My Bologna has a first name...

Let's talk bologna - and I do not mean the lunch meat. That was the destination of our adventure on Saturday; once I heard that it is the gastronomic capital of Italy, it got priority on my must-see list!

We got up waaay too early to catch a specific train because the only trains to Bologna are the super-fast [read: super-expensive] trains, but we being the wily, financially clever college students that we are found the one cheaper train at 8:35 AM and planned accordingly...only to arrive at the station to discover that it was already sold out. 'Sall good, we at least got the cheaper one on the way back...but we had a mourn a little the sleep time we sacrificed in vain. 

We got to Bologna and had no idea where to go, so started wandering in hopes of eventually running into the center. We found this sweet used book fair:

We bought a little present for Sam and I got a restaurant guide for Northern Italy for ONE EURO!! Sure, it's the 2002 edition, but it has a glossary of terms for the typical dishes of the areas and we found lots of restaurants we had already been to in the Florence section, so I would say it was well worth the price!

On our way towards the center (we hoped!), we came upon a park:

There was a huuuuge flea market too! Bologna is home to the oldest university in Europe, so it is a major city for students. Even if I hadn't known that before, I could have guessed judging from the vast amounts of bongs being sold.

Next stop: coffeeeeeee. After obtaining a horribly overpriced map, we sat down and planned out our route for the day. I came prepared with, as always, a list of good restaurants/gelaterias to hit, and Bologna being the gastronomic capital and all, good food was the main mission for our day.

We wanted to check out the Mercato delle Erbe, Bologna's food market, and compare it to our beloved Mercato Centrale a Firenze!

Tuscany does bread, Bologna does fresh-made tortellini. (Not gonna lie, bread wins in my book...but it's definitely a hard decision.)

Note the large inflatable banana hanging from the ceiling.

Rose-like lettuce!

Easter in Italy = Chocolate eggs GALORE!

It was nice and all, but Mercato Centrale is still #1 in my book. Nicer atmosphere and less rushed, I think.

I'm really loving these trips specifically geared towards food. This really is the way to live.

We started getting a little hungry, so we decided to wander in the general direction of one of the restaurants.

The restaurant I had written down was, of course, closed for lunch :( Because of our train schedule, we planned to go big for lunch and then have a light dinner, but unfortunately this restaurant was not cooperating. No matter, we found another little trattoria nearby. We saw a hand-written menu on the outside, which we have learned is usually a very good omen.

We split 2 pasta dishes:

Tagliatelle alla bolognese (of course!)

Tortellini con panna (cream) e prosciutto

The bolognese was alright; certainly authentic, but I think I am just not much for meat sauce. The tortellini were incredible. I didn't think I would like it; I connect the cream-and-ham combo to dishes that have peas (my mom & brother adore mac & cheese with ham and peas)...and my abhorrence of peas knows no bounds. ICK. BUT, this was perfectly pealess! The cream wasn't too heavy, either - just light enough to add the rich taste without being goopy or overwhelming. And as I have mentioned, prosciutto is just wonderful. The little tortellini were filled with a kind of sharp cheese, probably parmeggiano (it originates in this region of Italy) and a meat which we both were guessing was also a pig-product. We were happy girls!

But, just in case we weren't happy enough, we stopped at a chocolate store we had passed for some amazing-looking gelato. However, you can't judge a book by its cover - this was even better than it looked. And let me tell you, it looked absolutely drool-worthy.

(Post-1st lick)

"Cuor di cacao" e frutti di bosco

The "cuor di cacao" (heart of cacao) was 75% dark chocolate dotted through with teeny chips of dark chocolate. Might be the best chocolate ice cream I've ever tasted. And it was perfect with the sorbetto, which is also probably some of the best I've ever had - the texture was not too icey or too sherbert-like, it was just smooth enough to please the palate.[Frutti di bosco, literally fruits of the forest, is basically mixed berry.] It was so fresh and fruity and...oy. If I was happy before, this was just pure uninhibited joy.

We continued to stroll/windowshop for a bit. I really like the architecture here, pretty brightly colored buildings and lots of archways.

And I like any city that colors the buildings with turquoise!

Ran into some nice piazzas too...

Spring is trying to come...just not quick enough!

Italy really likes their leaning towers.

