Category Archives: Italian life

Trip to the Questura

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After the last couple days of confusion, I’ve decided to leave all the travel news alone for awhile. I’m sure everyone is capable of doing their own investigating.
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You all may recall, about a month ago we went to submit all the myriad documents we had gathered to apply for the Permesso di soggiorno UE per soggiornanti di lungo periodo (ex carta di soggiorno) – elective residence. Link to the post.

Today was our appointment at the Questura. I was prepared to be turned down. I even had rehearsed what I would say if they did. I have been through so many hoops here that I wasn’t nervous or worried at all. I actually like our Questura. I’ve only ever used the one in Citta di Castello. It’s a medium sized city north of us. I’ve heard all kinds of horror stories of the Questure in the larger cities. They sound like Dante’s third ring of hell. Our police officers all are friendly and, after seven years they know us well. And there is seldom a crowd.

We were each called in to a window. We had all our receipts, documents, passports, old Permessi, and our photos. They said, you’re applying for the permesso lungo periodo? We said yes. Two of our documents had expired since we’d gotten them last year before Covid. So we weren’t getting the permit. They said they would give us another year of our Permesso and while waiting we can re-apply for the long term one. Even though we failed this time, the good news is, we CAN get this permit. We will not be turned down if we get the new documents. I’m pretty pumped about this. If we get it, then we won’t have to worry about having an expired Permesso and not being able to travel. And we will be able get our health coverage for the ENTIRE year instead of having to go back again and again to extend. It will be amazing…I shouldn’t get too sure though, it is, after all, Italy. Anything can happen. 😳
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The weather has turned nice. It’s finally warming up. We’ve had a very cold spring. I bought my pepper plants yesterday for this year. I am still missing some flowers but I will find them eventually.

This week we have a few excursions planned. We plan to visit a new (to us) Asian market tomorrow. We are very low on our Asian ingredients. As most of you know, we love ethnic foods which are a rare thing in Italy. So I cook meals myself. Since being locked down we couldn’t leave our Comune so we couldn’t shop in Perugia where there are a couple of stores.

Then on Saturday or Sunday we plan to meet friends for lunch in Montefalco at one of our all time favorite restaurants, L’Alchemista. It’s been a couple of years since we’ve been.

We are also just starting the beginnings of plans for a few short trips here and there. A day trip to Rome to see the Torlonia Marbles. They are amazing. Here is a great link from BBC about the Marbles. And probably in June a trip for our anniversary to Via Reggio on the Mediterranean. Got our eye on a nice hotel and restaurant.

Stay tuned!
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Italian phrase for today…”La speranza non muore mai” literally “hope never dies” but equivalent to our saying “hope springs eternal”. Pronounced — Lah spare-an-zah non moo-or-ee my.

Stay safe…🌈

Catching up

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We took a drive Monday up to Arezzo in Tuscany. We visited a big grocery there that we like. We drove the Porsche which hasn’t been driven since January. The trip takes around 40 minutes. It was nice to see new scenery for a change. And to stock the larder with food.

Over the weekend we were awakened at 5am by our resident Hoopoe. Our bedroom window was wide open and he perched on the clothes line just outside where he proceeded to sing his (loud) two note song which is the origin his name, they say. Oddly, just last week I opened a bottle of wine which had a glass stopper rather than a cork. I noticed something painted on it. It was a Hoopoe! It seems every time I turn around I’m reminded of this cool bird.

Saturday local market was cheerful. We still have mostly winter vegetables. But I saw asparagus today. Also, everyone has piles of fresh eggs. The chickens lay more eggs in the spring apparently.

Plant booth had some pretty plants but I was going to take a trip up the hill outside of town to the big greenhouse so I just admired his flowers.

I’m happy to see both of the bars are welcoming folks.

San Giorgio, the restaurant across the piazza from us. They are happily serving lunch and dinner again.

I went out to the nursery just outside of town. I bought petunias and a bunch of herbs. I still need the sweet alyssum I normally plant and couldn’t find. I guess it will become a quest! This is the view up to Civitella Ranieri, the castle that hosts fellows in the art world. They were empty last year so I hope all goes well this year. Isn’t the sky pretty and the winter wheat so green!!

Spur of the moment we decided to have lunch at Patrick’s Enoteca. I’ve missed it. The “clown” train passing on the tracks across from Patrick’s.

Lunch.

