Bon Appetito

At the request of one of my dedicated readers, of which I have many, I've decided to include a post about food.  After all, what's the purpose of this Italian-themed blog without mention of all the pizza, gelato, and home-made dinners I'm eating?  i.e. this amazing Caprese salad:

I should start by saying I'm fortunate in that I live a few blocks from the biggest open market in the surrounding neighborhood.  I walk through it each day on the way to the bus stop.  The market is open daily from 8am - 1pm and you can find almost anything you'd need.  There are housewares, sundries, clothes, shoes and small appliances in addition to cheese vendors, meat stalls, fruit stands, and all kinds of vegetables and flowers.

And did I mention everything is ridiculously cheap?  The supermarkets here are roughly the same price as what you'd pay back in the states, but the market is pure economic bliss.  I've made it a habit to stop by the fruit stands each day before heading to school on the bus (I've already scoped out the best priced vendors) and you'd never believe what you can get for less than a euro.  I bought a nectarine the other morning for 3 euro cents.  I don't even think anything exists in the USA for as little as 3 cents.  Today I asked for a Pink Lady apple and an orange -- the guy threw in 3 small pears and 2 tiny peaches -- all for 50 euro cents.  Isn't that incredible?

My roommates and I decided in week 1 we should each cook one night a week in order to feed everyone.  I can't say I was certain it would last, but here we are in week 3 still enjoying the art of cooking and eating.  We've had some interesting nights, as we can't find all the ingredients we would normally need, and there seem to be some fundamental cultural differences re: food.  The other night we had "chili and cornbread" made by a roommate from New York.  Being from Texas, I tried to remain unbiased, but let me tell you, it was basically bean stew with bits of turkey and a side of cornmeal.  Even so, I admit it was nice to have a southern-inspired dish to share.

The french roommate swears by creme fraiche and honestly thinks it needs to go in everything.  I made carbonara the other night and she added at least 2 cups of the stuff in with my eggs.  Me: Umm, are you sure?  Her: Oui oui.  Still turned out alright:

The french roommate also made "cannelloni" the other night.  I use quotations here because I don't know that the Italian Pasta Commission would allow us to use the name in reference to this dish.  She told us they were full of sausage.  Oooh, yum, right?  Uh, wrong.  I sliced into my cannellono, ever so excited to taste it, only to find... hot dogs.  Legit ballpark franks, guys.  I glanced to the other Americans and saw their reactions were similar to mine.  She was ever-so-excited about the "sausage cannelloni," however, and thus I ate close to what I consider my year's allotment of hot dogs.

Despite the lack of ingredients and details lost in translation, I've really enjoyed every meal I've had here.  What I enjoy most is gathering at our dinner table, opening a bottle of 5 euro grocery store wine and eating together like a little family.  We end up sitting around long after we've finished our meal, just talking and laughing and enjoying each other's company.  This sense of unity and communion is essential to the Italian way of life - eating, drinking and relaxing - and I honestly can't get enough of it.  

I'd like to close with an image of something that continues to bring me great joy here in Torino:

Of course, if any of you notice me becoming fat-faced in pictures, you realize it IS your obligation to have a gelato intervention.

I've gotta run, as it's my turn to cook tonight.  I'm thinking: meat/cheese-stuffed zucchini and pasta with garlic and olive oil.

Bon Appetito!