Groceries

I never would have thought it, but I miss many items that I enjoyed while living in the States. I especially miss the many items available from Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. You know, the items we all use day to day and never give a second thought to. Many other items as well.

I took a field trip to a store I have known about for a long while now but had previously not made the time to explore. Natura Sì, Italy's answer to Whole Foods, is a short bus ride outside Florence's city walls.  Natura Sì offers many products difficult to find elsewhere in Italy, and I was on a mission to find as many of them as I could. I scoured every aisle of the store two or three times looking for many beloved products.  Unfortunately, I did not find the majority of what I sought.  Perhaps now you can understand why I beg you to bring certain products when you vacation in Italy, and I will continue to beg.  Some good news from my trip to Natura Sì, though:  I returned home with a few new products, miso* and tahini included.

*Miso, a combination of fermented soybean paste and barley, is considered a brain food.  In Japanese the word miso means brain.  It is a live, fermented food -- think prana.  Miso has so many health benefits and could not be any easier to prepare. Commonly recognized as brain food because its combination of protein and vitamin B encourages brain metabolism, making the wheels turn faster.

With tahini now in my home, dried, organic ceci (garbanzo or chickpeas) are soaking so that I can finally indulge in some homemade, roasted garlic hummus.  Cannot wait.

How about you?  What items do you miss when you travel?

La Befana

Befana or the Epiphany is the Christian holiday celebrated where God made man in the person of Jesus Christ. La Befana is similar to how Americans celebrate Christmas with the stockings hanging only it is celebrated on the 6th of January. And if the kids are good, they get little treats and candy; but if they are bad, they get aglio ("garlic") and/or chunks of carbone ("coal"). I happened to receive a stocking with only two pieces of coal and plenty of chocolate; so I've been pretty good, it appears.

The point is it is yet another holiday. It seems like there has been one holiday after another. And it has taken me quite some time to get accustomed to buying all the grocieries I will need in advance of Sunday and any holidays. Because of the day of the week Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve fell this year, it is quite a challenge to buy enough fresh food to last so many days. The markets close early on the eve of the holiday; so it is necessary to have been to the market before lunch. Thursday afternoon, Friday Christmas and New Year's Day, and the day after Christmas is a holiday. Sunday the markets are all closed anyhow. Certain markets are closed Monday afternoons and sometimes even Tuesday afternoons. La Befana rolled around on Wednesday.

Either I misunderstood because of my broken Italian or was told incorrectly that "No, nothing will be closed for this holiday," but once again, I found myself unprepared with food to feed myself over the holiday. As my friend and roommate has reminded me that is why, at a minimum, we always have dried beans in the house. I have taken to buying fresh eggs, chicken, meat, salumi, bread, milk, yogurt, olives, fruits and vegetables, et cetera on an almost-daily basis.

No more major holidays until Pasqua ("Pasqua").  Phew!
-- Josslyn 'Giosalina'
Firenze, Italia

Mercato

On the other side of the Arno River ("Oltrarno") is Piazza Santo Spirito, which happens to be the zone in which I live. Each morning there is a different market in the square. Sunday this week was the mercato biologico ("organic market"). Open-air markets have always attracted me because of the displays of goods. The glorious colors of the fruits and vegetables are a reminder that it is autunno ("autumn"). The variety of zucca ("squash") available at this time of year makes for a hearty and healthful soup on a cold fall evening. Experiment.

-- Josslyn 'Giosalina'
Santo Spirito, Florence, Italy