So that was my week. Oh, except I locked the key to the door of our garage inside the garage. So now we can’t get to the car! And we were going for a ride today. Oh well. We are trying to figure out how to get in! This was the very thing I reminded myself never, ever to do…and I did it 🙄
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Italiano phrase…”era un bellissimo sabato”. In English “it was a beautiful Saturday”. Pronounced — era une bell-ees-see-mo sah-bah-toe.
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Stay safe everyone! 🌈

Umbrian Pecorino Cheese

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So, I got that wrong. As of Monday, we can travel to any yellow region. Doesn’t have to abut. The only orange regions (off limits) are Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, and Val d’Osta. And poor old Sardinia. What did they do wrong? They were the only region to be Bianca, just a few weeks ago. Now, they are the only Red Zone. It’s just hard to understand how this virus works.

I was out at the market this morning. Beautiful sunshine. Everyone is in a jubilant mood anticipating next week. I ran into many friends. Everyone is looking forward to aperitivo on the Piazza next week. Let’s hope for nice weather. 🤞 Also, we will be going out to lunch on Thursday and Sunday, next. Indescribably excited.
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Pecorino DOP
I was talking to an American friend who lives in the US recently. She talked about making something in which I had used Pecorino cheese. She said she would get a different type of cheese for her version.. This made me remember that Pecorino in the US is generally one type of cheese….Pecorino. That is definitely not the case in Umbria.

Today, I bought a few of the different types of pecorino cheese to showcase here in the blog. Umbria is known for Pecorino, and pretty much ONLY Pecorino. It is ewe’s milk cheese and is slightly sour. But this gives it a bit of depth in comparison to cows milk cheeses. It is also made in uncountable ways. What we lack in variety in the type of cheese, we gain in the many ways the cheeses are made, flavored and aged. I decided today to just concentrate on the non-flavored cheeses. But there are truffled varieties, varieties aged in hay, in ashes, with pepper, etc. Next time I’ll talk about those.

Pecorino is one of Italy’s oldest cheeses, and over the centuries there have been very few changes in the way it is made. Over the course of 2000 years, cheesemaking traditions and techniques have been handed down orally.

The methods used to curdle the milk, break the curd, press, drain, scald and salt the cheese vary, depending on the type of Pecorino being produced. The best Pecorino is made between May and June, using the milk from sheep grazing on spring pastures. Pecorino can be either mild or aged. The mild variety should be consumed shortly after it is made, while the second is aged in a cool, fresh cellar with low ventilation, so that it matures fully.

Pecorino fresco is good in salads, and is perfect with a toasted Umbrian bread topped with extra virgin olive oil. The aged and semi aged cheese also pair well with Umbrian cured meats, and they go well with honey, and of course, with Umbrian wines.

Here are the few types I bought. They go from Pecorino Fresca (fresh), to semi stagionato (semi soft), semi-dura (aged and hard), and dura (aged longer and it is very hard). I think the cheese monger thought I was nuts although I did explain to her I was writing a blog about Pecorino. She was happy to sell it to me. And now we have tons of cheese to eat! 😐

Fresca. You can see the liquid it releases. It’s good in salads and with toasted bruschetta.
Semistagionato. Good eating cheese, firm and soft.
Semi-dura. Semi hard. Aged 8 months
Dura and aged 18 months.
Aged 2 years. Good for eating and grating.

Italiano phrase, “Dopo pranzo è tempo di fare un pisolino” In English, “After lunch it’s time for a nap”. Dope-oh prahn-zo A tem-po dee fah-ray un piss-oh-lean-oh. I like the word pisolino 🙂
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Stay safe all! 🌈

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 🌈

Regional dinner – Emilia Romagna

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This week Calagrana’s special Regional dinner was from Emilia Romagna. The food capital of Italy. I’m sure some would dispute that, but it’s where many products you would recognize come from, like Parmagiana, Prosciutto and Balsamic vinegar, to name three. This week the entree was Rabbit alla Modanese. Since many people don’t eat rabbit Ely had a second choice of pork. We tried the wine this time.

Last Sunday I went up to the restaurant to pick up take-away items. They have lists of available things every couple of weeks which we order and then pickup at the agriturismo. Ely is really good at pastry. We got some of her chicken and leek pies. They make great lunches. Single serving size! And some English muffins. Two pizzas. And a marinated chicken. It’s like a holiday when I go there. It’s only 15 minutes away and in our Comune (and legal in the Orange Zone) but it feels like a real outing! I get out so seldom. I also run into other actual people there! Who are also picking up food. It’s kind of sad that this constitutes a high point in our week. Here’s the menu:

Below are pictures of our meal. The rabbit was rolled and stuffed. It was excellent. I loved the wine pairing. Eccellente as always!

