Cena Con Famiglia - Act One

When we arrive at Salvatore and Ubaldina’s home, the family immediately encircles us, with kisses on cheeks, warm greetings and exclamations at how the children are growing. “Mamma mia! Enrico piu grande! Uomini per Sophia!”

To enter, you walk up a flight of stairs, open the door to a small landing, then walk into a great room containing a very efficient kitchen, living room with cozy fireplace and large dining room, which seats 12 easily. Everyone remains in the great room during the entire visit. If there are a lot of people in the house, the children will spread toys out in a back bedroom, but they usually spread them out on the living room floor and whoever is in the living room is well entertained.

Ubbi’s kitchen contains a stove/oven, small refrigerator (half the size of a small American refrigerator), sink, a few cupboards and limited counter space. However, the large and creative meals Ubbi creates in this postage stamp size kitchen is amazing. I can finally relate to the whole sow’s ear, silk purse thing.

Tonight, we sat down to figs served with slices of prosciutto, bufala di mozzarella, sliced red tomatoes with olive oil and salt, wild sautéed mushrooms, a grilled beef salad, cheese plate and fresh fruit. Throughout dinner, Ubbi bustles around the table, slices more bread, pours water or wine, and encourages, “Mangia, mangia Enrico! Sophia, mangia! Daniele, mi amore, mangia tutto!” We spare just enough room for the gelato, espresso and grappa (for the men, none of us women are crazy enough to touch the stuff!) that round out the meal.

Ubbi is a love. She makes sure each and every person, whether they speak Italian or not, feel loved and cared for in her home. She's going to talk with you and feed you until you can eat no further. She's going to hug you and kiss you and let you know in no uncertain terms, you are her family. We all adore Ubbi.

Italian’s are no different that we are in regards to summer cooking. In the summer, it’s hot, so they prepare simple meals with the freshest ingredients – many from their own yards.

The peeled figs we ate were so sweet and perfectly ripe. Ubbi picked them from their trees today. We have never peeled our figs, the skin is so thin, but Ubbi said she has always peeled their figs.

I will definitely try to recreate the salad when we return to the states. We don’t have access to a grill, so we won’t be able to recreate it here. Ubbi sliced a large steak into thin pieces then marinated the pieces in olive oil, salt and lemon juice for several hours. While the beef was marinating, she chopped arugula and tomatoes into bite-sized pieces, shaved three-inch pieces of Parmesan over the top and placed the salad platter into the refrigerator. She grilled the beef, and allowed it to cool. Once cool, she tossed the beef with the salad, added a bit more shaved Parmesan and our delicious, simple dinner salad was ready to be devoured.

Salvatore is a hunter. He likes nothing better than to disappear into the woods with his friends for a few weeks and hunt cingiale (wild boar). Salvatore and his brother Guilio (also a hunter), make their own cingiale sausages, cure prosciutto and make other dried, cured salami. When Salvatore isn’t hunting, he’ll forage for wild mushrooms, like the ones we had sautéed for dinner tonight. I don’t know Italian well enough, nor does my husband, to understand the type of mushrooms we were eating – nor do we know if the varieties grow in the states - so we’ll just have to dub them delicioso mushrooms. Hopefully, our Italian language skills will improve so we can find out more about those mushrooms. My husband doesn’t like it when I use delicioso, because it’s not a proper Italian word, but this is my blog, so he’s going to have to just let this one go.

I have no idea how many olive trees are planted on their land, but it’s enough to make a large supply of olive oil. We are so excited to be able to live in Italy during olive press season! We’ll be able to watch the entire process! I know that may not excite many, but it sure makes our world go ‘round.

And in this region, the very ancient, very popular dish Olive Ascolane is served. There’s a whole festival in November formed around this dish. From what I’ve tasted, you take a large green olive, remove the pit, stuff the olive with sausage, roll it in egg, then in polenta and deep-fry them. You must eat them still warm for the optimal experience. We have recipes, but have never tried to make them at home. I’d way rather see if I can learn while I am here.

