Spoiled by the Unspoiled

It is difficult to chip away at a to-do list here. Each time I go out, I am diverted. Fiorina invites me to go for coffee. Arrigo wants to show me the best place to have lunch. A nameless woman asks me to do her  a favor: she is decorating the church for a wedding the following day. Could I pop in after mass and let her know that everything is in order? When I tell her I am happy to help, she runs inside the church and returns with five long-stemmed white roses. A gift for helping out. "Be careful of the thorns" she cautions as she gently lays the beauties in my arms.

Mr. Toto's Apricots

Today I had to go to our little "mercato" for bread, milk, and some fresh ricotta cheese. I love to have it for breakfast drizzled with chestnut honey. As I walked down the cobbled road on the west side of town, the first thing to distract me was the view of the Gran Sasso Mountains. They were in full view today, standing out in vibrant contrast against a blue sky. It was good to see them after several days of rain and threatening skies. The second tangent to keep me from going directly to the market was Mr. Toto'. Mr. Toto' is the man from whom I bought Casa da Carmine. He always waylays me with conversation or an invitation to his house to have a snack with him and his wife or an insistence that I go get a coffee with him. Today, as I approached him, he noticed me coming and threw his hands in the air. "Vieni qui!" He shouted. "Come here!" I did as he asked and when I reached him he asked if I had a plastic bag. The door to his car was open, so I thought he was cleaning up the trash in it. I said I was sorry, but I didn't have a bag. At which point, he produced a bulging sack of apricots. He pulled one out and tore it in half. "Taste!" he said. Mr. Toto' has a way of saying something as a command. I popped half of the fleshy fruit into my mouth and my eyes widened. It was warm and sweet and as soft and juicy as anything I'd ever eaten. More so. Mr. Toto' looked very satisfied. He had just driven back from his country house, where he had picked the fruit just an hour before. "No chemicals, no fertilizers, they are just as nature intended!" Then he ducked into his garage, found a plastic bag, and filled it with about a pound of the luscious fruit. I thanked him and started to walk away, but he called me back. The other half of the sample apricot was sitting on the roof of the car. "Eat this, too!" Toto' said. What could I do? I obeyed his command.

The Gran Sasso Mountains as seen from Casa da Carmine, and on the way to market

I love being distracted by good food. And there is plenty here. You can't find everything and anything. Only the things in season. Right now peaches, apricots, and cherries are in season. And figs! I love fresh figs, but they are nearly non-existent where I live in the US. So when they are in season here, I get really excited. I walked into Donatella's Ortofrutta the other day to see them lying in a basket, plump and bright purple and green. Donatella clapped her hands when she saw me, knowing how much I'd anticipated them. Donatella is perennially cheerful and enthusiastic. Her round face accommodates a ready smile. She has the tight, corkscrewing curls that remind us of our north African connection, starting at least as early as Antony and Cleopatra and probably before. She never tires of listening to me tell her stories in my halting and imperfect Italian. The day the figs came in, it was about how my grandfather used to tend his fig tree in the inhospitable winter environment of central New Jersey. How he would stuff newspapers among the branches and then wrap it in burlap so it wouldn't freeze. And how I would be the first to pull a fruit off of it in the summer, popping it immediately into my mouth. Donatella apologizes. She laughs her jolly laugh. "These aren't very fresh, " she confesses. "The truth is, I forgot to bring them here after I picked them this morning. Come back tomorrow morning and you can have fresh ones." I buy what she has - three large, teardrop-shaped pillows. They cost one euro. I promise her I'll be back in the morning for the more "fresh" ones. Then I skip back to my house, but not before being distracted once again by the mountains.

Oh - zucchini is in season now, too! Moist and sweet. Yes, zucchini can have flavor! Here's a quick, simple recipe to try with yours. Make sure they're fresh from the garden! Donatella wouldn't have it any other way!

Zucchini Chips
1 medium zucchini, sliced thin - about 1/4"
bread crumbs, grated as fine as you can get them*
grated parmagiano cheese*
extra virgin olive oil - about 1/2 cup
bit of salt
* the amount of these can vary. You'll have to experiment

Place the sliced zucchini in a bowl and pour the olive oil over them. Toss to coat both sides of all slices with the oil. Add more if needed to do this.

Mix the cheese and the bread crumbs together in another bowl.

Place the zucchini slices on an oiled baking pan. Sprinkle each with a bit of salt.
Spoon a mound of the cheese/bread crumb mixture on each zucchini slice. Fill them but don't let the mixture spill over.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is browned and the zucchini is crispy.
Buon appetito!