INTERVIEW WITH A CREATIVE FRIEND

 Today I would like to introduce you to a very creative friend of mine, Veronica Gilestro:

Veronica, we met while walking our dogs and we got chatting, so I know you like dogs and that you are a yoga teacher. When did you start teaching yoga and is there a connection between dogs and yoga?

I've been teaching yoga for eight years now. My relationship with my dog keeps me in present time and helps me enjoy the moment. This also happens in yoga - you are able to connect with yourself and appreciate the moment.

I now know that you have another talent, too -  making jewellery for your line Risonanze -  and I have some lovely pieces of yours. When did you begin that and how did you learn to do it?

I began making jewellery last year, mainly for enjoyment and I taught myself. It all started with my study of the chakra ("wheels" or "circles"). These are points of energy in our bodies which help us maintain our internal balance. In yoga meditation the use of natural stones echoes the energy of each chakra, for example, red and black are connected to the first chakra, which is the earth. Everything is based on energy and the vibrations connect us with nature and the present moment, aiding the internal balance which is so important for maintaining a peaceful life.

So natural jewellery is for everybody?

It is an instrument of support for yoga but yes, definitely for everybody.

Tell me about the little cards that come with your jewellery.

These explain the chakra connected with the piece of jewellery and the benefits the stone brings to the chakra. The last line of each card is an assertion, inviting you to stop and recite it while holding or wearing my jewellery creation.

You said that your jewellery is for everybody so do you make pieces for men and women?

Yes, and I really like making jewellery for everyone.  I didn't use to wear jewellery often myself, but since I've been making mala bead (meditation) necklaces I've begun to wear some almost every day. 

Do you have to be in a particular frame of mind to create a piece of jewellery?

 I never make a piece of jewellery if I don't feel calm.

What is your favourite colour in a piece of jewellery and what kind of pieces do you make?

Fuchsia and its variations. This colour is connected to the third eye (the eye of perception). I also like light and dark blue together as they connect with the chakra of self-expression. I make bracelets, necklaces and earrings.

Finally, where can people see and buy some of your creations?

At the Sunday market in Modica Bassa (Modica Old Town) which takes place on the second and last Sunday of each month, from 07:00 to 13:00. I like selling my jewellery there as it gives me an opportunity to create a relationship with clients. People can message me on Whatsapp +39 3398745326 to make an appointment to visit my workshop or buy from my website . They can also find me on Instagram or via my email: gilestroveronica@gmail.com

Thank you for talking to me today and for sharing your knowledge and creative ideas, Veronica. See you soon with the dogs!

FOR A FRIEND

A dear friend and former neighbour of mine died on Saturday afternoon at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.

This lady often exasperated and even angered me because her political and societal views were very different from mine but she possessed, in abundance, that undervalued quality without which we are nothing - kindness.

In 2005, on the day when my dog Simi and I flew to Sicily, unwell and partially disabled as my friend was at the time, she dragged herself, on public transport, up to Heathrow Airport. (I had already been in London a week, saying my goodbyes to the city.) She did this because she hadn't wanted me to get on that plane, permanently leaving everything that was familiar, without having someone to wave at as I boarded. It was a gesture of friendship which will stay with me always.

Brexit drove a wedge between us from 2016 but in recent years she sought me out again and I tried to stay off the subject when we communicated!

Since Saturday I have been trying to remember the good times, such as going to the Hay Festival every year and doing the Elgar Trail one summer around Worcestershire. You loved gardens, my friend, so as I write, I am thinking of our visit to the Elgar garden in the Malvern Hills.

You embarked on many journeys in your life and you were sure that this last one would lead you to the God you so sincerely believed in. Bon voyage and say "Hello" to my mum and Simi up there. 

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!

A BASKET OF GOODNESS

This is the hottest summer I can remember in Sicily and it seems to be wearing us all down because the extreme heat started early, in May, and I believe it has only rained for about ten minutes since. There are, of course, compensations, such as granita, anguria (watermelon) and myriad ice cream flavours and I certainly perked up when a friend brought me this traditional Sicilian basket of goodies from his garden on Friday. 

There are aubergines, datterini (tiny, date-shaped tomatoes), salad tomatoes, tomatoes for sauce and occhi di bue (bull's-eye) tomatoes, long peppers and a kind of pepper that I had never seen before.These are called friggitelli (from friggere - to fry) and, although they are related to chilli peppers, they are not hot. (I understand they are known in the US.) My friend told me to fry them in olive oil and garlic until browned and to add coarse salt only at the end of cooking. That is exactly what I did and wow, they were good!

BUONA PASQUETTA - HAPPY EASTER MONDAY

This Easter traditional processions are back and Modicans, yesterday, were able to enjoy their beloved Madonna Vasa Vasa, the Easter Sunday procession in which statues of Mary and of the Risen Christ are carried around the town until, eventually, they meet. Other towns have also been able to celebrate in their traditional ways, although there was much polemic about this at first. In the end, I think, it was conceded that people cannot live under Covid restrictions forever and at some point they have to be trusted to be as careful as they can while attending such events. Let us hope that all will be well.

I did not attend, preferring to spend the day here with my dog and perhaps have a day of reflection but I certainly did not lack for food! A kind friend brought me lamb impanate (pies) and cassate (also known as cassatelle or cassateddi) di Pasqua. These last are very different from the iced cassate beloved of tourist magazines and are pastries filled with ricotta and honey. They are a particular speciality of south-eastern Sicily. I made for myself my spezzatino di Pasqua of lamb, onions, artichoke hearts, yellow pepper and potatoes spiced with sumac and flavoured with rosemary and sage. (Lamb cuts are smaller in Italy than in the UK, hence the seemingly vast quantity. I will freeze some.)  The last photo shows two slices of a superb colomba (dove-shaped cake) which was also a gift and it is flavoured with Modican chocolate and amarena (black cherry) icing. Can I make colomba?  I have never tried because there are professional bakers who do it far better than I ever could and have space and equipment for the long, natural rising required, as with panettone.

