of a renaissance-era soccer game reenactment yesterday, only to purchase a poster of Marilyn Monroe!
            After my third day here, I am already getting used to this lifestyle and know that I will miss it when I go home in a month.  I'm really grateful for how the program is structured, giving us this introduction to the language and basic culture before going into our subject classes next week. I came here for a class called Food, Culture & Society and it seems like I'm already getting a lot of all three even though it hasn't technically started yet.


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