Fett'unta

What the heck is fett'unta? It's a greasy, garlicy, piece of toasted or grilled bread. It is the Italian version of garlic bread and tastes delicious.

Fett'unta = fetta (slice) + unta (from the verb ungere, meaning greasy or oily) = oily slice or greasy bread.  End of math lesson.

In Tuscany, the traditional Tuscan bread is saltless and rather boring for that lack.  This happened because during the 12th Century the Pope put a hefty tax on salt, which the Florentines couldn't afford to pay. Even today, in the 21st Century, they continue to make bread without salt.   Saltless bread does not detract from the flavors of the rest of your well-seasoned meal.

At this time of year, late autumn, fett'unta is served more often in restaurants in Tuscany than during the rest of the year.  After the back-breaking labor of picking olives and then within a few days going to il frantoio (the olive mill), everyone rushes home with their new oil to make fett'unta and swallow it with a glass of Chianti. New oil is made from the first harvest of the olives in the fall when the olives are not quite as ripe as they become after a few weeks more in the sun.  The quality of the oil is peppery with a punch, the color is green, and the health benefits are higher.

Because I am not crazy about the plain, old Tuscan bread, I visit one of several of my favorite panetterie or forni (bakers or bread stores) and choose from a variety of whole grain breads.

Then I slice bread from the widest part of the loaf (not too soft nor too fresh).  Toast it or, better yet, grill it on top of the stove.  Cover with new virgin olive oil, and rub the bread with fresh garlic. If you like, add a little sea salt and pepper.  That's fett'unta. Enjoy!

What you do from here is up to you. What I have been doing is adding to the recipe as the Tuscan's do. This makes for a very healthful, quick to prepare, and economical dinner loaded with protein, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and flavor.

You could, for example, cook cavolo nero (lachinato kale) or bietola (beet greens): Boil water in a pan. After rinsing the leaves, place in the boiling water for about 30 seconds. Drain.

Add on top of the fett'unta.

Add some beans of your choice. I am using a mix of ceci (garbanzo beans) and cannellini (Italian white beans). I buy dried, organic beans. After soaking a minimum of eight hours and changing the water frequently (to reduce the gassy problem), I cook the beans in water with a small amount of olive oil, garlic, and some sea salt until the beans are al dente and the water is just cooked out.

Add the beans on top of the kale. Top with more new olive oil, sea salt, and pepper.

And wouldn't you know? All this talking about fett'unta caused me to crave some now. What better occasion than a visit by a friend? He's Italian, from another part of Tuscany. He'd never heard of it before and never ate it. So, of course, I made fett'unta for lunch. I thought it was cute how about five times I had to tell him the name, fett'unta, and why it's called that.  So maybe it's even more regional than I thought. No matter, he liked it. So will you.

Buon appetito.

Mantra

MATTINA

M'illumino

d'immenso

Seven melodic syllables.  Italian. Not Sanskrit, not English. So simple, yet profound. Written by Giuseppe Ungaretti, a classic Italian poet.  Lost in translation, the essence of it's meaning: Immensity enlightens me / I enlighten myself by immensity.

Morning.  Immensity.  Greatness.  Power.  Spiritual illumination.  All that is possible when I choose to get out of my own way.

Today this poem serves as my mantra.  

Firenze Marathon 2010

 A short film

Filmed on location from my balcony

Whistling, yelling, clapping, horns, drums, noisemakers, church bells, words of encouragement all cheering me on and supporting me to be my best, to run my race, to cross my finish line is what was calling to me from below my windows.  Grazie.

Oh...all that cheering wasn't meant for me?

~17 km into the race

Some people are still on the course of the Florence Marathon as I write this blog post.

After crossing the finish line and taking your well-deserved medal...

Whenever I see a marathon as a spectator, I reminisce with fond memories and emotions of the days I was a marathoner.

...you get wrapped in a space blanket

Last year's marathon was ideal running weather for a race; this year it's cold and wet.

Gotta love the Port-O-Potties

Room with a View

A view from one of my bedroom windows

Fiat Cinquecento

Twenty-seven years have passed since Fiat has had a presence in the United States, but the news is out that Fiat is returning to the States with the release of the 2011 Fiat Cinquecento (500) (pronounced "chinkwa-chentoe"), and it promises to compete with the MINI Cooper.  The starting price of the Fiat 500 in the States will be $15,500, about $5,000 less than a MINI Cooper  If you are in Los Angeles, you can see the car at the Los Angeles International Auto Show beginning tomorrow (November 19, 2010).

The new design of the car was released in Europe in 2007 and is very popular.

Following WWII, the Fiat 500 was Italy's answer to the VW Beetle.

Old or new, the car is damn cute!

