FERRAGOSTO AND THE FRIDGE THAT HATED ANGURIA

As long-term readers will know, Ferragosto (Assumption Day on 15th August and the two-week period surrounding it) is not my favourite time of year: When you are on your own, those daily encounters with the staff at your local bar, with shopkeepers or just with passers-by that you normally see, are very important and I miss them. Then there is the relentless heat, which, of course, is getting worse; for me, as for many others, it is less the intensity of the heatwave than its duration that is exhausting and the nights have brought little relief. However, the heatwave broke at the weekend - it usually does around Ferragosto - and then in Modica we found ourselves assailed by a very noisy and nasty hailstorm and even a tornado! I did not see the tornado, although it was in my area, so I first learned of it through online images: nobody was hurt, thank goodness, but some trees and road signs were down, roofs were damaged and there was certainly damage to crops. People were, as you can imagine, very frightened and the Mayor of Modica gave up her time to go and speak to them. I am sure this was appreciated.

I have my own little Ferragosto traditions, as I have for other festivals, so at home I again comforted myself with my granita all'anguria (watermelon granita) and every time I make it I think of the fridge I had that hated watermelon: This was the fridge-freezer I had brought with me from Britain in 2005 - I had only had it for a year so deemed it worth transporting - and it served me mostly well. The only problem was that it hated watermelon - it really did! At first I thought it was the weight of even a watermelon of modest size that was upsetting it but no, even when I bought ready-sliced anguria in small quantities the fridge temperature (which was displayed on the outside of the appliance) would shoot up in seconds. I swear that fridge could see, smell or otherwise sense anguria as I came through the kitchen door, even though this was long before the advent of smart fridges! 

The last straw for me with that fridge (after ten years or so of its histrionics) came on the eve of one Ferragosto when I caught my foot in the door and the nail of my big toe got detached from the nailbed. Talk about agony! I know I should have gone immediately to the Emergency Department at the hospital but I just coudn't face it and, probably consequently, my toenail has never grown back properly. Now my fridge not only had a tantrum whenever I bought anguria but it had kicked me, so it had to go. I am glad to say that the two fridges I have had since then have shown no signs of rebellion against the lovely, refreshing red fruit.

All things considered, I have had a pleasant Ferragosto at home with my dog, my books and - dare I say it? - anguria and I have not been kicked by a fridge!

DROUGHT, DROWSINESS AND DUNKING

 It is Ferragosto, the Feast of the Assumption and the time of year when all of Italy seems to stop. If you are not at the beach in the daytime you are likely to be surrounded by silence which, even after all these years, seems strange in a country normally so animated and nicely noisy. 

This year there are two other factors, however, and the first word in my title leads to the effect of the second. The relentless heat of this summer has made everybody feel lethargic and every conversation begins with the words, "When will it end?"

We did have about an hour's rain on Saturday and it was bliss but, alas, not enough. Of course, only a Brit would stand out in it!

 

You may have read about the drought (siccità) and water rationing is in place in some areas. By mid-July damage to the agricultural sector was already estimated at 2 billion euros while 60% less wheat than normal was produced in the Catania area and 80% less fodder in Catania and Enna provinces. Farmers, as you can imagine, are in despair.

Here in Modica houses in the Old Town were recently without water for four days but this was due to a broken pipe in difficut terrain in the country rather than the drought. Anyone who has followed this blog from its beginning may remember that in my early days here, we always seemed to have water problems around Ferragosto so if I could type with my fingers crossed right now, I would! It is impossible to realise how much we depend on water until we have had to go without it, even for a few hours and especially in extreme heat.

There are, however, compensations for being in Sicily at this time and below are three culinary ones:

A fourth, traditional in the summer, is eating granita or ice cream with a brioche and it's OK to dunk! In Britain it is not acceptable in polite society, although Queen Victoria might have dunked her biscuits in tea privately, but here no one bats an eyelid and granita con brioche or brioscia is a traditional Sicilian breakfast. 

My granita all'anguria

But how did this tradition begin? Well, first of all the brioche used should be the Sicilian brioscia cu' tuppu (that is, it has a knob on the top) and it is not related to the French brioche. It is thought that a chef working for a rich family in Messina - no one knows exactly when but probably in the 19th century - wanted to create a bread for the ladies of the house to spread jam upon and the brioscia was the result. The tuppu was inspired either by the low chignon of the ladies' hairstyles or by the shape of a woman's breast.  Another story is that this happened in Catania. I suppose that, once the brioscia was invented, the ice cream or granita followed it one hot summer. No matter where or how it happened, it is a very good idea indeed!