So many culinary adventures, so little time!

The Road To the Beach!

Our neighborhood has been relatively quiet since we arrived. The majority of the stores, trattorie and services are closed. Handmade signs are posted in the windows, “Chiuso per Ferie – dal 15 Aug 09 al 01 Sept 09” (Closed for Break - from August 15 to September 1). We were surprised to find the newsstand on our street opened at 5:45 a.m. this morning a whole week early. Since we’re all still afflicted with the darn jetlag – my husband was awake and watched the whole set up process.

So we’re renting a car and taking off to visit family. To drive up the Via Salaria (also known as the S-4), the oldest, historically documented road out of Rome, is a drive through history itself. The Sabines tribe, who lived northeast of Rome, would mine salt from the marshes at the mouth of the Tiber River. With salt being essential to food preservation, the Via Salaria was born.

The Via Salaria runs north out of Rome, veering east to Rieti, reaching further north through the limestone and travertine rich Apennine Mountains to Ascoli Piceno, then east to the coast of the Adriatic Sea. 51 kilometers east from Rieti, is the town L’Aquila, which was ravaged this last spring by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake.

Many of the towns along the Via Salaria have been untouched by the negative effects of the world wars. The original layout of towns and cities have remained intact – their walls, streets and piazzas in the same location as they were planned and built, centuries ago.

The ancient architecture is easy to take for granted. Everywhere you look, centuries old buildings (containing government offices, apartments, businesses) still stand. The churches are authentic, with the majority not having been restored. Some artwork in the interiors of the churches are so dark with the grime of age, you can barely understand the scene on the canvas or make out the figures depicted. We feel very fortunate to be able to wander along the Via Salaria, off the beaten track, absorbing history.

We were surprised to see how green the countryside along the Via Salaria is! Rome is very dry and the land around Rome is scorched. We saw fields of corn and sunflowers the color of dirt. However, once we were out of the metropolitan area, it became greener and greener, much to our delight!

As luck would have it, all of our family is home this week. No vacanze! It seems like just about every Italian is basking in the sun on one of the many beaches surrounding this amazing country. And since our family lives close to San Benedetto (a lovely beach town) we will do like the locals do and head to the sandy shores of the Adriatic.

The meals shared with our family will be amazing, they always are, so look forward to future food posts!

Our Eating Habits…

have changed in a huge way! I don’t know if it’s the heat, or lack of normal sleeping patterns, but our dietary habits are ghosts of their former selves. We’ve been waking each other up, pulling ourselves together to go out to dinner each night (it’s been way too hot to cook!), but other than that – a yogurt here, a cracker there.

The typical Italian supermercato in our neighborhood carries a few recognizable American items – General Mills and Kelloggs cereals (very small selection), dried Barilla pasta (in completely different shapes than we’re accustomed to seeing), Tabasco sauce and Lipton tea. That’s pretty much it.

We also went to a well-known international market, Castroni. At Castroni, we found Skippy peanut butter, Kikkoman’s soy sauce, Rice Dream rice milk, Colman’s yellow mustard and Jack Daniels barbeque sauce (my daughter cannot live without her barbeque sauce!) We now know where to go for basmati rice, coconut milk, curry sauce and other international items. It’s definitely a store I’ll spend some quality time in - ALONE – no one, and I mean no one, likes to go to a store with me when I’m taking my quality time.

The majority of people who know us, know at home in America, we are an organic household. We buy everything organic that we are able – have for years. Living in the Pacific Northwest is a blessing in that regard. Meat, fruit, veggies, dairy products, staples, snackies – all organic.

I can tell already, it’s going to be a lot of fun exploring the outer reaches of Rome to buy whatever organic items we can find. We were smart enough to do our research before we moved, on a website called Wanted In Rome. There was a great article about all of the organic resources in Rome. We have a list of a dozen different locations where organic items can be found. None of the locations are in our neighborhood, which is perfect – additional sightseeing opportunities! However, because so many shops are closed for the August vacation, we won’t undertake this adventure until September, which is next week – can you believe it?!