It also likes its ruins. Seriously, give me a building and I promise I have seen it thousands of years later.

 We eventually felt the need to sit and chill, so we found a caffe and people-watched for a bit. People are just...interesting. Particularly the ones who feel that cutting slits in the back of their jeans juuust below their butt cheeks is a necessary fashion statement. No picture - you're welcome.

We got up and did some more aimless wandering before eventually deciding to try and find a place for a glass of wine and a snack. We found a place that I had heard about and it looked perfect. Very nice red wine. I also got two crostini:

Vegetarian (eggplant-zucchini-onions-peppers) and another with mortadella, a deli-type meat that is a speciality of Bologna, and some kind of very creamy cheese, almost like cottage cheese. It wasn't mind-blowing, but fit the bill. And we really liked the chill, local feel of this place :)

All in all, Bologna was fun - a nice mix of a big city feel and the Italian culture. As a "gastronomic capital" I was a little underwhelmed, but it's probably something to discover with the help of a guide. I really like day trips - at the end, I'm always ready to come back to Florence. Home sweet home.

~Namaste~

Not Dead Yet

I just wanted everyone to know that I have not died, fallen off the face of the earth, or entered into Witness Protection! My internet refuses to stay connected for longer than 30 seconds (you don't even know how much I wish that were an exaggeration), and that makes blogging an impossibility (I've been uploading the same picture for about half an hour. Denial? What?). I will return ASAP with lots of good stuff!!!

Ciao ciao

&

~Namaste~

San GimignanOMG!

Sorry for no post yesterday - my internet was not being cooperative. Sometimes it's like a small child; it gets cranky if it doesn't get a nap in the afternoon.

Friday was super exciting because it was my cooking class field trip to an organic farm in San Gimignano, a town made of little hills in Siena and what I think is one of the most beautiful places in the world. 

Exhibit A (and then some):

The farm, San Donato, dates back to 1001!!! How cool is that??? They mostly produce wine, olive oil, saffron and spelt, but they grow other crops as well, and just a couple years ago became an organic farm. In fact, they recently bottled their first organic wine product in 2009. We were there to taste the wine and the olive oil, and taste we did! They produce Vernaccia wine, which comes from a grape introduced to the San Gimignano area dating back to the thirteenth century. The Pope's cellarmaster declared it the finest white wine in Italy! It was also the first Italian wine to be given DOC classification and was later upgraded to the higher DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) , which is basically the highest award of quality insurance possible for a wine to receive. 

We got off the bus, the farm owner gave us a brief history of the farm and the vineyards, and then it was on to the eat/drinks!!

There was a spread of olives (of course), picked peppers, Tuscan bread topped with salami or prosciutto, and garlic bread bathing in olive oil. And wine. Lots and lots of wine.

I swear I was not in any way inebriated when I took this picture. But I think Frida may have been...

I started with the white - the Vernaccia (you are supposed to start with white - see, I'm learning!) OH MY GOD even I could tell this was good freaking wine. I actually had seconds! (And by seconds, I mean I poured myself a 2nd tasting portion, so like 2 oz) It was delicious. And because we were at the farm it was produced at, they sold it there for 5 Euros a bottle. I bought 2 and a half! Cha-ching!!

There was also a blush wine and a red wine, which were nice. I liked the blush a little more than the red. I wish I could use sommelier terms to describe them, but all I can tell you is I liked them. Baby steps, people.

On to the food! 

Salami isn't really my thing, but I've been feeling like I've not been getting enough protein, and I wanted to try at least a bite of everything. I have, however, discovered my love for prosciutto....

Italy just knows how to do food right.

There were also bite-sized pieces of bread spread with fresh ricotta cheese mixed with the farm's saffron (hence the yellow color) - I was a little disappointed, I really couldn't taste much after 2 or 3 tries. I love saffron; perhaps ricotta is just the wrong vehicle for it? Or maybe my tastebuds just weren't awake yet. 

These other pieces were spread with a very soft and creamy cheese, and I think it was bleu cheese - this I adored. Usually bleu cheese is too stinky for me and I really don't like it, but this was incredible! Very mellow, but with just enough bite to it to satisfy. I kept thinking my mother (bleu cheese's #1 fan) would have died. I'll have to ask my teacher what it was! 

