LAMB RATATOUILLE

The lamb available here does not have a lot of meat on it so is best enjoyed in spezzatini or in dishes such as this one. To serve 6 people generously you need:

About a kilo of lamb pieces or very small chops
3 tablesp olive oil
2 red onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red pepper & 1 yellow pepper, chopped
4 courgettes, thinly sliced
1 aubergine, thinly sliced
250 gr sliced mushrooms
500 gr tomatoes, sliced [peeled and deseeded if you like]
3 - 4 medium potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled, thinly sliced
a handful of chopped parsley
coarse seasalt & freshly ground black pepper

In a wok or very large pan heat the olive oil and brown the lamb. Then take it out and put it on kitchen paper on a plate. Add all the vegetables to the pan and stir well. You want them all to become tender at the same time and the only way you are going to get the potatoes to behave is to slice them as thinly as the courgettes and aubergine - best done in a food processor. The tomatoes will go mushy anyway, so it doesn't matter so much and I don't peel and deseed them if I'm not entertaining. Give everything a good stir, season to taste, then stir again. Put the lid on and cook over a low flame for about half an hour. Then add the lamb, mixing it in well. Cook for another half an hour, then stir in the parsley.

SABATO MUSICALE

The film with the same title was released in Italy yesterday. Enjoy:

Jovanotti - Baciami ancora

THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD

This is an article of mine which was published in Italy Magazine on Monday and Simi the dog insists I share it with all of you!

It’s been a very long road home for Rocky, a five-year old German Shepherd dog who was stolen while on holiday with his owner when he was two. His owner, a Syrian man named Ibrahim Fwal who lives in Carrara [Tuscany] was distraught for he and Rocky had been inseparable. Rocky had been particularly fond of riding with his master on his scooter. Over the past three years, Mr Fwal had never stopped looking for Rocky.

Rocky was later either abandoned by his dognappers or escaped from them and was then taken in by a family in Salerno [Campania]. But he kept trying to run away and succeeded in November last year. By following the coast, Rocky walked as far as Pisa where a man found him and contacted the Salerno family. Poor Rocky was in a pitiful state: he was thin and dirty and his paws were blistered.He was taken to a vet who, through a tattoo on Rocky, was able to contact Mr Fwal.

Dog and master had a joyful and emotional reunion with Rocky nearly knocking Mr Fwal down. After walking 600 kilometres up Italy, Rocky travelled the last 100 in style, back on Mr Fwal’s scooter.

QUIZ: SICILIAN PROVERBS - 14

We haven't had a proverbs quiz for a while so here's a mixed bag for you tonight. Match the proverbs 1 - 6 with their meanings a - f and then you can check your answers at the end of the post.

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1. Amuri, tussi e fumu nun si ponnu tèneri cilati.

2. Tinta dda casa unni canta la gaddina.

3. Figghia di gatta, si nun mùzzica, gratta.

4. Anni e piccati su' cchiù di quantu si dicinu.

5. La saluti veni di l'alligrizza di lu cori.

6. Cui perde l'onuri, perdi assai, ma cui perdi la fidi, perdi tuttu.

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a. He who loses his honour loses enough but he who loses his faith loses everything.

b. A man's years and sins are always more than he tells you.

c. Love, coughs and smoke cannot be kept hidden.

d. Health is the result of a happy heart.

e. Dark is the house where the hen sings [ie., instead of the rooster].

f. If a cat's daughter doesn't bite, she scratches [ie., the daughter of a bad woman is not to be trusted].

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Highlight the space below to check your answers:
1c, 2e, 3f, 4b, 5d, 6a.

A POST FOR HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY

Image of cattle car at Auschwitz from The Legacy of Hope.

"We knew these men in black shirts. They had come at night, otherwise they wouldn't have had the courage. Most of then stank of wine, and if you looked them in the eyes they didn't like it and looked away. They were poor folk, too, but a special kind of poor folk; landless, not brought up to any trade, or knowing too many trades, which is the same thing. They were the type that dislike hard work and live from hand to mouth from one week to the next, always having to find new dodges to earn their daily bread. Too weak and servile to rebel against the authorities and the rich, they preferred cringing to them in return for the privilege of robbing and oppressing other poor folk - peasants and the poorer landowners and tenant-farmers. If you met them in the street in daylight they would be humble and fawning. By night and in numbers they were wicked and evil. They have always been at the disposal of anyone who gives orders, and they always will be. But recruiting them into a special army, giving them a special uniform and special arms is something new and peculiar to the last few years. Such are the so-called fascists."

