“Montalbano felt moved. This was real friendship, Sicilian friendship, the kind based on intuition, on what was left unsaid. With a true friend, one never needs to ask, because the other understands on his own accordingly.” Andrea Camilleri, The Snack Thief Salvo Montalbano is a fictional detective created by the genius of Andrea Camilleri, a Sicilian…
“Nobody, that’s my name. Nobody — so my mother and father call me, all my friends.” My love affair with ricotta started very late in my life, and for this I will never forgive myself. There are a few ingredients that I used to despise when I was a kid, and only as an “adult”…
“Through singing, opera must make you weep, shudder, die.”- Vincenzo Bellini Today we are in Catania, the second largest city in Sicily after Palermo, famous for her majestic location at the foot of Mount Etna, one of the world’s most active volcanoes. Curiosity #1: The word Etna comes from the Greek αἴθω (aithō), meaning “I burn” Curiosity…
“Give me yesterday’s bread, this day’s flesh, and last year’s cider” – Benjamin Franklin Is there anything better than freshly baked bread? The crispy crust surrounding the most delicate crumb, the slices still warm accompanied by a little bit of butter and salt, the smell filling the house within minutes. Freshly baked bread is the…
“Let’s consider your age to begin with — how old are you?’ ‘I’m seven and a half exactly.’ ‘You needn’t say “exactually,”’ the Queen remarked: ‘I can believe it without that. Now I’ll give you something to believe. I’m just one hundred and one, five months and a day.’ ‘I can’t believe that!’ said Alice.…
You are having a lovely meal, enjoying a good TV programme and the comfort of your home. All is well with your life, nothing can disturb your peace. Until THAT happens: the dip conundrum. The dip conundrum affects all of us, but not everybody is aware of it. It is something it has now become…
Sunday afternoon. It has been a long week, and they say that walking is good for your chakras and stuff, so why not? I did my steps, felt less guilty about that banoffee pie, ready to go home. I am on my way, thinking about the usual: my life choices, which one was my favourite…
“You will learn at your own expense that in the long journey of life you will encounter many masks and few faces” (Imparerai a tue spese che nel lungo tragitto della vita incontrerai tante maschere e pochi volti). This is a quote from One, No One and One Hundred Thousand (Uno, Nessuno e Centomila), one of my favourite books from Luigi…
You have now mastered the art of malloreddus, you are a pro using the wood board, you can make gnocchetti with both thumbs tied and your eyes closed, probably standing on one leg. I am proud. For those that didn’t read my previous post, here is it, along with my huge disappointment: https://theparmigianawhisperer.blog/2020/07/07/know-your-gnocchetti/ Now we…
It stinks and it is mouldy: if I use these words to describe food, you definitely wouldn’t be so keen on eating it. However, I can’t find any other way to describe Gorgonzola cheese, one of my favourite ingredients in pasta or pizza. It is believed that Gorgonzola is the result of a mistake (a…
THE PARMIGIANA WHISPERER 