Friday, February 27, 2009

Gastronomic Indulgences

I dreamed about gelato last night. I haven't had any yet, its too darn cold here, but I'm already dreaming about it. This isn't a good sign for my waistline. Unfortunately, (Dang you, B. for suggesting them) I did find another delicacy to tempt me until the weather warms up. Cornettis. Sweet pastries that really do melt like butter in your mouth. Could it be that they are full of butter? Ila and I stopped at a cafe on the way home from the park (We found the neighbourhood garden, which looks fantastic, we just couldn't figure out how to access it.) There it was calling to me. An apricot cornetti. Luckily, there was only one left and once we were home Ila called first dibs. Who could argue with this?

It would be so easy to go out for every meal living here. Easy on the taste buds that is, not so easy on the pocket book. So we've been cooking. Don't laugh! You make it sound like I never cook. Okay, maybe microwaving isn't really cooking. I'm just not really into it, more into the eating side of the equation. However, the local Magi Market is no Trader Joe's. So we're actually cooking from scratch. Alright, now really, get off the floor. The idea of me cooking isn't that implausible. Of course, we've kept it to low fat risottos and soups, so nothing particularly fancy. I'm working up to the gnocchi. No way am I hauling a bag of potatoes up these stairs.

That isn't to say that we're not indulging a little. We went out with Guido on Thursday night, to the place right by his apartment that I mentioned the other day. Absolutely sumptuous. Crespelle for the first plate, Wild Boar for the second with Fried Zucchini Blossoms for the side dish. Zucchini Blossoms seemed to be a commonplace here. You see them in the grocery stores. So may be with all my talk of cooking I should do something with zucchini blossoms this week? It would be hard to be vegetarian here, or at least a lot more limiting than in the US. Good thing I gave that up.

1 comment:

  1. Zucchini blossoms! We got those at the farmer's market last summer. Stuff them with ricotta (use toothpicks to hold them together) and fry in olive oil. Heavenly.

    Now, this may be completely unfeasible, but if you ever have occasion to be out very late at night (by which I mean 3:30 or 4 a.m.) with some local people, ask about going to get "le paste calde." There are commercial bakeries (who supply bars) that are just making their cornetti at that hour and if you knock on the door, they will sell them to you fresh from the oven for pennies. (Standard disclaimer: At least, this was the custom in 1992.)

    Reading & eating & enjoying along w/you!
    Deborah

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