THE END OF SUMMER

Summer has officially ended and, whilst I am not a beachy person and rejoice in everything at last being open again, I will be sorry to see the end of the gelato season and of its companions cremolate and granite.

Left to right:  granita di mandarino; cremolata di gelsi (mulberry); granita di pesche e fichi d'India
(peaches and prickly pear, the latter being a late summer addition to the granita repertoire)

My favourite peaches,  pesche tabbacchierie, get larger and less sweet as August ends but then these delights appear:

Centre:  frutta di Martorana
Right: "cakes" of cotognata (quince paste)

Finally, I cannot let the summer end without sharing this with you:  the other day, a Sicilian friend said he had spotted a British man coming out of the B&B opposite his house. I asked how he had known the man was British.

"Because he was wearing sandals and socks", came the reply.

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AUTUMNAL SNACK

A hunk of Sicilian peppered pecorino and some cotognata [quince paste]. What could be better?

TREASURE TROVE IN MODICA BASSA

One of the places I have an affection for in Modica Bassa is the Casa del Formaggio, partly because of its fantastic, traditional products and partly because it is situated in the street where Simi and I lived for five weeks when we first came to Modica.

So on Sunday, when I visited the Chocobarocco Festival, I took the opportunity to call in on Giuseppe:

Cotagnata [quince paste] and mostarda are on display [centre]

Some local cheeses are kept cool in the traditional way.

Do pay a visit to this little shop if you are ever in Modica - you will be surprised and delighted by what you find there.

FOODIE FINDS

Last year cotognata [quince paste] was difficult to find because the quince harvest was poor so I'm glad to be able to report that this year it is plentiful.  It is always an extra pleasure to find it with patterns like this imprinted upon it:

I have tried and failed to find truffle oil in Sicily and it would probably be prohibitively expensive if I did, so I am looking forward to finding out if this "truffle taste" spray will turn out to be a suitable substitute:

Have you ever seen round zucchini? I hadn't, until the other day:

And what a good idea - a cinnamon mill!

Finally, not so much a find as a gift:  What has my friend Lucia been up to lately?  She has been making her own version of Modican chocolate, that's what, and she brought me some at the weekend:

THREE GOOD THINGS

The fruit seller who calls me "bambina" called from his lorry that he was "giving away" oranges this morning.  By that he meant, of course, that they were especially cheap but I was determined to resist - until, that is, I saw one word on the crates:  "vaniglia".  Sicilian vanilla oranges really do taste of vanilla and everyone should try one before they die.

Later slabs of Valgrana cheese from Piemonte were on offer in the supermarket and what better to go with one than cotognata [quince paste]?  A marriage made in heaven.

 

SOAP, NO WATER AND PAINS IN THE NECK

Autumn has come very suddenly to Sicily and as I write there is sheet lightning in the Scicli direction. We have now had two days of nasty storms and late last night there were some quite terrifying thunderclaps.

Everybody seems to be feeling low and all attribute their mood to the changeable weather, in particular the fact that nobody knows what to wear. Not a few are also suffering from the cervicale, a seasonal ailment if ever there was one.

I had been watching the women for signs of the cambio di stagione [seasonal wardrobe change]which is really indicated by what length of sleeve they are wearing but this year the change seems to have been forced upon us during the past few days. [Usually a kind of telepathic decision is taken by the women in unison so that they all appear nonchantly sporting their autumn finery on exactly the same day.]

Ironically, although there has been lots of water outside, there had been none inside for the 48 hours from 7 pm Tuesday to this evening: Yes, the water supply ran out again and this time I couldn't even call the Water Office to order a cistern refill as their phone is rotto [ = broken, which is, at least, a variation on their usual theme of "cut off for non-payment of bills"]. When I pleaded with our water lorry driver this morning, he agreed to deliver a tankful provided I go to the office to sign for the order tomorrow. You can imagine my relief when the lorry turned up at 11 am, but this, alas, was short-lived, as when I tried to turn the tap on, still nothing came out! Then my neighbour informed me that there was something wrong with the motor which should pump the cistern water around the building and as I left for work she was looking for an electrician. I arrived home at 8pm with stiff limbs and not much hope of a bath tonight but oh, joy of joys, the motor was pumping its little old heart out! Never was a wallow in bath foam more appreciated, reader.

This gloomy day has been brightened by two lovely and completely unexpected gifts: Cotognata [quince paste] from Lucia, who informed me in all seriousness that she "only" made 10 kilos of this delightful autumn preserve yesterday

and a jar of pretty, beautifully perfumed soaps from Rosa's daughter.





I think I'll have another bath!

DAILY DOINGS - 25

It's been a busy couple of weeks and I have started back in my old job at the English International School [where I taught before I was ill last year]. I must say it is pleasant seeing some of my old students again and meeting new ones. I took in some pictures of London to sort of welcome myself back and presented my boss with a dollop of blu-tack [unavailable here] to put them up with; what more could she desire?

