Tag: Nonna’s Mulberry Tree

Culinary, Cultural and Cursing Adventures

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo

Three Cs for the discerning tourist. Culinary treats, Cultural experiences and Cursing in a new language – complete with gestures. Vafan#@$%!

Did she say cursing adventures? Our sweet American lady in her third act would never suggest one come to Pontelandolfo to learn to flip the bird in another language. Midge would never ever simply curse in another language!

Dear readers, I might curse in multi languages at the same time, but is that really the same as cursing in another language which implies one language? 🤣

Sigh… The title for this concept was not my idea. For this new tourism initiative, I must give credit where credit is due. It was the idea of the witty, wise and wee bit snarky women from Baltimore who were here for our last Cooking in the Kitchen of Pontelandolfo experience. One of them suggested that the name for our activity should be the three cs culinary, cultural and cursing adventures. Cursing in another language is the true mark of an educated person.

For the sake of decorum, I will not reveal which of these howling ladies came up with the idea.

I thought about this idea, it really does make sense. What follows is X rated and not for those folks who have never cursed and will never curse.

When we’re happy we curse. When we’re angry we curse. When we’re sad we curse. But what language do we curse in? When I was a kid, I cursed. OK the only curse I really knew was the F bomb. Both my parents used the F bomb. After a while, the F bomb became simply a yawn bomb.

Now in Italy, I’m hearing curse words light. Simple ones like caspita which means damn or merde which means poop and the list goes on. What our guests were referring to were the words dashed out by the men playing scopa in the piazza or arguing over bocci points. Words like stronzo, che cazzo, or bastardo. You can look them up, I am too embarrassed to define them.

Susan at age one was whispering “eat shit.”
I replied the family password, “and die.”

Sadly, I must admit my sweet sister Susan and I would often say something horrific to each other. Usually, after my mother blamed the wrong one for some egregious error. Imagine my delight to discover that we could share the love in Italian with – mangia merde e morte! Sounds so much better in the language of Dante.

But seriously, our tourism inattive has gone beyond cooking. Speaking of cursing, we have a fabulous group of playwrights coming in October. THERE IS ONE SPOT LEFT MESSAGE ME FOR DETAILS. I am a playwright and I curse. Does that imply all playwrights curse? No, but I a betting a few F bombs dash out on pages just to add a bit of reality.

If you would like an experience that goes beyond the backpack carrying mass tour and experience literally Italy, including a smattering of bad words. Send me a message. We are setting up experiences for 2025 now. Together we create something unique and real. I cannot guarantee you will hear cursing. I can guarantee it will be an experience you won’t forget.

Ci Vediamo

Midge

Check out our new updated website for Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolo!

Can’t get to Italy this year? Read my book Cars, Castles, Cows and Chaos and live the life with me.

Where is Fernando Fiat today? Read Cars, Castles, Cows and Chaos.

Urban Trekking in Pontelandolfo!

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo, Stops Along the Journey - Sites Off the Tourist Track

Whaaaaat? You want me to climb up those two thousand year old steps to look at some little thingy that means some rich dude lived here?

Not a rich dude’s crest but the Wind God!

That is exactly what I want you to do! Visit Pontelandolfo and explore the historic center by searching for gli stemmi – crests. The adventure in urban trekking will be fascinating.

Urban Trekking is happening in cities across the world. Annarita Mancini and I worked together to create a tourism guide for our medieval village that brings urban trekking to a different level. I’m the author and Annarita was the translator. Together we have published An Italian Treasure Hunt; the Quest for the Crests of Pontelandolfo. This guidebook provides readers with clues to unearth tiny pieces of art hidden throughout the village. It can be a team sport with trekkers challenging each other to find the most crests or a slow meditative look and walk.

This is not your typical tour guide. Like I would do something typical – yawn I’m bored thinking about it. You all know I spend a lot of time in Pontelandolfo blogging about life in a small Italian town. Some days I need a reason to get off my butt, leave the office and wend my way through the ancient alleys. My search for the crests was a great incentive to walk through the old part of town and get a sense of what life was like for my ancestors.

Annarita Mancini, who is an exceptional teacher of Italian, noted that having the clues written in both English and Italian not only make the book useful to more people but is an excellent way to explore a new language.

