Dog on a sled

Maddie on a sled, originally uploaded by Rubber Slippers In Italy

She hikes, swims, loves the snow, enjoys making new friends (human and animal) and is the best little furry friend that I've ever had in my life. In these days after xmas and leading up to new year's eve, the weather has been great for snow activities and sledding with the "kids". What have you been doing in your part of the world?

Christmas 2010: Ready, set, EAT!

Obviously at the time of this posting I am actually in the kitchen instead of playing on the pc, and the pics are supposed to set the mood. As each xmas goes by we've been doing less and less of the traditional foods and cooking more of whatever we feel like eating as long as it fits within the theme of things. From what I've learned, the italo-american custom of having a Feast of the 7 Fishes on la Vigilia di Natale (xmas eve) is not practiced everywhere in Italy, but I like the idea of an all-seafood meal in one sitting so fish it always is on the 24th. Lobster souffle, seafood risotto and sea bream baked in salt on the menu tonight. And tomorrow? A 4-inch high dish of wild boar lasagna along with a salad of raw fennel with oranges because we intend to spend much of the 25th on snowshoes, weather permitting. On Sunday it gets even BETTER as I'm busting out the bagna cauda dishes for a lot of veggie dipping to go with the reckless imbibing for the entire afternoon. Oh, and did I forget to mention cheese? Panettone and pandoro? Christmas beers? Bombardini with lots of whipped cream? Wishing you all a zipper-busting, button-popping christmas!

How much panettone and pandoro do you need anyway?

Panettone, pandoro and a bottle of cheap spumante. How many do YOU go through during the holidays? That stash I'm hugging is another couple pounds of CuRve destined for my derriere and there's nothing I can do about it. On average we gobble about six every holiday season - 3 of each - because aside from purchasing our favorites like Tre Marie and Bauli, there are the panettone and pandoro gifts! Balocco in the festive "New York" tin is from my inlaws, Melegatti is from MotH's boss, the Telethon one was purchased from someone raising funds at his office and Motta is another preferred brand.

This is one of the season's ads that has become a sort of amusement between the two of us because MotH does a pretty good job of mimicking the lines without any hint of his northern italian accent. Thank you Domenico Melegaaatti! The really, really funny part though are the behind-the-scenes footage from this ad. The grandpa can't even say Melegatti correctly on the first go! You just gotta watch the last 75 seconds...hilarious! Dominigo Megalaaaatti!!!!

In the event of an error message, the video can be viewed here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs-SI-hlyQA

In the event of an error message, the video can be viewed here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJu58mnlHeA

I was looking for free hot chocolate but ended up with a lion

That is, Enoteca Leone, an intimate little winebar that just so happened to be in the right place when we were walking around at the wrong time. We had driven an hour's distance to Gazzaniga (Bergamo) in order to nab our share of free hot chocolate that was scheduled to be doled out in the spirit of all things xmas-y, but upon arriving it was obvious that anything slated for the afternoon probably didn't mean around 1pm when 99% of the population was still eating lunch. Time to execute plan B (leave), and we were about to make the streets even more emptier until we saw this enoteca. See how hard it is to not go wrong anywhere in Italy? If something doesn't go according to plan simply head to the nearest bar-enoteca and order a plate of cured meats and cheese! The proprietors at Leone are knowledgeable, cool folks who take great care in everything they offer in their winebar. A look at their website reveals an impressive list of reds, whites and sparkling wines from all over the world. They also organize day tours to local producers. www.enotecaleone.com (italian and english)

Korean cuisine in Milan: Lee's

It's not often that I get the chance to check out asian restaurants in the big city but last week the opportunity for indulging in a little bit of ethnic food shopping hoarding and dining came up so...off I went into Milan with the MotH. I can't remember how I learned of Lee's, but their online menu looked so tempting that I figured the other option of doing lunch at the “Filipino Shack” [that's what it's called in my guidebook] could wait until next time.

Not wanting to get all wrapped up in a big meal, we opted for the quick and reasonably-priced lunch menus (10-15€) which gave a sampling of what variety Lee's has to offer. I ordered the bossam/steamed pork while MotH got the gaejang (spicy raw crab). Both of our mains came with a salad of finely shredded cabbage, steamed white rice, kimchi and rice flour pancakes. Everything was delicious, beginning from the roasted corn tea that starts the meal, to the desserts (extra) that I just had to try out of curiosity. The only unusual aspect was that my bossam did not come with a pile of lettuce leaves to wrap the pork in, but I imagine that this is just an aspect of the lunch menu to simplify things (I ate the pork with the cabbage). Comfy red leather highback chairs and dark tables give this place a modern feel that was quite nice, and the service was polite. I'm already looking forward to the next visit and ordering à la carte.