Meanwhile, at home, and thanks to Marie-Laure and David for having suggested it, the computer shop man has set up Wifi for me so at long last I can listen to The Archers in every room! I don't know why it never occurred to me that that was the solution.... Rosa was laughing at me this afternoon as I purred with contentment at the mere thought of being able to listen to all my beloved Radio 4 voices as I laze the siesta hours away in my bedroom or lounge.

The kitchen has been a hive of activity too, as Irma wanted to see how I make that old standby of mine, the lemon semifreddo which is really Jennifer Paterson's "Suffolk Lemon Pudding" [from Seasonal Receipts]. If that sounds familiar to regular readers, it's because I have both made and mentioned it hundreds of times before, and the recipe has not let me down yet. Irma likes my instructions, which include this advice for turning the cake out: "Dip the base in hot water, take a deep breath, pray, then be brave - and quick!"

Over at Raffaele the hairdresser's there are all these new perfumes for his clients to play with:

They are mostly good imitations of famous scents and I decided it would be fun to spray one on top of the other until I got the right "note" [as I believe perfumers call it]. I'll probably never be able to create that particular mix again! Raffaele just looks on as if to humour me...

There was less fun for my other hairdresser, the one nearer home, yesterday, for , just as I was going out with Simi at lunchtime, an injured pigeon took refuge in our courtyard. The poor creature could hardly move, let alone fly, crashing in agony each time it tried. I didn't know how to help it and was wondering whom to call when Orazio appeared. When he said he'd see to it I wasn't quite sure what he would do but he went back into the salon and emerged with a box and a rather hesitant assistant behind him. Then he told me that he bred pigeons so could handle the situation and off Simi and I went. When we came back the bird was in the box and Orazio was trying to feed it some bread. Sadly, this morning he told me that the bird had died during the night but at least it was treated kindly during its final hours. Apparently the assistant, who had had to pick the pigeon up from under a car it had painfully reached, only admitted this morning that she is terrified of birds!

You can tell that it's autumn because the cotognata [quince paste] is in the shops, are as the fichi d'India or prickly pears. One of the nicest combinations I know is that of Asiago cheese and cotognata:

And the Altro Posto yet again wins the "Ice Cream of the Week" award, for being the first bar this year to include fichi d'India in its coppa di frutta e gelato:

I was going to finish there but I have to tell you that, much to my amazement, I have won Saretta's competition over at her blog! She had the brilliant idea of putting up a photo of a group of her international friends and her readers had to guess the nationality of each woman. No, I didn't guess correctly; it was a lot harder than you would imagine and we all got in a fine muddle trying to work it out by logic, so in the end Saretta pulled a name out of a hat! The prize is a guide to Apulia which Saretta has translated and I'm really looking forward to receiving it. Grazie in anticipo, Saretta.

MARMELLATA

I intend to tell you all about the Sicilian hospital experience in a subsequent post but in the meantime I thought you'd like to see this quince marmellata which my friend Gina made and was kind enough to bring to me there. She picked 30 kilos of quinces from her tree last weekend so there is plenty more, she says. This marmellata is of a different consistency to the cotognata [quince paste] that I have shown you before; although it is, as you see, made in moulds, it is spreadable. Both preserves are delicious.

IL COMPLEANNO DEL BOSS!

We do work hard over at the School but we are also always happy to find a reason to celebrate! Today is Cathy the owner’s birthday, so students sang “Happy Birthday” in English to her, Paola, the Italian teacher and secretary made a lovely crostata [tart], champagne was drunk and I took along a bottle of the quince liqueur I made in the autumn. [The manager of the Altro Posto kindly kept it chilled for us until we were ready at 8.30 pm.] Cincin, Cathy! I would like to thank you here for giving me the opportunity to teach with you and for making my day to day working life such a pleasant one.

If you would like an unusual and interesting holiday this year, why not come and learn Italian at the English International School? I guarantee that you will have fun! Please click here for more details.

CHICKEN WITH COTOGNATA

I got the idea for this dish from the Moro cookbook: I had some cotognata [quince paste] I wanted to use up and the book has an interesting recipe that uses this product in a sauce for roast duck. I didn't see why it shouldn't work with chicken.

Italians, it must be said, do not go in for sweet and sour combinations very much, except as a flavouring for onions and in coniglio in algrodolce [sweet and sour rabbit] and the authors of Moro caution: "... although sweet / savoury dishes can be sublime, it is a difficult balance to achieve."