It really took a village to create this book. One day writing in the Pontelandolfo Library, I discovered a stack of faded little blue pamphlets called Stemmi gentilizi a Pontelandolfo written by researchers/authors Litterio Villari and Pia Piacquadio. With a donation to the library, I grabbed a pamphlet and accompanied by Maria Vittoria Albini raced out of the building in search of a crest.

Battista Family

Local historians Carmine Fusco and Antimo Albini assisted in the project by reading the draft and adding bits of local lore. Pontelandolfo residents (and Nonna’s Mulberry Tree subscribers – hint hint) Mariann Prigioni and Jeff Millard had the trekking task of following the clues to see if one could really find all the crests.

Now, local visitors to Pontelandolfo can get a copy of An Italian Treasure Hunt; the Quest for the Crests of Pontelandolfo and also do some urban trekking. It is only an E-book now. Hard cover to follow when I get to formatting it. Yikes, who knew self publishing would be work?

E-readers will follow the clues and photographs of family crests on their phones. Actually, I think this is the best way to use the book. On your phone you can enlarge the photos and refer to the map. This quest for the crests offers a unique and captivating experience that is challenging, fun, creative and exciting! Perfect for adults, children and families. So, grab your camera, walk around beautiful Pontelandolfo, discover the riches of history and unearth hidden ancient traditions.

Book 1 in our Urban Trekking Series – Any town want to hire me to do theirs?

E-book versions of An Italian Treasure Hunt; the Quest for the Crests of Pontelandolfo are currently available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo and other retailers.

Ci vediamo in Piazza Roma a Pontelandolfo!

Midge Guerrera

#ArtToThePeople

by midgeguerrera, posted in Stops Along the Journey - Sites Off the Tourist Track

That title makes you want to raise your first in the air – Huzzah – right? In my mind’s memory book, I can still see and cheer on the bigger than life puppets that led sixties political rallies. Gorilla theatre took our messages to the streets. In Milan and being anti-tourist site snobs, Jack and I – OK maybe it was me – saw #ArtToThePeople on a poster and I had to find out what was happening. It turned out Art to The People was a fifteen minute walk away in Bicocca, Milan’s old industrial neighborhood.

The Pirelli Hangar Bicocca Foundation, located at Via Chiese, 2 in Milan, is committed to bringing contemporary art to everyone. #ArtToThePeople is their tag line and they have been doing it for close to twenty years. Everyone actually can get to see the art! The museum is free! Free, gratis, costs niente, free. There is no cursory box with a volunteer looking at you to toss in some $$$$. Artists displayed in the 15,000 square meters of exhibition space are both Italian and international. There is a focus on public engagement and a calendar of cultural events, music, talks and films.

As we walked from our hotel, the industrial zone felt very hip and safe. There were young couples and school groups wandering to the museum. I love the fact that Italian students get to see, feel and understand the arts of all the eras that surround them. Larger than life graffiti was the first thing we saw. It reminded me of the street side sculptures that lead patrons to New Jersey’s “Grounds for Sculpture.” That well placed urban “graffiti” let us know our walk was winding down.

At the entrance, still not believing it was totally free, we were greeted and told which building to walk towards. The museum is well staffed with pleasant guard/guides – except for the creep in the cafe who wouldn’t let Jack sit down while I was at the counter getting our orders.

Take a breath Midge, don’t condemn the place because your husband’s back was acting up and some cretin wouldn’t let him sit.

Sigh, why not?

Because it isn’t a fair assessment.

Man, I hate it when my conscience blasts rational thoughts in my ear.

The place is enormous and sadly we didn’t see the permanent exhibition by Anselm Kiefer. The Seven Heavenly Palaces is a site-specific installation that according to the website was “drawn from the palaces described in the ancient Hebrew treatise, the Book of Palaces/Sanctuaries.” The pictures on line are so interesting that the next time we are in Milan, I will go back. Go to the website and look at it. The lesson learned is that when one is given a map of a museum, one should read it and not bumble along.

The exhibits we did see were in huge spaces. The artists were Gian Maria Tosatti and Ann Veronica Janssens. I wandered, I read the brochures and – and – and for me – the work was almost as strange as the room of dirt that was funded by the Dia Foundation in New York. Really, look it up – we paid to smell and see an apartment with rooms filled with dirt. Ooops, Jack just pointed out that it was called the Earth Room. It was a room of dirt. But hey, to each his own. Instead of relying on my tainted appreciation of modern works, let us just move on to the video.

