Pasta and Pizza!

Another day in Calabria, wonderful as usual! Yesterday as I was at the Derada center finishing up my blog, I got hungry so I decided to have the clif z-bar I had packed in my bag. A few minutes later, still a little hungry- Professor LaLuna comes in the room, snacks in hand because he knew we were hungry! We tried these yummy Italin buiscuits- they remind me of a mix between a pretzel and an herbed cracker. Along with a tiny cup of aranciata (sparkling orange juice), I was satisfied after this little kind Italian snack.


However, we have been eating dinner VERY late and I hadn’t prepared myself for another 4 hours without eating- we went on a tour of the church in San Demetrio Corone, as well as a beautiful but incredibly tiring through the hills of the old part of town. I’ll try and post some pictures, the view from the top of S.Demetrio is truly breataking!

Needless to say although the walk was a cultural and beautiful experience, I was literally starving by the time we got to dinner. Unfortunately, a few late classmates made dinner even LATER- so we didn’t end up eating until 8:40. Luckily the fantastic food once again made it worth the wait. We started with fresh pasta in a pomodoro sauce, this time with a sprinkle of parmesan and a bit of green hot pepper- definitely spicier than the day before!! I cleared my plate I was so hungry! In between the courses they brought out fresh bread, small slices of asiago and parmesan, and some lettuce- I had ½ a piece of bread, a couple pieces of cheese and a bit of lettuce. My vegetarian course was my favorite of the trip so far! Pepper stuffed with a delicious herbed rice stuffing- it was so creamy it was almost a risotto! I could only finish one pepper, and ½ of the potatoes they served along with it. I wanted to finish all of it, but I was at my stomach’s limit!


Ok, maybe there was room for something else… my first gelato in Italia! A creamy mix of cacao, vanille e amaretto- it was absolutely fabulous, but what else would it be??

After a quick ride around town in a vintage Mini Cooper with our new friend Luigi, we got home and settled into bed to rest before our first night of classes.

I got up early this morning to go for a run, but running on these hills in this heat, on such dangerous roads has proved to be quite the hassle. I ran another 10 minutes, and felt good but not good enough to continue- I almost got hit by speeding Smartcars, and a BUS- so I decided the rest of the day would be spent walking, so I ran up the stairs instead. I feel as though a short run in the morning, plus the intense hill climbing during the days, and the bit of yoga I’ve been doing on my balcony in the mornings should be enough to keep me fit for the month. I don’t want to tire myself out too much, but I do want to stay healthy- and I feel as though I will.

Speaking of healthy, for breakfast I had my own Italian creation of pineapple yogurt (literally, pineapple in yogurt- no yucky additives of hfcs like here in the US!) with some museli (about ½ cup) and an apple, which held me quite well for the morning.


Class was good- long, but good. I think I’ll learn a lot, which is my goal of course! I had a cherry pie larabar halfway through. (Not pictured, sorry!)
After class we had our first “cooking” lab- this time it was just a review of some of the cooking utensils and basic kitchen items, but I had an amazing time nonetheless, with my love of all things cooking! It was great to see the real kinds of ingredients they use in Italian kitchens. The cook was great- she’s beautiful, her name is Rosa and I really hope I can cook with her at some point!

After the lab, we were all hungry so we decided Margherita Pizza sounded perfect for lunch! Four of us stopped by a small pizzeria up the street, and got a HUGE fresh pizza for only 4 euro.The owner was so sweet to us- she gave us more of our favorite biscuits, I had one while waiting for the pizza to cook, and she gave us a baggie to take home! They were even better today, fresh and doughy.

Finally, the pizza arrived. Oh. My. Gosh. This was absolutely the BEST pizza I have ever tasted!!! I had two huge pieces, and you know what? I feel good. Nope, I’m not kidding you. I feel good, and I do not feel that yucky feeling I always feel in the states after eating a couple huge slices of pizza. It must be Italy.

Everything is so fresh, it’s incredible. I am so lucky to be here, truly. I’m off to go study for a while before dinner, Arrivederci!