Everyday food

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Someone wanted my bolognese recipe. So here you go.

Ingredients
1 carrot diced small
2 garlic cloves minced
about a pound of ground beef
1 can (15 ounces) tomatoes chopped
About 3 to 4 cups whole milk
Pasta (about 8 oz)
parmesan to serve

Sauté carrot in oil. Add garlic for one minute. Then add the ground beef and cook until no longer pink. Add the tomatoes with juice and mix and cook a bit. Add around a cup of milk. Cook slowly until milk is incorporated. Add some milk every so often and let simmer into sauce. I try to cook the sauce for two or three hours. Or until it’s creamy and all the milk is incorporated. The amount of milk can be more if needed. It will become creamy. Once it is finished you can feeeze some of it. I usually get two or three meals for two from it. Boil pasta in salted water until nearly done. Drain. Saving some water. Return pasta to pot. Add sauce and some water and cook over heat letting the pasta finish cooking and absorb some sauce. Salt and pepper. Serve with Parmesan. Mmmm.
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For our weekday lunches we often have egg “McMuffins”. Silly huh? We’ve been getting English muffins from Ely at Calagrana. They are not to be found elsewhere here. So we enjoy them. I have a cute little contraption I brought over here from the US that cooks my eggs to just the right size. I put it in a non stick pan, and add a pat of butter, salt and pepper. Heat it up and crack an egg in. Cover and cook 2 minutes. Remove that little ring and flip egg for 10 seconds. This “should” finish up with a not completely hard yolk. Depends on the size of your egg. Eggs are smaller here. It makes a good lunch. Here’s the ring. We have a set of four.

And here is the finished egg “McMuffin”. I toast the muffin and add cheese.

What else is there to do around here except eat? Well, that’s not completely true. We ran errands this morning. We picked up some cat supplies and went to the Coop supermarket. Brought it all back, to include emptying the trunk of four bags of pellets. We figure these are the last we will use this spring. All of this had to be carried up to our house. Huff puff.
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Italian phrase for the day…”ogni giorno leggo molti giornali” — English “everyday I read many newspapers”. Own-knee gee-or-no leg-go mol-tea gee-or-nahl-ee.
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Four of my friends here in Umbertide got vaccinated yesterday. Stupendous news! Soon it will be our turn, we hope. Stay safe everyone! 🌈

What’s next

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We continue to struggle here in many ways. But we also are doing well in other ways.

In the newspaper it is intimated that Umbria was doing so well with the new case numbers and hospitalizations that at the end of April, when the re-assessment takes place for May, we may go….drum roll…Bianca!! This means, everything opens up to us. BUT, I will believe this when I see it…I, for one, will be happy with a Yellow zone. Then I can sit in the piazza and have a spritz or a caffe. Or go to an actual lunch in an actual restaurant! Wow. Or we can drive to another part of Umbria to do a wine tasting. Or just to tour around. It is so amazingly freeing and it is also amazing how little it takes, after being locked down for so long, to thrill me.

On the vaccine front, good news. Three of my friends were called by their doctor today to come tomorrow for shots. AstraZenica. They are going by birthday and these are all around 75. Also, our friend and Italian teacher Marilena told us that her Mom got called by her doctor to come in. Her Mom is 79. She got AstraZenica. Her Dad, a bit younger but with asthma, will get Pfizer. But he has to go to the hospital whereas her Mom went to the doctor. Another small piece of information for us. I guess the info we got that our doctor would call us is correct. So we wait.
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I am not bragging when I say I am the queen of bolognese sauce. They say there isn’t really a bolognese sauce as such. It is true, there is no one recipe. And there are many arguments. Even in Bologna, where it is said to have originated. Over the years I’ve chosen my favorite and I make it often. I make a big batch and freeze portions for quick dinners. The recipe is simple. Only a diced carrot, a couple cloves of garlic, ground beef, a 15 ounce can of tomatoes and milk.