A bit of trivia:  Most of us are unaware the MINI Cooper Clubman also existed in the 1960s.  I learned that last year when I happened upon one.

Prato

Nineteen minutes by train from Florence (15 km), I arrived to Prato, Italy, to meet a friend a meta' strada (halfway) and see a town I've been curious about for quite some time.

Basilica Cattedrale Di Santo Stefano

I find it hard to imagine, coming from Los Angeles, that Prato, with only 180,000 inhabitants, is Italy's third largest city following Rome and Florence

Fresco on the ceiling inside the Basilica Cattedrale Di Santo Stefano

Prato has its history in textiles.  Today it is the garment district of Florence.  Full of immigrants in the past 60 years and Chinese in particular since the 1980s, it is also Tuscany's official Chinatown.  If you're really desperate to eat Chinese food while in Tuscany, then Prato is the place to find authentic Chinese cuisine.  The "Made in Italy" label on the scarves and many other items you might buy while in Italy are often made by the Chinese in Prato, Italy.

Shadows above the candles

Finocchiona salami

Finocchiona is a Tuscan salami made with fennel seed and one of my all-time favorites.  Its origin is from Prato when allegedly someone stole a salami from the market and hid it in a bushel of finocchio (fennel).  When he later retrieved his salami, he discovered the salami had absorbed the aroma of the fennel. And a new salami was born.

Prato (field under grass, meadow) is a small town with a very old historical center and well worth visiting.  There are several churches to see with a few important pieces of artwork, the textile musuem, a castle, some nice piazze (squares) to pass some leisure time and fare una bella chiacchierata (to have a good chitchat).

And I am always in the mood for a caffeè macchiato (espresso with a spot of milk).  Don't forget from my recent post, this is also home to the famous Antonio Mattei biscotti.

-- Josslyn

Prato, Italia

Soup Time

What do you do on a cold, windy, rainy afternoon when you have completed your work and have other work to do but you are procrastinating? You make soup. That's what I did today.

I ventured out in the pouring rain to my local fruttivendolo (greengrocer) and bought the best possible locally grown produce, herbs, and organic lentils all from Tuscany. Here is what I did:

INGREDIENTS

extra virgin, cold-pressed olive oil

1 onion

1 leek

5 stalks of celery

6 carrots

several cloves of garlic

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 small can of tomatoes (diced)

2 cups of lentils (rinsed in cold water)

vegetable stock or fresh water

fresh thyme

fresh Italian parsley

freshly grated Parmesan cheese (no Kraft products EVER!!!)

First, I put on some great music to accompany me in the kitchen. I played some blues, a live B.B. King CD. As the soup was on the stove, the windows fogged up, and the scent from the vegetables and herbs perfumed the house. It was just the right ingredients to make for a cozy, comfy homestay.

Chop the vegetables very fine in preparation for making soffritto (sauted mixture of freshly chopped vegetables and ham or bacon). I want to explain.  

Soffritto is the base of many soups and other dishes in Italian cooking. I chose not to add any meat to the soffritto because I wanted a vegetarian soup. The vegetables ideally should be chopped so small that they are barely larger than a lentil. Many people tell me they find all that chopping to be a form of meditation and very relaxing. Being that I'm not a big fan of cooking nor the most patient person, I find it to be work. I chopped my vegetables pretty finely today, but they were not uniform. One reason is I lack the essential cooking tools. A mezzaluna (half moon; crescent shape) is what's really necessary for efficiently and quickly doing all that chopping, which is a crescent-shaped knife with two wooden handles that you rock back and forth as you chop your vegetables. And the other reason is I started to get lazy.

After chopping all the vegetables, heat the olive oil, add the vegetables and saute until the vegetables begin to get tender (about 8 minutes). Add the garlic, salt, and pepper.  Add the tomatoes and juice and let simmer a few minutes until the juice begins to evaporate. Add the lentils, coat in the mixture. Add the stock or fresh water. I probably used about 2 quarts of vegetable stock. I didn't measure it, which is what I love about Italian cooking. It doesn't have to be perfect. Add the thyme. Bring to a boil, then cover the pot and simmer on a very low fire until the lentils are almost tender (al dente), about 30 minutes.

Lentils are more commonly used in Indian and Middle Eastern cooking; however, in Italian lentil soup, a pasta is usually added. If you would like to add some pasta, toss it into the pot when the lentils are al dente and simmer until the pasta becomes tender.

Once the soup is ladled into the bowl, add some fresh Italian parsley, fresh grated Parmesan cheese, sprinkle some olive oil, and serve with a yummy crusty bread.

Add some friends and laughter, and the soup becomes that much better.

Orsanmichele

Some of the smaller details from outside Orsanmichele.

Mabel, however, is a big detail with a grand and regal presence in Florence, Italy.