So Buon Ferragosto and happy dunking!

BEHOLD, THE FERRAGOSTO BUNNIES!

I'm not a "Rise and shine, sing in the morning" type of person. I'm more, "Light, go away!" first thing. Nor do I normally gaze out at the view from my bedroom window at that time of day, as it's all I can do to open the shutters and stumble to the bathroom. But yesterday, perhaps because it was the Ferragosto holday, I did and - still being a bit dopey, you will understand - I thought there were some whacking great bunnies coming to greet me! It was only the shape of the fichi d'India (prickly pear) bush in the field out there, but it cheered me up:

Ferragosto, or the Feast of the Assumption, is when Italy virtually closes down and everybody except grumpy old me heads to the sea. For the past two years, during which we have been in and out of various lockdowns, my local bar closed only for the 15th, not for a week, as before, presumably to try and recuperate some of the takings lost during the Covid emergency but this time they have closed for the full week again. There is a quiet in the streets reminiscent of the lockdowns but happily that backdrop of fear in the air is absent and today I had an aperitivo and a plate of stuzzichini in another local bar with a friend, which helped dispel the memory of those grim times.

In the absence of a celebratory breakfast out yesterday morning, I made myself a granita all'anguria (watermelon granita) and very refreshing it was, too. I had bought a traditional Sicilian brioche for the occasion and Bertie the dog enjoyed a doggie gelato.

I hope you all had a good Ferragosto and look after those August bunnies if they come to visit!

BUON FERRAGOSTO 2021!

Me in Paignton (Devon, GB) 
c.1953

 

BUON FERRAGOSTO 2019

Clockwise, left to right:
Bertie-Pierrine enjoying some special doggy gelato; interior of Duomo di San Pietro, Modica; appetisers in local bar; Sicilian puppets depicted in flowers at the Infiorata in Noto, 2019.

BUON FERRAGOSTO 2018

I wish all Italians, and all who, like me, are Italian in their hearts, a happy Ferragosto evening, wherever you are.  I am also thinking, tonight, as I'm sure you are, of those for whom this will be an unimaginably sad Ferragosto following the terrible tragedy in Genova on the eve of the holiday. Please know that our thoughts are with you.

Left to right: Tempio della Concordia, Agrigento; a somewhat pregnant pesca tabacchiera; us; Ragusa Ibla at dusk.

Oh, and I thought you'd like to see my seasonal anguria (watermelon) nails as well:

FEASTING WITH AN OLD FRIEND

My friend Carol King, who has recently returned to Sicily, and I decided to celebrate Ferragosto a day late this year, so I kind of cooked her a little meal:

The antipasti included olives, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh datterini tomatoes, mini sausages, bresaola and Parma ham topped with Grana cheese shavings, marinated mushrooms and - I must tell you about this - watermelon with salted cucumber. My original intention was to chuck the cucumber - peeled, deseeded, chopped, salted, left then rinsed, drained and chilled - into the salad but at the last minute I thought it would be a nice addition to the dish of watermelon. Turns out I was right!  The seemingly small apples around the antipasti dishes are actually azzaroli or Neapolitan medlars, which are related to hawthorn. There are mini-pears as well and they are a fine partner for the cheese.

The main course was grilled chicken salad with grilled nectarines. (Yes, I have a thing for grilled nectarines!)   I marinated the chicken in culinary rosewater before grilling and seasoned it with sumac afterwards. I used the dressing I invented for this recipe. The other ingredients were grilled peppers and rocket leaves.

For dessert, I made strawberry tiramisù and Carol brought along the delicious sweet treats on the right.

Everything on this menu can be made in advance and all you have to do is make the antipasti look pretty and assemble the salad.

BUON FERRAGOSTO 2017

Top, left to right:  Duomo, Cefalù; looking up from Modica Bassa
Bottom, left to right:  The Madonie; Princess Grace of Monaco depicted in flower petals at Noto Infiorata, 2017

TEMPTATION

I do not normally make rash promises but I think it is safe to say that this is my last Ferragosto -moaning post of the year.  [For those of you who are not regular readers, the period around the 15th August holiday drives me insane, because virtually every place I want to go to is closed, in some cases for weeks on end.]

It came to my attention that the Giornale di Sicilia is holding a photographic competition on the theme of "Summer in Sicily" and, had I taken the photo below this summer instead of a few years ago, I would have been tempted to enter it. The photo shows two bars and a rosticceria, all closed for at least two weeks [and one of them for a month]. That pretty well sums up the Ferragosto state of affairs, even in 2016.

