Can You Say Food???

Here I am in Trieste. My home away from home. I love it here but not because it’s Italy. My band mates and dear friends live here. If they lived in a remote wilderness I would love that too. It’s not the place. It’s the people. 

caprese

And now let’s discuss food. I mean come on. I AM in Italy after all. I have taken so many food photos that one would think I did nothing all day but eat! I only wish it were true. Mostly, I’ve eaten salads which at this point I can truly say I am tired of grazing. I do love rucola but it’s getting old. Watching my friends chow down on pizza and steaming plates of pasta makes my mouth water. But I’m strong and I will survive and the next time I’m in Trieste I will be at my goal weight. THEN I will have some pizza. But just some. I need to save room for dessert! 

tiramisu

Enjoy the weekend.

What's the Buzz?

Last January I posted a bit about my love affair with coffee. That hasn’t changed a bit. I still go for my morning/afternoon/evening buzz.

The thing is this: I really LIKE coffee. Some people just slug it down for that fast caffeine buzz. But I really like the taste of coffee. I like it strong, thick and sweet. This is why I drink espresso. Black. Yes, yes, I do like the occasional cappuccino or latte and I’m all for iced coffee as long as the temp outside is reasonably warm.

As always, when I have a passion for something, I do a little research. I have a dear friend who works in the coffee business. No, no. He’s not a barista. He is involved with importing beans from South America to Italy and testing the beans for quality. Did I say test? Oh my, my. I do mean TASTE. This is my kind of job.

A few weeks ago he and his lovely wife were in the Boston area and we met for lunch. We had a delightful lunch and they presented me with a big Ziploc bag of fresh roasted beans. Fresh as in roasted yesterday. The fragrance emanating from the bag was heaven on earth.

Anyway, I was curious to know about the coffee business and I asked a million questions. I learned that coffee has overtones, much the way wine does. Fruity, chocolaty etc. It was fascinating. A few days later Xavi asked me what I thought about the blend. I said there was a fruity overtone. He said I was right on the mark. OK…I’m intrigued. I want to know more about this business. 

For some people, coffee is a way to wake up. For me, it’s all about the taste. Yes, I’ll admit to needing my morning caffeine wake up call but I won’t settle for an inferior brew. I don’t mind paying more for a better coffee. I used to swear by Starbucks, but now I’m not so sure I like it. Compared to what I grind, Starbucks tastes bitter and dirty and leaves an unpleasant after taste. Dunks is fine for iced black. My preference when I’m at work is the bar across the hallway which serves up a great Illy espresso. And in the mornings I go for a triple. I’m totally hardcore!!

In a few days I’ll be in Italy again. Trieste. The land of Illy café. You can bet one of the first things I plan on doing is having a coffee.

Have a great week. Next post from Trieste!

And It's Only A Buck!

I have recently discovered something marvelous. The dollar store. OK, so it’s not a new concept I know, but I am thoroughly addicted.

There is a dollar store on my way to work. I stop in there about once a month. This is a REAL dollar store. EVERYTHING is $1.00. It’s amazing. I can walk in there with a twenty-dollar bill and come out with a bag full of wonderful things. 

For example:

When our son moved into his first apartment he needed some drinking glasses. I bought him 6 glasses at a buck a piece. Really nice glasses. I liked them so much that I went back and bought some for our kitchen. I also bought a new set of plates. One dollar each. REALLY nice plates.

Last week I stopped on my way to work. I needed toilet paper. 4 rolls for a buck. The soft kind. How wonderful is that? I also went down an aisle that had the cutest socks. So I bought 5 pairs. Actually, that’s wrong. Several were packaged with 2 pairs. I mean come on. You always need socks. Let’s face it. The washer and dryer have eaten their fair share.

This particular dollar store is extremely organized. I am most impressed when I go there. Not everything  is the greatest quality, but I have to say that I’ve found some really good stuff. The party supplies are outstanding.

Obviously I’m not shopping for clothes (socks don’t count), food or major appliances at a dollar store. But hey…for a few bucks I can cross a few things off my shopping list!

Have a great week everyone. The weather has changed and I’m loving AUTUMN!

The Falling Leaves

Ah, autumn. My absolute favorite time of year. How can you not love it? The crisp air, the beautiful colors, the smells of fireplaces and hot cider.

My favorite month is October. That’s autumn. By November the leaves have all dropped and the color starts to fade. But I also love November.  So many people love summer. I like it too. But it starts to get old. By the middle of September I’m craving soups and sweaters.

Here in the New England/Boston area, we basically have summer and winter, with a month of spring and a month of autumn thrown in for good measure. Maybe. But stick around. The weather will change in 10 minutes!

Here’s my top 10 list of autumn:

1)      Wearing big sweaters and leggings. Now that I can wear leggings I am obsessed with them!

2)      FOLIAGE!!!!

3)      Soups, stews, cider

4)      Fireplaces

5)      Crunching through piles of leaves. As long as there’s no dog poop it’s all good.

6)      Big books. Reading Follett’s Winter of the World.

7)      Down comforters at night and leaving the window open just a crack

8)      Ghosts, goblins and gobblers

9)      Turning the heat on in the car

10)   SCARVES!

There are more, but hey, it’s autumn and so I’m not writing it. I’m going to live it!

Happy October everyone. Have a great week!