Italiano phrase — “inizia una nuova settimana”. In English — “a new week begins”. Pronounced — in-eat-zee-ah une-ah new-oh-va set-tee-mah-nah.
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Stay safe everyone. 🌈

And a river runs through it

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I’ve been meaning to get back to posts about Umbertide. I love to try to picture how it used to be in, say the 1700s. Of course, it was very different. For one thing, there was water on all sides. We already have the Tevere or the Tiber river. I’m told it was much bigger in the past. Maybe that was because it wasn’t penned in like it is today. We had mills and the water ran them. We also have the torrente Reggia which is a smaller stream which also runs near the city walls to the south. It is very small now, but again, I am told it was larger. Not only that but, back then, it split into two branches and one ran along the northern side of the wall as well. Both of the smaller streams emptied into the river. Effectively the town was surrounded by water.

I have a book called Umbertide nel Secolo XVIII. This copy of a map from the 1700s was in it. I will do a key under it. I had a lot of fun translating many of the locations. Some don’t exist anymore, like the gates and towers, but Umbertide put up little brass plaques at most of the relevant places. Surprisingly most buildings and the piazze do exist. On the map the top branch of the Torrente Reggia ran just behind our house along the walls. I also noted the town was divided into three parts: A = Terziere superiore, B = Teziere di mezzo, and C = Terziere inferiore. I live in the mezzo.

I’m not going to translate all of the words. But a number of them recur and also alot of them are names of people, names of streets, etc. So, a few recurring ones are: Porta which means door but in this case I am pretty sure it means Gate. Umbertide had gates into if from all sides for safety. Torrione means big tower. Torre means tower. Strada means street as does Via. Vicolo is alley or small street. Chiesa is a church. Piazza is a square, Piazzetta means little square. Palazzo is a big house. Ponte is a bridge.

1. Porta della paiggiola18. Ponte sul torrente Reggia
2. Controporta della Campana Sormontata da una toretta con l’orologio e dalla campana publica che batteva le ore19. Inizio della strada che conduce a Piazza San Francesco
3. Piazzetta inter portas, o della Campana20. Torre di difesa di sud est costruita nel 1480
4. Torrione circolare a lato della Porta della Piaggiola21. Strada di mezzo, gia Via del Pomo, poi Via Mariotti
5. La Via Regale o Via Diritta. Congiungeva la piazzetta della Campana con il baluardo di sud ovest22. Strada di San Giovanni
6. La Chiesa Nuova voluta dalla famiglia Magi Spinetti unita alla loro casa da un soprapassaggio (anno 1710 circa)23. Chiesa di San Giovanni
7. Vicolo della Chiesa Nuova24. Monte Frumentario: si trovava sulla Piazza del Marchese
8. Piazzetta delle Petresche25. Piazza del Marchese o Piazza del Grano
9. Vicolo delle Petresche26. Palazzo del marchese di Sorbello construito all’inizio del secolo.
10. Convento dei Padri Cappuccini di Montone27. Il “Foricchio”, era un passaggio pedonale coperto che metteva in comunicazione la Via Diritta con il cortile interno del Palazzo di Sorbello
11. Piazzetta dello Steccato. Basamento antico torrione28. Piazza del Comune, detta anche Piazza della Rocca
12. Piazzetta di Sotto29. La Rocca
13. Piazzetta inter portas. Sul lato nord sorgeva la casa Vibi30. Palazzo Comunale. Al primo piano c’era la Sala del Consiglio che veniva ceduta anche all’Accademia dei Signori Riuniti per rappresentazioni teatrali
14. Porta del ponte sul Tevere31. La Piaggiola
15. Lo scortico o pubblico macello spora le mura castellane per scaricare nel Tevere i residui della macellaazione.32. Vicolo degli Scodellari o dei Vasellari
16. Torrione decagonale di difesa del baluardo di sud ovest33. Altra strada detta “Via di Mezzo”
17. Ponte sul Tevere

I have another map that takes in the area north of the city, or just behind our house. I’ll post that one another time.
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Italiano phrase — “cosa c’è per cena stasera?” — English “what’s for dinner tonight?” Pronounced, cos-ah chay pear chain-ah stah-sara.