It’ll be interesting to find out which market carries which items and to narrow down which store(s) we frequent. We’ve already purchased one of those sweet, old lady rolling carts you pull behind you for grocery shopping. The coolest one I could find is a heavy duty white patent, so our groceries won’t get soaked when the rains come.

We also knew before we came, that our organic standards would probably go by the wayside, which will be fine for 10 months. I’m looking forward to the temperatures dropping below 90 so we can start cooking our own meals. I’ll be sure to post the details of our first home-cooked meal and the many that follow.

La Famiglia

You’ve probably noticed I’m trying to keep this blog anonymous. Although I’ve invited friends and family to read my blog, blogs are out there for all the world to read. So, we’ll see how I do.

However, I have to share the names and relationships of my husband’s family here in Italy – because you’ve been asking –and- I love their names and chances are, linking our identities through their names in Italy won’t be easy.

Elda (second cousin) - is a major fan of Saint Padre Pio from Puglia, never married or had any children, used to go to church twice a day and is in her elder years. She lives with Salvatore and Ubaldina.

Salvatore (third cousin) – is married to Ubaldina (Oo-bal-deena), who we call Ubbi. Salvatore is Rita and Giulio’s brother. He has retired and loves to hunt cingiale (wild boar). He’s promised my son he will take him hunting as soon as he’s old enough and breaks out his arsenale of guns when we arrive. Ubbi always makes amazing meals for us when we visit.

Rita (third cousin) – is married to Gianni (Johnny) and sister to Salvaore and Guilio. Rita is a doting grandmother to the scamp Alessio and Cristian. She cries whenever we leave and serves the best tiramisu in Italy, or so my daughter swears.

Giulio (third cousin Joo-leo) – is married to Letizia (Le-teet-zia) is brother to Salvatore and Rita. They are fabulous cooks and love to entertain. Guilio goes to Africa each year to build water systems and homes for those in need.

Sara (fourth cousin) – is married to Mario and is mother to Francesca. Her parents are Salvatore and Ubbi. Sara is an amazing jewelry designer. She has created pieces for Prada and Dolce and Gabbana. Since having Francesca, she’s become a marathon runner. Mario’s pizza is my family’s all time favorite!

Valeria (fourth cousin) – is mother to Daniele. Her parents are also Salvatore and Ubbi. Valeria lost her fiancé, Valerio (a policeman), when the patrol plane he was in went down over the Adriatic. She was pregnant with Daniele. Valeria is an amazingly strong woman who I admire tremendously. She’s a wonderful mother and professionally, a nurse, always caring for others.

Roberto (fourth cousin) – is engaged to Simona – for 8 years and counting… Roberto’s parents are Rita and Gianni. He speaks English really well and is a very good uncle to Alessio and Cristian.

Vanessa (fourth cousin) – is married to Andrea and is mother to the dickens Alessio and the angel Cristian. Rita and Gianni are Vanessa’s parents as well.

Fabio (fourth cousin) – is working on his Masters in Engineering and is a total lady killer. His parents are Giulio and Letizia. Fabio is trilingual, able to pick up women in English and Spanish fluently.

Fabrizio (fourth cousin) – is a member of the Italian military and is in Afghanistan. His parents are Giulio and Letizia.

Federico (fourth cousin) – is a year older than my son and his parents are Giulio and Letizia. Federico and my son love to play PlayStation 2 together.

There you have it! The family who dote on us whenever we are in Italy and who we look forward to spending time with. Hopefully, I will be able to converse with them a bit better as the year progresses!

And So Now We Will Sleep…

I never hear of anyone’s struggles with jetlag. Which makes me stupidly think, my family and I are the only people in the entire world who experience jetlag.

Whenever we travel to Europe, we are in a jetlag stupor for days. And what is really annoying, we all sleep at different times!

