"The whole of Proust's world comes out of a teacup"

S. Beckett.

The episode of the madeleine dipped in tea is the most famous "involuntary memory" in In the Search of Lost Time. Indeed, food, tastes and smells trigger memories and sometimes reproduce emotions from the past.

Inspired by Andy's recepies and Arte's post, I have decided to write a post about my involuntary memories which are trigged by my favourite food/dishes. If you like the idea, I encourage you to do the same.

Favourite dishes:

1. Polenta with gorgonzola. Involuntary memory: my maternal grandma's kitchen. We gather on Sundays, the kitchen is very small (and hot) and polenta with cheese is the hoven to keep it hot. My gradma is fond of cheese (we are all fond of cheese, can't live without it) and eats big portions. I would never stop eating but after a while I have enough. Polenta is a poor food but it's very filling.
2. Frittura dolce, "Fried sweet" (a Piedmontese dish made with sugar, milk, semolino -I don't know the proper translation- and lemon pulp. It's not a dessert, rather we eat it as entrée and it is delicious). Involuntary memory: my paternal grandma's kitchen and bedroom where frittura was kept cold for one day before cooking. I smell the lemon pulp and immediately spot the oval dish in the cold bedroom. I steal some uncooked (= not fried) perfectly cut pieces of frittura. During lunch I almost eat only frittura dolce and... the following dish
3. Vitello tonnato. Involuntary memory: my paternal gradma's house. Meat has never been my favourite food but I LOVE the sauce! I eat a small slice of veal and eat a great amount of sauce with bread. Now I eat both with gusto but I'll never taste my gradma's sauce again, it was great.

What about your involuntary memories?

Underground Cathedrals & Books & something else

We're going to see some underground cathedrals (see also here) this coming weekend: I can't wait as I love that area. My partner has found a very romantic place to stay. He is pretty good at it ;) We'll be back on Monday afternoon... I can't miss Pilates. I guess I'll need to work out next week:

- tomorrow: lunch with my best friend (pasta with zucchini, mint and fresh ricotta plus dessert);

- Saturday: lunch to celebrate my dad's birthday at a well known (and very good) restaurant not too far from where I live. Dinner with friends (homemade pizza);

- Sunday: Piedmontese cuisine at lunch and dinner, namely not so light food and excellent wines.

- Monday: + 3 kg!

I've just bought two novels written by very good Italian writers: Niccolò Ammaniti and SandroVeronesi. I don't know if their books have been translated into English. Google them, Ammaniti's and Veronesi's books are always worth reading. 

I've been busy lately and I haven't had time to write about a meeting with someone I haven't seen for more than 20 years. She gave me a picture of us when we were 10 years old ... good memories and nostalgia. I'll write soon about it.

I am far better now than last summer which is unusual as one always feels great on holidays. It is possibly related to several aspects. My mom, who has been suffering from a chronic disease for a long time, is doing very well. I can't quite believe it, she is a different person. I love her so much, we are very close and it's great to see her living again. She is busy renewing her house and seems very excited about it. Pilates and Feldenkrais have changed my perspective and I have been changing... for the better (as one of my colleagues told me yesterday). We have been planning our life together and after 13 years I can see major changes coming up. We'll move in together very soon and hopefully have kids. 

Have a good weekend :)

Food and other things

I work at home today which is good as I can walk the dog before doing anything else. I share the office with other people and it's difficult to focus sometimes. As I mentioned elsewhere I need silence to "function", this is why I stay at home at least two out of 5 days per week. I'm planning to work hard today, cook brown rice and knitting (in the evening). Another thing I need -well, my intestine needs- to function is integral food (I'm not sure this is the right word. We say cibo integrale when food such as pasta and rice is brown and rich in fibres. How do you say? Integral or not refined?). I have very peculiar breakfasts: grained flax seeds (that cointain high level of dietary fiber) with dry mango, coconut and yoghurt is what I usually have. My partner says that "I'm not Italian" in this respect as I don't eat ordinary food, rather I prefer organic and vegetarian food. I used to be vegetarian and I still eat meat or fish for no more than -say- two times a week. I don't eat affettati (i.e. ham, salami and so forth)... except when I go to Tuscany as finocchiona is something I can't resist!

**
I'm reading two interesting books. One is non fiction, written by an English author who lives in Italy (no, it's not Andy!). Teach us to sit still has been a very pleasant reading so far. While the second book is fiction, it offers cultural insights which makes it more than just a novel. Both are worth reading. I'm looking forward to read Cunnigham's last novel which will be published in Italian in the next days. However, I'm sure I'll buy it in English ... 