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Stay safe everyone! 🌈

Winter returned

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Not a lot going on around here. Our weather changed. We had a cold front come through and I had to cover my lemon tree again. It was -5C yesterday when we got up. That’s 23F. Pretty chilly for April. I saw a lot of snow pictures too, but we didn’t get any here.

Last night I picked up dinner from our friends Soudy and Emma. I’m not sure I’ve mentioned them before. They are a couple who offer a menu every Thursday for pickup nearby. They cook mostly ethnic foods. Thai, Indian curries, etc. But they have partnered with an Italian couple, who provide a second menu, usually Italian. Both offer vegetarian options. We tend to order every week. It is a nice change and I don’t have to cook. Last night it was gyros. Very yummy. Along my short walk across the Tiber bridge last night to fetch dinner…I took this photo. This is the city wall with the Centro Storico behind it. Brilliant blue sky at 6pm. Our house is around the wall on the left side. See the copse of trees? That’s right behind our house. The city wall turns there and continues around.

Italian phrase – “domani è il mercato locale” — English “tomorrow is the local market” — pronounced doh-mahn-ee eh eel merk-ah-toe low-kah-lee.
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The new case numbers in the US are really going up. I am not surprised. Things loosened up too fast. People need to keep in mind this virus has not finished having its way with us. We still must stay vigilant. Stay safe all my friends! 🌈

Buona Pasqua!

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Umbrian beauty from my friend Jill’s garden. This picture is from our first lockdown a year ago when Jill sent pictures everyday of her spectacular garden. She kept me cheered up!
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Today is Pasqua. Easter. I’m not religious but I enjoy the rituals of the season. I did not buy a Colomba, which is the traditional cake of the season. It is shaped like a dove. Here is a borrowed picture.

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Pasqua Pranzo is the big meal. Normally huge groups of friends and family gather for the multi-course, Lent-ending meal. Heavy on meat after six weeks of fish! Sadly, because of the Zona Rossa lockdown no big gatherings are allowed. We decided to buy the Calagrana Pasqua lunch. Here’s the menu. Mmm mmm good.

I will post pictures of the food in tomorrow’s post.
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Phrase for today — “cielo azzurro ma freddo per Pasqua” — “blue sky but cold for Easter” — pronunciation…chay-low ahz-zur-row ma frayed-doh pear pahs-quaw. Don’t forget to roll those Rs!
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Stay safe everyone and buona domenica a tutti!

Travel?

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I read the following in the newspaper a couple days ago. About vaccine “passports”. They are also going to create a similar thing in the EU. I remember there always have been requirements for people to get certain vaccinations for travel in some countries in Africa and South America. Exotic places with exotic diseases. I guess this is the same. I hope it doesn’t get politicized. That would be unfortunate. I guess if a person decided not to get vaccinated s/he wouldn’t be able to travel as freely, at least not on ships and airplanes. And also into countries that require proof of vaccine.

This from the Washington Post…
”Expect to show some sort of proof — either of a negative test or of vaccination — when traveling. “You should be planning on showing your negative test or staying home if you don’t have one,” Tariro says.

The European Union, for example, has announced plans for the Digital Green Certificate, a so-called vaccine passport that countries can use to verify a person’s health status and allow free travel across the bloc.

The concept of a vaccine passport isn’t new: To travel to certain countries, for example, you already need inoculations against yellow fever and other diseases.

The travel industry and tech companies have been working on ways to streamline digital credentials for years, and during the pandemic some have started to repurpose that technology to show proof of vaccination. “It isn’t far off in the future,” Tariro says.”

