I may have an idea for what could prove to be an excellent novel. I'm going to work on that now. Maybe something will actually come from an idea this time...

I should be doing editing for for Blending. Another unfulfilled promise? Haha, no, I'm having too much fun with that.

It has been some time since I have posted a blog. Much has gone on during this time since I have been in Florence as well as other parts of Europe. 

I finally made it to the place I have heard so much about since the days in Elementary School. I visited Tasos in his home country of Greece. We spent two days in Athens and then made the journey to his small village of Milinas. It is a small fishing village on the inner side of a peninsula. The sunset has been voted top three in Greece. Everyone I saw in the village commenced to tell me I have to return in the summer. If Greece is better in the summer then I have to return. The five day trip was worth the classes I missed on the Monday.

Playing catch up was not too hard even with a 6-10 page research paper extension. 

I decided against my planned trip to Frankfurt. I was supposed to leave on Thursday the 13th but I returned from Greece Wednesday. I decided it was better off to take a weekend off and stay in Florence. 

This weekend was spent in the beautiful city of Amsterdam. Amsterdam has perfected the blending of the old and the new. Right next to old buildings and old monuments can be new intriguing architecture. The city also has excellent public transportation and other cities such as NYC can take hints from the Dutch. 

Needless to say, much of my time was spent in museums and coffee shops. By coffee shops of course I mean places where the illegal has been legalized. I typically do not like it but made an exception since it was legal.

To keep it short, I am now back in Florence and beside some day trips I will remain here for the remainder of my trip. Whenever I am away I look forward to returning to the beautiful city of Florence. There is something that has attached me to this city and I will be reluctant to leave on December 20th.  

It will not be as long until the next time I write. 

Regardless of belief, an amazing Election Day

The 2008 Presidential Election was the first that I have been elligeble to vote in. To make matters more interesting, I am in a foreign country and had to recieve an absentee ballot. 

As well as having to vote differently than most Americans, I was also subject to more scarcely available resources with which to aid my decision. I did not have radio or television to listen to. I only had our oldest form of communication, the spoken word and one of the newest, the internet. The internet played a vital role in my decision. I did not choose based on popular opinion or my parents voting history. I wanted to be fully responsible for my decision; because as a citizen of the US, it is our obligation to make an informed decision.

At around 4am this morning Florence time, Wednesday November 5, 2008, the 44th president was chosen and for the first time America will have an African American President. Whether you supported Senator John McCain or Senator Barrack Obama throughout the race, the results should represent something special about the United States. I wish Mr. Obama the best throughout his presidency and am honored to say I helped choose the 44th president of the United States. 

Porcini mushroom recipe

After cooking this recipe in my cooking class I was determined to repeat the results at my apartment. My mom's trip provided the perfect timing for the dish.

The man at the market gave me a strange look when I asked for a kilogram of the expensive mushrooms. 

This dish can be used as either a main dish or a side dish. It does not take long to cook either and can be done amidst other dishes.

For the Funghi in Fricassea (Stewed Mushrooms)

You will need for 4 servings:

800gr Porcini or Ovoli mushrooms

100gr Butter

1 White onion

black pepper

2 egg yolks

1/2 lemon juice

Clean well the mushrooms to take off all the dirt (Many chefs believe you should not wash them because they soak up water too fast... this is true from experience). Dry them and slice them. Saute a small white onion, well chopped in butter. Add the mushrooms, salt, fresh ground black pepper and stir. Cover with a lid and cook on low heat. Take the pan off the heat. Beat up 2 egg yolks with the lemon juice and pour out the batter onto the mushrooms, stirring quickly to prevent the eggs from cooking, forming unpleasant chunks. Serve immediately.

The meal is exceptional when made with a fresh pasta with an eggplant and tomatoe sauce. Of course a good bottle of Vino Rosso is a great accompaniment.

FUA Newsletter

Ciao,

I took part in the newsletter of my college in Italy recently by writing two articles and doing the editing for the edition. Since this is my first "published" work I figured it would be good to get some more feedback...

The link to the newsletter is:

http://www.apicius.it/newsletter/newsletter15/newsletter15.htm

If that does not work, here are my articles:

The Oltrarno

After you cross the bridge, flooded with tourists fulfilling their jewelry fix, you begin to enter a Florence of years past. You have just transversed the Ponte Vecchio to the southern side of the River Arno.