Italy is a wonderful place to explore and it is exciting to find hidden gems like the Pirelli Hangar Bicocca Gallery. I will go back. Enjoy your journey!

Ci vediamo!

Midge

Click Here to Find Out More About Me.

Theaters and Teachers
Need a play perfect for students and audiences?
Want a different kind of holiday show?
How about something based on an Italian character?

Check out my:
Mamma Mia La Befana?!

Published by Next Stage Press

The Empty Piazza

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo

The other night and again this morning as Jack and I sat at Bar Elimar, I realized something was different. The vibe was different. The sun was still shining and the piazza dogs were still smiling at Jack. (Jack tends to drop things off his plates on purpose, hence the smiling dogs.) The silence hit me. The piazza was empty. I mean, not literally empty, but fewer people were lingering over coffee. We easily got a table in the shade. It is still August but summer season is over. The Pontelandolfese who returned to their roots have flown off. For some reason, I found this quiet period depressing. I, who hate crowds and backpacks, actually felt sad that there were less people out and about. Perhaps, I too am entering a new era or turning back the clock to a time when I couldn’t function unless there was a crowd to sap the energy from. Brrrrrrr. This is sounding too contemplative.

Snap out of it! This is the perfect time to be here in Pontelandolfo. The air is crisp. The sweat has stopped pooling under my boobs and the mosquitoes have stopped using my bare legs as a buffet. It is a pleasure to sit here, stare and sip my cappuccino.

Midgeeee! Tutto posto? Cheerily said a couple of men as they passed by our table on their way into the bar. Maria, the ever efficient barista/waiter knew exactly what we wanted without our asking. The silent piazza was still home for us. Full or empty we belong here.

Ci sentiamo dopo.

Midge

Not too late for a summer read of my Pontelandolfo based book, Cars,Castles, Cows and Chaos!

Teachers need a lesson teaching Halloween play or a play about America’s first people? Check out my plays on Next Stage Press.

Dramma Sacro Di Santa Giocondina

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo

Need an excuse to come to Southern Italy?  Here is a great one – a production of the story of Santa Giocondina.  The play is produced every four years – so if you miss it there is a long wait to see it again.  Every four years, residents of Pontelandolfo come together to share the story of this Christian martyr.  The catalyst for the production is a relic of the Saint that the parish is privileged to own .  It is a huge undertaking!  The cast of twenty six plus people rehearse two nights a week for months in the village’s theatre.  Elaborate costumes are made.  Sets are built and the community gathers to see the life and torture of the Saint.  This year Gabriele Palladino,  the artistic director is putting the cast through their paces.

Rehearsal

I snuck into a rehearsal and was impressed with the caliber of actors I saw on the stage.  They were in the moment, took the roles seriously and we’re obviously committed to bringing realism to the stage.  When I mentioned that to Jack he reminded me where I had been a few weeks ago and why the actors were comfortable on the stage.  You might remember, I went to the Scuola dell Infanzia to see an end of year production called “Paese Mio Che  Stai  Sulla Collina.”   In case you missed the story –  5 Year Old Actors Rock The Stage. The ritual of performing is ongoing throughout all grades.  As are class trips not to theme parks but to wonders of art and architecture.  Residents as young as three years old perform with the folklorico dance company – Ri Ualanegli Di Pontelandolfo.   The arts are a part of life in Pontelandolfo.  (Hmm – maybe that explains my families artistic bent.)

During the rehearsal, I heard actors question Gabriele about their motivation.  Gabriele gently led the actors down the path to the through line of the story.  The narrative places in context the antithesis between good and evil – salvation and damnation. I witnessed characters growing under his guidance.  The cast includes a cross section of the community and all take their roles seriously.  Become their FaceBook pal and see more pictures.

IMG_0032.jpg

 

Eleonora Guerrera (I don’t think we are related) is doing a stellar job portraying Giocondina the tortured Saint.  I asked her how she felt about creating the character –

Quando mi è stato chiesto di recitare nel dramma sacro di Santa Giocondina come protagonista, è stato per me un grande onore accettare la parte, nonostante i miei tentennamenti!! Il gruppo che si è creato è molto affiatato, come una famiglia; lo svolgimento delle prove una boccata d’ossigeno; far parte di un gruppo come questo può solo farmi crescere. Sono felice dell’esperienza che sto vivendo e ringrazio Gabriele Palladino per la fiducia riposta in me e per aver tirato fuori qualcosa che non ero al corrente di avere!