Of course, to travel here, you’d still need have the borders of Italy open to travelers…and that’s not looking positive unless we can get vaccines here. All the expected vaccines in Umbria have dried up…never been delivered…it is disgusting and enraging…but I don’t know who to be enraged at! I just know — no vaccines are being administered in Umbria now. 😔
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This Pasqua eve I decided to do a composed salad. I saw a picture of one in a newspaper and it looked pretty and good so I decided to make my own. I used my own ideas for what should go in it. It has a lettuce base. I bought lettuce a few days ago at the Carrefour. My own creamy dressing. Two small fresh goat cheeses, a sliced avocado, sliced hard-boiled eggs, steamed green beans, and a sliced pork tenderloin tonnato. I made the pork sous vide yesterday and had left over. It could easily go without the meat for non carnivores.

Stay safe everyone 🌈

Language classes & i gatti

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An Observation
Every Friday we each take an hour of one-on-one Italian. Our teacher, Marilena used to come to our house but now we Skype. Luther also takes a German class once a week. We lived for six years in Germany and he is fluent. He doesn’t want to lose it. I still speak some German but over time I’ve lost much of it.

On Friday at 9 am the computer does it’s Skype ring. I am in the Living room and can hear Luther and Marilena greet each other. A cheery “Ciao Luther” in sing-song Italian rings out. Luther responds in kind. They sound like they are so glad to see each other…happy…ready to chat for an hour. 🙂

On Thursday it is Frau Marien and a German Skype call. Luther answers, and I hear a dejected sounding “Hal-low”… in descending pitch. Luther responds in kind. Both sound distinctly unenthusiastic. She sounds resigned. Maybe she doesn’t like her job? But no, I think it is the vast difference in the two cultures and people. It explains why I chose Italy over a return to Germany. 😁
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I Gatti
As you know, if you’ve been reading this during our year of Covid, we have to find ways to amuse ourselves during our extended lockdowns. We’ve been locked down this time since November. It is getting mighty old. Anyway, we have a big picture window in the living/dining area. Who put it there is not known. It is unlike anything I’ve seen here. I remember when we bought and first brought our Geometra to see the apartment, he said he would take that out for us. We were flabbergasted! To us, it was a huge selling point. The view is fantastic and ever changing.

Just behind us and outside the city walls is a copse of trees. And some houses, and the river. There is a feral colony of cats living there. They are even a “registered” feral colony, I am told. I don’t know what that means. The people nearby keep the cats well fed but of course, they get no health care, nor do they neuter them. The colony grows and then collapses with disease. It’s small right now because someone poisoned all the cats last January. Now we have two batches of adolescents living there again. We have named them all and amuse ourselves watching them. Here are six of them. We are only missing Blacky.

From left to right. Ginger, Domino, and Pinto.
Rusty. He is on a roof just outside the city wall, which is just behind us. You can see the city wall behind him.
Snowball. She is sitting atop a shed on a sunny — and popular with the cats — rooftop.
Domino. On the hunt.

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Phrase — “i gatti sono qui!” — “the cats are here!” — eee gaht-tee so-no qwee.
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All of Italy enters Zona Rossa tomorrow for the three day Easter weekend….Stay safe! 🌈

Holy week

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This is Holy Week. They have a special Mass every day of the week. The bells toll more often. I wonder if they will have the venerdì santo or Good Friday procession this year. Last year we were in total lockdown so they didn’t do it. I hope they can do it this year.

On Saturday, the sounds of a crowd drifted up to our windows. I looked out and the piazza was full of people! A little disconcerting after so long with nothing. We went on a errand and I was overwhelmed by the crowds around the Centro. I guess the weather got everyone out of the house. They were all masked and most were distancing. The two Bars are not open now after 6, and then, only for take-away due to us still being in an Orange zone. The days have gotten beautiful. I do miss my spritzes at Bar Mary on a warm evening. The weather will be great for Easter week!

