It's so hot in Bologna. Doesn't this water look nice? It's really that color, too. I took the photo in Tropea, a town on the coast of Calabria. That's the part of Italy that's the toe of the boot. I have to say that it won my love for one thing in particular: Calabrese cooking is full of hot pepper.
And it's extra special because the surrounding regions DON'T have the same prevalence of spiciness: this tradition evolved because of specific geographic and cultural requirements in this little pocket of the world. The motivation is the same as it is in Korean cooking (and maybe every cuisine that uses lots of hot pepper?): spice helps preserve food. So there's super spicy sausage, and preserved vegetables, and regular old hot peppers everywhere. At the restaurant where we ate dinner, you are given a platter of 4 different kinds of hot pepper condiments. The best ones were the round little hot peppers stuffed with tuna and capers.
I miss Korean food.
Anyway, I also wanted to write a little bit about the birthday dinner I had before leaving for the trip. It was badly planned, at the last minute (my fault!) but it was still a really touching, happy dinner, with some of the people who are most important to me in Italy.
Perhaps the most notable present was from Massimo, who gave me a series of books to facilitate my life goal (as he sees it): becoming Italian. I have now, at my disposal, four books to study: one each on Bolognese cooking, soccer, dealing with idiot bosses, and sex. Apparently these are the four main points of Italian life; here I reserve the right not to comment.
My lovely friends made me feel very special. And it was pretty unexpected, really, considering that I haven't been in Italy for very long and I was feeling a bit down about the fact that I was spending my birthday away from home. Grow up, Emma! It was wonderful.
We ate at my favorite restaurant, San Carlino, to be found about 50 feet from my house. Very convenient. They also had my favorite main course, which is baby pig cooked in milk. Sounds strange, but it's amazing.
So, in the end my birthday went just fine. Thanks to everyone who helped me celebrate.
And my lovely roommate has left me for Barcelona. I'll have to go find her one of these weekends! Maybe I'll find a beach when I go there.
5 comments:
Although I'm "terrone",I'm an enemy of super-spicy food - It really astonished my American friends when I criticized them for putting garlic everywhere. Genuine vegetables, meat, bread etc. deserve to be eaten alone, spices could only alter or cover their original flavour, don't you think?
Nonetheless, I must concede that Calabrese food tastes very good, and you can easely contain the "side effects" of hot peppers by drinking a glass of red wine!
Nooo anche Giorgio in inglese...devo proprio adeguarmi...intanto vieni a vedere il mare del salento...un bacio!
A birthday in Sicily sounds magical, even though the birthday girl sounded a little bit lonely. Remember that strength is in your genes, and that you truly are much much stronger than you know.
THE BEACH THE BEACH LOOKS LIKE A DREAM!!! Korean food misses you too. Little korean girl is also in the i miss emma club.
Baby pig in milk sounds bad to me. But what about groundhog? I wonder if those handsome fellows in the photo could catch one for you.
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