When I was asked to perform the sacred drama of Santa Giocondina as the protagonist, despite my hesitation, it was a great honor to accept the part!!
The group of performers that has been created is very close-knit, like a family. The development of the work as been a breath of fresh air for me. Being part of a group like this can only make me grow as performer. I’m happy that I’m living the experience and thank Gabriele Palladino for the confidence placed in me and for having pulled out something in me that I was not aware of having!

Costumes

The 2016 production features Eleonara Guerrera,  Paolo Tranchini, Michela Delli Veneri, Gianmarco Castaldi, Antonio Addona, Giovanni romano, Gennaro Del Negro, Salvatore Griffini, Davide Cocciolillo and Antonio Silvestre.  Angels are played by Serena Romano, Paula Corbo and Margherita Sforza.  There are countless others in the cast in supporting roles.  The assistant directors is Dolores Del Negro. Director, Gabriele Palladino wrote an article on the back story for Pontelandolfo News – which can be read in English.

The production is slated for the end of July – just before the week long festa of San Salvatore.  Buy that plane ticket and come visit Pontelandolfo in time to see the Dramma Sacro Di Santa Giocondina!

Ci Vediamo.

Storms Silence This Yapper

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo, Practical Matters - Living Abroad

Shout out to subscriber Kathy H. who said “I feel a blog about being silenced is in your future.”  Now, Kathy knows I love to chat.  We  Facetime, Viber or Magic Jack call each other a lot.  What do we talk about?  I haven’t a clue, but for about a week the chatting  stopped.

IMG_1623
Run Dorothy Run!

On those chatless days we were plagued with thunder, lighting, whooshing rain and turn  your umbrella inside out wind.  The internet went kaput. No Internet no chatting.

What? No Magic Jack or Viber?
What? No Magic Jack or Viber?

Suddenly I was silenced!

 Yeah, yeah I know – I could still e-mail from my smart phone but it ain’t the same as voice to voice chatting.  For one whole week I couldn’t verbally reach out to family and friends in the USA. WHAT!

It was a great opportunity to read books, sit in the caffè and gossip and maybe even play at writing something.  It also made me realize that my blabbing about our great cheap ways to communicate with folks in other parts of the globe needed a revision.  Here in the hills we have one communication tragic flaw – storms knock out the internet.

images

Our internet is provided through an antennae on our house and a signal sent from an even bigger antennae somewhere in the hills.  When the wind is whoooooooooossssshhhhhhhing the signal starts swirling and may be providing internet to Saturn.

NO INTERNET

(Read – https://nonnasmulberrytree.com/2013/09/27/internet-cant-…ome-without-it/ ‎)

No internet means NO Magic Jack.

(Read – https://nonnasmulberrytree.com/2013/07/16/land-line-phone-no-voip-yes/)

No internet means NO Facetime or Skype

(Read – https://nonnasmulberrytree.com/2013/06/05/talking-for-fr…ound-the-world/)

How does one overcome this dilemma?  First, make sure you have a good cellular telephone provider.  We use WIND and pay ten Euro a month for 200 minutes of calls, 200 texts and UNLIMITED data.  Second, make sure you have a phone that can become a wi-fi hotspot.  I have an iPhone 4s that works well as a hotspot.

I will caution you, there were times when the storms also limited our ability to use our cell phones but not often.

To make quick calls to the USA – really quick because the more you use the unlimited data the slower it becomes – I would turn the cell phone into a hot spot and call through my iPad or Macbook Air.  Apple doesn’t send me dime for saying what I’m about to say (though I would gladly accept the latest iPhone.)  Apple products all work incredibly well together.  

I’ve installed Viber and Skype on my iPad.  Facetime comes with the iPad and Macbook.  Magic Jack also now has an application for smart phones a well as your computer.  Our New Jersey phone number is our Magic Jack number so folks can easily call us and/or leave a message. (Though I wish telemarkerters would stop calling at 6:00 PM Eastern Standard Time which is MIDNIGHT here.)

Bottom line – I may not be able to sip Campari Soda and talk about nothing with pals in America for an hour but thanks to a good cellular provider and the hotspot on my iPhone we can still get our words out.

photo (1)
Thanks Apple for Facetime.