Sentence for today “è tardi ed è ora di andare a letto.” — “it is late and time for bed”. Pronounced…eh tar-dee ed eh or-ah dee and-are-eh ah let-toe.

Stay safe y’all…andrà tutto benr 🌈

Cannara onions

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At the Wednesday market in town, one of my errands was to buy some more of the “famous Cannara onions”. I keep a string of these sweet onions available all the time in my kitchen. They work used any way, raw or cooked. A young man, maybe 20s or 30s comes in a van with braids of the onions, dried legumes and, in summer, fresh things they grow, like fava beans. I drop by to get these onions often. A little information about the “famous” onions follows.

The onion of Cannara is a protected product of Umbria, earning the title Traditional Product Agribusiness from the Minister of Agriculture. This commemorates not only the goodness and versatility of this onion in the kitchen, but also it’s historical roots in this area. Besides this prestigious award, the Onion of Cannara also won the coveted title of Slow Food.

The traditional cultivation and harvesting of the onion of Cannara is carried out by small producers called “cipollari”, often handed down from father to son for generations. The word cipollo means onion so cipollari means something like ”onioner”. It has been cultivated since the 1600s in and around the small village of Cannara which is situated in a vast, fertile plain that, back in Roman times, was a shallow lake. The entire process of growing and harvesting is closely monitored to guarantee the quality standards and origins.

The onions cultivated around Cannara are of three distinct varieties: red, golden and borrettana (flat disc type), but all three are characterized as sweet, soft and easy to digest. To me, the red type, with its beautiful red-coppery skin is by far the most tasty, delicate and sweet. They are most often sold in the characteristic braids.

The town of Cannara, in normal, non-Covid times, has a famous festival which is held during the first two weeks of September and is called, the “Feast of the Onion.”

Too pretty to eat!

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I took this next snap of a pretty house painted in one of the traditional colors used around here. Almost orange. I was taken with the duvet airing on the balcony which went so well with the house color.

Sentence for today. “ho ricevuto il mio pacco da amazon oggi.” — “I received my package from Amazon today”. Pronounced — oh rey-chay-vu-toe eel me-oh pack-co dah amazon ohg-gee.
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Stay safe – andrà tutto bene!🌈

Moonset – times two…

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I was up at 6am Saturday and from the window I saw the full moon setting with a reflection in the Tiber. I went out in the cold in my nightgown to snap a picture. Brrrrr. Mornings are still very cold here.

But, Saturday was sunny and warm in the Piazza. We headed out to do some errands and visit our local market to see what was to be seen. I bought a few things at the market. Broccoli/broccole and Cauliflower/cavolfiore are always around this time of year. Some fresh eggs. And I got the ever present Cavolo Nero or black kale. Luther bought six bottles of vino bianco from our local winery. The nice lady there is always so excited when we come. I don’t think she sells much 😞 So we are happy to support them and the wine is good!

We also drove to a store and bought some pellets for our stufa, and visited the grocery for some supplies. I bought carciofi romana…artichokes …because I saw a picture of someone cooking them and it made me drool…🤤
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Carciofi Romana Why have I never made this before! It is so good. And really not so hard. I had four artichokes and I cleaned them and prepped them for the pot. Then I rubbed them in garlic, mint, salt and pepper.

I put them into a pot and poured the olive oil over them, then added the water and brought to a simmer. I put a lid on the pot to let it cook.

After thirty minutes they were done. Very yummy and garlicky. I served them as a first course before our hamburgers 🤣😂

