SPEZZATINO DI VITELLO E FUNGHI

I have a milk allergy so don't often make a dish that requires cooked cream. However, Italian panna di cucina is much lighter than any type of British cream, and does not seem to upset me.

A recipe for a casserole of veal with pleurotus mushrooms [which are plentiful in Sicily at this time of year] caught my eye in the October Italian language edition of La Cucina Italiana and I prepared it last night. I cannot reproduce the copyright recipe here but can tell you that, in addition to the veal and mushrooms it contains only olive oil, onions and seasoning and is finished with the cream and garnished with parsley.

Very easy to make and a success!

THE HERO OF GIAMPILIERI

No "sabato musicale" tonight, following the solemn funerals of the victims of the Messina tragedy. Instead, I am posting this tribute to Pasquale Simone Neri, Petty Officer, First Class, in the Italian Navy, who lost his own life whilst trying to save others.

Always known as Simone, this brave young man, who would have celebrated his thirtieth birthday in nine days' time, led eight people to the safety of a rooftop. Then he heard a child cry. He called his girlfriend, saying,
"There's a child crying. I am going to save him. Whatever happens, remember I love you."

But in just a few moments, everything was submerged in mud and debris. Simone's body was found two days later.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Eight bodies remain to be found at Messina.

QUIZ: SICILIAN PROVERBS - 11

Match the proverbs or idioms 1 - 6 with their meanings a - f. For answers, highlight the space beneath where it says, "Highlight below for answers" - yes, really, they are there!

These sayings are all about health and I should warn you that, if you are feeling out of sorts, there are one or two which will not cheer you up!

myspace graphics

1. Duluri di testa voli minestra.

2. Gamma a letto e vrazzu a pettu.

3. Hai un male? - Dillu a tutti.

4. Libbirtàti e sanitàti vàli ciù ri na cità.

5. Cacaredda a menza missa e causi a ghiruppu çianu.

6. Frevi autunnali o longa o murtali.

profile editor

a. Are you ill? - Tell everyone. [Because then you'll be looked after.]

b. Liberty and health are worth more than a city.

c. A bad leg must be cared for in bed, and a bad arm across your chest.

d. A fever in autumn is either long or fatal.

e. If you have a headache, you need soup.

f. Diarrhoea half out and trousers tied tight. [A way of referring to unfortunate coincidences.]

Highlight below for answers:
1e, 2c, 3a, 4b, 5f, 6d.

myspace layouts

MOUNTAINGIRL'S PHOTO CHALLENGE - "LANDSCAPE"

Tempus fugit and Friday once again brings mountaingirl's Photo Challenge. This week's theme is "landscape".

This is a photo of Snowdonia, Wales, taken by my father before the midpoint of the twentieth century:

And here is a photo of the Cava d'Ispica, Sicily, taken by his daughter at the beginning of the twenty-first:

COSE BLU - 2

Rowena had the idea of taking the "blue" meme a stage further by photographing blue objects outdoors. Here's what I came up with on my way to work today:

Blue October sky.


Blue water tank on top of house. [I wonder how often they have to call for the water lorry?]


Blue roadsigns.


Blue bus stop.


Blue wellies in shop window. [I so want these!]


Blue shutters at siesta time.


Shiny blue bags in shop window plus lunatic woman photographing them.

Zucchero - Blu

STOP THIS VIOLENCE NOW

I was shocked in the 1980s when I first read of the practice of "female circumcision" , now better known as what it really is, "female genital mutilation" or FGM [mutilazioni genitali femminili - mgf]. In The Hidden Face of Eve - Women in the Arab World , Nawal El Saadawi writes:

"I felt that the rasping knife or blade was heading straight down towards my throat. Then suddenly the sharp metallic edge seemed to drop between my thighs and there cut off a piece of flesh from my body.

I screamed with pain despite the tight hand held over my mouth, for the pain was not just a pain, it was like a searing flame that went through my whole body. After a few moments, I saw a red pool of blood around my hips."

This happened when she was six years old and she was from an educated family by the standards of the time.

It is always difficult to criticise the practices and traditions of other cultures and western governments are often afraid to do so, but there is nothing "cultural" about this: it is violence against women and perhaps the worst aspect of it is that other women are complicit in the practice. Nawal El Saaadawi again:

"I did not know what they had cut off from my body, and I did not try to find out. I just wept, and called out to my mother for help. But the worst shock of all was when I looked around and saw her standing by my side. Yes, it was her, I could not be mistaken, in flesh and blood, right in the midst of these strangers, talking to them and smiling at them, as though they had not participated in slaughtering her daughter just a few moments ago."

Here we have a woman so frightened of what will happen if she protests, and of her daughter's reputation if the "procedure" is refused, that she goes along with the mutilation of her own child. This reminds me of a recent "honour" killing in Italy after which the mother forgave her husband for murdering their daughter. Is the woman brainwashed or terrified?

If you have not read much about the practice of FGM, you should. Can you imagine the implications for hygiene, the pain later on of intercourse, the psychological damage and the horror of childbirth, after which the woman's genitals are sewn up again? Not to mention the number of women and girls who die [3 million on the continent of Africa] every year after undergoing this type of violence.