- Ignazio Silone: Fontamara.

"It is man who kills, man who creates or suffers injustice; it is no longer man who, having lost all restraint, shares his bed with a corpse. Whoever waits for his neighbour to die in order to take his piece of bread is, albeit guileless, further from the model of thinking man than the most primitive pigmy or most vicious sadist.

Part of our existence lies in the feeling of those near to us. This is why the experience of someone who has lived for days during which man was merely a thing in the eyes of man is non-human."

- Primo Levi: If This Is a Man

"People sometimes ask me, 'Where was God in Auschwitz?' I believe that God was there Himself - violated and blasphemed. The real question is, 'Where was man in Auschwitz?' "

- Rabbi Hugo Gryn: Chasing Shadows

"I often wonder if when you start to burn books and scrolls and holy places, it becomes thinkable and emotionally and politically feasible to burn men, women and children as well, because you are in fact setting fire to civilization and you are creating spiritual anarchy."

- Ibid

" No one is safe when religious or ethnic prejudice is tolerated, when racism is rife and when decent, well-meaning people keep quiet because it is prudent."

- Ibid

"Who did it? Evil men and women who looked so much like ordinary men and women."

- Ibid

".... I know that you can only be safe and secure in a society that practises tolerance, cherishes harmony and can celebrate difference."

- Ibid

The Holocaust was often spoken about when I was a child. I was born only five years after the evil perpetrated by man upon man became fully known and I believe that my parents' generation never got over the shock of the revelations. As Rabbi Gryn wrote, these crimes against humanity had been committed not by a race of barbarians from some distant and unknown land but by people who looked like us, spoke a language akin to our own and who, like us, had provided the west with some of its greatest artists, composers and writers.

My parents did not realise how much I could understand of those whispered conversations and I lay awake at night fearing separation from them at the hands of some cruel and arbitrary authority. I was reassured and loved and I got over those fears but I grew up to understand one thing: that all it takes, particularly in economically uncertain times, is one persuasive leader and a flock of unquestioning fools to follow that person or - and this is perhaps worse - to be silent. In the words of Edmund Burke,

"All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing."

You may also like to read about this Italian memorial to Jews and others who died in the Holocaust.

60 INGLORIOUS YEARS - 2

Here is the great Dorothy Parker's Inventory:

Four be the things I am wiser to know:
Idleness, sorrow, a friend, and a foe.

Four be the things I'd been better without:
Love, curiosity, freckles, and doubt.

Three be the things I shall never attain:
Envy, content, and sufficient champagne.

Three be the things I shall have till I die:
Laughter and hope and a sock in the eye.

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And here is mine:

Four be the things I am wiser to know:
Italy, internet, doggies, bons mots.

Four be the things I’d been better without:
Alcohol, credit cards, Welshmen, my pout.

Three be the things I shall never attain:
Motherhood, sense, a numerical brain.

Three be the things I shall have till I die:
Friendship, rebellion and pies in the sky.

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KATIA AMORE'S ORANGE PORK LOIN

I was lucky enough to taste this dish of Katia's when the Italy Magazine team gathered for a Christmas meal and it was delicious. Now Katia has published the recipe here so last night I decided to make it myself. My version isn't as neat as Katia's as I am a bit of a slapdash cook but I can tell you this is easy to prepare, unusual in its blend of flavours and a success. Grazie per la ricetta, Katia.

LA CUCINA

The last but one weekend in the month is one I look forward to because that's when Corriere della Sera publishes its excellent cookbook. This month's is the fifth edition and, like the others, it contains interesting foodie articles as well as recipes. I might have to get yet another bookcase, though!



And what better way to spend an hour on a Saturday afternoon than to buy your paper and cookbook, then browse through them over a tea and a slice of Bar Edicolè's lightest mandarin cake?

