Carnevale: My birthday

I survived turning 21! (with no hangover...I win!)
I took a test in one of my classes, and later in the evening we had a party for Carnevale.  Every T-R we teach English to elementary school students, so they came and we made masks with them.  Once they left we had a delicious pasta meal (spaghetti, oil, cherry tomatoes, and garlic) cooked by Franca and Carmen.  Then Franca and her sister Palmina brought out cakes for my birthday, and because it was Patrick's birthday the previous Monday we brought him up to celebrate too! The cakes were absolutely amazing!!! Franca made a cake that was covered in fresh fruit, while Palmina made a warmed ricotta cake.  After all of this there was traditional dancing, taught by Susi, one of our professors.  Then we went out to the bars.  And that's all I'll say about that.  Overall I couldn't have asked for a better birthday!

Katie's "mask"

Jill wearing a traditional Carnevale

Nate in the mask.

Patrick, Franca, myself, and Palmina

the two cakes

Tanti aguri a me, grazie mile a Franca e Palmina!

Franca and her nephew Sabino dancing

Cheese Making

This morning for one of my classes, Mediterranean Diet, we woke up early to go to watch a local cheese maker make cheese.  We were able to go into the kitchen area and watch them make mozarella and ricotta cheese.  It was so cool and smelled delicious.  When we first arrived the two men making the cheese were making mozzarella cheese.  They had this large lump of 'proteins' and were cutting it into slabs and draining the water.  Once this was completed the large mass of 'proteins' was chopped finer then placed into hot, not boiling water (80 C).  We learned the size the mass is chopped is a great factor of the resulting cheese.  For mozarella the slab is cut into chunks.  Whereas a Parmesan would be a cut into finer pieces.  As the protein (with added salt) is turned in the water it becomes more like the mozzarella which we know.  It is then formed into balls or braided shapes and placed in cold water.  The mozzarella we saw being made was going to be smoked using almonds.

Making ricotta is a little different, because it is not really a cheese.  The protein is added to water and is then heated slowly in a large vat.  As the mixture heats the protein accumulates into granules and will begin to float.  Once the ricotta has floated to the top it is ready to be placed into slotted cups for formation.  We were given small cups of it to try.  It was delicious, but was weird at the same time.  It had the consistency of a melted cheese, but had a flavor similar to scrambled eggs.  The eggy flavor wasn't overwhelming, it was more of an undertone.  

Squeezing the water out of the 'protein'

the serum that comes out... poorer people were allowed to keep this (they were prohibited to keep/eat the cheese, which was saved for the nobles) which is more valuable nutrition-wise... not cholesterol

Salted mozzarella, not entirely completed

The cheese man mixing the mozzarella

forming the mozzarella balls

stirring the ricotta

Jill looking for the rising ricotta granules

ricotta granules

ladling the ricotta into slotted shapers

Jill learning how to ladle the ricotta

Cait ladling ricotta

I started timing my showers

My parents may or may not be happy upon my return to the states... I might be able to take showers which don't exceed 10 minutes... or it could be the exact opposite and I will take full advantage of all the hot water.  Since we ran out of heat for the month having hot water would be ideal.  But beggars can't be choosers, and unfortunately for me I can't choose much.  The length of this song was greater than the time I had hot water for a shower, exceeding it by about 30 seconds. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVrh9uxc7_8

Food in Sicily

I will continue to post pictures of the different food and beverage that we are enjoying in SIcily.  Captions to come at a later point

Red wine

Making pesto: fresh basil, cilantro, almonds, garlic, EVOO

Pesto

Cheese

Spaghetti with a spicy red sauce and tuna

cappuccino 

fresh apple and blood orange

sauteed leeks, zucchini, eggplant pasta a touch of red sauce and balsamic sauce

chicken fajita

chocolate croissant 

chicken cacciatore 

vegetarian pizza: arugula, zucchini, cabbage

sauteed carrots, leeks, eggplant, zucchini, spaghetti, tomato and ricotta pesto, with chunks of ricotta

THE perfect hardboiled egg

Tricotta: three times cooked ricotta

cannolo with peanuts

french toast and cooked apples

a Sicilian cheese platter (given to us for free at Don Cola's)

Salad with tuna and sliced hardboiled eggs with balsamic concentrate

(This is a typical Grace meal) Sauteed leeks, eggplant, zucchini, a bit of spaghetti with a tomato based pesto sauce and balsamic concentrate.

Sorry it's been a while

29.01.12

Holy crap! I did not realize how dependent I was/am on the internet.  Being on boats this summer I was not near internet and it wasn’t that difficult, but I think what helped was I knew that I would eventually be near internet.  Having the school be closed on weekends is absolutely killing me! Especially since my computer says that there is internet signal but it won’t connect.  What’s also frustrating is the majority of the readings I have to do for class are posted online… I will most likely be traveling on weekends when they don’t already have something planned for us (which happens more often than not) but traveling is near impossible if I can’t search/book for flights and hostels.  I am finding that I am completing all book reading work and have little left to do.  

We are finally settling in and are adjusting to life here in Ortigia.  Tonight (Sunday) we are going to have our first ‘family dinner’ tonight (Sunday).  As this is our first one we are sort of winging it… for our future dinners we will most likely have concrete plans as to where and what we will be making.  

Saturday the school took us to Catania (about 45 min-1 hr away) to see the amphitheater and churches.  We spent the entire day walking around going in and out of churches and learning of the history of Catania.  I have a terrible short term memory so I am sorry to say that I don’t remember much of what they told us in the ways of names of places and why they are important.  I do remember one thing they told us: many of the high clergy and saints have parts of their bodies preserved and put on display.  We were able to see the hands of one Bishop which were mummified and placed (with his body!) in a glass casket within the church.  We also learned of S. Agatha, who was captured and had her breasts cut off.  Because of this there are many depictions of S. Agatha sans breasts, or with breasts on a platter.  This mimics the depictions of S. Lucia with her eyes on a platter.  The breasts of S. Agatha are extremely important in Catania’s culture so much so that they have special cakes made to represent breasts… the literal translation of the cake name, S. Agatha’s tit cakes.  These cakes are extremely sweet tasting, and are rounded with a cherry on top.  

One thing I noticed in Catania was the extreme lack of dog and cat poop on the streets/walkways.  Dog and cat poop is very abundant here in Ortigia, mostly from stray cats and people walking their dogs.  There are a few stray dogs in Ortigia but I haven’t seen them yet.  Stray cats are everywhere!