So why am I writing about this on a blog about Italy? It's hardly the usual "Sicily Scene" type of topic, is it? Because, dear reader, a recent Istituo Piepoli survey commissioned by the Italian Department for Equal Opportunities estimated that 35,000 immigrant women here have undergone the "procedure". "Estimated" because it is difficult, in the first place, to ask the question and "estimated" because it is impossible to know how many of the women questioned were telling the truth. Approximately 1,100 of those who admitted to having undergone the "procedure" were under the age of 17.

Now, the question is, had these women already had the "operations" in their own countries or did they have them in Italy? It is thought that many lied when asked this question. Some were under 15 so is it possible that their parents spent hundreds of euros on taking them back to their countries of origin for the "procedure"?

The practice is, of course, forbidden by Italian law and Italy, with the support of 15 African countries, is hoping to secure a UN Security Council Resolution on the matter before the end of this year. I am proud of my adopted country for taking the lead in this. The European Parliament, too, adopted a text on "Combating female genital mutilation in the EU" in March this year.

We have, then, a "text" and we nearly have a UN Resolution. Fine. But how about some action? Italy, I have to say, is doing all it can, with a government campaign in Lazio, which has a large immigrant population, the government-backed Io no campaign and the Bikaloro campaign in Lecce, among others. At least here the issue is being brought out into the open and all the campaigns focus on education. The Io no campaign involves the children's fathers, too. A hopeful sign is that many immigrant girls joined a recent demonstration against the practice in Rome.

I'm not usually of the "String 'em up" persuasion when it comes to crime and punishment though I am tempted to be with regard to this. However, I can see that the only answer is education and information: educate the daughters, their mothers, their fathers and, as Minister Frattini says, we need to educate the practitioners and integrate them into our society.

The western governments, acting together, could wipe out this practice on their own territory if they really wanted to. Come on, politicians of Europe! How about diverting some of that cash you so readily use to pay yourselves for ending a barbarous abomination on your own soil?

MESSINA UPDATE

Many thanks to all who expressed their concern about the tragedy at Messina. I know that the thoughts of my commenters and non-commenters alike will this evening be with the bereaved, the injured and those made homeless by the tragedy.

Last night was the first without rain since storms caused catastrophic mudslides and floods on Thursday night, particularly damaging the hamlets of Giampileri Superiore and Scaletta Zanclea. However, more temperate weather did not help the rescue and recovery operation, as the mud dried like cement in Monday's sunshine.

Of 25 dead recovered so far, 21 bodies have been identified and it is thought that there are another 10 still to be found.

Funerals will probably be held on Saturday and the Mayor of Messina wants State mourning to be declared. "Are we Sicilians, we people of Messina, children of a lesser God?" he has asked.

Recovery work continues throughout the long nights.

COSE BLU

I found this meme over at Rowena's and all you have to do is show 7 blue things from around the house, so here we go:

My kitchen table, which I bought because all my Sicilian visitors were scandalised that I didn't have one, is light blue. I figured that I wouldn't be able to match the wood colours of the units and dresser, so decided to go for something brighter:

A blue plate from Malta which Marie-Laure and David brought me from their day trip there in the summer. [You can take the trip from Pozzallo.]

Blue in the magnificent peacock feathers which Lucia brought me last week:



Books about Sicily with blue covers:



Predominantly blue coffee container:



Blue necklace which usually decorates my dressing table mirror:



Finally, Simi wanted to model one of her Italian winter coats again:



She says "Woof!" to all her readers and hopes you'll like this song:

Vasco Rossi - Occhi blu


I don't tag but if you would like to do this meme I'll be happy to visit your blog.

MESSINA

Like everyone in Sicily, I am thinking this evening of the people of Messina and my heart goes out to them as rescuers tirelessly continue the search for 40 people still missing after the mudslide of the night of 1-2 October.

Horrifying images of the tragedy have now gone around the world and as a Welshwoman I cannot help remembering Aberfan. In that sad town, too, a "tragedy was waiting to happen" and one day, it did. There, too, the folly of man was a contributory factor and there, too, warnings went unheeded. And there , too, torrential rain caused a mountain to move upon an October day.

Deforestation; uncontrolled, unauthorised building; unwise, dense areas of construction too close to a riverbed and the sea; all are partly to blame and politicians are accused of sitting on their laurels whilst these processes have taken place. Oh, pity the south: criticised for lagging behind in urban development and often derided as "Africa" in the north, what can it do? And it is not alone in its haste to build: 70% of Italian towns are said to be at risk of hydro-geological disaster and in Sicily 92% of councils are doing nothing about the situation.

Watching the Italian television coverage, you begin to understand the appeal of Berlusconi: at his best in such a crisis, he has visited the area today and has not procrastinated. He will provide new housing for the survivors on the L'Aquila model and he has said so categorically.

You also see the Italian people at their best: all who can do so volunteer to help in the rescue efforts whilst luxury hotels along the Messina stretto open their doors to those made homeless by the disaster. These impromptu guests do not give a public inventory of their lost possessions but instead tell a rai reporter that they lack for nothing whilst the younger adults among them organise corridor games for the children.