BLOG NOTE

I had to delete the post with Adriana singing again as the audio was causing the blog to lock. Apologies to Adriana and to those of you who commented. Does anyone know why this is happening? I uploaded the tracks first to Google Groups and then to the blog. I'd be really grateful if someone could help!

KICKING IT INTO TOUCH

This is an article of mine that was published in Italy Magazine today:

British football hero David Beckham was just telling an Italian reporter how nice the people of Milan had been to him when all of a sudden his genitalia were grabbed by Elena Di Cioccio, star of the comedy and reportage TV show “Le Iene” [“The Hyenas”].

Di Cioccio had reminded her TV audience that Beckham had been the – er – organ of Armani underwear advertisements until recently when he was replaced by Cristiano Ronaldo. She said that she wanted to find out for herself whether Beckham really was well endowed in that area and joked that his wife, Victoria, had compared her husband’s reproductive anatomy to an exhaust pipe.

Then a glove-clad Di Cioccio went in search of her prey. Beckham looked surprised and puzzled when the deed was done – as well he might – and was quickly hustled away by his security men. Di Cioccio ran after Beckham’s car, shouting,

“È piccolo, David! Ci hai presi in giro!” [“It’s small, David! You’ve been kidding us!” ]

A security man who seemed to be rather amused stopped Di Cioccio from reaching the car.

British newspapers reporting the story on Thursday night are expressing outrage.

What do you think - outrage or a bit of fun? And if the assailant had been a man and the target a woman?

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LITTLE BABIES AND BIG BABIES

This is an article of mine which was published in Italy Magazine on Wednesday. I've posted about the bamboccioni ["big babies"] before and, as you will see from the article, now they are in the news again:

With the second lowest birth rate in Western Europe Italy may have fewer little babies than it would like but it has more than its share of big babies or bamboccioni, according to a government minister. “Bamboccione” was a coinage of former Minister of Economy and Finance Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa in 2007. The word is now commonly used to describe young adults who continue to live with their parents.

In 2008 Isae [Istituto di studi e analisi economici] estimated that 71.9% of Italians aged 20 – 30 still lived with their parents while in 2009 Istat reported that 48% of those aged between 18 and 39 were still living in the parental home from 2003 – 2007. 53% of these were men as opposed to 42% of women. The reasons for this are partly economic and partly due to the importance of family life in Italy but it cannot be denied that some young adults are reluctant to leave the comfort of the parental home.

Now Civil Service Minister Renato Brunetta has provoked fierce debate by suggesting that the government approve a law which would force young adults to live independently. This proposal has not been exactly welcomed, even among members of Mr Brunetta’s own party and Legislative Simplification Minister Roberto Calderoli has accused his colleague [not very politely] of acting inappropriately.Minister of Defence Ignazio La Russa has admitted that he left home at the age of 27 and Mr Brunetta himself did not flee the parental nest until he was 30. In a jibe that was – well, babyish – Senator Giuliana Carlino [Pd – IdV] asked whether Mr Brunetta, who is small in stature, “lives in Smurfland”.

The bamboccioni issue has excited the media again following a case in Bergamo in which a father was ordered to maintain his 32-year-old daughter at a cost of 350 euros per month while she continues working on a thesis eight years after graduating.

However, Italy may not be the only country with a surfeit of bamboccioni: two years ago an Italian magazine suggested that the biggest bamboccione of them all is none other than the heir to the British throne.

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THERE'S NOTHING LIKE FOCACCIA...

There's nothing like focaccia on a cold evening, especially when it has come straight out of a wood-fired oven, has a crunchy crust and you cut it to reveal perfectly formed layers of the lightest bread pastry, with a filling of tomatoes and onion ready to ooze out....

I HAVE TO POST THIS SONG

After all your lovely comments on the previous post, I just have to post this song again. I love this version:

IN WHICH I AM BOTH BADLY BROUGHT UP AND A "BAMBINA"

Rosa and I were strolling along with Simi this morning when a car behind us beeped us to get out of the way. Admittedly we were not using the pavement as it is slippery and I've fallen on it before.

