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Saturday, 7 January, 2012

CAPPELLETTI

Very delicious pasta served in broth or with sauce. These are from the area I live in, Umbria.

These are from a shop that makes them homemade.
Questi vengono da un posto che li fa come fatti in casa.

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WHO AM I??

I'm an American artist who has lived in Italy most of her life. I love to travel, meet people, art, and life. I love to write, and I love to photograph, hence, a blog is a way for me to express myself. Hope you enjoy my posts, please feel free to write or comment! P.S. I am also the designer of Delishoes (more about that down below), have been to China and had a photography exhibition called "Incontri ravviCINAti" (close encounters), and am always busy doing lots of artwork and taking pictures ALMOST non-stop (at times). My Cactus Ladies, well, you can meet them down below (click on the picture) and I could go on and on I see here....where IS the end of this page?! Doesn't seem to be any end....THAT is the problem with computers....never-ending space for a woman who likes to talk...better go. See you next post!

What's the weather like now in Perugia?

It is cold here again now! Bring a jacket, and even boots if you want. This week it is going to be cold.

HOW TO SPEAK ITALIAN...in 60 seconds

TV....no....it is NOT TEE VEE. It is TEE VUUU!!!! Why, you ask? Well, the v in tv is pronounced vuuuuu. Like voodoo! And if you want to say the whole word you have to say tay-lay, vee...see...own...ay. TELEVISIONE. Ok? Not too bad, just say TEE VUU. They will understand you ; )
I know. I don't know. You know, in English when you want to say you don't know, that is how you say it...I don't know. In Italian, you can say "Non so" BUT it is more correct to say "Non lo so" The LO means it...Meaning, I don't know it (the meaning, the answer). Saying I know is even easier. You say "Lo so" meaning, I know it. And now, you know this!
Slang. Does it exist in Italian? Yes! Each region has their particular slang. We have friends from southern Italy who smile and laugh when they hear the slang we use in the family. For example, in Umbria (where I live) they say "Un colpo" meaning, wow, that's amazing. It means actually, a shot. Or a hit. And that means, wow, that's amazing!
Vowels....if you want to verbally say all the vowels, here are the sounds of them: A like AH....E like in the word bee. I strangely enough you have to say EEE for I. O you pronounce OH...U...don't say YOU...but U like in the word who. Don't breathe the wh but without the breathy-ness of it, it become U. HOpe that is clear!
French and Italian...sort of similar. If you know French, it may help you with learning Italian. For example, "Pas encore" not yet, in Italian is "Non ancora". Lots of words in one language, can help you with other languages...definitely Spanish with Italian! I don't really know Spanish, but I studied French. And yes, it did help me some with Italian. It's great to speak other languages, it definitely opens up the world more easily, helps you to communicate with others.
FILM....they say feelm, meaning film And cinema is said "chin ee mah" meaning, cinema. Vado al cinema...I am going to the cinema OR vado a vedere un flim...I am going to see a film.
Can you really learn Italian? My answer on that is yes. If you want to learn you, you really should try to live it. Listen to Italian music, look at Italian films or commercials on YouTube...try to come to Italy and stay a while. You could take a course, listen to tapes or....fall in love!!! Being around people who speak the language is the best way to learn. But doing all of these other things helps too. And the word for now in Italian is PROVA!! It means try! Provare is the verb and me telling you to do it, I just say PROVA!! (And if you answer me, meaning that you want to try, you answer PROVO!)
In.....THAT is a word that is used a lot. You can say Abito in un bel paese. I live in a beautiful country. Pasta in bianco, means that the pasta is white, with no red sauce. In America, means just that. Remember to roll your R when you say America, but that is another thing...next time.

Curiosities of Italian Life

MAKING A TOAST.....if you like to drink, come to Italy!! This place is known for toasting just about anything and everything! Of course at birthdays, and Christmas and Easter but also welcoming you to town, or celebrating just getting together with old friends. And you always toast to health, good health of course. So, bring out the glasses....and make a toast to a better future too. We all could use that.
DRUGS! yes, sadly to say, our little town of about 160,000 people has a big problem with drugs. It wasn't like this when I got here, but now, it is a big problem. Just yesterday they had a big event in the center of town trying to show the people want the center back as it used to be. Lots of fun events were going on, and also people were displaying flags and things against drugs. Who knows what will happen next.....but people are really trying to be active against this problem. The center of town is a beautiful place and it is sad to see this happen.
Prices. Still going up! People are trying to give us more "deals" than they did in the past, like with fruits and veggies, you can buy them at 99 cents a kilo (2.2 pounds) but things like medicine, and gas, and energy, and the most basic things we need (like toilet paper!), well, prices have gone up and up and we here in Italy cannot live on 99cent fruit alone!!
Purses and shoes. Still, they are very beautiful in Italy. If you don't find them made in China, you will find handmade, beautifully created shoes, and purses, and leather goods. Right now there is an invasion of Chinese made things, BUT still the Italian leather goods are hard to miss. Prices are high, so only during the sales is it possible to buy them (for me anyhow). And even then, the prices are still high, but often worth the quality.
Movies -- just went to the film To Rome with Love , Woody Allen's newest film. Didn't like it, sorry. Not as great as his last one, Midnight in Paris. THAT was a super film. This was just sort of blah.......anyhow, in Italy it cost us about 10 dollars each to get in. Actually 10.50 to be exact. A lot of money when you don't like the film.
Late nights! In Italy, people go to the movies at about 8 or 8.30pm Then, I guess they may go out for a drink. So.....usually young people go to the discos about 11 or even later. Tonight even I will have a late night! But it will be worth it....at 11 I will be going to hear the Urbino Laptop Orchestra during Fantacity....very very interesting, and definitely a first for Perugia.