 

 

Missing Those City Lights?

by midgeguerrera, posted in Stops Along the Journey - Sites Off the Tourist Track

Last night I wended my way over the curvy hill road – checking for the sheep that graze and amble across the road from one field to another.  I decided to go visit Rosella and her great kids – they live in a medieval grotto next to a waterfall and antique water fountain.  The road scares the pajeeeezuz out of me – holes, animals and curves on cliffs.  But visiting the Iacovella house is worth the risks.  I’m thinking a quick game of scopa and a cup of caffè.  That was not in the cards – it was time for city lights.

Who needs Times Square!
Who needs Times Square!

I jumped into the car with Rosella and the kids for a “solo cinque minute” visit to Casalduni.  Rosella’s husband, Pasquale, is running for Sindaco (mayor) and silly me thought we were bopping into the village to pick up campaign stuff.  My first clue was all of the cars parked along the road into Casalduni.  My second clue was the kids opening the windows and sticking their heads out to see something.  Whoa!  That something was this brilliantly lit street leading to the small villages central square.  Tonight was the first night of the festa for Santa Rita!

Of course, when I got back I had to google Saint Rita to find out who she was and what her deal was.  She is the patron saint of Casalduni and the patron saint of impossible causes.

She was married to a brute. He died, her kids died and she devoted herself to God.
She was married to a brute. He died, her kids died and she devoted herself to God. Also for years after putting on a crown of thorns, she suffered with a terrible gash in her head.  Even carrying all that pain she committed herself to doing good works.

Every Italian village has a patron saint and it looks like that saint’s day – for Rita it’s May 22 – is a good excuse to bring some music, art and history to the village.  Last night the entertainment was Gruppo Folklorico Sannio Antico –  (https://www.facebook.com/pages/GRUPPO-FOLKLORICO-SANNIO-ANTICO/220253154670895) .  These all volunteer dancers told the story of Casalduni through music and movement.  Supplying the music was Il Gruppo Fontanavecchia.  In the hills,  old fountains – a source of water and life – seem to be a recurring theme. One movement piece showed women washing their clothes, gossiping and filling  jugs at the fountain – while the men flirted.  Ah a typical Italian scene. 

IMG_1444
This is the village’s ancient fountain and water source. The water comes from the mountain.

Casalduni is an interesting village.  It only has about 1500 residents but covers a great swath of land.  The village historic center has tons of empty properties.  I’m guessing families immigrated and just deserted their medieval row houses.  The place is charming and would make an easily accessible artists colony or pied a terrè in Italy.  It saddens me to see these historic villages just slowly empty.

Last night, the enthusiasm and energy of the “cittadini”made it a terrific night on the town.  My theory is that people need the arts to survive and if the arts are not close by they will create their own artistic feast.  I grew up in New Jersey, NY’s step-sister.  Our town, Hillsborough Township, was and still is an artistic waste land.  There is the occasional art show and band in the park but mostly if you want action you can visit one of the hundreds of jock filled fields – soccer, baseball, and  well I don’t know what the other jock fields are for but they are there.  Since Hillsborough is so close to New York, Philadelphia and Princeton, we leave town for our art fix.  Here in the hills of Italy, people don’t have a lot of cash, there is limited public transportation and everyone has the soul of a Da Vinci.  They make art!  Dance companies are formed. Theatrical “spectacollos” are staged. Live music is found in piazzas and every child doodles on a sketch pad.  Folks here create the art they crave and a saint’s day is a great opportunity to share it.  Since Saint Rita’s day is May 22, we will go back tonight to see what artistic feast we can munch on.

IMG_1442
Dancers waiting to take the stage, join the audience.

Gruppo Folklorico Sannio Antico wishes –

Con le nostre danze e canti, auguriamo a tutti una serata piacevole e che sia portatrice di pace e serenita.”  Noi devoti di Santa Rita chiediamo la sua protezione.

 With our dances and songs, we wish that every person enjoys the evening.   Also, may this event bring serenity and peace and may Santa Rita protect everyone with many blessings.

Me, I’m just happy to see the city lights.

The night may be over but the lights and St. Rita will follow us home.
The night may be over but the lights and St. Rita will follow us home.

 

How Many Bags of Fava Beans Are There?

by midgeguerrera, posted in Food - Eating In and Out!

