Sometimes a gelato won't do....

Ya know, some days gelato can be a little too much. I know... I can't believe I just said that but it's true. The other day, I had gelato for lunch and instead of a medium (which is what I ordered), they gave me a LARGE. It was soo much that I got nauseous. I couldn't even look at my poor little cone. I barely finished it and slowly walked myself home.

Since then, I can't stand to think of eating anymore gelato. (at least not for now) So, Friday night, Carlo and I went downtown for a walk and stopped by Gelateria Vanilla (located near Piazza Castello). This time we went for a Granita Siciliana.

The only way to describe a Granita is to compare it to a slushy.. but thicker. Even then, the description isn't right. (Wikipedia description here) I have to say, it was the perfect replacement for my gelato. Carlo had Almond and I had a Chocolate Granita. We didn't take any pictures but, I got this one from blogmamma.it.

In Sicily, they eat Granita for breakfast with a brioche. Too bad Fall is already approaching because I could have one of these everyday. Of course, this wasn't our first Granita, and it won't be our last.

The New and Improved... Pizza Recipe

A few weeks ago, my Mother-in-Law gave me a VERY BIG compliment. She said that my pizza was so good...

THAT

IT

WAS

BETTER

THAN

HERS!!

.... and that was from eating the leftovers! I wonder what should would think if she tasted it right out of the oven. I am very honored that she think my pizza is the same caliber as hers... I mean.... SHE'S FROM NAPLES!! Birth place of Pizza!!!

So, after 2 years of practicing, I finally am able to make Pizza... the way Carlo likes it. Therefore, I feel like I should redo my Pizza Recipe which was previously posted (here) almost 1 year ago.... So, here we go again:

Recipe for dough:

1 kg of Flour (2lbs)

2- 25g of cubed yeast

OR

3- .6oz of Fleischmann's yeast

(found in refrigerated section)

2 & 1/3 cups of tepid water

1/4 cup of Olive Oil

(do not use Extra Virgin)

1 tablespoon of salt

In a large bowl, add ALMOST all of the flour (leave about 1/4-1/3 cup out)

salt & oil.

Add your yeast into the tepid water and using a fork, break the cubes so that they dissolve completely in the water. Pour into flour mixture.

Using a fork or wooden spoon, mix well.

On a flour surface, turn contents of bowl onto surface and knead dough for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes of kneading, form dough into a round loaf.

With a sharp knife, make an X on the dough

and cover with a clean dish cloth.

Let rise for 3 hours.

After 3 hours, your dough should look like this.....

As your dough is rising, prepare pans by lining with baking parchment paper

For topping you need:

400g (14 oz) of canned tomatoes (plain- not already seasoned)

(1 can is enough for 2 pizze)

Pour tomatoes into a bowl and smash well with a fork.

season with salt (and pepper if desired)

This recipe makes 4 pizza-

divide your dough into four equal parts.

Roll out dough and place on pan.

Spread tomatoes onto pizza

(this pictures shows half can tomatoes and half fresh tomatoes)

(i was experimenting)

Place in Preheated oven

and

Bake for 20 minutes at 200C (375-400F)

After 20 minutes, take out pizza and top with Fresh Mozzarella

(please... do not use shredded cheese!!)

Add a sprinkling of Oregano

OR

Basil

and

a little bit of Olive Oil

And place back in oven for 5-10 minutes

(long enough for the cheese to melt to your desired consistency)

Let cool 5 minutes... and enjoy!

(this pizza is the one with half fresh tomatoes that were pre-seasoned with basil)

(which is why there's only basil on half of this pizza)

Forte di Bard

Last week, Carlo and I took the train to Valle d'Aosta to a teeny tiny town called Bard. They have a huge Fortress in the mountains so we went to go check it out.

So, we walked from the train station...

crossed the bridge from Hône....


and into Bard.


We saw a sign for a spa which looks really nice

Bard is a really small town but there was a lot to see

and everywhere I turned, was an opportunity for a good picture

After a short walk from the train station, we made it to the Fort.

To get to the museum, we had to take 4 elevators to the top of the Fort.

3 of the elevators are glass elevators


so, we were able to get some great pictures in the elevator


Unfortunately, we weren't able to take ANY pictures inside the musem which is really too bad because it was a lot fun and very interesting.

We decided to walk down the path instead of using the elevators

that way we were able to get more pictures of the Fort


I'm just glad I didn't have to walk up these stairs!!