Coperto (cover charge), hot tea, shredded cabbage w/dressing, rice flour pancakes, rice, kimchi and coffee is included in the lunch menu. The desserts shown are slices of sweetened red bean paste and caramelized fried sweet potato. Below is the dish of spicy seasoned raw crab that was messy to eat but oh so good! Many of the menu items sounded like comfort foods from back home - dolsot bibimbap, ttokkochi, japchae, bulgogi - and a few others not so much which is another reason to return. Lee's Restaurant & Pub, Viale Lombardia 32

Manna Market

Now I have 3 addresses in Milan that are my preferred places for buying asian ingredients: Kathay on via Rosmini, Mabuhay Philippine Grocery on via Parmigianino and just recently, Manna Market on via G. Pascoli. At first the shop front threw me off as there was a tiny display of foodstuffs in the window, but upon looking in, asian furniture filled the rest of the space. The grocery market is downstairs in a sparsely distributed room with refrigerated case and frozen bins. I'd like to take a better look at the refrigerated space next time (there were bags of takuan and a large tray of fresh tofu among other things) but what ultimately made my day was a bag of taiyaki in the frozen goods. I was actually looking for dorayaki that was mentioned by an italian blogger so this was a big thrill to find. I've been savoring each morsel of the sweet red bean paste-filled fishies every time I have one for a snack.

Product description/details on my flickr page

Snow again!

Full sun for the past 4 days so I (we) don't mind a little change of scene, even if it's in my (our) front yard. The human parents are outside shoveling but where is the westie?

Fun in the sun and snow at Alpe Giumello

Why do weekends with perfect weather always have to be so short? This past Saturday and Sunday was the one that anybody with a pulse has been wanting for a long time, the weekend with ZERO rain, no snowfall and nothing but blue skies all around. We had the intention of hiking around the base of Monte Muggio, a 3-hour loop trail that begins from the parking area at località Alpe Giumello, but ice on the trail made it a dangerous gamble. If we had been able to get to the very top of Monte Muggio it would have afforded us a spectacular panorama with Bellagio jutting out in the middle of the lake.

Even if a good, long hike was out of the question, there was plenty of wide open space to go for a stroll. We walked the dogs out on the flat plains on the eastern side of Giumello, all of which were covered in a thick layer of packed snow. In less than 30 minutes time we had built up enough of an appetite for a quick lunch at Ristoro Genio, a cozy little bar and restaurant serving hot meals, tasty panini and homemade yogurt with berries for dessert. Great service and everything was very reasonably priced.

I guess you could say that I'm an empty nester

Nesting dolls, originally uploaded by Rubber Slippers In Italy

Ever since the sun came out in full blazing glory a couple days ago, my brains sorta drained away with the melting snow. See you again, snowflakes, on xmas eve. All I can think of now is staying warm and cozy in my nest while today's strong winds arrange, and rearrange, a heap of dead leaves on my terrace. Brrrrr...no need to venture out. Baileys [√], Vov [√], christmas candies and panettone [check, check] and a ton of ripe cheese and salami [kitchen staples so no need to worry about checking].

Hope you are keeping warm wherever you are!

Hiking to the cattedrale vegetale in winter

If only Mister B could speak! I know that he would've had some choice words for the two of us this past Saturday. Getting to the beginning of the path was easy enough since the roads were plowed, but further on up the snow was left as is. This inevitably became a magnet for skiers wanting a thrill down the winding road, but it was both funny and insane at the same time since they also had their dogs running along beside them (and the dogs were keeping pace!). The few that we did see were very aware of meeting hikers going up but after the first encounter, we kept our two on a leash and stayed close to the side of the path.

When we reached the cathedral it was a huge surprise to see it surrounded in an untrodden sea of white, but with no easy path to follow, we had to carefully wade our way, knee-deep, through pristine snow. Mr. B got a leg cramp from the cold and in the end we had to carry both of them out and much of the way back down. It snowed again this morning but looks like we'll have a break for the rest of the week!

The living cathedral in winter

December 4th, 2010

3 months ago we were here for the inauguration of the cattedrale vegetale on Monte Arera in Oltre il Colle (Bergamo) and here we are again. Amazing isn't it? This past Saturday turned out to be the sunniest one to come along in weeks, perfect weather for getting some fresh air and exercise! I'm trying to come up with a way of describing how tremendously beautiful this place was in its pristine whiteness, but I can't find the right words. More images to come in a following post.

September 4th, 2010

Winter whiteout

The calm after the storm. Snow blew every which way for hours yesterday and that meant only one thing: pick up the shovel and start shoveling. Shovel left, shovel right, and try not to slip on the icy driveway slope. Do you know how many calories that burns? Not very much, according to a calorie calculator site, because at 110 pounds I supposedly burned only 317 calories, not even enough to cover a slice of quattro formaggi (4 cheese) pizza. I'm feeling aches where I never even thought muscles existed before, so it is a really good thing that today we're having a bit of a respite, at least at our altitude. If the weatherman is wrong about more of the white stuff on Sunday, it would only be seen as a blessing in disguise.

The plus thing about pushing and heaping piles-o-snow aside is the wicked appetite that builds up inside your belly. I didn't even realize how hungry I was (brains probably still frozen) until I bit into the porchetta sandwiches and mozzarella in carrozza deliciousness that we put together for dinner. Along with that big bottle of Krampus beer from the previous post, it was the most welcome meal to rip into with our hands.

The Krampus beer starts off with a nicely sweet, spiced flavor in the beginning with a slight sour finish at the end. Thick, pale creamy head that left a little bit of lacing at the end.

Mozzarella in carrozza (mozz in a carriage). A slice of mozzarella di bufala between two slices of sturdy country-style bread. Dipped in beaten egg and breadcrumbs then fried. There are a couple of other versions (dipped in egg and flour) or enhanced with the addition of anchovy fillets or prosciutto. Next time I'm adding the anchovies.

Roasted pork, grilled eggplant and pickled peppers

Snow day on December 1st