However, it would have been very mean of me, wouldn't it?

For those of you who are interested, the competition is on Instagram and the closing date for photos is 21st September. The hashtags are:

#estateinsicilia2016
#gdscontest
#igerssicilia

A selection of the photos will be published in the 26th September edition of the Giornale di Sicilia and yes, I will be buying it, for I'm sure they will all be beautiful.

BUON FERRAGOSTO 2016

DOMENICA MUSICALE

At this time of year, with the Ferragosto closure of virtually everything, I still get very frustrated with Italy. Therefore I'm reposting this, because it reminds me how very much I love this country - makes me cry.

Ligabue - Buonanotte all'Italia

SICILY SCENE REVISITED - THE WATERWORKS [OR MAYBE NOT]

I cannot leave the long-running water saga out of my posts from the archives!  If anyone had told me, before I moved to Sicily, what an issue water would be, I would probably never have come.  It is not the problem it used to be, as for the past two years we've had water from underground pipes instead of having to have a cistern filled every week or so but every now and then, particularly in summer, there is a morning when I turn the tap on to find...... nothing.  Believe me, I never waste water now!

Here is an early post from an August when we not only ran out of water in the condominio, but had a cistern leak too, so that when the tank was refilled we lost it all. This was no joke in a temperature of 40°, as you may imagine.

ACQUA LONTANA... 16th August 2006

"Acqua lontana non spegne il fuoco"

[Italian proverb = "Far-away water won't put out the fire".]

This proverb has a figurative meaning but I am taking it literally and personally at the moment.The water saga continues and yesterday I had a veritable army of men here trying to sort out the situation.

I heard the plumber hammering away in the cistern area early yesterday morning but he left after an hour and I didn't get a chance to speak to him. So I didn't know if he had gone off to get something, was coming back or had given up till after today's bank holiday. No one else was in for me to ask.

In desperation, facing a sixth day without running water, I reluctantly called the owner of this flat, then, there being no reply, her husband, who happens to be a plumber. ["Why didn't you call him in the first place?", I hear you ask. Because there is a hierarchy regarding who makes these calls here, because I didn't want to disturb the family at holiday time and because the man upstairs had already called in a plumber.] Eventually, through a friend, I tracked down Luigi the husband at the sea and he very kindly said he would come at 3pm., which he did. Luckily, just as he arrived, the man on the first floor and the one on the fourth floor came back, so they were able to explain to Luigi the technical stuff about what the other plumber had, and had not, been able to do.

Luigi then explained to me that he could probably get the system working again, but not before yet another water lorry arrived [as the supply had already leaked out]. I knew that one of the neighbours had requested another tank from the Comune, but, it being nearly 4pm by then, Luigi said that he "knew a man who knew a man" who could get a private water carrier to come straightaway, probably. The first floor man and I agreed that this would be best [the other tenant having had to rush back to work] so Luigi phoned "the man who knew.." and, sure enough, within ten minutes we heard a chug-chug-chug up the street and the private water carrier appeared, followed by Luigi and the "man who knew a man". The lorry driver put loads of water into the cistern, shook hands with us and wished us all a buon Ferragosto [Happy 15th August holiday] and, no sooner had he reversed out and chug-chug-chugged down the road, than we heard the chug-chug-chug up the road of the Comune lorry! Well, we weren't going to refuse another fill-up, given the circumstances, and, although the Comune lorry driver did not seem happy at first, having seen the other lorry go, when we explained everything to him he fairly happily siphoned another tankful in. By this time, of course, we were providing great entertainment to all the people hereabouts who had not gone away for the season; they were all out on their balconies watching, wondering, no doubt, why we were receiving our fifth lorry-load of water in six days, and making the pazienza gesture [throwing your hands up in the air] whenever any of us looked up.

Simi dog and I were worn out by the end of it as the water did not come back on immediately after the fill-ups, oh, no! Something was still wrong down there and we had to go up and down god knows how many times and shout, "C'è acqua!" ["There's water!"] or "Non c'è acqua!" ["There's no water!"] from the balconies as the men tested the thingamajigs in the cistern cupboard.

Eventually, there was water and I'd never realised before what a lovely sound water gushing from a tap can be! Do you think my problems were over at that moment, though? Not on your nonna's nelly! At this stage, we learned that someone had left a tap on in the block. [I can quite understand how this had happened, as when you are always testing to see if water comes out, you reach a point where you can't remember whether the tap is on or off.] So the man downstairs said he'd have to turn the water off again to avoid a flood if the other tenant didn't come back soon. Then my friend Linda and her family whisked me off to their house for supper, as they had surmised, correctly, that I needed to get away from the situation. I was so relieved, on returning, to see all the tenants' cars in the parking space and to find the water still on when I came upstairs!

