EATALY

That's right. It happened. This is the closest to a pilgrimage I'll ever get, and it was wonderful. I get dizzy just thinking about it. Imagine fifty different kinds of olive oil, a gelato bar, a counter where you can buy fresh pasta by the kilogram, fifteen different kinds of prosciutto, a wine selection that makes your head spin, and Lidia Bastianich's son in Prada shoes (no really, he was there). Yes, I saw all of these things. And yes, it was glorious. I nearly had a heart attack doing it, but I made it out of there with a loaf of olive bread, some pasta, and a bottle of wine.

If you don't know what EATALY is, then here you go. Also - we are no longer friends.










making pasta

carciofi

weigh and price your own veggies - just like in Italia!

la piazza

All the tomatoes.

l'autunno

There are few things I like more than Autumn. And there are few things I like more than farmer's markets. So when you put the two together - watch out, I might explode from sheer joy.

radishes

regular, red, and yellow swiss chard

red, green, yellow tomatoes

pumpkins and kiddies

Téa eating a fall-themed vegan cupcake (I didn't tell her it was vegan. Muahahahaha)

hahahaha

Thanks you David Leibovitz

fluffernutter cookies

After hostessing during the brunch shift on Saturdays and Sundays all summer, I have now rediscovered the weekend. Saturdays are meant for shopping, excursions to the city, walking in the park/pretending to run, or playing with kitties for hours on end. Sundays are meant for the farmer's market (where I buy provisions for the week, i.e. lots and lots of kale), GRE homework, guitar practice, and baking.
Sundays are my dolce far niente days, an Italian phrase that literally means "sweet doing nothing". It's the joy you find in doing little things, things that to the outside world have absolutely no value and aren't especially noteworthy, but that you find immense joy in. Americans (especially New Yorkers) tend to micromanage every single aspect of their lives, even on days that are meant to be relaxing. So instead of rushing around tryingtodoeverylittlethingyouhavetodoonyourdayoff, have a bath. Enjoy a slice of cake. Spend your day making a huge pot of soup.
One of my favorite parts of baking is sharing. So when my bff Nina decided to throw a housewarming party, inspiration struck. Peanut butter cookies (that I had mastered a few weeks prior to this), meet homemade marshmallow fluff.

eccolavita: the remix

I really do feel bad that I'm not blogging as much as I was. Although I don't have a huge following (hi, friends and family!), it is something I really love doing for myself. After four years of writing nothing but research papers, reports and translations, it feels glorious to be able to write for myself again.
But now, I have a lack of material. As much as I love my new job, I'm not really doing that much with my language skills. Working every day means I don't have the opportunity to seek out new restaurants or bakeries. It also means I don't have as much time to bake. And I'm not in Italy, and won't see that glorious paese until the end of March.
But then I started to think what this blog was really meant to be. I started it in Milano as an attempt to understand the Italian lifestyle through my own American upbringing. I love Italy (as you might have already guessed), but I could never live there indefinitely. There are certain things I can't compromise - diversity, equal rights, and whole grains, to name a few - that for now, just aren't as prevalent there as they are here.
Does this mean this blog is obsolete? I don't think so. Because anyone who knows me knows I love Italy. I talk about it all the time. I am constantly referencing my experiences teaching, studying abroad, and living with my second family, the Richichis. I still need to eat pizza once a week. Even if I'm not currently in practice, being an Italophile is a full-time job.
So rather than defend myself after a month of not blogging, I will attempt to blog more, and ask that you, readers, keep something in mind: the Italian is still in there, it's just not as obvious.