Italy Journal
Monday- Thursday,
December 10-13, 2012
HONEY!
I was pleased to get a text from Peter on Monday that his
class was having a honey presentation, including tasting, and he encouraged me
to come to his class for the afternoon. It turned out to be very interesting,
and the tastings were done in wine glasses with spoons. First, you spread a
little bit of honey around the sides of the glass, then you smell in the glass,
then you taste it from the spoon. We tried all sorts of honeys – acacia, sunflower,
ivy, and many more. At the end of the
tastings, another chef came to talk to the class about the importance of using
honey as a sugar substitute in all recipes, for healthy results. Then, he let
us taste his cakes that he had made by substituting honey for sugar. They were
quite good. He told me that a general rule of thumb was if the recipe called
for 1 cup of liquid, say milk, then you would put ¾ cup of milk, ¼ cup of honey
and NO SUGAR. I’m definitely going to
try that…if I ever cook anything that has sugar in the recipe again!
While Peter’s group that went to Scotland met at our house
to finalize their presentation, I went to Enzo’s house to return some dishes he
had left at our house and to get the small, but lovely, Christmas tree that he
loaned me for the season. We will enjoy that tree in our house! Thanks,
Enzo! I paid Enzo for some wine that
Lisa got for us on one of her many discount cards. The two boxes of wine were
too big to fit in the rolling cart I had taken, so I went back later in the
week with the car to retrieve the boxes. That evening, I also walked over to
get our G.A.S. order of olive oil, which was in a metal box, but it somehow got
bumped on the way home. Peter was very
careful in opening the lid. He was very concerned that it had too much
pressure. All was well in the end, though, and the olive oil is super.
CARLO PETRINI HOSTING
Peter and I went to a very special event on Wednesday
afternoon. Carlo Petrini, President of Slow Food, hosted a presentation to
introduce a new food program for the university following the “good, clean and
fair” beliefs of Slow Food. The food will be prepared only with local
foods. There will only be enough food
prepared for prepaying customers. The price will stay at 5 euro. And, if there
is any food left, it will be sold doggie bag style after the meal is over to
students who want to take home for supper later. Three of the students who are
on internships at the university are the paid local chefs, but they also have
25 famous international chefs who will be guests for a week each during the
year. There was great applause when the list of chefs was announced. People
from all over the world were on the list, including San Francisco’s Alice
Waters! The 3 student chefs will have a rich experience working all year with
such a variety of fine chefs. We’re very proud of Maya, Jacqueline and Lapo!
CRISTINA’S FAREWELL
PARTY
Shona asked if we could have a going away party for Cristina
at our house Wednesday, so I asked Mara at the pasta shop if she would make a
nocciola (hazelnut) cake for us. Cristina can’t eat regular flour. Mara never
had made one before, and she wouldn’t let me buy it until I had tasted it. It
was really delicious, and Cristina was very pleased to get to have a dessert. I
never doubted that the cake would be great…everything Mara makes is delicious!
The party turned out to be a surprise, and Cristina was
funny when she discovered that we were all there to wish her well. She’s not
comfortable with being the center of attention, and my job for the night was to
teach her to accept things…even parties…that people give you with a smile and a
thank you. I don’t know how long that will last, but she was definitely
improving by the end of the evening.
FAREWELL APERITIVO
FOR FC8!
Thursday, there was a lunch aperitivo at the university to
say goodbye to Peter’s cohort FC8. FC9 and FC10, the next 2 masters classes
behind Peter’s were invited, too. I got to attend that, and it was fun to get
together and see everyone another time. What a good time this group has had. It
was worth walking the 3 miles there and back to be a part of that event!
You’re a great group, FC8. I’m proud to have gotten to know
each of you. Love and best wishes to all of you!
Colleen
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