Update

Right now Eric is busy studying for his Statistics exam this Saturday, so I'm planning to do a mega blog to catch everyone up on the events of the last couple weeks. Last weekend we didn't do much since Eric had lots of homework. This was fine with me since sometimes I like to sit around an read a book all day. I cooked Friday and Saturday night. Friday after work we went to the Italian market and my new ingredient was radicchio. This is a purple lettuce found in mixed bags of salad, but here in Sicily they serve it grilled as a side dish. OMG, it is good. It is SUPER bitter, so not everyone enjoys it, but I am a big fan. I got an appetizer a few weeks ago called Faccia Vecchia, which I think means Old Face, anyways it turned out to be grilled eggplant and zucchini slices and grilled slices of radicchio, all drizzled in hundred year old balsamic vinegar and to top it all off there was a wedge of warm smoked provolone in the middle. I was ecstatic. So Friday I brought home my radicchio along with some fennel, pasta, fresh italian sausage, and some involtini alla mandorle. A note on involtini- loosely translated it means "rolled up", and it is usually a small piece of thinly sliced pork that has been rolled around something, usually another type of pork. :) Other times it is a mix of breadcrumbs herbs & cheese in various combinations. Then it is skewered and coated in breadcrumbs. These always turn out great at home, I sear them on all sides on the stovetop and them pop them in the oven for a few minutes to cook through. So back to Friday... I'm a little excited about the involtini alla mandorle b/c mandorla is "almond" and I've never seen this before. After we get out of the grocery store we head over to the pet store...

I'd like to introduce you to the new members of the Thor clan, Mr. and Mrs. Fishypants. Mr. Fishypants (red fish) joined us a few weeks ago. We wanted to make sure life could survive in our tank before bringing home his bride on Friday, Mrs. Fishypants. She was a little shy at first, hiding out in the Parthenon a lot, but now they are swimming together all the time and I'm sure they are in love.

When we got back to the house I started cooking. I was making a saute of the fennel and radicchio with some toasted pine nuts as a side dish for my involtini. Eric kept walking around saying he could smell something, "what is that smell?" "is it the food, Eric?" "No, it isn't the food, maybe I smell. Do I smell?" "No, Eric you don't smell" "Well there's something smelly" I think after a while he realized it was the fennel/radicchio combo and he shut up about the smell. Anyways, I would recommend you all try to grill radicchio (outside) rather than saute it. I still really liked my saute, but the last thing you want your family doing while you are eating your dinner is sniffing themselves to see if they have B.O. :) The involtini turned out to be halved almonds mixed into philly cream cheese then rolled in the pork. Not exactly epicurean, but trying new things that end up tasting terrible is all part of the adventure.

Saturday I decided that the time had come in my life when I was ready to bake bread. I got inspired last weekend when Eric and I went with some friends to the pizzeria next door, Il Canguro (The Kangaroo), and the owners invited us behind the counter to make our own pizzas, including instructing us on how to work the dough. I found some yeast in my cabinet. The package said it was best if used before September of 2006, but I decided to give it a shot. The yeast actually belongs to my pharmacy roommate Jessica, who bought it in 2005 when she and her then-boyfriend-now-husband Dan made pizzas together. This yeast has moved with me from Chicago to DC and now to Italy! There's a recipe on the back of the package and I do my best to follow it. After kneading it and letting it rest, I'm pretty surprised when I peek under the dishcloth and see that the dough has risen. I'm even more surprised when it comes out of the oven looking not only edible but pretty! The bread turns out a little dense but tasty and Eric and I enjoy it for dinner that night and breakfast the next morning. I baked again tonight and the results were great- I put an eggwash on top of the rolls so they came out nice and shiny.

The next day is Sunday and we are excited b/c it is Opera Day! Our German friend Monika who Eric has blogged about before, has had a box at the Catania opera for a decade or so. She invited us to get season tickets with her this year. The opera house is beautiful- it is dedicated to a famous composer from Catania, Bellini. He wrote 12 operas, and the paintings on the ceiling of the opera house depict a scene from each opera. We saw the Greek tragedy Medea performed. It was wonderful! Part of the fun of going to the opera was seeing all the italians decked out. All the women were in fur coats, even though it was 50 degrees outside. I'm always amazed when I'm standing in a crowd of Sicilian women- they are all so tiny! Especially the opera crowd who are a bit older. At 5'6" feel like a giant standing next to a Sicilian who is 4'11" even in her 2" heels!

The top picture in the blog is from two weekends ago. We went to the Catania vs Bologna soccer game. It is hard to tell in the picture, but Mt Etna is right behind us. That weekend we also went to Siracusa for the day. Here I met my now-favorite sculpture:

We came upon her at the beginning of the Siracusa adventure, we'd just seen the ruins of the temple of Diana from however many years BC, (hopefully Eric's blog will be more specific) and had made our way into the Piazza Archimede (Archimedes was from Syracuse). This lady is part of a large fountain. She's a half woman, half sea creature holding her baby. I love her because she's smiling and happy. Close your eyes and see if you can picture a sculpture you've seen where the subject is smiling. I can't- except her. It was so lovely to see in her in the morning sunlight in this quiet square.

After visiting the Duomo, we went underneath the Duomo into a series of tunnels and caverns which served as shelters for the townspeople during the air raids of WWII

Can you imagine?

Next we went to the aquarium where I made friends with a sea turtle.

Then off to the fishmarket.

Finally to the Greek theater where they still hold plays in the summer.