Tomorrow the first plumber is coming again - I think to replace the original pump that broke - and soon we are to have a meeting regarding exactly who will do what when "non c' è acqua"!

Update - 2016:  We never did have that meeting.  That would have been planning ahead, which is too much like tempting fate.  Although there are less problems now, I still keep a supply of filled bidoni - just in case.

SABATO MUSICALE DI FERRAGOSTO

Here's the "Gianni nazionale":

Gianni Morandi - Notte di Ferragosto

FERRAGOSTO THOUGHTS ON MIGRATION

Looking at the TV pictures of migrants sleeping rough in Izmir [Turkey] while they wait to cross to Greece and of others being forced to endure overcrowded and insanitary conditions on Kos, what struck me was the contrast with the natural beauty of their surroundings. Then, when I heard a spokesperson from Kos asking not for funds but for international organisational help with the situation, I understood that request but reflected that it was sad that officials and forces of order seemed to be in need of instruction on how to treat people with simple humanity.

While the international media focus this week has shifted from Calais to Kos, there has been little reporting outside Italy of the latest migrant tragedy in the Mediterranean, in which over 50 people are believed to have died. A migrant dinghy in difficulty was spotted by an Italian naval helicopter 40 miles off Libya on Tuesday afternoon. The helicopter crew dropped life rafts and alerted other ships in the area. The naval vessel Fenice, which already had on board 119 migrants who had been saved earlier, was first on the scene and saved 52 people but the survivors told the crew that many more were missing.

This Ferragosto I'll be thinking of  migrants, their rescuers and all in peril on the sea, of people across the world who cannot enjoy the beauty of where they are because their basic human needs are not being met and of all who hope.

FERRAGOSTO SURPRISE

Because I created this recipe a few days before this year's Ferragosto holiday and because it's a bit unusual, I am calling it Ferragosto surprise. And yes, Italian readers, you'd better look away again as it's certainly not traditional and mixes sweet and savoury ingredients [which you say you never do but I know differently!]

Ever since I read that an ice cream maker was using Himalayan pink salt in a creation for last month's ice cream festival in Catania, I've wanted to use it myself in an ice cream or semifreddo. [Himalayan pink salt is very popular here, particularly in restaurants.]  I was wondering what other ingredients I could use in such a recipe  and how I could serve it when I saw these tiny peppers in the supermarket. [If you can't find mini-peppers, you could just cut interesting shapes from a large one and serve the semifreddo on top.]   The gelato became a semifreddo as it is much easier to make. It also behaves better!

This is what I did:

Ferragosto surprise

3 eggs, separated
100 gr sugar
200 ml whipping cream [panna da montare if you are in Italy]
250 gr mascarpone
10 grinds Himalayan pink salt
Half a red pepper, finely chopped
about 12 mini-peppers

Line an ice cream container with clingfilm, leaving an overlap.
Whip the egg yolks with the sugar and set aside.
In another bowl, whip the egg whites to soft peaks.
In a third bowl, whip the cream to soft peaks.
Combine the three mixtures in the largest bowl, add the mascarpone, chopped pepper and Himalayan salt and mix well with a metal spoon.
Scoop into the lined container, bring the overlap up to cover, put the lid on and freeze overnight.
When you are almost ready to serve, make a cut in the mini-peppers as though to halve them, but don't cut right through. Leave the stems on so that people can use them to pick the peppers up.  Use a teaspoon to fill the peppers with the semifreddo and close them a little,  Once filled, they will "hold" in a container in the fridge for an hour or two.

I nearly decorated with some basil leaves but remembered that Chef Carlo Cracco would say that if an ingredient isn't an integral part of the recipe, you shouldn't use it as a garnish. I think it's good advice.  If I could have got a few whole flakes of the salt out of the grinder to garnish, I would have done so, but it didn't seem worth breaking the grinder to do it. Anyway, decorate as you like!

These quantities will make more than you need for filling the peppers but you can refreeze the rest.

Buon appetito.

ANOTHER MENTION

For those of you who read Italian, my post about tourist attractions in Modica being closed for Ferragosto has attracted the attention of the Corriere di Ragusa:

Thanks for the mention, guys!