Ok, these olives are probably the best. I've. ever. tasted. And I am quite the olive connoisseur - when I was a tyke I ate an entire can (and then some) of black olives for breakfast. It was unreal how good these were. I left quite a little collection of pits behind.

With olives that good, the olive oil must be drop-dead amazing, right? 

YEP! 

They brought plate after plate of toasted Tuscan bread slices that had been salted and baked with garlic, drowning in pools of liquid gold, aka the best olive oil my taste-buds have ever had the pleasure of meeting. The aroma was so fruity and fresh and the flavor was just out of this world!! I just...I can't....no words. Ohsogood.

After our "light lunch" (HA!), we wandered around the farm. What a life. I could so live here.

My kind of stone lion - napping in the sun.

Limone!

Farm=Animals!!!

And vineyards=wine cellar:

And get a load of their backyard:

The wine I drank at lunch came from these exact vines. It is pretty cool to see the actual vines that went into my glass. Pretty freakin cool.

I  got back around 2:30 to pouring rain in Florence. The sun came out bright and shiny not 10 minutes after I had gotten back to the apartment....love ya Florentine weather. I went to the grocery store and got OATS!!! because they finally restocked them, and then Alaina and I ventured off to a chocolate store I had heard about to look at the Easter goods!

Benvenuti a Vestri!

In Italy, instead of baskets, each child gets a BIG hollow chocolate egg that has a little present inside. I considered it necessary for my cultural assimilation here to partake in this tradition...and bought myself a big ole dark chocolate egg. Don't worry, you'll see it...I can't wait to open it!!!

Alaina and I had planned on getting some gelato after our chocolate quest, and whoda thunk that the chocolate store would have gelato? This we had to try!

Mango + dark chocolate

OH.EM.GEE. This is quite possibly the best gelato I've had here yet - the mango was just perfect (I'm a little mango obsessed - it's just so dang delicious!), and the dark chocolate was so...so...completely satisfying. Rich  and dark, but not overwhelmingly so. I enjoyed every last bite.

Quite a gastronomically successful day, I would say. My favorite kind of day.

~Namaste~

Of Music and Air

April? Is that you already?? HOW DID THIS HAPPEN???

Today was SO much better than yesterday! I ended up going to bed late because of the concert, so sleep was again seriously lacking in my life. I pretty much made a beeline from the classroom back to my bed and was gone until almost 1 PM! I swear, this is the effect pre-bedtime yoga has on me. It's incredible. I'm still pretty tired even now though, so I don't think the nap was a bad thing.

We got up and went to lunch at Mario's, a Florentine institution right near the market. It was a bit of a wait, but we distracted ourselves with the pet store next door that had BUNNIES!! Aaaah, so freaking cute!! There was one on particular that I would totally get - he/she was lying on its back in the corner of the cage, paws in the air, just chillin'. 

I'm a little in love.

(photo credits to Alaina)

When we were finally called in, we quickly decided it was worth the wait. The restaurant is one little room crammed with tables where everyone sits with everyone else. The three of us were seated at a table for four, and the empty seat was quickly filled by one of their many regulars, a real estate guy named Stefano. He was really cool and chatted with us - and me in Italian a little, which always brightens my day! The atmosphere in this place was just so fun, so busy, so...Italian. Best word to describe it. And I haven't even gotten to the food!

There were hand-written signs posted above the windows that let you see into the cooking area that stated

1) They never use frozen foods.

2) They never use cream or bouillon cubes.

3) Asking for ketchup is strictly forbidden.

Love it!

I ordered the ribollita, the traditional Tuscan bread-based soup (more like a thick stew). It was awesome; I really need to try to make this again with more success! I didn't get a picture because a) I was hungry and b) I didn't want to freak out the poor stranger sitting with us, but it looked pretty similar to my first bowl of ribollita, perhaps this time a little smoother. Either way it was perfect and delicious and we are SO going back. Hasn't quite stolen my heart from Sergio's, but we're already regulars there! Mario's, however, was staffed by some reaaally cute boys...hmm....what a dilemma!

After lunch we came back and chilled. The weather is still quit indecisive - it downpoured with lightning and some earth-shaking thunder for about 30 minutes, and a couple hours later the rain came back despite the sun shining...come on, Florence. We've talked about this.

