New Skills, New Foods

With my Italian class canceled, I was able to fit in a delightfully refreshing morning run before heading to school to cook for Sharing Thursday. I love running in the morning, but with early class, I don’t get out in the morning often. Most of my afternoon runs this week have been terrible. With the hot sun and exhaustion from my day I have been feeling as if I am running through sand! But this morning, with that cool crisp morning air I love so much, I felt as if I were light as air!

 Workout behind me, it was time to get in the kitchen. Today, March 29, an Italian host mother, Teresa, led the cooking for Sharing Thursday! She showed me how to prepare “Riso con Carciofe” or rice with artichokes. Do you know how hard it is to prepare fresh artichokes? Teresa spent a good hour peeling and cutting the artichokes for the dish. There’s really only a small percentage of the vegetable that is used. However, I loved learning how to prepare them for my host mom cooks with them often and I absolutely love them!

Another skill I learned in the kitchen today was how to prepare Italian coffee. Italians make their coffee on the stove in a little metal machine. I have seen my host mom do it a thousand times but never knew where to put the grounds (B), where to put the water (A), and where the coffee collects (C). Now I know!

With another successful Sharing Thursday completed, and another Italian recipe to add to my collection, I was not done trying new foods today! After dinner this evening, my host mom pointed to a box on the counter and asked me if I wanted some. It was the same box I had seen in all the grocery stores lately containing a traditional Easter sweet called “Columba”. “Isn’t that for Easter?” I asked in answer to her question. She said yes but that it was already open because Marco couldn’t wait! “So impatient!” she exclaimed. The sweet was very similar to Easter Bread being sweet dough with candied orange peel throughout. The Columba, however, had a sugary coating and was sprinkled with large sugar sprinkles and almonds. Gets me excited for Easter!