EATING and other things....in Italy

Veggies cooked or not....when I was a kid, we had carrot sticks, and celery. I learned to eat everything raw in California!!! Even mushrooms and spinach. But here, it takes some doing. Kids don't like veggies. They will eat anice, and carrots, but if you ask someone to chew on a stick of celery, or make a spinach salad....they may look at you funny ; )
Packaged parmesan -- It's what most people buy, parmesan in a package. There is a huge crust of waxy stuff on it, and you have to cut that off. Then you grate it by hand, or put pieces into a machine that will grate it. But it is not as good as the fresh parmesan you can buy from a huge cheese wheel. You don't actually see those around very often because the cheese from those is very expensive, and the price keeps going up. In a package it is fine, some pieces are better than others, and more expensive. Also Grana Padana is good too, less expensive and mostly, it is hard to tell the diìfference once grated on a plate of pasta or rice.
Mozzarella...in a bag or fresh? Of course, if you buy a fresh mozzarella, sold in a paper that protects it, or even in water in some shops, that is the best mozzarella. If you want something that will last a little longer, you can buy them in plastci little bags, that have water inside. And of course in that water is a mozzarella. They are good for cooking but not as tasty and fresh as the ones in paper, or that they pull out of water and put it in a little container (with water). Just remember to always store the mozzarella in water at home unless you eat it the same day.
Antipasti....hors d'ouerves. Most meals in a restaurant, or a dinner out at someone's home, a more formal dinner, will start with an opener. It's the way to open a bottle of wine, and converse, while helping one to relax and not be starving when the first plate arrives.
Table cloths -- Yes! In Italy, there is always something covering a table when you eat. Usually a nice clean table cloth. OR...in a really casual place, at least paper on the table. But the table setting is always attractive, as well as the plates that are prepared.
COLD WEATHER....HOT SOUP. If you have a carrot, a piece of celery, a little tomato sauce, a pice of bay leaf, some salt and oil, you can make a simple broth for a cold day. If you add in a little spinach, or parsley, or a small zucchina, it is even better. AND if you want to add a small potato, a piece of squash, then...you might as well mash it up in the end, add a little pasta (small ones) and you have a pretty healthy hearty meal in a bowl.
Seasonal fruit. A lot is to be said for fruit of the season. It means that it grows in Italy, and during this particular season. We can get things from other places, but it is frowned upon since it means things come from far away, on planes, or boats, and that means that maybe they weren't ripe when they were picked. So, in Italy, best to stick to seasonal produce, it just tastes better.
Tomato sauce. This is the answer to many a question, at least in my house. Today I used it to make a delicious easy sort of risotto, with shrimp. It made things creamier, and gave flavor to the shirmp and the rice. It made everything just blend in, with the chili pepper, the oil olive, the garlic, and a little white wine! Where did I get the recipe? When you live in Italy, you don't need recipies, you just sort of FEEL the recipe, and it automatically comes to you!
Healthy eating in Italy. We eat very healthfully. Is that English?? Oh well, what I wanted to say, we eat very well. Like tonight, I am preparing some beans that I cooked yesterday (I made them from dried beans, soaking them overnight) and then I cooked them and today I am preparing them in tomato sauce. I made the sauce from canned tomatoes. This is not the right season for really good tomatoes for sauce. But tomatoes are one of the very few canned foods I use. And here in Italy, although plenty of other things don't do very well, eating does VERY well. We eat really healty foods, and therefore, easy to overeat ; )
Butter? Just about never! If you like butter on bread, forget it in Italy! I have never seen butter at a table when bread is served. Unless they are having bruschetta with oil, garlic and salt, you will not see butter. Better not ask for it either, you would be looked at in a funny way!

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See More Worlds

Saturday, 7 January, 2012

CAPPELLETTI

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WHO AM I??

Double images....

What's the weather like now in Perugia?

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