For the three days of the Pasqua weekend, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, all of Italy is a Red Zone. Then after that, Umbria returns to Orange Zone for the rest of April. All will be reassessed on May 1. Maybe we will go Yellow Zone. I fervently hope so!

We hope April will bring much vaccine into Italy, to include the J&J vaccine. We still don’t know how it will work. Latest news is our GP will contact us and administer it. But we are going to try to register starting tomorrow on the website. We will try anything! Wish us luck.
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Here are some pictures of springtime in Umbria near Umbertide. First one is the copse of trees behind our house and near the river.

Along the walk I got pictures of the old and the new… first the old. Last of the winter garden. A sad few cabbages…

New garden. First the freshly tilled ground. Then the new peas. And last the artichokes.

Last we have a picture of a pretty lawn and a fruit grove. None of the pictures are that exciting but they all tell me the winter is past and it’s on to new things and, we hope, a new life after Covid…

Phrase – “domani è la mia lezione di italiano” — “tomorrow is my Italian class” doe-mah-nee eh lah mee-ah let-zee-owe-nee dee ee-tal-ee-ah-no.
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Stay safe everyone. Wear your masks, the virus is trying to make a comeback 🌈

Spring has sprung

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Finally we have passed through that dark, damp, cold tunnel that is winter here. The forecasted temperatures are the upper 60s or lower 70s. No cold snaps that I can see. I will be working on the terrace soon to get the soil ready for new plants.

Saturday kilometer zero market was it’s usual self. Happy people in the warm sunshine. I went out and saw a number of friends. I was shopping for soup ingredients. We are nearing the end of the winter produce. I admit I’m tired of the same old things. The greens and winter veggies. I am ready for new spring things. I see the wild asparagus is being foraged. But you’ve got to go get that yourself. It’s not normally sold. It’s too early for strawberries or anything like that locally. The supermarket has a small section of local things and I bought fava beans for the first time although I don’t see them in the market on the piazza yet, which is my bellwether. I’m not sure where they come from. They are soft and super fresh in any event. They were in our pasta last night.

I went over to Piazza San Francesco to leave something for a friend. This is, in my opinion, the prettiest Piazza in Umbertide. There are three churches. All the buildings were built in the very early 1600s. I noticed today that the gates to the cloister were unlocked so I took a couple of pictures. Just look at these stones! Look at all the many colors. Are any of them original? Which ones? Wish I knew…

These next two are the pavement directly in front of the cloister. Look at these stones. They are smooth river rocks of similar proportion. Flat. Probably collected from the river nearby. They embedded them into the earth with the narrow side up. Much work went into these and I figure they’ve been here a long time. They are only in front of the cloister.

Italiano phrase — “In bocca al lupo “ this means good luck in Italy. But it literally means “in the mouth of the wolf” — the correct response is “Crepi il lupo” or “May the wolf die”. Pronounced as it looks.
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Stai al sicuro…🌈

Regional meal and…vaccine issues

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Last post we said the doctor would call. Seems that has changed. The doctors revolted and said they couldn’t possibly call all of their patients. Now it seems that plan is scrapped and no one knows what will happen next. This may be good news for friends who don’t have the health card here. They had effectively been shut out but now who knows how we will get appointments?! Will they return to the online registration? Will they want us to sign up at the farmacia?

They can’t even decide on a place to give the vaccines here. First, I had heard the empty old renovated tobacco barn would be used for giving shots. Now that is not happening due to ventilation issues. Then they said the soccer field…but that’s not under cover. Che casino… Stay tuned!
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Dinner last night courtesy of Calagrana Regional menus was very good.

And here is the meal….so yummy. The guinea hen (Faraona) leg was boned and stuffed. Wrapped in ham. Mmmm.

Today Italiano phrase. “Che casino” in English “what a mess” — One of my favorite sayings in Italian. Very useful. Pronounced kay casino. 

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Stay safe all 🌈