**
I'm planning to write some Feldenkrais chronicles in order to explain the benefits of this method. If I have time, I'll do it in the following weeks.

This

 blog is written by "sister in law". I mean, how can I compete?! I will never be able to cook like that.

The idiot

I had breakfast with a colleague (the “coffee girl”) of mine and we had a good laugh (and a good croissant) about our job. Right after the morning coffee we went together to a meeting where I barely spoke and she didn’t say a word. Actually I volunteered to do something (always a BIG mistake) as I candidly thought that other people were also involved in the job. It turned out that  I was the only idiot who said “I can do that, no problem”. At this point the coffee girl stared at me and laughed so hard that she had to go the toilet.

Since I was a child I raise my f**** hand to volunteer for everything. I should cut my hands off and keep my mouth shut.

After the meeting I just couldn’t have lunch with someone (“the boring person”). I couldn’t even think about having a sandwich with the boring person who is such a good human being but is boring to death... to put it mildly. And I don’t like the way he drinks, it seems as though we live in the desert. I lied to him and said that I had other arrangements. He bought it which is amazing because it seems that I ALWAYS have other things to do when that persons asks me out for lunch. I went to my favourite place and had melanzane alla parmigiana alone. Give a me a break!

I then checked my email and got a reply from an important author. I’m so glad we are in touch now, I hope to meet him soon. That’s the only good news today. I’ll spend the rest of the afternoon photocopying hundred of pages. I know it sounds old fashioned but I can’t buy all the books I have to study for my project for at least two reasons: I don’t have space and I want to stick to my second new year resolution.

As for the weekend, we’re are going to visit a friend and her new baby. We’ll probably go to see this movie later in the afternoon and then we’re planning to go here which is - to me- the best Indian restaurant in Milan. We haven't been there for a while and I'm so looking forward to eat some good stuff, I love Indian food.

Christmas Eve (random thoughts)

A friend of mine is coming over this afternoon which is not ideal. My mum is overtired and stressed out because of food that needs to be cooked today, I have to bake Christmas cookies and I wish I could spend the rest of day on the couch. I love him, he is one of my closest friend but still... Christmas eve is not a good day to go visiting.

My nails are red-sparkling Christmas.Yesterday I went to my aesethetician -who probabkly knows more about me than anyone else!- and I spent lots of money, as usual. I don't buy products but I love massages and I have an obsession with hands and feet. They have to be almost perfect, I like elegant and beautiful hands. I also like men's hands but surprisingly enough I've never had a man with wonderful hands. My partner has normal hands but his face is so sweet and beautiful that I don't really pay attention to them. Last year he bought me the perfect present: a gift card for aesthetician treatments. I did everything I could ;)
My girlfriends and I go to thermes and spas for our birthdays. Instead of buying something, we spend the day together and I think it's a great idea. TermeMilano (Porta Romana) is a nice place but it's always crowded so we're planning to go somewhere else. Hammam della Rosa (viale Abruzzi) is also nice and clean but far too popular to be quiet.

I'm hungry now and it's only 20 minutes pas noon. I'm so hungry these days with no reasons as I don't go for long walks with my dog. I have to cut down sugar, otherwise I'll become diabetic in few years. I have to cut down cheese as well, and pasta and bread (and wine, and pizza ect...) but I do like eating and I haven't put on much weight. I'm not skinny anymore and I look definitely better. I'm between a 42 and a 44 which is fine. I too hungry now... should get going to eat.

Buon Natale :)

Countdown to Christmas

I went out for a short walk with my big boy and my mum. We went food shopping for the Christmas period. My mum is planning to cook fish while I'll do the bread and the dessert. I'll probably bake Christmas cookies but I need some extra cutters. My family is very small, we'll be only 6 so there's no need to buy a huge amount of food. Besides, we don't live in the South where people start eating on Christmas Eve and go on for days! We'll have a light lunch and even a lighter dinner. The 25th might be boring if one does nothing -except for eating- that's why I'd love to go out at some point. A walk in the countryside with the boy might be a good idea as I do feel good! I can't walk much, though so I need plan b. I wish we had kids. Christmas is fun with them, actually is fun because of them. We have to wait for at least six months and I'm not sure wheter we're going to try right after to get pregnant for several reasons. This makes me sad but I doubt we'll find a way to deal with some practical problems by the end of next year. However, I cannot wait forever.

... he's outside now, shoveling the snow. I feel guilty because he doesn't know about this blog.