Food for thought….. Italian style

We are into our third week here in Sicily. We are still awaiting our part for the air suspension via the italian postal system. It’s cheap to stay here and it gives us an oppurtunity to try local produce and cuisine. I’m going to start with cafe (coffee). I bit the bullet and couldn’t resist buying a cafetière. The silver ones that go on the stove. The local Deco supermarket always has deals on coffee for them, so it seemed reasonable. The special this week 1kg of LavAzza coffee for €5.99 ( usually €9.99) Opening it up, it comes in 4 solid blocks. Reminding me of some sort of drug stash. This may have something to do with us watching, the breaking bad tv series at the moment. I thought I would need to stock up before we return to the uk. But i have a feeling it will last at least the couple of months we are here. Its been a bit of experimenting on strength as its espresso strength, so i make it into a long black for Jas with a touch of latte (milk). One of those beauties in the morning gets ya going. Out of habit for the last 12 months UHT milk is now the norm. And seems to be the most common form of milk around. Breakfast is a mixture of scrambled eggs or chocolate filled croissants from the local bread guy. Fresh soft rolls filled with ham or tuna for lunch. The tuna here is something we are going to stock up on. Tuna in olive oil, is addictive. It’s so much cheaper and more readily available here. Nearly always on special you can see why its popular. The mediterranean diet is something I so love about Italy. Last night we had fresh calamari from the fish monger in the supermarket. He cleaned and beheaded it for Jason. Forgetting lemons we coated it in flour, garlic salt and cooked in oil. It wasnt cheap but it was nice to have fresh seafood. We always see loads of fisherman fishing daily off the beach. Sicilian olives are something else. We buy these ones that melt in your mouth the pits still in. The olive itself just falls off around it. The olive trees here are gorgeous, the pale green and silver leaves pointing up to the sky, the various kinds distinguished by their colours. Little orchards are everywhere. I pass one that I love every time i go to the supermarket. Filled with olive groves it also has lemons, oranges and i think figs. An older gentleman tends to it, pruning back the branches, the fruits still laden on the trees. Oranges are my biggest buy at the supermarket, easy peel and sweet with no pips. I buy about 6 kg a week, and that’s for eating not juicing. We buy fresh local lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes for salads. We try to have one pasta meal a week. It isn’t hard to find as there are at least 20 shelves in the local supermarket dedicated to dried pasta. Every shape, size and about 10 different brands. Pasta sauce all tomato based, no creamy sauces here. Some in bottles with screw caps like beer bottles. We have tried Ragu, like a Bolognese with the meat (mince) already in there. Its interesting and the jury is still out on it. Topped with parmigiarno, you can buy this by the tub in the supermarket. One of our hosts Marirosa bought over a homemade pasta meal the other day. Like a pasta bake with ham, egg, cheese, peas and tomato sauce. It was lovely and filling, it served as our dinner for the night. Such a lovely thing to do, she speaks no english at all. We have slowly been building up a dialect between us. Our vege meal of the week, usually homemade soup with left over vegetables from the week. Pizza we are hooked on Napolitana/ Romana pizza. It’s a margarita with anchovies and olives. We have been down to the local pizzeria. The guy does some interesting combos, chips on pizza….. no thanks. So im looking at trying to make our own. Margarita bases 99c with anchovies and olives for less than half the price. Local meat specials had us trying a rolled lamb roast last week with rosemary. I couldn’t translate it, so had no idea what it was till i got back. The meat counter and deli always busy. The selection a butchers dream. The one thing I love about the produce here is, it’s not wrapped in plastic. It’s also fresh, no going off in a day. The local produce guys in the street selling whats on special at marked down prices from the supermarket. Whilst the Italians have a lot to learn about recycling and rubbish. They have the fresh produce sorted. Whilst a lot of the local restaurants are closed due to being off-season. I’m sure we will make it out for a meal before we move on.