Wordless Wednesday

Lasagne by Flavio - Food Tuesday

There is nothing to do, an image like that triggers anyone's taste buds. Salivating yet ? You should.

My sister is an excellent cook, my brother in law is an outstanding cook, and their 2nd boy, Niccolo' now a teenager, is in chef school.

If you sit at their table for a meal, you are in for a treat. I was there last June, immediately before my trip back to the US.

Flavio had prepared his "lasagne alle polpettine" all done strictly from scratch and "buy hand'. He cooks with music, while singing, with anything from Paolo Conte to Guccini to anything he can dig out from his Cd collections. And he cooks, boy, does he cook, with love, fun and passion, they way it should be done.

Year after year, trip after trip, I have seen some constant differences between the relationship that Italians and Americans have with food. For a host of reasons that I cannot explain here , I strongly believe that Americans seem not to enjoy their food. The overwhelming amount of processed food and junk food that is everywhere, seems to confirm that. Most of the time is just a matter of feeding yourself until the next meal, then repeat.

Italians try to enjoy their food more, at times they do not succeed (work, little time) but as soon as it's possible, eating is an important social event, that must be tasted, savored, and, most importantly, shared with friends, family, and sometimes even with people we do not like much, as well. What better way to know each other, and try to solve differences over a plate of lasagna, and a glass of "red" ?

Italians love food, and this is a big topic to come back to another time.

Movie recommendation: "Mostly Martha" with Sergio Castellito. Watch it, then come back here and let me know.

Buon Appetito.

Grocery

Feeding a family of 6 without "breaking the bank" is a challenge and recently has become a real necessity to save as much as possible, and still eat good food.

In the USA, the Sunday paper is the gold mine of store coupons, if one wants to spend little time cutting, clipping, slashing, and then going to one or two stores. It is worth it.

So our Sunday afternoons are filled with the sound of scissors "clipping coupons", and my wife is the specialist, the coupons ninja, the Jedi Master of "special of the day" ...

My wife went to the store, tonight, armed with a stash of coupons that would have made a Louisiana gambler cry in shame... When she came home, her total grocery bill was $ 317.40, and the coupons saved $127.18, so she ended up paying $ 190.22. Not bad for one hour of clipping coupons... ;-) Here is the loot:

Back to the box, back to the office.

It's warm in Austin, Texas. Yesterday it was a stunning 82 f. In Celsius that is in the mid 20s, summer temperature, and it is ... January. Today it should get back to almost "winter" normal.

It's the first Sunday of 2009, and it's time to put away all Christmas decorations, back to the box, for the next 11 months.

As for me it's the last Sunday before going back to a normal work schedule. For a while I have been working from home, but now it's time to go back to the office.

I spent most of Saturday working on my wife's car, changing break pads and stuff. Dirty, dusty, smelly and .... fun. I really enjoyed doing it. My car is next.. It saves some money, I have fun getting my hands greasy, and it kills the routine. A very good friend came over to help and very generously, offered his time and know-how, so the project was finished on time. Thanks Kevin !

On another note, I think I will slowly change the feel and object of this blog. Don't know how, yet, but I want to do something different. Not sure if I should ask my audience what they think about it, they could disagree, both of them ;-)

Oh, well. Happy Sunday to all, see you at the other end of Monday !

Fratello e Sorella.

Il mestiere di genitore e' allo stesso tempo il piu' difficile che esista, ma anche quello con piu' ricompense. Noi, con quattro pargoli, e' dal 1993 che non abbiamo avuto una singola notte di sonno ininterrotto. Io, forse qualcuna, grazie a mia moglie che si e' prodigata a dismisura. Lei, no di certo.

Ci sono, come dicevo, i momenti unici e assolutamente da ricordare, ed oggi ve ne presento uno.

Oliver, avra' 14 anni a Febbraio, e Angelina ne fara' 3 a Marzo. Fratellone e sorellina, sono uniti da un legame di amore-adorazione che e' raro. Per lei, Oliver e' il gigante buono, quello che ha sempre una sorpresa in tasca, un abbraccio, ed un sorriso per lei. Per lui, Angelina e' la sorellina piu' piccola, quella che ha preso il posto del fratellino, che lui voleva disperatamente, ma che non e' riuscito a nascere 5 anni fa.

Angelina non potrebbe avere un angelo custode migliore. Per noi genitori, lui e' il migliore baby-sitter che esista, affidabile e con una pazienza infinita.

Oggi, Oliver ci mostrava alcuni trucchetti con le carte, ed Angelina voleva vedere anche lei. Oliver, le ha mostrato il trucco e quando lui ha "indovinato" la carta che lei aveva "scelto", la macchina fotografica era gia' pronta. Un clic, uno solo, ed un momento imperdibile e' stato immortalato, per i posteri. L' espressione che corre tra questi due, e' unica. Cliccate sulla foto per ingrandirla.

"E se la vita continua diventero' vecchio" con la gioia di vederli crescere.

(la frase tra virgolette non e' mia. 100 punti premio a chi la conosce )

To the eyes of a child.

Next to my house, just behind it, there is a wooded area, few acres of trees, and it is used by my kids to play and have fun in it.

My third child, Isabella, loves going out and exploring the "forest". "It's magic, dad, like the Secret Garden... !" she says often.

As an adult it's easy to forget how a child's fantasy can transform the mundane into something extraordinary. I still remember my pure, sheer enjoyment of the "Tigri della Malesia" saga, by Salgari, a "must read" for all Italian boys.

I imagined adventures and dangers around every corner, from my house to the Boschetto behind my house.

Wait, so I had a Boschetto too, just like Isabella does... Go ahead, Isabella, enjoy your adventures, growing up comes too fast anyhow.

Welcome, 2009, FACCI SOGNARE !

Angelina's expression, to the right, summarizes my joy in welcoming 2009 in.

2008 has not been a great year. At least it has not finished good at all.

We all desperately need a 2009 of recovery, hope, change, and better things for all, across the board.

Have a happy, merry, e wonderful 2009 year.
... and if you feel down, just look at this picture to the right... ;-)

Buon Anno Nuovo a tutti voi !
ne abbiamo bisogno...