Fava beans are sprouting in everyone’s gardens!  Yea, these protein filled little fellows make a yummy dinner.  Last year, when the fava beans kept gracing my doorway, it was the first time that I had ever seen a fresh one.  Well, maybe I did when nonna was alive and had the garden the size of a campo di calcio (soccer field) – but I don’t remember.

IMG_1402
Pods are really green giants!

Seriously, this is a question that merits exploration.  How many bags of fava beans are there in Pontelandolfo?  When people pop in after pranza for caffè they usually bring something to share – like what ever is growing in the garden or was baked that morning.  Now me, I like the “what was baked” this morning – no fuss, no muss, just yummy delight.  My neighbor, Zia Vittoria, has an incredible garden.  It is chock full of every vegetable you could possibly imagine – including fava beans.

images
Bursting with protein the pods just wait to be picked, gifted and gifted again.

Yet, as other women pop in to visit Zia Vittoria, so do giant bags of fava beans.  H’mm when women visited these women they too brought fava beans.  One day it hit me.  What if there was really only a finite number of bags of fava beans and in any given span of two days the same 15 bags got re-gifted from house to house.

The bags stop here!  Well, when a bag appears on my door step I don’t re-gift it.  I say “guess whose coming to dinner.”  Last year Mr. Fava came often. The top picture is of my first bag of this season.  I pulled out the colander, a knife and a bag for the compost pile.  The sky was blue and I cheerily began popping beans out of the pod.

IMG_1397
Eat local and touch your food first.

So there I am shelling beans and wondering how I was going to cook them when my nipote (Italian for any kid in your family that you are related to and older than) popped by, reached into the bag, ripped open the pod and tossed the beans in his mouth.  RAW!  Who knew!  I was forced to try it – I mean I’ll taste just about anything.  The bean was sweetly good and obviously picked this morning.  I discovered that the day they are picked they are deleeeeesh as a salad – tossed with tuna or just a few slices of onion or whatever you can imagine.  That is also an abundantly easy lunch or dinner.

IMG_1403
If you can find the “zipper” these are pretty easy to open. Or stick the tip of the knife in the top and give it a slice. Then pop the beans into a bucket – just like a carnival.

I kept at the de-podding for a while.  My brain taking journeys back to the early seventies when with my long hair braided, I shelled beans, baked bread, grew sprouts and didn’t inhale.  It seems to me that it used to be fun.  This ain’t fun but it is worthwhile.

How many more are there? And why do so many giant beans yield one little bean dish?
How many more are there? And why do so many giant beans yield one little bean dish?

One of the things I remembered while I was mindlessly popping beans, was an article in the New York Times that I read last year. A snotty assed food writer had gone to Rome. ordered fava beans in a restaurant and was appalled that they weren’t peeled!  I had no idea what the hell Miss little anal retentive was talking about.  In all the homes I’ve visited for pranza, all the fava bean stew, soup, frittata I’ve eaten, no one peeled off the outer shell.  I was taught to par- boil the beans before creating the dish.  Apparently, after this par-boiling part you can take off the outer shell.  Hell lady, I just spent an hour popping pods and now you want me to spend two hours popping par-boiled beans?

IMG_1405
It looks like a nursery of wee ones nestled on a flannel bed.

I caved and decided to try it.  After boiling the beans and dumping them in the ever faithful colander, I burnt my fingers trying to pop them out of their little shells.  What?  Wait till they cool?  What a thought!  Ten minutes is the maximum of waiting time I give anything.  I popped a few and tasted them.  Damn, it did make a taste difference.  They tasted sweeter and less meaty than they do with the shells on. I looked at the bowl of about a pazillion beans and I looked at Jack.  He gave me the “are you crazy” look – no one here takes the shells off.  When in Rome……

Without skinning the par-boiled beans, I made a simple recipe.   First I sautéd a couple of large onions in local olive oil, toss in cubes of pancetta and let that all get caramelized and crispy.  I always buy un etto of cubed pancetta – 100 grams – so that is probably what I used.  H’mm, from all the veggie tops and pieces I had languishing around, I made vegetable broth yesterday.   I tossed some broth in the pan, added the beans, a dollop of red wine – this is Italy – and let it simmer.  That and crusty bread made a perfect “cena.”

What’s that outside my door?  FAVA!

Thank you Rachel for my present!
Thank you Rachel for my present!