The night before, I was up all night long. My family slept pretty well. I stayed in bed, trying to sleep. I tossed and I turned. We had the windows open, so anytime a vehicle would drive down our street, it sounded like it was going to drive right into our room. Now I know that isn’t possible, we’re on the third floor, but because I’m in my jetlag fog, it suddenly becomes a possibility. I finally drifted off at 8:00 a.m. Of course, the rest of my family was up.

I also become very concerned with our windows being open. The average daily temperature in Rome, since we arrived, has been 93 degrees. It was 99 today, at least that’s what my iPhone tells me. So, I know I have to shut the windows before the refreshing night air turns into sweltering day air. I think I’ve successfully passed that concern on to my husband, who shut our windows today.

We have a portable air conditioner, which we switched on our first night. The larger section of the machine, has a slim vent about four inches tall, one-foot wide, with cold air blasting out. However, there is a smaller fan section attached to the machine, roughly one-foot square shooting out hot air. How does that make sense? Unless you can detach the fan, which you can’t because there’s a big hosey-thingey attaching each section, you’re blowing more hot air than cold air into the room. Hence, the obsessive concern with outside air temperatures and open windows.

Last night, all of us, except my daughter, were up until 5:00 a.m. Why torture myself and stay in bed? We read, we watched downloaded television show episodes on my son’s iPod, we watched the street cleaners and garbage service pickups, we snacked and saw people watering their rooftop gardens at 2:30 a.m. My son suggested we walk to the Piazza del Popolo at 3:00 a.m. We didn’t, but it certainly seemed possible, after all, we were wide eyed awake.

When my husband and I finally went to bed, I insisted we close our bedroom window – no cars or scorching air for me. My son stayed up until noon, or so I heard from my daughter, who was up for a drink of water when he went to bed. I think I’ll see if he can sleep until tomorrow. My daughter slept all night and slept most of today – she is doomed tonight.

Here we are, on our big, exciting adventure that we talked about for months – irregularly sleeping the days and nights away. When we finally lick this jetlag, I’ll be sure to let you know when our adventures begin.

The Italian Visa Application Process

We are now, officially, residents of Rome, Italy, at least for the next ten months. Six weeks ago, we had an appointment with the Italian Consulates office in Portland, Oregon. At that appointment, we gave them our individual Visa applications, passports, copies of bank records, health insurance information, a copy of our lease to our lovely Rome apartment and much, much more. Within 6 days, we had our Visa’s delivered to our home. 6 days! The fine print of the application said it would take 4 – 6 weeks, which is exactly what you’d expect from Italy. It was so amazingly organized! Our preparation for the appointment at the Consulates office – not as organized.

When we decided we were going to make this very adventurous move, I was hot in the middle of planning an auction for one of my children’s school. Each and every day, there were auction details to coordinate with a variety of volunteers, so I had no time to think about moving to Rome. As organized as I liked to think I was, I barely had time for my household routines, so planning a move to Rome wasn’t going to happen.

However, my husband, who really, really wanted to move to Italy, had a bit of time on his hands. So, I delegated the task of Italian coordination to him (he was a certified public accountant, CFO and CEO during his working career – he certainly knew how to dot his i’s and cross his t’s – right?!)

The auction was a lot of fun, we raised some much needed funds for our school, connected members of the community and went home with some great items. When you volunteer to co-chair an auction, the work doesn’t stop the day of the auction. There’s a financial audit that needs to happen (I happily volunteered my husband, the ex-CFO), some people who partied a little too hard needed to be reconnected to their goods, and those who throw parties wanted to know who the attendees would be, etc.

Once we had our auction duties behind us, we had to organize ourselves, and family, around all of the end of the school year activities. We had one child “graduating” from middle school and the other “graduating” from elementary school. There was an eighth-grade family brunch to prep for, family dinners to coordinate, treat baking for the fifth grade play, assemblage of the elementary school art projects, cleaning of school rooms, packing of classroom boxes...

