MULTILINGUAL CAROL SERVICE 2015

I always think that Christmas has been well and truly declared when we have our multilingual carol service in Modica and this year has been no exception.

We again opened with Venite Fedeli, included the famous Italian carol Tu scendi dalle stelle and closed with  verses of Silent Night sung in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. Other carols were sung in all these languages and there were readings in other languages including Malagasy:

I read from Mary Jones and her Bible - not particularly Christmassy but a nice story. I'd been thinking about Mary Jones a lot this year because Mary Jones World was opened in Bala, North Wales at the end of 2014. [One day I'll get there!]

As my contribution to the feast, I made my "Christmas chews" again, as I did last year.  As always, there was delicious food from every country represented:

It wouldn't have been a proper British contribution if someone hadn't made yummy mince pies and Christmas cake......

.... and it wouldn't have been quite Modican without several kinds of focaccia!

DINNER WITH "LIFE IN SICILY"

Yesterday evening I was delighted to be able to cook for my friend and fellow-Modican-by-adoption Carol King, who is @LifeinSicily on twitter.

With the exception of the dessert, all the recipes for the dishes on the menu are my own and have been posted on this blog, so you will see links to them as you read the post:

To start with I made caponata, which you can serve at room temperature or cold.  This time I served it cold.  [Note:  I don't bother salting the aubergine prior to cooking any more.  I have finally come out on the "Don't" side of that culinary debate, having decided it's a waste of time.]

Caponata needs bread or something crunchy to go with it, so I made my Italianised Quesadillas:

Any Italian banquet requires pasta or rice, too, and, for a summer evening, I think this Herbed Risotto Cake is a good solution because it can be prepared in advance:

You slice it, just like a cake!

For the main course I prepared the Tamarind Chicken dish I invented a couple of weeks ago, served on dressed courgettes with datterini tomatoes which had been marinated in oil and lemon juice:

Raspberries are a rarity here, but eagle-eyed Carol had spotted a bar where the owners had just made a batch of raspberry ice cream, so she brought some along with lemon gelato too.  Delicious!

Then I brought out that old standby of mine which I call a lemon semifreddo but is really the much missed Jennifer Paterson's Suffolk Lemon Pudding from her book Seasonal Receipts.

It was good to see you, Carol.  Thanks for the company, the gelato and the laughs!

A BIRTHDAY LUNCH IN POZZALLO

Valentine's Night is a night to stay in for many single people, as who, when they are on their own,  wants to tread a restaurant floor covered in rose petals, listen to romantic music or watch couples gazing into each other's eyes all evening? It would be like twisting a knife further into your own wound and it never ceases to amaze me that couples don't get this.

However, it's my birthday and it's been a lovely day in Sicily so I was delighted when my friend Carol invited me to lunch at a restaurant in Pozzallo, a town whose main street backs directly onto the beach.  First, here are a few photos of Pozzallo as it looked this afternoon:

XV century Cabrera Tower

Now I want to introduce you to Carol.  She writes about Sicily and other places where she has lived or which she has visited and you can find some of her articles here.

OK, let's get to the food and these are the dishes we ordered:

Cavatieddi pasta with ricotta and peas for me

and lolli pasta with fava beans for Carol:

Then I had what Italians call a "mixed roast" but is really a mixed grill 

with a mixed salad

while Carol enjoyed chicken cutlet and chips:

There was my favourite gel al limone for dessert and you could just tell that this had been made with the freshest Sicilian lemons:

Simple food, perfectly cooked - the best!

And finally, here is your birthday girl blogger:

I had a great time.  Thanks, Carol. xx

REACHING OUT AT CHRISTMAS

Yesterday afternoon's Multilingual Carol Service in Modica Bassa saw a huge turnout and for me, signified what Christmas should be about:  reaching out to others in a spirit of peace and tolerance.

Here is the programme, cleverly designed by my friend Linda:

And here is the scene set ready for the readings and carols to begin. Some of you may recognise Gino's collage here:

We began by singing Venite Fedeli [Oh Come, All Ye Faithful] together in Italian, the language which unites us all and then there was Italy's favourite carol [and mine], Tu scendi dalle stelle.  Carols and readings followed in French, Malagasy, Bosnian, Greek, German, Spanish, Sicilian dialect, Danish, Dutch and English.  Not all the readings were religious and I read from Dylan Thomas's A Child's Christmas in Wales.  Finally we all sang the first verse of Astro del Ciel [Silent Night] in Italian, French, German, Spanish and English.

A French ensemble

Poem being read in Malagasy

A German carol is sung

A Spanish carol sung with much jolly hand-clapping

Candlelight for a Danish carol

The British contingent

Everyone had brought along a dish from their country to share so there was a fine feast afterwards. We were happy to welcome some new friends from Somalia and Eritrea and we hope they will join us often for social events.

THE BEST KIND OF PLANNING MEETING....

The best kind of planning meeting takes place over afternoon tea, when everybody brings some cakes or biscuits they have made, as the ladies - and one or two gentlemen - of Modica's "foreign legion" did on Friday.  We were planning our annual multilingual carol service and we got that part of the meeting concluded in no time!

TU SCENDI DALLE STELLE

Enjoy Italy's favourite carol sung by the only singer likely to succeed Pavarotti in Italians' affections:

Andrea Bocelli - Tu scendi dalle stelle


Buon Natale a tutti!

Welshcakes e Simone xx woof!