Happy Easter Monday, everyone!

BALMY BREEZES

A lovely day on Sunday with friends who are both book lovers and dog lovers and what could be better after a long and delicious lunch than an evening stroll by the sea in Sampieri?

Blogger in balmy breeze

And the memory of a beautiful sunset
to take home.

INFIORATA 2018

The third weekend in May is always time for me to head to Noto and the Infiorata or "Carpet of flowers" there.  It's a beautiful, well-organised event and the atmosphere gladdens my heart because the meticulously arranged petals, the cheerful market stalls and the music coming from every corner make everybody smile.  This year's theme was Cina - Le vie della seta (China - the Silk Roads) and I thought I'd share some of the images with you:

I must say that this year it was very pleasant to be there with some old friends from Britain and that they certainly know how to serve bruschette in Noto!

I have these friends to thank for the photos, by the way - they are much better photographers than me!

IGNAZIELLA'S CRAFTS

These are some of the lovely objects (not the photocopier!) my friend Ignaziella has made this year.  They are on display in her shop. Isn't she clever?

WAGGIES AND WHOOPEES

Well, I've had a bit of a blogging hiatus and I expect regular readers will be wondering how Bertie-Pierrine is. She's fine, thank you, but, like her mummy, she's not really keen on certain mornings:

The rest of the time, though, she's exceedingly waggy and can even do it to order:

She's an incredibly sociable dog and enjoyed herself immensely last night at the opening of my friend Tiziana's new premises for her very successful pet shop Le 4 Zampe. There were lots of both human and doggie friends there and you could hear excited barking and yapping all the way down our extremely long street! Doesn't Tiziana look glamorous?

Well done, Bertie-Pierrine for being a good girl at the party and lots of good wishes to Tiziana for her new shop.

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.

RELIGION AND RAVIOLI

The weekend again saw the festival of the Sacred Heart or Sacro Cuore and, although I wouldn't describe myself as a religious person, there is something that I find very uplifting and restful about watching groups of people gathering together to celebrate their religion in a joyful, peaceful  way without causing any harm or disurbance to anyone.  It may be a small festival and it may not be very sophisticated but it is, quite simply, "good" in the Christian sense of the word.

I was invited to watch the procession from a friend's balcony and we had a great time chatting out there, intermittently watching the proceedings, listening to the music coming from the church courtyard, exclaiming at the fireworks and finally, eating.

For yes, there has to be food and this year the programme proudly announced the Sagra (food festival) of ricotta-filled ravioli in sauce - not any old sauce, you understand, but a rich tomato sauce that is lovingly cooked for a long time with 'strattu and pork.  The cook serving the trays of ravioli told my friend's husband that she had earlier made no less than 1,000 ravioli by hand! Well, faced with that information, I'm sure you would agree that it would have been churlish to leave any of the tempting offerings on the individual trays on which they were served. Everyone who bought a tray got ricotta ravioli with not just sauce, but a generous portion of the pork used to flavour it, a sausage, bread and cheese and some sweet ravioli to finish.  Of course, it wouldn't have been an Italian summer festival without ice cream and I had made and taken along some of  that old stand-by of mine which I call "chocolate thingies".

Keep gathering in peace, cari modicani, and I hope the "ravioli lady", once she has recovered from Sunday, gets to make many more!

DECEMBER GELATO

You don't often get artigianale ice cream out of season in Modica, but this evening my friend Ignaziella and I enjoyed these at a local shopping centre.  I can honestly say the experience lit up my night!

WHEN BERTIE MET DAISY

It was great meeting Sarah from White Almond Sicily , her husband Mike, their lovely dog Daisy and friend Teresa on Saturday.  Bertie thought so, too!

And what better to go with an aperitvo than an abundant, Modican  piatto of stuzzichini at the Cicara Caffetteria?

Daisy enjoyed the accompanying crisps and I'm sure she'll bring her mummy, daddy and friend back soon!

A TOUCH OF MAGIC

It's always lovely when someone brings you a present from home and when you live so far away, I think the memories that these thoughtful gifts evoke can flood your mind - in a good way.

My maternal grandad was a Cornishman [though he spent most of his life in Wales] so when a friend brought me a Cornish pixie wall plaque the other day, I immediately thought of Grandpa and felt I could hear his soft,West of England tones as he told me the pixie-themed little brooches or ornaments he would bring me back from his annual holiday in Cornwall held magic powers.  Of course, Devon has pixies too and they are not to be outdone in the magic stakes! Mum, Dad and I used to head for Paignton every summer and I've had the pixie ornament from Dawlish Warren since I was about five.

Now that Mr Dawlish Pixie has some company, I'm convinced my luck is about to change!

ANOTHER VISITOR

It has been lovely to welcome my friend the writer and editor Carol King back to Sicily and Sunday had to start with brioche and gelato!

Later there were antipasti, including some fine taralli biscuits from Calabria:

I also made my pizza estiva with grilled nectarines

and a semifreddo di marrons glacés. [This last is a Cucchiaio D'Argento recipe, not one of mine]:

Hope you come back soon too, Carol!

MODICAN PHILOSOPHY

"Cry if you need to", said one friend here this week when I told her I was a bit down in the dumps, "but a good cup of coffee is better."

Photo courtesy of Cicara Caffeteria, Modica

"Cry if you need to, " said another, "but a nice plate of pasta is better".

"I'll cry if I need to, but a beautiful cremolata di gelsi [mulberry cremolata] is better",  said I.