After some lazing, lounging, and looking up things to do on our adventure planned for Saturday (to be revealed, all in good time), I threw - quite literally - a salad together:

Messy picture, but it tasted good! I just loooove veggies :)

And look at my pretty tomato color spectrum!

Alaina also made pasta all'amatriciana and I felt obligated to sample, you know, to build up my food critic skills *winkwink*. She did a maaahvelous job! It's basically pasta tossed in tomato+olive oil+garlic+parsley +pancetta with parmesan cheese. She also added some sage, which [we think] added a nice hint of sweetness. Yes, it is as good as it sounds. [Click her name for pictures!]

Tonight was concert #2: Vivaldi's 4 Seasons and his Gloria. The solo violinist for the Four Seasons was absolutely incredible. As in, I kept expecting to look up and see smoke coming off her bow. I also learned that in Italy they do not give standing ovations, they just clap. And clap. And clap. I think she gave 5 bows! But she very much deserved them! Plus, the Four Seasons is just a fun piece to hear. And it was easy to see that the musicians were enjoying performing it! The Gloria was good, but nothing jaw-dropping. The choir was a little sloppy with their entrances and diction, which gets to me a little because all the choirs I have been in have been intense about everyone singing perfectly together. But the alto soloist's voice was amazing. It was so thick, rich and a little dark, like really good fudge (yes, I can and do compare everything to food.). I do love a good concert!

On my way back tonight, I decided it was gelato time. To Grom it was!

Caffe + "Crema di Grom"

Their caffe is suuuper strong and espresso-y, which I adore. Crema di Grom is basically a creamy, kind of vanilla base studded with dark chocolate slivers and some of kind amazing cornmeal shortcake biscuit. Gelato is always worth it.

Hearing concerts with singing always makes me yearn to sing myself! In case I haven't mentioned it, I am a music minor and when I got to college I changed my instrument from flute to voice and never looked back. Singing is such a liberating activity for me, and always has been. In fact, when I get really worked up, the best way to let off some steam is belting out some Broadway tunes or some of my favorite Italian arias. I have noticed in the last half year or so that I have had trouble breathing; sometimes I feel like I have to remind myself to inhale. It's quite odd. I do attribute a good bit of it to yoga, which I started practicing almost daily this fall. Yoga increases self-awareness like WHOA, especially where breath is concerned as it is such a major aspect of practice, so I know that my increased work in yoga has increased my own awareness of my body in general, which is definitely a good thing. What is not so good is that it has lead me to suspect that one of the big reasons I seem to have this breathing issue is my almost unconscious need to suck in my stomach, one of the many lingering side-effects of my brush with ED (eating disorder). It pisses me off that I am still so anxious about my physical appearance that I would subconsciously deprive myself of air to "look thinner." Um, thinner may be considered more attractive, but turning blue from lack of oxygen? Not so hot. But to go back to singing (I swear, my ramble has a point), I was thinking tonight that I did not have this breath problem when I was practicing singing more often; it was more automatic to me to breath "correctly" because that is about 85% of what singing is. So, all this to say, I am going to start practicing again when I come home to see if my hypothesis that singing=better breathing in general is right. I hope my household likes my voice!

I'm very excited because tomorrow I am going to a farm in San Gimignano for my cooking class (hence the lack of class today)!!! We will be there for lunch, and you can bet that Frida will be coming along for the ride. Not entirely sure what to expect - but that makes it all the more exciting, no?!

~Namaste~

P.S. If you love peeps [like me!], you MUST see this: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2010/03/29/GA2010032903934.html?sid=ST2010032904380

 Too. Effing. Cute.

Just...Odd.

Today was...odd. Specific, I know, but I can't quite use any other words to describe it.