The ingredients are few. I did four artichokes but you can do as many as you want. You can look on the internet to see how to trim them if you haven’t done it before. You’ve got to be pretty ruthless. Most of it goes in the trash. If you’re not cooking right away put them in a bowl of lemon water so they won’t discolor. Chop about a tablespoon of mint and garlic fine, add a teaspoon of salt and some pepper. Rub the artichoke cut parts in it. Put them face down with stems up in the pot. Put the heat on medium. Pour about half a cup of olive oil over them. Add about a cup of water. Lower heat and simmer 30 minutes. Serve warm.
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Moderately good news. Umbria has gone back the Orange Zone. This does very little for us except people can sit outside a cafe for coffee, and the dress shops will be open again. I think that’s about it. We still can’t leave our Comune. I don’t mind telling you, we are all bored out of our gourds here. If they’d let us go into a Zone Yellow we could at least travel in the region of Umbria and the restaurants could open for lunch. Maybe soon 🤞🤞
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Italiano for today. “Ho incontrato un amico in piazza e abbiamo fatto due chiacchiere” In English, “I met a friend in the square and we had a chat.” Pronounced — oh in-con-trah-toe un ah-me-ko in pee-ahtz-zo A ahb-bee-ahmo faht-toe dew-ay key-AH-key-err-ray. The word Chiacchiere is a really hard one for me to pronounce. They really accent the second syllable. And they roll all their Rs. Really roll them which I cannot put in my pronunciation. Many English speakers have difficulty rolling their Rs. When I was little I used to do a lot of sound affects with my toys. So rolling my Rs is natural! 😁
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Stay safe everyone, buona domenica! 🌈

We have news!

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My friend Susan posted some information she found about the vaccines for we Umbria residents.
“There will be 3 ways we can make an appointment for the vaccine: go through a web site, use and 800 number or go to the pharmacy. We are registered by year of birth, so we need the Codice Fiscale to verify. Then we will be sent a text message telling us where and when we get the vaccine. People 80 and over are first up then the rest of us staggered by year of birth. And the vaccines will be given in Umbertide. We’ll see how this all works, but it is at least step One.”

Thanks for posting Susan! It makes me feel we have some organization and plan, since we have heard very little until now.
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Big snow storm coming tonight and it will be the first “actual storm” since we’ve been here. Predicting 15cm of snow. That’s around 6”. For us, that is a lot. I am excited! Pictures will follow…
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Tonight we will be having the regional dinner provided by Calagrana. Delivered to our door. This evening it will be Trentino Alto Adige.

Sentence for today. “per stanotte è prevista neve!” in English, “snow is predicted for tonight!” Pronounced…Per stah-note-tay A pre-vista nay-vay.

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Stay safe ! 🌈

Permessi

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So, you probably read that I found out our Permessi di Soggiorno were ready in a previous post? And I said we would have to wait, with the Zone Red. The story was not finished…

For some reason, this morning I asked Luther to check his phone for an SMS. The Questura is supposed to send us one when the PdS is ready. Sure enough, he had been sent one last Wednesday. Our appointment was February 10…February 10th!!? That was today. I looked outside at the wind driven rain and sighed. With the appointment on the phone we could leave our Comune. So we decided to “man up” and go.

We drove the 20 kilometers to Città di Castello. The rain, thankfully, let up on the way. I admired all the brilliant green fields and mountainsides. The winter wheat is so welcome about now when everything is gray. But the wheat! It is neon!

Arriving at the Questura we saw no one standing outside the door. This was odd. Usually there is a crowd. We parked and walked to the gate where there was a sign. It said it was closed until February 21 for the Permesso di Soggiorno. Oh well. No matter. The sun came out on the way home but black clouds loomed ahead. We visited the Wednesday market for some produce and retreated before the rain. Piano, piano as they say here. Slowly, slowly. In due time we will get the Permessi 🙂
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Now it is late afternoon and there is an ENORMOUS thunderstorm looming from the north. I took some pictures. It is pretty impressive. The sun is shining in the foreground and on the hills. The storm is a very black cloud behind. It sets off the sun very well. I love the contrast. And the thunder rumbles….

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A friend of mine and I were discussing food…it is an obsession in Italy…and after sharing the recipes we had been trying he said…”we have to keep our strength up for whatever”. And I laughed and laughed…yes we DO! Eating well is our best defense. And it gives us something to do.

Singapore Teochew Braised Duck is the next meal.  Luther is a huge duck fan. Always pestering me to cook a duck. I like duck. I just don’t like COOKING duck. I had duck parts. About half a duck chopped up. We bought it in the super mercato here in town. I decided roasting was not the way to go with parts. So I searched on braised duck and picked this one.

It was good. Had a nice broth from the braising. It included soy sauce, orange peel, cloves, cinnamon sticks, peppercorns, ginger root, garlic, onion. I made basmati rice. I put some of the broth over it. It was very tasty. I would make it again. I even have left over broth for another use.
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Italian sentence. “Domani è un altro giorno, proprio come oggi.“ in English, “Tomorrow is another day, just like today”. Doh-mah-nee A un al-tro gee-or-no, pro-pree-oh coh-may  ohg-gee. 🙂
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Stay safe! 🌈