BUON FERRAGOSTO 2014

BUON FERRAGOSTO 2013

INSIDE LOOKING OUT

When a twitter acquaintance asked me how people were reacting here to the Berlusconi verdict, I was publicly noncommittal but explained to her privately that I was being careful what I said as things might turn nasty. Following the verdict, you see, the well-meaning President Napolitano had worked everybody up by calling for calm and then Senator Sandro Bondi, who is the National Coordinator of Mr Berlusconi's Pdl Party, started talking about the risk of "civil war", a suggestion which I was relieved to see being treated with derision under the hashtag #guerracivile on twitter. President Napolitano called Mr Bondi's words "irresponsible".

For those of you who have not followed the proceedings or are still puzzled by the tax evasion verdict, Italy's highest appeal court upheld the conviction but Mr Berlusconi will only have to serve one year of a four-year prison sentence and gets a choice regarding whether to serve it under house arrest or on a kind of probation which may involve his participating in community service. The question of whether the former Premier will be barred from public office is to be considered by a lower appeal court yet again and this procedure will begin only in October. Mr Berlusconi remains free until the 15th of that month while he considers his position. All this appears quite potty to most people outside Italy and the world's media have already expressed their incredulity. To focus on these admittedly incomprehensible deliberations, however, is to miss the point, which is that, in a country which, although a democracy, still sets great store by who a person is or whom he knows and where money talks in ways long abandoned by Europe's remaining monarchies, it is momentous that the convictìon was upheld at all.

Meanwhile, here, a game of "We'll bring down your government if you don't reform the judiciary!" began and everyone thought this was only to be expected and a perfectly normal development. What astonished me about Mr Bondi's reaction was that he found it unacceptable that the leader of "Italy's most important party" should have his passport rescinded and be barred from public office but never seemed to find it unacceptable that this same leader's behaviour had led to serious allegations being made and had damaged Italy's image abroad.

At a pro-Berlusconi demonstration in Rome yesterday Mr Berlusconi again asserted his innocence but said that the government must continue with the economic reforms which his coalition has agreed to and that he did not want his party to be labelled "irresponsible". Thus there is a little calm - for now.

Personally I believe that the good sense of most Italians will prevail and as for the guerra civile, I wouldn't worry too much - we won't be having it before Ferragosto.

ADVICE FOR ITALIAN TOURIST BOARDS

The Etna area, so proud, a few weeks ago, to have become a UNESCO World Heritage Site , has been given a definitive thumbs down by tourists because of a perceived lack of cleanliness there. A dearth of decent toilet facilities also featured high on the list of tourists' complaints. Something, it has been recognised, must be done but before the whole of Italy closes down for the "silly two weeks" around ferragosto [Assumption Day], I have some other suggestions [which some areas will need to heed more than others] for Italian tourist boards:

1. Yes, Italy, you need good toilet facilities at tourist spots. Tourists are not in a position to "wait till they get home" or even to their hotel and they want to be able to relieve themselves in clean surroundings without an interminable wait. Note to Sicily: If the tourists are women, they will also expect the toilet to have a seat!

2. Still on bathrooms, I'm really sorry if some tourists have taken things from or treated yours disrespectfully. The majority, however, have no intention of doing this and to be instructed how to behave in crappy, curt English scrawled on scruffy notices is hardly welcoming.

3.  It is not normal, in most other countries, to see overflowing rubbish containers in the street but having them emptied here depends on your town councils paying their refuse collectors, which is quite a normal thing to do elsewhere. People even get paid every month, without question. So put some pressure on your councils!

4.  Bus stops need to be clearly indicated as do the locations for buying tickets.

5. Tourists need easy transport links from large and small towns to nearby tourist attractions. They do not expect to have to take a taxi or to pay an exorbitant fare for one!

6. Not everybody is capable of climbing 500 steps to get into every church they see.

7. In the rest of the world, tourist offices exist to give tourists information. That is their function! They are also OPEN during the peak tourist season. Incidentally, the rest of the world does not close down for most of August.

8.  If you're going to use English, get it checked by someone who is a native speaker or an English teacher and preferably both. What the hell is "next opening" supposed to mean, for instance? I have recently seen an advertisement in English for a house built in the year "800" [which to an English speaker means 800 AD] when what was meant was obviously the nineteenth century. OK, I'm British and therefore precise but even an Italian would have to admit that there is quite a difference here!

9.  A  "Bed and Breakfast" and a self-catering house or apartment are two completely different concepts - yes, they are! A British or American  person does not expect to have to prepare his or her own breakfast in a "B&B".

10. We do still love you, Italy but a little consideration of tourists' needs would not go amiss!