And you wonder about the Messina Bridge, for this is what the project's opponents mean when they protest that there are more important issues to deal with first; basic issues such as ensuring the safety of Sicily's communities.

But let us not forget perfidious nature, a force which we have ceased to respect. As the many voices are raised, and will continue to be raised, in justified anger, let us remember Mayor Buzzanca of Messina's statement that no one could have predicted that 250 mm of rain would fall on the area in a matter of hours.

Once blame is apportioned, as it must be, and headlines focus on this rather than the human tragedy, we tend, if we are not personally affected, to move on and forget. So I ask you to hold the brave Messinesi in your hearts tonight and in the difficult days to come.

"LOVE SICILY" COOKERY CLASS - 3

Cookery teacher Katia [right] and me at loveSicily.

On Thursday morning your galloping gourmet blogger galloped down to Modica Bassa for the last cookery class with Katia of loveSicily. Katia had phoned me beforehand to suggest that I meet her with Lois and Amanda at Bonajuto's Chocolate Factory and Shop, and as time spent in Bonajuto's is time spent in "chocolate heaven", I was very happy to do so.



This is the oldest chocolate making establishment in Sicily and the chocolate is carefully made by traditional methods.

Here Pierpaolo of the Bonajuto family makes sure the display is perfect. Now we can sample some of the many flavours of chocolate. [I always go for the chilli one myself!]



Visitors can see the workroom at the back of the shop:





You will notice that the chocolate in the right-hand tin is smoother. The bubbles disappear when the moulds are shaken by hand:



The items in these cupboards tell the story of chocolate-making:





Chocolate to taste and chocolate to buy:



'Mpanatigghi to sample. You would never think that these delicate, sweet pastries contained beef. [When British people remark that it's weird I ask them how they think mince pies got their name!]



If you are a lover of chocolate - and who isn't? - you must come to Modica at least once in your life!

Lois and Amanda had acquired substantial parcels of chocolate to take home to their lucky friends and relatives so we had a leisurely walk back to the Cookery School, where Katia explained that we were first going to make salame al cioccolato [chocolate salame] for Friday's end-of-course dinner and then calamari for lunch. Don't worry - there's no salame in the chocolate dish! Let's get right to it:

Katia used 100 gr of cinnamon-flavoured chocolate but you could use a different flavour. Katia says that it is possible to use cocoa powder instead, in which case you will need to add some sugar. She crushed the chocolate, then bashed roughly 250 gr biscuits made with a short pastry:





Fork up 100 gr slightly softened unsalted butter and separate 2 eggs. Whisk the whites to the soft peak stage. Now mix the yolks with the butter and chocolate, crushing the chocolate further as you mix:



Next, add the egg whites and mix:



Add the biscuits and mix well:



Keep stirring till the texture changes and you have a nicely amalgamated mixture:



Dollop it all onto a length of baking parchment, roll the paper over the mixture and press with your hands until you have a plump sausage shape. Tie the ends of the paper and refrigerate. [You can freeze this for up to a week.]





Slice when ready to serve. You can see the sliced "salame" towards the end of this post.

Although I am allergic to all types of fish I was interested to learn how to prepare the calamari.

First of all Katia cleaned the squid well:




Then we peeled and chopped 6 tomatoes. Katia runs the blunt side of a blade over the skin, which then comes away more easily:




Peel 4 garlic cloves and chop some parsley and capers. Mix the parsley and capers with the tomatoes.

Chop up the tentacles:



Brown the garlic cloves in oil, then take them out. Add the tomato mixture and tentacles and cook:



Add some fresh breadcrumbs [about 12 dessertsp] to soak up the juices:



Add 3 dessertsp grated ragusano cheese:



Then use the mixture to stuff the squid:



Secure with a skewer:



I had to leave at this point but couldn't have tasted the fish anyway. I asked Katia how she finishes the dish and she told me that she sautés the stuffed squid in olive oil, then adds a splash of wine. She smears some left-over stuffing on the top of the calamari and simmers them for 30 minutes.

UPDATE: 4.10.09. See the finished dish and read Katia's instructions and a story about her grandmother here.

And so to last night's end-of-course dinner. A beautifully set table in a room with a view:



Pasta with pancetta, cream, chanterelles and pistacchi:



Tender and delicious beef fillet steaks which Katia had cooked in a salt crust and flavoured with Bonajuto's salt chocolate:



And the chocolate salame. Don't you like Katia's simple but elegant decoration of cocoa in the top corner of the plate?



Here is Katia



and here we all are, [left to right]: Katia, Amanda, Luisa, me, Lois, Ronald [Katia's husband] and Angelo. Luisa and Angelo work with Ronald and Katia.



Thank you for your company, Lois and Amanda. I hope you are both having safe and pleasant journeys home. Don't eat all that chocolate on the way! And thank you Katia, Ronald, Angelo and Louise for a wonderful week during which I learnt a lot, made new friends and discovered some fabulous new tastes. I recommend loveSicily.