Eggplant Parmesan or Melanzane alla Parmigiana as they say in Italy is claimed to be from the Southern regions of Italy both Campania and Sicily claim it as their. It Is usually served as a Primi Piatti or first course in Italian Cuisine.
As I stroll the meat isle at the grocery store in italy I am often baffled at the descriptions on the packages such as Macinata Scelta Bolvino Adulto, which simply is ground beef. But the age of the beast, the type of animal (pig, cow, chicken, etc…) Where it was raised as well as the cut are all important parts of the description. I often can’t find cuts that I am familiar with from America and so end up with less than the desired effect when cooking my standard recipes.
Italy is a Peninsula full of thermal activity, yet this is something you rarely read about in any guidebook of Italy. From top to bottom, Italy is speckled with hot springs ranging from high-end resorts to free cascades on mountainsides. Sometimes the hot spring will be a simple, natural pool out in a grassy field that will charge a small fee of €6 to enter. Such as Bagnaccio, where there is a snack bar, changing rooms and bathrooms and you provide the rest. I like Bagnaccio because it is a simple pool, low price and it has a nice grassy open area. I recommend packing a picnic, bringing a blanket or even lounge chairs and enjoying a couple of hours lounging at the hot spring. It is especially nice in Spring or Fall when you can soak up some warm sun while you lounge.
Recently a few friends from California were in the North of Italy and asked to meet us at the halfway point between us, which happily for us was Tuscany. We love an excuse to journey north and play tourists for the day. Our friends chose the lovely hill town of San Gimignano as a meeting place. The last time we were in Tuscany was about a month ago and the seasonal changes are beautiful to observe when driving through Tuscany.
Jeff’s Parents came to spend a month with us and we decided to take a little road trip up to the Tuscan and Umbria borders of our region of Lazio. We have chosen Montefiascone for our home base. It is an exhausting exercise to try and decide where to spend your time anywhere in Italy because there are so many choices.
I’ve been hearing about the Garden of Ninfa since I arrived in this part of Italy. It is a beautiful garden that thrives and blossoms on the ancient crumbling ruins of Ninfa, a settlement with a temple dedicated to Nymphs. Nymphs are mythological maidens said to inhabit beautiful mountain regions and lakes.
So our three months in Italy has come to end much too soon. We have felt the temperatures drop as late summer became autumn and now autumn is turning to winter. The summer clothes have been safely stowed away until once again we are imagining ourselves frolicking on the beaches and strolling through town in flip flops. We have replaced those days with sweaters and boots and hats and scarfs. We are learning how to dry clothes without a dryer when they no longer dry on the line. Now we hang them on the wall heaters and heated towel racks and hope for the best.
A local friend that has origins in Napoli asked if we wanted to go on a Food tour of Napoli you know the answer was a resounding “yes!” So we took the 6:58 am train from Nettuno heading to Napoli. We met our friends in route and two and a half hours later we were disembarking at the Naples train station.
We were invited to the beautiful area of San Felice Circeo about an hour south from our house along the coast to have dinner with friends. The evening started at 5:00pm as we drove into the scenic area of San Felice Circeo and parked along the harbor.
Homemade Cannoli
(You will need cannoli molds and pastry bags to make these, I ordered mine at Amazon.com and they were under $10 and arrived in a few days. You can fry the shells a few days before filling them so it’s a great “do-ahead” recipe and a real crowd pleaser!