Last night was, um, not so good. I walked out of yoga into an intense rain storm, thunder and lightning to boot, and returned home soaked. It stopped pretty quickly (after I was inside, of course), and we headed out in the spirit of Ethnic Tuesday to find a recommended Indian restaurant somewhat nearby. I guess I didn't eat enough yesterday, but between trying to go to yoga with a mostly-empty stomach (in general  it's just NOT a good idea to do yoga on any kind of a full stomach...just trust me) and then waiting for everyone to get ready, well, my roommates got to meet Hypoglycemic Gillian. She's not a very pleasant person to be around; in fact, she's mean, nasty and just generally someone to avoid. However, I have had enough experience with her cameo appearances in my years that I have trained her to, instead of "speaking her mind" (her vocabulary is pretty small - lots of 4-letter words), become very very quiet. Not only did we get lost a couple times on the way, but it took about an hour for the server to bring us our dinner. It was not exactly the fun time I had planned, because I ADORE Indian food! And after my trip to India, it's really fun for me to relive my amazing experience there through the cuisine. This restaurant was quite good, though - I ordered my favoritest dish aloo gobhi (although they called it something else, I think gobi sulemani...but really, it's all the same thing). It's basically potatoes and cauliflower cooked and spiced and I love it. Unfortunately because of the aforementioned low blood sugar, I didn't have the presence of mind to take a picture before wolfing it down, but it looked a little something like this:

Try it!!!

I wasn't able to go to bed early last night for reasons out of my control, and I can feel the dark circles under my eyes today. Ick, hate that feeling! Italian was....well, where the oddness began. We played a game with the other class and their teacher is quite a character! I mean that in the best possible way - he was hilarious. I was so energized after that class I almost didn't go back to bed when I came home...almost. The grocery store refuses to restock the oats, and so I pretty much had nothing to stay awake for. Woke up a couple hours later, and it was off to Sergio's for lunch! Truly one of the highlights of my week. I just love it.

Zuppa di verdure (vegetable soup)

I ordered this warily, a little worried that it would be too "soupy" - I have a serious problem with brothy soups. In fact, until I came here, I pretty much refused to eat them! But here they are more stew-like which I love, and I trusted Sergio's to deliver. And oh boy, did they. This was great! Just brothy enough to soak up with the bread but I didn't feel like I had to slurp my lunch. It was a big bowl of zucchini, carrots, potatoes, black cabbage, beans...and probably more. We left very happy!

It was on to the market for some fresh veggies & fruit after that! I know I've said it intimidates me, but I think I'm getting more comfortable. I really love going and wandering around - it's just a really interesting place to be.

And then something EXCITING happened - I got an email that said a package for me had arrived!!!

Valentine's PEZ, Chocolate Mousse Bunny Peeps (!), Jelly Bellies, a super cute card, a perfume sample, an article of the hottest-man-alive-aka Michael Buble, and my food scale. My family loves me:)

And my roommates will love me because I am about to put that food scale to good use - baking time!!!

I got hungry early again and made an easy dinner:

Whole wheat penne, arugula, cherry tomatoes, cucumber (which I haven't had in forever!! my fave veggie), with pecorino in a mustard-balsamic vinaigrette. It fit the bill, but was missing a certain something...I think some bell pepper, more cheese, and a protein (beans?) would help. I'll work on it.

I think today's oddness was mostly a kind of "blah" feeling. Very much like the weather today actually - it was sunny, but when you looked up you only saw clouds. Odd. Felt a little homesick, but then a little heartsick when I thought about leaving here...lots of things whirling around in my head.

Tonight I had a concert to attend for my music class. Mauro Pagani is a singer/guitarist/violinist/flautist, and this particular concert was in the theme of World Sacred Music Week. It was really eclectic, some songs reminded me of Billy Joel, others of Santana, and others of Irish jigs! It was Pagani and then a guy on drum set and another on keyboards/accordion. I really loved it, and I hope I can find a CD. It was in one of many churches here, near the Ponte Vecchio, which really gave it a cool sound. It was so fun and so unique! You could really see how much the musicians were enjoying themselves too, which is just an awesome thing to witness. Lots of improvising!! And it was really relaxed - Pagani came on stage in a sweatshirt and khakis! It was such a cool night. I definitely encourage looking this guy up - this was some wicked cool music.

I considered getting gelato on the way home, but decided I was too cold. But I was ravenous when I came home and, um....well, a liiiittle too much food was just consumed. Whoops. Just goes to show how important to is to listen to cravings - a gelato would have caused a lot less damage than I just did. I'm still not quite ready for bed, I can tell I will just lie there for a while, so I think I will go do some yoga.

What a day.

~Namaste~