We had a great time at the museum and for the amount of money spent,

it was a perfect (cheap) day trip

CLOSED for Ferie!

August in Italy is probably one of the best times to visit.... or could be one of the worst times to visit! Your choice!

Every August, Italians look forward to the time when they are closed for one, two, three OR four weeks and head out to the beaches or mountains. It's Ferie! Carlo's company is closed for three weeks so, I've been lucky to have my hubby here with me to help me household chores.

The great thing is that it's mandatory vacation time!! Everyone closes up and goes on vacation. The bad thing is.. everyone is closed and you're left in a deserted city. (depending where you are)

for example:

this is a fairly major street in Torino this was taken on saturday, the 15th.

All along the streets, all you see are closed windows and signs posted up telling you that they are closed. Need some bread? Sorry... they're on vacation.

this is from the bakery on my block

Maybe you need a newspaper or... even some tickets for the bus/metro. Nope...

my friend at La Stampa said he was going to Calabria!

Pharmacy, Hair Salon, Hardware store......

BUT... if you need Gelato......

come back at 4pm.

Some places are closed ALL MONTHS LONG

must be nice to take a month off!

I find it so very interesting to see all of these stores closed and to see a major street...

practically empty!

Especially on August 15th which is probably one of the most important holidays in Italy. It's Ferragosto which is the day Virgin Mary ascended into the heavens. Even if you can't afford to take 3 weeks off, Ferragosto is the one day where EVERYTHING is closed and you somehow manage to get out of town for the weekend or even just stay home and relax.

I am hoping that next year, we can be somewhere for Ferragosto so that I don't have to sit at home and watch the news broadcasting how much fun everyone is having on the beach!!



ps..Anyone looking for an apartment?? There's one for sale in this building! (Mom & Dad!!)

the best thing is......


it's right across the street from a gelateria!!

Rodirugez Family visits Torino!

*disclaimer- I apologize for not posting this earlier but.. i'm on vacation. (i know i've been on vacation since i got here but, it's August! All of Italy is on vacation) to find out who the Rodriguez family is... click here for their mention in the Milan post.

Last month, (July 24th to be exact) our friends Bert, Luisa & Sarah took the train from Milan and came to visit us in Torino. While Carlo was at work, I took them around the city for a tour.

Our first stop was the Duomo. Torino's Duomo is dedicated to San Giovanni Battista. (St. John the Baptist)

It was actually closed for lunch so we went across the street...

to Porte Palatine.

Sarah, Bert & Luisa at Porte Palatine

Once the church opened back up, we went inside to see the Sacra Sindone or... The Holy Shroud. The Duomo claims to have the Shroud that was used to wrap the body of Jesus Christ at the time of his death.

There are several groups claiming it's authenticity as well as research groups claiming the cloth was not around until the Middle Ages. The shroud has been involved in two fires, one during the Middle Ages and the other in 1997. To read more about the Shroud.. click here.

After the Duomo, we walked through the grounds of the Palazzo Reale and made our way to Palazzo Madama.

Luisa & Bert

me, Luisa & Sarah inside the Palazzo Madama

Making our way to the River Po, we made a quick stop at The Mole and rode the elevator to the Observation Deck.

Sarah & Bert at the Mole.

One of my favorite spots to see in Torino is the Po river. It's the largest river in Italy and we're lucky enough to have it run through our city.

the Gran Madre

Sarah, Bert & Luisa in front of the Po river & Monte dei Cappuccini

As we made our way back into centro, Carlo met up with us and was able to spend some quality time with Bert.

Carlo & Bert in Piazza Carlo Alberto

Before leaving Torino, there's one thing we HAD to do......

Bert & Luisa read our blog (Thanks guys!) and were very excited to see the famous Grom that I talk about ALL of the time! So, it was only natural that we take the necessary pictures to document another gelato at Grom!

enjoying our gelato in Piazza Carignano

Sarah couldn't resist the urge to have another Gelato so, I took her to Pepino (another gelateria located in Piazza Carignano) and we brought back another one for Luisa!

To finish off our day, we walked through Piazza San Carlo

down Via Roma..

and took the Metro back to Porta Susa...

Carlo and I were extremely happy that the Rodriguez Family were able to come to Torino. (for the next 2 days... that's all we talked about) Their visit was much too short and we're really looking forward to seeing them again. (Save those pennies!!! Bert- Carlo is already talking about going hiking with you! Luisa- I found some more shoe stores for you!!)