Saturday, January 28, 2012

Finally being domestic!

Today, I felt like an Italian housewife.

I woke up at 8:30am to go to the San Lorenzo market to buy some fresh ingredients for tonight's dinner and a few snacks for the next couple of days. The market is closed on Sunday and Monday, and almost most shops are closed on those days too. So you almost have to plan ahead for those days.

Alli and I had several things on our list. We bought a really good EVOO (extra virgin olive oil), some meat, loaf of bread, salt with italian herbs, peppercorns, handmade pasta, garlic, onion, tomatoes, oranges, and apples! The list may go on and on..
We started off indoors and made our way outside to the tent. There are many meat shops, many bakeries, fruit and veggie counters..It's hard to choose between them because for the most part prices are about the same. I'm sure we will figure it out and become regulars at some of these counters!
When ordering and asking for certain produce, you have to tell them a quantity in Kilograms. This is kind of difficult to measure out. I can't wait to start taking my Italian class so I can actually practice it! :)

Alli said I did a really good job today! Haha. We payed correctly and managed to get all the things on our list, except for some balsamic vinegar.

Did you know? It's considered rude to touch the produce with your own hands and handpick the things you want. Instead, you point and tell the owner how much you want of what and he/she will get it for you.

After 45 minutes of grocery shopping, my roomies and I headed to the Ponte Vecchio to meet up with other API students. We had our cooking class at "In Tavola," a private cooking school.

We learned to make Eggplant caprese, gnocchi, ragu alla bolognese (traditional meat sauce), sugo all'aglione (tomato and garlic sauce), and tiramisu.
Everything tasted SO good. My favorite was the Eggplant caprese and the Tiramisu! I can't wait to try making these again.










After the 3 hours of cooking, we wandered the streets and went shopping at Coin. Coin is their department store. We just bought a few household things that we needed... I bought a laundry hamper, and the lady gave me the LARGEST bag on earth. It was bigger than I was.


Took a nap, obviously..still jetlagged. Then cooked a simple dinner with Alli! We made a yummy pasta with some bread and olive oil! :)

Now we are gonna get ready to go out! Gotta celebrate the last weekend of winter break....hehe! Ciao~

5 comments:

  1. OMG THIS SOUNDS LIKE THE BEST DAY EVER!!!!! I want to take a cooking class right now. Think Blacksburg offers any?

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    1. Actually, the gourmet shop located DT offers some! LOL!

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  2. Boo... Why don't you have pictures of the market?? :( please post in next entry'

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    1. Next time! I'll be going sometime this week!

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  3. so proud of all the cooking! love all the pics of the food it looks DELICIOUS! can't wait to visit you =)

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