Archive for August, 2015
Italian Stuffed Squirrel Posted by Geoff on Aug 13, 2015
Italian cuisine is, of course, renowned throughout the world. Today’s article, ‘Italian Stuffed Squirrel’, has absolutely nothing to do with Italian cuisine! It begins, in fact, with a cup of tea. The cup of tea that I describe here As we sit sipping the first ‘real’ cup of tea that Donatella had ever made (under my…
A Fresh Summer’s Rain Posted by Serena on Aug 12, 2015
It’s raining! After weeks and weeks of unbearable heat, the rain has finally brought us a breath of new life. It’s like a sudden awakening of the senses that only a master of words such as Gabriele D’Annunzio can render in an authentic way. In his famous poem La Pioggia nel Pineto (The Rain in…
A Nice Cuppa In Piazza Posted by Geoff on Aug 10, 2015
The setting: a sultry evening at the beginning of August, La Piazza di Groppodalosio, a small group of friends and neighbours sit chatting and savouring the first threads of cool air as they make their serpentine way through the overheated village. A small blessing at the end of a long torrid day, one of the…
Non Me Lo Posso Permettere! Posted by Geoff on Aug 6, 2015
Can you afford it? Te lo puoi permettere? Serena and I are not spendaccioni (big spenders), we mostly buy things that are essential to us, with, of course, the occasional indulgence. However, every now and then an expense crops up. For example: in realtà ci servirebbe una nuova macchina, però attualmente non ce la possiamo…
An Italian Desire Posted by Geoff on Aug 5, 2015
Hai voglia d’imparare l’italiano? Do you want to learn Italian? The sentence above illustrates a very common Italian phrase: ‘avere voglia di fare qualcosa’. This can be translated as: to feel like doing something to fancy doing something to want to do something Let’s have a look at a few everyday examples: non ho voglia…
The King’s Sausage Posted by Serena on Aug 3, 2015
The King’s Sausage! I bet that title caught your attention … but the King’s Sausage is not what you might think it is! Il Salame del Re (this is the Italian name) is a wonderful rustic sweet that my aunt Rina used to make for us children. It’s also known as Salame di Cioccolato (Chocolate…