"Siete mal educate!" ["You've been badly brought up!"] yelled the driver.

Oh, well, once a naughty girl.....

Later I went to buy fruit from one of the roadside lorries and my conversation with the seller went like this:

Seller: Hello, bambina, how's the dog?

Me: She's fine, thank you. 2 kilos of mandarini, please.

Seller: You can have the crateful for 10 euros, bambina.

Me: Thank you but it's too heavy.

Seller [flexing his muscles]: I will carry it to your home, bambina.

Me: OK, then, and half a dozen apples, please.

Seller [putting 12 in the bag but only charging for 6]: For you, bambina.

Then he gestured to his mate to look after the lorry, loaded the crate onto his shoulder and followed me home.

"Always ready to help, bambina", he said as he took his leave.

It's at times like this that I remember how much I love Italy.

Can you tell from a glance at my kitchen table that I'm a British woman living in Sicily?

A WORRYING DEVELOPMENT IN ITALY

This is an article of mine published in Italy Magazine today:

“The most horrible news to come out of Italy since World War II”, said the twitter feeds over the weekend, as the Italian government’s intention to force anyone uploading videos onto the internet to obtain a licence became clear. The comparison with World War II was an exaggeration, of course, but it does reflect how worried people are by the Berlusconi government’s repeated attempts to control what Italians see and do on the internet.

In 2007 there was an attempt to control bloggers, then, last year, in the wake of the attack on Mr Berlusconi, a proposal [later dropped] to impose tighter controls on social networking sites. Now, as part of a package of measures also affecting television, Paolo Romani, the Deputy Economic Development Minister and Communications Undersecretary, has drafted a bill which would effectively give the government control over what is uploaded onto the internet in video form. Websites such as You Tube would be unable to operate in Italy.

Google, which owns You Tube, has pointed out that the website, rather than creating video content, only makes it available to internet users. Marco Pancini, Google’s European Public Policy Counsel and Director of Institutional Relations of Google Italia has requested an urgent meeting with Mr Romani.

The government is claiming that the new law is necessary because of EU rules on product placement in videos. The draft law’s many opponents – from Constitutionalists to newspaper editors, actors and ordinary bloggers – all say that this is a ridiculous interpretation. The Articolo 21 Group, which defends freedom of speech in Italy, has launched a “Giù le mani dalla rete” [“Hands off the Net”] campaign.

What, then, is the real reason for this draft law? Some opponents of the government claim that it is part of a wider attempt to stifle free speech; others that its purpose is to serve the business interests of Mr Berlusconi by creating obstacles for his competitors in the television industry; still others that the government simply does not understand how the internet works. One thing is certain: if this law is passed Italy will be the only country in Western Europe to require private citizens to obtain government consent to upload video onto the internet. In the international press Italy is already being compared to Iran and China.

FOR KATE MCGARRIGLE

Not a post about Italy but a tribute to one of my favourite singers and songwriters, Kate McGarrigle, who died from cancer yesterday. She wrote this beautiful song in honour of Lena Spencer, the owner and inspiration of Caffè Lena in Saratoga, New York.



Thanks for the songs, Kate.

60 INGLORIOUS YEARS

My 60th birthday is fast approaching and, as I can't stop it from happening, I've decided I might as well celebrate. So over the next few weeks I am going to share with you some thoughts, some things learned, some things I should have learned and anything else that comes into my head. As you will see, these thoughts are of a profound nature. Here's the first one for your edification:

Men want to play
women are nice
If I were that way
I wouldn't think twice.

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IL RAGÙ DI ROSA PRIORE

I love this clip from Sabato, domenica e lunedi [1990] in which Sofia Loren, as Rosa Priore, argues with other women about the best recipe for a ragù. It is not so far removed from what could happen in an Italian butcher's today....

SABATO MUSICALE

More from Catania's Carmen Consoli. Enjoy this 2007 clip:

"OGNI PROMESSA È DEBITO"

"In Sicily a promise is a debt" said a student of mine today as he handed me an enormous bag of fruit and vegetables. He is an agronomist and had said on Monday that he wanted me to taste some of his products. Now I am looking forward to a lovely, culinary weekend and I hope all of you have a good one, too.