The Long Road, Part 2 (There Be Varmints In This Here Room!)

So, I left off at the Supermarket. I was surprised that a place like this existed because I was under the impression that Italians went to the bread lady for the bread, and the fruit and vegetable man for the produce, and so on and so on. However, this place was pretty nice, and open more hours than most places in Italy, and does not close for lunch. They are even open one Sunday a month, which is big in this Catholic country. They had tons of selections of food, and even some American things that I recognized. We ended up parking below ground because of the rain, and went to pick up a basket before getting on the elevators to go up to the supermarket. I was surprised to see that it costs one euro to get a cart from the cart stand. It is all electronic, like the baggage wheelies you can get at the airport, and when I asked Alice why you had to pay for a cart she told me that it was to keep people from leaving the baskets sitting around the parking area, or taking them home I would think. I guess this could be a problem because although the store was large there was not the kind of parking that say a Whole Foods has. Once we were in the supermarket it seemed like pandemonium. There were people everywhere you turned. In fact, it was normal for someone to give you a nudge, or for someone else to nudge you, out of the way. I really hate shopping when there are crowds, but I imagine that place, called ‘Esselunga’, is never not crowded, because the crowds make me a little nervous and crazy. Alice stocked our cart full and asked if I needed anything myself. I did in fact need conditioner; oddly enough no one in Italy seems to use conditioner, just shampoo. But, then again, people do not shower all that much here either. Well, I could not find any conditioner, so I went back to Alice and Elia and asked what the word was for conditioner. She laughed and followed me back to the row I had been on, and found one of maybe five bottles of conditioner offered. I chose one almost at random, but I figure anything will do. After that we checked out, oddly enough Alice had brought her own bags (very nice thick plastic ones from a previous visit to Esselunga), and I thought that perhaps the store did not give out bags, but then, Alice ran out of space and asked the woman checking her out for another bag, and she gave it to her. So, I guess Alice is just more Earth conscious than most.
When we got back home, and had finished putting away the groceries, Alice made lunch for me and Elia; spaghetti with pesto. It was very good, but after a few bites I was done. I ate for what felt like an eternity, and still my bowl just looked full. Although she did give herself a smaller portion than me, and then gave some of that to Elia. I guess I must have lost my hungry vigor because she told me that if I was full that I could stop, that it was not necessary to eat and eat when I am full, that she did not mind if I did not finish it all. I was relieved. I told her that it was very good but I was just so full, and she took my bowl without a word, just a smile. I helped her clean and dry the dishes, and then it was time to put Elia down for his afternoon nap. I helped pick up his toys while she went through his ritual of changing his diper, give him his medicine (he has been sick for a week or so now, but there is only a cough remaining), putting him in his PJs, and fixing him some warm milk which she pours over lightly sweet cookies then shakes in a bottle, disintegrating the cookies, and gives it to him to drink. She turns out the light in his room, and then he is out. It’s the same for the evening, but she likes to wash his bottom in the sink as well as his feet after his diaper change.
There is no heating system in this house, so it gets pretty cold. The coldest is the computer room where the temperature can and does get below freezing. I have to wear my jacket with the hood up to stay warm while talking to mom on skype. Luna, the family dog, happens to sleep in there as well so her snoring is always a little comforting. In some ways it reminds me of Frankie.
Around dinner time Alice decided to make soup; white beans and pancetta soup. I am going to post the recipe, although she never measured anything so this is just going to be a guess, but it should be fine. It was really very good, and in Italy, apparently you can buy precut pancetta in a cup that you just open and throw into the pot. I do not think there is anything like this in the States, but I would check. While making dinner Alice, Alfonso, and I talked about various things, in Italian of course (with my dicitionary at my side). Things like the illegal Mexican aliens in Texas, some of the history of Texas, the state of schools, affirmative action, and of course about mom, dad, Ashley, and Monty; about what they do, how old they are, their history, etc. All in all it was a better night than last, but I am still tired. I still feel like a fish out of water here. Everything is so foreign, and cold. But, Alice and Alfonso are patient with me and my bumbling Italian, and I have even taught Elia how to give a “High Five”.
The only other thing to talk about is my “room”. For the most part it is quaint. There are three self standing racks; covered like a tent is, to keep the dust out and a zipper you undo to access the contents. There is a mini book shelf and a makeshift desk. The bed is a small twin, and hard like a rock. The sheets are not wonderful, and I have to say that night time is when I miss home the most. I miss my very soft comfy bed, and having Frankie sleep near me. Still there is a little plug in space heater that keeps the room warm enough, but still somewhere in the upper 40s. The one thing I do not like at all is the bugs. I have not noticed bugs in any other room in the house, but this morning, while making up my bed, I pulled up the comforter only to find a baby cockroach on the outside of my comforter, and tonight I saw a silverfish running along the wall opposite me, not to mention the two (or three) flies that seem to be hanging out in my room. I would kill them, I did kill the cockroach (no salvation for them), but with the others, especially the flies, I figure if I kill them, more will just show up for their wake. I am hoping they will die soon. I guess this is what it must be like living in the country, but I have to say I am looking forward to the city life again. Not so much so that I am willing to hop on a plane this instant, but I am looking forward to living in the new plush Pershing house!

Okay, here is the recipe:

1 large 28oz can of white beans (cannellini) strained but not rinsed
-Alice used half of an enormous can that she bought at the store, and I guess it would be about two times the 28oz size

1 medium fist full Bricchetti pasta

Water (about 6 cups)

½ onion chopped

1 sprig, the size of your palm, of Rosemary

1 cup diced pancetta

Pinch of salt

Enough olive oil to cook the onions until soft

First cook the onion and the olive oil, adding a little soft and letting them become tender. After two or three minutes add the rosemary (do not remove from the stem add the whole stem) and pancetta, cook until golden (about 7 or so minutes). Then add the beans straight into the pot. Cover with water, about two times the amount of beans, about four or so cups. Let sit with the lid crooked and cook on a medium to low boil until most of the water has evaporated and the soup has become thick (more beans than liquid). Then use an immersion blender (Alice put the soup through a food mill two times to make it extra creamy, she said she liked using the food mill instead of an immersion blender because she likes to have her kitchen as simple as possible…. which explains why, to make tea, you have to boil the water in a pot. No tea kettle here, and especially no microwave)Anyway, once you have creamed the soup, add about two more cups of water and a medium fist full of pasta (Alice used a kind called Bricchetti, and they ended up working well in the soup. If you cannot find this kind you are looking for something similar to small bits of spaghetti). Although the directions for the pasta said to cook for 13 minutes, Alice had to cook them about five minutes longer because they were cooking in the soup, not the water. Once the pasta is cooked, spoon into bowls and add a light swirl of olive oil and grated parmisean cheese to the top of the soup and enjoy. This was a very simple recipe, and I am sure it will be different for everyone, but if you put too much water in the soup, then just cook it longer to get some of it to evaporate. And, of course if you don’t have enough water, just add some more. Little by little is the key here.

P.s. Keep in mind that my posts are about a day behind. Instead of taking up the internet, it is easier for me to write about my day at night (here in Italy), and then copy and past it to my blog the following day. But with the time change and everything this is even confusing to me, so I think from now on I will beginning dating the post itself with the day about which I am talking