Then, school was over! But wait, two days later, we had to hop on a plane to Rome to find our dream apartment, turn in the balance of our kids school application materials and to try to spend a bit of quality time in the city we love. In a future post, I’ll go into detail of this two-week trip.

We flew home Saturday and our appointment with the Consulate was scheduled for the following Tuesday. Now keep in mind, I’m thinking my oh-so-experienced-pencil-pusher-husband had all of the details for the Consulate under complete control. Why would I think otherwise? We go into our jet-lagged stupor and Monday, come up for air.

Monday, my husband informs me we need to have our pictures taken for our Visa applications. Okay, no problem, he’s on the job! We show up at the 1-Hour Photo place and Dreadlock Dude working behind the counter asks us which size photo we need for our Visas. Which size? Isn’t there a standard? No, different countries have different requirements. My husband tells him to just take the standard US passport size, 2-inch by 2-inch. Dreadlock Dude isn’t comfortable with that and neither am I.

I whip out my iPhone, which comes in handy in situations like this, and I find out the Italian Visa requires a 4.5 centimeter by 3.5 centimeter photo with your head occupying 60-70 percent of the photo area and the top of the head to the chin must be 3 centimeters in length. Okay… how’s that for very specific? Now, we have to do a conversion. Thankfully, Dreadlock Dude is an artist and took this task very seriously. He got out his ruler, worked magic with his camera and voila! produced perfect photos. Dreadlock Dude is a Genius!

Meanwhile, I become very suspicious. I immediately ask my husband, why were you not aware of this? I thought you were coordinating the details. Don’t worry, he assured me, this tiny detail slipped his radar, all was under control.

We wake up early Tuesday, our appointment was in the late afternoon, and we had three hours of driving time ahead of us to make it on time. Over coffee, I ask my husband if I can look over the application materials – to make sure all was complete. He gave me the blank application forms for myself and the kids. Okay, that’s all nice and well, but where are the instructions for the balance of the materials that need to be submitted? His response, um, let me look it up online. No, oh, I have it right here because I’ve had three months to gather all of the information, make photocopies and pick up documents from the safe deposit box!

No, none of that. There was nothing. Absolutely nothing was organized.

Screaming, yes, I’m screaming at him - in my head because I know screaming will do no one any good. Well, it would have done me a lot of good, but I didn’t want to create any ill will at that point. So, I hold it in for later when we can sit with a glass of wine and review – detail, by painful detail, what went wrong.

He prints the instructions and we go to work. We fill out the applications, comb through our bank files, call our health insurance company, can’t open the safe deposit box until 10 a.m., so we save that for on the way. Needless to say, it took us every minute from the time we woke up to prepare for our meeting with the Consulate. We submitted every piece of paper we needed and 6 days later, Visa’s appeared on our doorstep.

Italy is far more organized than we.

Day One of Setting Up This Blog

I'm very new to this, so please be patient as I revise/improve/update my way through our blogosphere.

This blog was created in an effort to capture the experiences of the next year of our family as we move to Rome, Italy.

We love to travel. Who doesn't? As my husband's heritage is half Italian, we are very fortunate to have gracious and generous family in Italy to enjoy life with. Since we're all the way over there, we also take time to expand our cultural education. We've traveled as far south as Salerno, on our way to Ravello. We've criss-crossed all over northward, up into Austria, Slovenia, and Germany. We've also worked our way into Switzerland and France.

While on these completely, fabumad (our trips are fabulous, but the mileage we put on vehicles is mad!) explorations of Europe, our kids would ask if it was possible for us to live in Italy. We did a lot of research, and realized - why yes kiddos, we can.

Over the course of the last year and a half, we've planned our way to Rome. An apartment was found in the historic center on Via Babuino, an American-accredited school has accepted our kiddos, and we have our Italian Visa's. It was all, quite amazingly, easy. Anyone who knows the reputation of the Italians will be pleased to learn - piece of torta. I'm very realistic so, let's see how the rest of the year goes.

I'm going to sign off so I can hit Publish Post and see what I've done. I'm such an amateaur! Baci-baci!