Carrapipana

The other day, Antonello came home with a large tray of tomatoes for making sauce. He also picked up a few peppers from the same road side vendor. Adding a few onions into the mix, I was ready for a large production of fresh Carrapipana!

Carrapipana

Depending on what you have around the house, you can be the judge on the quantities... I just happened to have three nice size peppers.

3 Large peppers
1,600 grams of tomatoes

550 grams of onions
Salt

small package of cooking cream, panna

In a large pan with a very small amount of water, layer in all the vegetables.

Leave the pot to simmer on a low flame. Once everything has cooked down, transfer the mixture to a vegetable mill and make a smooth sauce.
I then placed the extra sauce in jars to save for another day. When you're ready for something light and simple, just add some salt.

However, Carrapipana goes one extra step beyond that. The addition of rich cream makes this sauce heavenly. Once the sauce has cooked down and all the extra water has evaporated, add the cream and watch this mixture transform. I served this with thick al dente spiral pasta and the rich sauce adhered to every twist and turn... Yummy!

Nespola

The road from the beach to our town is full of gardens and citrus trees. Very often, the owners gather baskets full of their harvest and sell it to passersby on the side of the road. Well, a few weeks ago we met a nice old man who sold nespole and big juicy oranges. So, yesterday we went back for more! This is a great form of "kilometre zero". (Individual farms engaged in direct selling.)


We also took a walk in Vena yesterday where Antonello found a large bush of rosemary. One can only image how long it has been growing there. At least here in Sicily, the rule is that anything over the fence or growing in the street is free for all...


The loquat or Japanese plum, is what we call the nespola. Loquat fruits grow in clusters and are oval shaped, with yellow or orange skin. Sicilian loquats are about the size of a plum tomato, and there are two varieties, one more sweet and one more sour.
Both are apricot in color with a firm, succulent, and tangy flesh, tough skin, and two to five large pits. The skin, though thin, can be peeled off manually if the fruit is ripe.

You may or may not see these golden beauties in your area because the loquat bruises very easily, which means a difficult fruit to ship and store. But if you do... Enjoy!

Morning walk with Mount Etna

Every morning, way before the sun rises, Antonello and I take walks through the many hidden and untraveled streets in our area. Well, this morning we were greeted with a site. It's been so cloudy near Etna that we haven't been able to see her very well. Obviously, my picture didn't capture the moment, but it was beautiful. For days we have been sweeping black soot off our terraces and balconies as Mount Etna has been very active these past few days. It's common dialogue between ladies of the town to exchange the woes of sweeping...

But, thanks to her our soil is so rich and full of nutrients!

fiori di zucchine ripiene al forno

Yesterday morning, at the fish market in town, I decided on a small portion of fresh shrimp for a simple second. I picked up a few, not knowing exactly how I would prepare them. That was until I saw a big basket of zucchini flowers attached to tiny baby zucchini sitting in the doorway of my vegetable store. My lunch menu was planned!

Oven baked Pasta Stuffed in Zucchini Flowers

First I cleaned the flowers and cut the zucchini into small pieces.

In a pan, brown garlic in a small amount of oil, then add the shrimp. Once the shrimp were cooked, I transferred them to a plate to serve as a second. All of their sweet juices remained in the pan... At this point you could add the zucchini to the pan, but I prefer to cook the zucchini in a pot of water, so not to fry them.

Once the zucchini were tender, I added them to the pan of juice. In the same pot of water I added the pasta and cooked until very al dente.

The pasta then absorbed the juices in the pan. A spoonful of fresh ricotta was added at the last moment to make it creamy.

I cut the flower down the center and opened it up. As if wrapping a present, I filled each flower with a portion of the pasta mixture and wrapped the flower around. I then placed them in a baking dish and baked them for 15 minutes at 160 degrees Celsius.

They were unbelievable good! The flower had a bit of a crunch along with the delicate zucchini and sweet shrimp flavor.

Our Pilgrimage to Sant' Alfio

We hit the road at 5pm and began hiking the steep streets past Presa to Vena.

Through the vineyard, you can see our town and the church standing tall in the center.

With all the twist and turns of the street, there were so many beautiful views.

In the distance there is the mountain Monte Venere, where lies Venus sleeping on her back. The top of the mountain is her head, then her nose and chin, chest, knees, where sits the town of Castelmola, and finally the town of Taormina, at her feet.

Our hike continued up streets that have not been traveled in a long time...

Our town in the distance with a faint image of Calabria across the Sea.

Mount Etna and the Ginestra.

Yes, it was a hike! Many streets cars can not travel on...


We're getting there... Soon after 8:30pm the sun set and there was no more light. But, in the air was a pounding sound of fireworks exploding. We still had many kilometers ahead of us...

The crowd of people gathered outside the church to welcome in all the people who were arriving on foot for Saint Alfio.

The devotion candle that was carried by many, barefoot and crying Viva S'Alfio!

Here on YouTube you can see this Candelora on display. The wood carvings represent the story of the three brothers.



All the devotion candles were gathered and offered to Saint Alfio...

The story of the Three Saints and how they came to be martyred has been handed down for centuries in the small villages of eastern Sicily. It is part of the oral tradition of that area, but in modern times the story has been well researched and documented.

