revwaltp: November 27, 2022

It’s humbling to not feel well or to be sick in a foreign country. Nothing bad, just bathroom issues which lasted a couple of days, hence no blog posts. The unfortunate thing was that I really couldn’t leave the apartment in Sicily for very long or go very far. I tried to go to a Pharmacy to find Imodium or something like it and while I was looking at the products and trying to figure out what I needed, before I could ask I needed to make a very fast retreat ASAP back to the apartment. So, never got anything. Luckily, life got back on track after a bit.

I did manage to get something for my Thanksgiving dinner; Pizza. Honestly, I’ll be happy to not have anymore Pizza or Pasta for awhile after I return. Although it’s been delicious, I’ve had enough.

Pizza and Pasta are not the only things that people eat in Italy. You can get “street food” which is mostly fried foods like Arancini, which are fried balls of rice and cheese and a meat or vegetable mix inside

and sandwiches (such as Panini). These cost about 3 or 4 Euros. You can get lots of different pastas, risotto, soup, or pizzas on the menu which is called Primi or First Dishes. And these items range from 8-12 Euros. Then there are the real cuisine items such as fish, chicken, steak, pork called Secondi or the main dish which generally range from 22-34 Euros. My budget just couldn’t afford those kinds of foods at each meal. Plus, that’s all you get. If you want a salad or a vegetable or a potato to go with it, it’s all extra and those generally cost another 4-6 Euros each. And, unlike in American Restaurants where you’ll get a free glass of unending water, in most of Europe, you pay for that water and it can cost anywhere between 2.50-5 Euros per bottle. So, food is not very cheap in Italy, if you want to eat well. I did, however, check off a number of MUST TRY Italian foods during my days in this wonderful country. Most of them I have already posted about. Here are a few more.

Cassata, which is particularly popular in Sicily, is a very sweet dessert made of Ricotta Cheese, Sugar, Dried Fruit, Cognac, and Fondant.

These are Involtini di pesche Spade. Basically, fish meatballs. I had them on my second day in Sicily. Not sure what the white sauce was, but similar to what we might call tartar sauce without a pickle flavor. I have no idea what the red stringy things are. I ate them. They were very strange in flavor, somewhat carrot-like, and had a mild numbing quality on the tongue. If my bathroom issues had anything to do with food, it might have been these red things.

Caponata - This is a mound of cooked Zucchini and Eggplant in a Red Sauce with Chocolate Nibs on top. Very odd combination, but tasty.

On my return trip to Venice, I finally had some Cicchetti. Similar in concept to Spain’s tapas, these are tiny sandwiches, either open faced or closed. I had a varied selection of six - two were open-faced. They were served on Focaccia bread, which I am now obsessed with and wish my Focaccia Bread making class had not been cancelled. I’m definitely going to learn how to make it, though!

Tiramisu - which, of course, everyone knows. I had it a couple of times. This was by far, the best.

Last night I went to the grocery store to purchase a couple of items, like bottled water (which costs .30 in the supermarket!) I found this yogurt. At home I’m normally a plain Greek yogurt guy. I don’t like anything in my yogurt - fruit flavors, no sugar, nothing. Just the slight tang of the yogurt. However, I fell in love with this and hope I can find it at home or order it from somewhere. I’ll even give up my ban on the sugar. Best Yogurt Ever! Pistachio - seriously good!