In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Felice Anno Nuovo a tutti!
May 2009 be kind and gentle to all of us.... we do not ask for more.....
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
From: save-a-species@kew
Subject: A message from Sally
Date: 31 December 2008 18:16:32 GMT
To: All at Italymag Forum
Reply-To: You needn't!!! lol
Dear All
Your friend, Sally, has left a message on the Kew website.
You can read it here.
[url=http://data.kew.org/save-a-species/ecard/view.php?id=56-dea561088e3020559b29fa48b420f3bb]Save A Species - Help Kew Safeguard Plants From Extinction[/url]
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
A happy and peaceful New Year to everyone.
Francesca: Dancing_biggrin:
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
I would liked to have raised a glass to everyone on this board last night but unfortunately I was too bloated to move. The only Brits at an Italian family celebration, we really felt we were Eating for England. Fortunately, I had family dog snuggled at my feet so she was able to help me out hugely. But poor hubby had no such help and ignored my pleas of "go easy on the crostini", which of course he didn't. Two pasta dishes? Gala, other foodie experts, is this usual? I tell you, I feel as though it's going to be another year before I eat another morsel!
crostini (fegatini and funghi)
bruschetta
plates of salumi, pecorino
tortelloni stuffed with salmon
lasagna al forno
a fab veal dish, slices of vitellino stewed in wine with speck & olives
porchetta with potatoes roasted around the joint
zuppa inglese
all those dreadful sweets that I'm afraid I simply cannot stomach
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
It sounds fairly typical to me Violetta. I have watched the Italians carefully and noticed that although the men eat very well, the women tend to busy themselves offering you dishes, clearing, bring more etc and (some) manage to actually eat very little, without anyone noticing. That’s how they stay so slim.
I’m surprised that Zampone and lentils did not feature on the menu, as it is the traditional dish for New Years Eve. The lentils represent money and are supposed to bring you wealth in the coming year. If wind were wealth they could be right!!!:laughs:
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
[quote=Nielo;106804]The lentils represent money and are supposed to bring you wealth in the coming year. If wind were wealth they could be right!!!:laughs:[/quote]
Talking of wind, if you got an iTouch for Christmas (no, I'm not entirely sure what one of these is, either!) you can buy it a program for all of 59p which makes it, err, fart. Quite noisily. Just like after lentils.
A virtual whoopee cushion :bigergrin: what will they think of next!
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Yes, Violetta, you can get two or three pasta dishes and up to two rice dishes in a big traditional family celebration. They do not worry about not repeating some ingredients which is something we have been told to avoid. The final result is good but it is taxing on the waistline if you are not careful. Twelve to fifteen different dishes is normal, although I think that younger generations start cutting down on that. It happened very much the same in many other European countries with those huge menus for celebrations. My mother used to tell me that the secret not to get fat was to have a little "taste" of every food. About a tablespoon. Otherwise you pay the consequences.
And Nielo, I agree with you. Surprising the absence of lentils and zampone.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Felice Anno Nuovo a tutti!
May the pound rise phoenix like from the ashes in 2009.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
[quote=attilio7;106807]Felice Anno Nuovo a tutti!
May the pound rise phoenix like from the ashes in 2009.[/quote]
Hear, hear to that!:bigergrin:
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
In our early years here I prepared an Italian New Years Eve dinner, which included lentils and zampone. We lifted our knives and forks and tasted it....SPAM or heated luncheon meat...disgusting....never again but we gobbled up the lentils as they represented coins we were going to need in the coming year! For the first time in 10 years our friends opened up their pizzeria on NYE. The Italians, despite the recession, could afford to eat out at reasonable cost. All diners came in large groups and had booked in advance and the happy staff were of course, paid double.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
So you did not liked "zampone", Noble? I find it excellent with lentils, the two go very well together. I was about to write some more on the subject, but I am getting lazy today and besides, this link explains everything regarding "zampone" for those who are puzzled by our remarks:
[url=http://www.cliffordawright.com/caw/recipes/display/recipe_id/776/]Recipe: Zampone con Lenticchie (Italy, Emilia-Romagna) Stuffed Pig's Trotter with Lentils[/url]
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
[quote]By Nielo: "....I’m surprised that Zampone and lentils did not feature on the menu, as it is the traditional dish for New Years Eve. The lentils represent money and are supposed to bring you wealth in the coming year. If wind were wealth they could be right!!![/quote]
Well that's what I sat down to for my supper last night...but I've sat down to the same tings for many, many years. [IMG]http://www.italian-food-recipes.net/images/cotechinolenti1ss.jpg[/IMG] Must admit though that as I was on my own this year I didn't buy a whole zampone/cotechino but vacuum packed slices of one... it was from Modena (aren't all the good ones supposed to be?) and was surprisingly good. The lentils I had prepared myself by soaking overnight and then cooking in the afternoon. There was even enough left over for a good lunch today.
But one tradition I [U]did[/U] carry out at midnight, but which is now banned in many large towns, was to throw an old plate from the window and breaking it. I was always told that it symbolises throwing out the old together with the 'old year'. Maybe it's true - maybe not - but it works for me! [URL="http://www.examiner.com/x-854-Tuscan-Living-Examiner~y2008m12d28-Watch-your-head-on-New-Years-Eve--celebrating-in-Italy"][B]>Italian New Years Eve traditions<[/B][/URL]. Having done that and wrapping up nice and warm, I watched the 20 minute village firework display. I watched it from my balcony as by then it was snowing and I stayed under the eves! Oh it was [I]such[/I] a nice evening...
I am now keeping myfingers crossed and hoping that the lentils (for fortune) and the throwing out of the 'old' (plate) will get the €uro vs. £ back on track this year, as, like Nielo and many others I'm sure, that will help ease the stress we are feeling regarding 'tight belts' and diminishing pensions!
I'm sure 2009 does hold a lot of promise for many... let's hope it all starts to 'turn around for the better' on 20th January at '[I]that[/I]' inauguration.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Now is the time to tale a tour of the bins round here, because at this time of year people replace things and throw out the old. Someone I know picked up a beautiful dinner table and six chairs this way. All I managed to see was a broken fridge and a really worse for wear sofa!
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
[quote=Nielo;106867]Now is the time to tale a tour of the bins round here, ![/quote]
Heaven help anyone investigating our bin this morning. Hubby has just thrown out the most disgusting piece of congealed something or the other that has clearly been buried at the back of the fridge since Pasqua and currently stinks to high heaven! However, I'll warn him when he goes down to dump it in the wheely at the bottom of the lane to look out for sofas!
Best wishes for 2009 to all.
:laugh::Dancing_biggrin::laughs::smile:
I promised myself no new year resolutions this year, but in the spirit of always breaking such resolutions anyway I will set a record and break my non-resolution even before the new year starts! So here is my New Year's resolution:
Better smilies for the forums