Hey you!
I generally think of food as a sometimes-pleasant diversion of necessity. Yes, I realize that is blasphemous for some, but . . . I mean, I like a great tasting and smelling meal, especially when shared with a friend, but I am not too difficult to please in this area. And I generally prefer working to cooking.
However, for some reason, my friends here in Italia seem to be more interested in food than I ever noticed people being before. Maybe it is because when I am living in the country in Texas, I spend most of my time alone; whereas living in the city of Florence, Italy, I have easy access to a whole lot more people. Is this normal – so much time going into the preparation of food? Yes, I suspect it has been for centuries now.
And, while I liked eating olive oil before, I am now in the country famous for its love of all things olive. I took this image tonight at the Coop (grocery store) just outside of Porta Beccaria in Florence. It shows that there are lots more olive oils available than I ever saw in the States before. Here in Tuscana, they really celebrate the new crop each fall. Good fresh olive oil is green, not yellow. Italians eat it on everything. In fact, I remember my Italian friend Grazia offering me some melanzana (eggplant) one evening and then giving me an odd look of disbelief mixed with disapproval because I was too lazy to add olive oil.
I love it now – and am learning the joys of adding it to practically everything I eat now.
Buon appetito!
2 comments:
When we were in South America the British call eggplant, aubergine. They pickle it and eat it with bread. In Argentina they served it the same way, in a dish when you go in a restaurant, like we serve bread and butter. Very tasty.... I imagine it had olive oil in it, too.
Don't get me started on food. Did I say I'm hungry? :) Gotta' go to the kitchen ... see ya later.
well, that explains it! When I was verifying my spelling of melanzana, I noticed the definition was simply 'aubergine,' which I had never heard of. Allora, now I know that my dictionary is based off of British English, not American English. Grazie, Jo!
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