May 26th 2008

Breakfast- Granola bar

 

Lunch- Kebab

 

Dinner-  Home made meal with Erik, Mike, Gina, Nate and Erin

            Salad of fresh greens and tomatoes with olive oil

            Barilla Pasta Sauce and Angel Hair

            Fresh Parmesan Cheese/ Fresh Italian Bread

 

Today I was able to explore many of the local grocery stores around Verona.  I was really excited to see the quality of food that was in some of the family owned stores.  I feel that America is missing much of the personal one on one when  it comes to shopping.  It is really nice to see small family owned stores that hand pick meats and cheeses.  I explored a butchery today.  The butcher was cutting cheese and let me sample several kinds of parmesan.  It was funny  I was shooting his shop and a huge knife suddenly came into my view finder.  I immediately put my camera down and stepped away frightened.  He wasn’t attacking me with his knife he was offering me a small sample.  I tried the cheese and was pleased.  A thing I find difficult is understanding the measurements and differences between United States and Europe.  I often don’t know how much I will be getting for my money.  I am beginning now to understand this better as I experience more stores.

Vegetables are also extremely fresh here!  As soon as you walk into a fruit and vegetables store you can smell it.  Foods are not processed as they are in the United States.  Generally what is in the stores is what is in season.  You can taste the difference in the quality of food.

Bread is also different.  Bakery’s weigh the bread to determine prices.  This is unique.  Today I bought a hard long stick of Italian bread from a cute local bakery.  It was great to dip in sauce and olive oil!

Today I was also able to try out the kebab that has been talked about so much.  It was the first thing that I could feel like a brick in my stomach.  I have not been overly full at all since I have been here.  This is something that is very nice about Italy.  Portions are the perfect size and food is made in high quality so it does not give you one of those ill full feelings that is often felt in the U.S.  The kebab is like a gyro in America.  It has shaved lamb meat, lettuce, potatoes, tomatoes, chili sauce, chili’s, and cabbage.  It is delicious but clearly not very good for you. 

Gelato is also amazing.  Much better then ice cream and at the perfect portion!  I have tried chocolate, pistachio, tiramisu and coffee.  I have heard that the best way to eat it is to mix multiple flavors but I have  yet to do this.

Dinner was a lot of fun!  We all cooked together.  Mike and I did most of it.  I prepared the sauce with fresh garlic, a little bit of cheap wine and spicy barilla pasta sauce.  I was allergic to the  sauce and broke out in hives.  It was good but not so good on that end.  Gina brought salads.  She bought two kinds of lettuce that were very fresh and tasty.  She also bought Olive Oil, Balsamic and a salad herb mix to sprinkle in.  I am not sure of what was in it.  The case was in Italian.  Nate brought several kinds of tomatoes- each having a unique taste.  The salad was great.  The fresh parmesan cheese on top was a great touch!  Also the bread that I picked up was good too.  It was hard so we just ripped off pieces of it and dug in.  Dinner was a ton of fun and a great time to be with friends!  I’m sure there will be many other group meals to come.

 

The coffee I also find amazing.  In America I generally feel pretty sick after drinking the huge coffees we have and don’t get the energy kick I need.  The tiny cups of coffee are awesome and give me tons of energy. They are just a shot (like espresso) and pretty tasty!