If you awake before the mopeds, mini-cars, and other motorists hit the streets, you experience the small town feel of Florence. At the newsstand there are several people talking politics over a morning cigarette. Furniture makers are lying out the plans for their days work in their shops. Storefronts are being swept to welcome in the neighborhood customers.

On the Oltrarno you go into specialty shops and are forced to speak Italian. The older woman behind the counter knows no English. Because of the small town atmosphere, you don't have to go far to find the things you need. On Borgo S. Frediano there are many shops, all catering to different needs. You can find bakeries, cheese shops, wine stores, delis, small produce markets and other stores which sustain the lives of the Florentines who live here. On the southside, contrary to the north, the stores are not catered towards tourists, but towards locals.

Staying on the south but heading upriver, you can find yourself on the famous overlook of Piazzale Michelangelo. From there, drift along Viale Galileo Galilei to Piazzale Galileo for exceptional views of Florence, with rolling hills filled of olive trees and grand villas in the foreground. Continue from Galileo on the meandering Viale Niccolò Machiavelli you settle at Piazzale di Porta Romana. You can enter the Boboli Gardens through Palazzo Pitti on Via Romana. The Garden is preserved to resemble the antiquity of centuries past, when it was owned by the Medici family.

If you find yourself in Florence for a weekend, venture to the south side of the Arno and explore. It will be a retreat from the crowded city center.

Vice Presidential Match-up

For many of us, this is going to be our first time taking part in a presidential election. This will be the most important election of our life thus far given the state of the world’s economy and popularity of the current administration. As part of our responsibility as United States voters we should be finding out as much as possible in regards to the election.

While the two candidates should be the primary focus in our decision-making, there should be some knowledge of their Vice Presidential running mates.

As we know, John McCain's running mate will be Sarah Palin. She began her political career as a member of the Wasilla City Council in 1992 and in late 2006 she took over as the Governor of Alaska.

Jesse Oney, a student of FUA who lives in Anchorage, AK described Alaskan politics as being, “very different from other states and national politics.”

Joe Biden, Barack Obama's vice presidential running mate, has an expansive career in politics. He began in 1970 as a County Councilman and was elected a Delaware Senator in 1972. He has been a chairman of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and of Foreign Relations as well as the International Narcotics Control Caucus.

One of the two, Sarah Palin or Joe Biden, will be the next vice-president of the United States. Have you given them enough consideration in your choice in the election?

To learn more about the two candidates and their vice presidential running mates, I suggest checking out the popular D.C. based political blog, Politico. You can find it at; www.Politico.com

Ciao,

I have finished my midterms and officially on vacation, although I have been on vacation since September 3rd. 

Momma Meier and her friend Anne will be arriving in Florence tomorrow morning. Hopefully they will not have too much of a jet lag. I am planning on taking them out to show them the beautiful Italian city. After seeing the typical sites, in the city center, we will spend most of the time exploring the Oltrarno where there is a better feel for the culture. 

I just got a phone call... I'm going to an Italian Opera!!!!

FOR FREE

This past week my schedule changed slightly. I will no longer be taking classes on Tuesdays. I will only be taking classes Monday and Wednesday. I was enrolled in a non-credit cooking course Tuesday evenings but had to cancel. The course fees amounted to 75$ a class and although the food was excellent, the teacher was knowledgeable, and the wine was good, it seemed a bit much for the course. 

My Italian has been coming along recently. It is easier to understand those I talk to, but I still find it difficult to hold a conversation. Speaking the language is much harder than understanding it. 

In Tuscany and Its Wines this week we tasted three different wines. Two of which were Tuscan and the third from the region of Piedmont, Italy's northern most wine producing area. We tasted first the Rosso di Montalcino, the little brother of the second wine, Brunello di Montalcino. The two wines are made from 100 percent Sangiovese grapes although the Brunello is made from only the best grapes of the vines. The Brunello must be aged longer and is a much more complex wine than the younger, both figuratively and literally, Rosso. The third wine was a Barolo and, according to my professor, Massimo, the most elegant wine. Personally, I enjoyed the Brunello the most, it was a wine that does not need food for accompaniment, just good conversation.

There is finally a heavy bag in the palestra, besides that, there is not much in the way of equipment. I usually get my exercise from runs, there are four main routes in which I run. The cobblestones are taking a toll on my legs though and there aren't many areas where its avoidable. 

This weekend I look forward to preparing for my midterms. It will be the first weekend in a while where I will stay in Firenze. 

It's time for a run so ciao for now and quench the thirst for knowledge.