Well, I am nothing if not intrepid in the kitchen and, not wanting to roast a whole chicken, I more or less followed the Moro recipe for chicken joints cooked with bay leaves, garlic and white wine. I added a couple of shallots and used only the cloves from 1 bulb of garlic rather than 2, and added the chopped quince paste with the wine at the end. Then, deciding that the dish needed one more ingredient, I added some sliced, juicy Sicilian pears. I wasn't sure if the sweet quince paste would combine well with the garlic, but needn't have worried. It was delicious!

If you are in the UK and wish to make this dish, where are you going to get your quince paste from? The type sold in some delicatessens is not hard like the sun-baked product available here but it might just do in this recipe. Otherwise, you will have to go and see Chiara!

PRONTO!

- A fair yield of quince liqueur. I'm quite pleased with the final colour, as well. I'm running out of cupboard space for all these liqueurs! Now to start the Christmas Pudding vodka....

LAST STAGE

Today I added the sugar [which will dissolve further with a daily whisk and a shake] to the mixture for the quince liqueur which, I must tell you, reader, already smells divine. Just 10 days to straining time...

Some of you know that I have a subscription to UK Good Housekeeping [though I pay no attention whatsoever to the housekeeping articles, unless they are entitled "How to avoid ironing"] and in this month's issue there are instructions for making Christmas Pudding vodka so that's my next project here at the Welshcakes-Simone distillery. I can get all the ingredients except currants and raisins but I am going to substitute these with some dried cranberries that I brought back with me in October. They might even improve the colour, don't you think?

Cranberries are unavailable in Sicily but they must be sold in parts of Italy as I have seen recipes featuring them in cookery magazines here. A friend in Britain is going to send me some fresh ones in December: I am wondering how she will pack them? I could be faced with a very cross postman if they burst!

GOLDEN GIFTS

I've mentioned before that Italians never come to see you without bringing a gift, even if they are only going to visit for a few minutes, as my dear friends Marco and Giovanna did this evening.

Marco seems to live in constant fear that I will run out of breakfast biscuits, so he brought me some more, whilst Giovanna had been making quince jam. The bottle contains oil from the first pressing of their own olives and I poured some into a glass so that you may behold its glorious colour. It smells and tastes sublime and will be the perfect oil for drizzling onto freshly baked bread. Should you do this, reader, you will want nothing more, for you will think yourself already in heaven. No gifts could please me more than these.

PRODUCTION LINE UPDATE

The chopped quinces have been strained and their liquid added to the alcohol mixture for the liqueur [picture 1]. I decided the concoction needed a little lemon juice so added that as well. I'm so glad to get the bowl of quinces out of the way as it was taking up a whole shelf of fridge space!

I have to wait until Tuesday to put the olives in water and vinegar for 24 hours: after that I can flavour them.

Pesto is a versatile ingredient and I always make the green variety. I'd like to be able to tell you that I dutifully grind everything in this [picture 2] but I don't; I whizz it up in this [picture 3]. This works well provided you remember one thing - don't add any oil till the end. This morning I whizzed together: 3 oz fresh parmesan, 2 garlic cloves, about 60 fresh basil leaves, 2 small packets pinenuts, a little coarse seasalt, and enough olive oil to obtain the texture I prefer, which is quite a thick one. Pesto keeps well in a jar in the fridge but it does lose its bright green colour. It does, however, freeze beautifully and that way I always have a standby for a pasta sauce. As I've mentioned before, pesto also marries well with potatoes that have been roasted in olive oil.

I do buy red pesto and 2 types are available here, one containing chillis and spices whilst the other has anchovies added. Pesto is, of course, the invention of the ever-resourceful Genoese but the southern Italians have made red pesto their own. According to John Dickie, in Delizia, pesto did not originally contain pinenuts and could be made with basil or parsley.

CHIARA'S PRODUCTION LINE

Friend Chiara has been making cotognata [quince paste]. As you see, she does not enter into the task half-heartedly! Tomorrow she will put the paste out onto the balcony to dry in the sun.

THE WCL PRODUCTION LINE

1. The olives, duly bashed, are now in a solution of coarse salt and water, which will be changed twice daily for 10 days.

2. The quinces for the quince liqueur have been grated and must sit thus for 4 days.

3. The alcohol for the liqueur has been poured onto bashed [I seem to be doing a lot of bashing lately] cloves, coriander seeds, cinnamon and almonds plus a little nutmeg [in the absence of mace]. After 4 days I will press the quinces through muslin and add them. After 10 days, the sugar should be added and the mixture left for another 10 days before straining.


By the way, if any Italian government bureaucrats are reading this post, the title does not mean that this blog supports a profit-making company! Se sta leggendo quest'articolo qualche burocrate del governo italiano, il titolo non significa che questo blog costituisca un'organizzazione imprenditoriale del lavoro!

NOW WHAT SHALL I DO WITH THESE?

When I got these excellent quinces home yesterday, I weighed them and found I had exactly 2 kg - the precise amount needed to make quince liqueur. It is obviously meant to be, reader, so watch this space!