During the time of the Roman Empire, a noble couple, Vitale and Benedicta, had converted to Christianity. Their three sons, Alfio, Filadelfo and Cirino were privately educated in the Christian faith by their parents and by Onesimus, a Greek scholar. In the year 250 AD, the Emperor issued an edict demanding that all Christians renounce their faith and demonstrate allegiance to the State by worshipping him and the Roman gods. Failure to obey the edict was considered treason, and the penalty was death. Benedicta refused to obey the edict and she was martyred. Vitale escaped to a monastic community, leaving his sons in the care of their tutor. At the time, Alfio was twenty-one, Filadelfo was twenty and Cirino was nineteen years old.Because the brothers were so young and came from a highly regarded noble family, the Roman authorities hoped to convince them or force them into a public renunciation of their Christian faith so that others would follow.

However, a succession of officials failed to get the boys to yield. Finally, they were sent to Sicily where a young Roman patriot named Tertullo had already gained fame for ruthless interrogation and torture of Christians.The brothers landed in Messina on August 25, 252 AD. They were marched from there to Taormina with a heavy beam strapped to their shoulders. The brothers arrived in the village which is now known as Trecastagni on September 1, where they rested for the night. While many assume that the name of this village can be literally translated as "Three Chestnuts", the name was actually derived from the Latin, Tres-Casti-Agni or "Three Chaste Lambs", referring to the Three Saints. The brothers were then marched south to Catania and on the 3rd of September they entered Lentini.

Wherever Alfio, Filadelfo and Cirino went, miracles were attributed to them. Their suffering and their refusal to give in to the power of the Roman authorities inspired more people to convert to Christianity. Tertullo tried several means of torture, all to no avail. Furious, he ordered the final instruments of death for the brothers: a pair of tongs to tear out the tongue of Alfio, a gridiron set over coals for Filadelfo, and a cauldron filled with hot oil for young Cirino. On May 10, 253 the three young men refused for the last time to renounce their faith. Before his death, Alfio spoke these words to Tertullo: "You may remove my tongue so I cannot speak, but I will never cease to give thanks and praise to God in my heart, for the eternal truth for which I die." Led by the eldest, each brother went to his death, a martyrdom which earned them the everlasting love and respect of all who had witnessed their bravery and devotion. Their tombs remain in Lentini to this day, beneath the Church of Sant'Alfio.

Seventeen centuries later, in the towns of Lentini and Trecastagni, there are still feasts held on May 10 each year in honor of St. Alfio and his brothers. Faith in the intercession of the Saints is strong, and miracles continue to be attributed to them. Wherever the faithful gather the people remember and they shout: Viva Sant'Alfio!
-an extract of the book "WITH TRUE FAITH"

VIVA SANT’ ALFIO

Last night, Antonello and I were on our way to Trecastagni on foot for the Pilgrimage of Saint Alfio. After seven and a half hours of walking up the steep roads of Etna, and a total of 28 kilometers, we arrived at the Main Church just after midnight. The church was full of people awaiting the Pilgrims who were arriving on foot. Some of them, walking all the distance barefoot carrying a heavy devotion candle, entering the church were screaming "VIVA SANT’ ALFIO" in tears. Needless to say, it was moving.

We can understand what they felt when they arrived to the altar. Exhausted from the long journey and many kilometers we, too, regained energy seeing the church in the distance. We finished our pilgrimage with a fast pace and without any of the pain we had felt until then.

Just so you know, we are OK! We'll be resting this weekend, but on Monday I'll fill you in with the rest of the story...

Frittata agli asparagi selvatici

With its thin delicate stalks and deliciously bitter taste, there is no comparison to wild asparagus. Yesterday, Antonello came home with a bag of asparagus and they were just too green and perfect not to take a picture!

His parents picking away...

Wild Asparagus Frittata

Rinse and clean the Asparagus.
Place in a pan and cook covered until tender.

• You won’t add any water to the pan, the water on the stems is enough.

Add three eggs to the pan and stir until the egg covers all the stems.

I then add a few nice slices of Tuma to the mix... Once the Tuma is melted, enjoy!

Polenta: salsicce, finocchio selvatico, e tuma

Tuma is a typical Sicilian fresh cheese made from sheep's milk. It has a cylindrical appearance and is sold fresh, no more than 2 days old. Our tuma is made and delivered to us weekly by the same man who makes our ricotta. Renowned for its delicate milk flavour, it has no crust, and the dough is white or ivory-white without holes. The texture is very soft, tender, with a rubbery consistency. Tuma can be consumed either cold or hot. We, however, love to bake it in dishes. Once heated, the Tuma takes on a whole new flavor.

Polenta with sausage, wild fennel, and tuma

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the wild fennel greens and boil the leaves until tender. Remove the greens and set aside. Saving the cooking water, bring back to a boil and begin to prepare the polenta. ( For two, 130 grams of polenta)

Transfer the polenta into a buttered baking dish and let cool.

In a pan, boil down one onion. (Again, I do not fry!) Once cooked, open four sausage links and add the meat to the onions. Cook together until the sausage it browned. Add the boiled fennel leaves to the pan and continue to cook.

Once everything is well combined you can simply cover the polenta dish with the sausage mixture and top with slices of tuma. Place in the oven to brown.

The crunchy tuma, mixed with the sweet delicately flavored finocchio and sausage, made this dish a real pleasure...

Cooking with Chiara

Chiara came over the other day and we decided to do some baking. I wasn't exactly prepared for it, but we made do with what I had. So, without any eggs, we whipped up a very nice and elegant cake that all enjoyed! However, the next time I want to use my intricate, heart shaped, rose mold, better to use a light soft cake, versus a thick nutty one...

It was a nice afternoon together!