The favorite pastime in Sicily

Aside from gossiping, the most loved pastime in Sicily is going to a bar to have coffee, and to meet people from whom to  get the latest gossip,. 

Here are some pictures from my Bar-Hopping.

Blue skies but Polar cold here in Sicily

 

SUNNY SICILY

A very sunny day today in Sicily, warm too, about 17 degrees C

 

Happy New Year!

 

HAPPY WEEKEN!

 

Having a HEATWAVE here in SICILY!

 Hello folks, how are you all? Is it cool where you are? Here in Sicily it's been RED ALERT for the past two weeks. It's so hot that you cannot walk outside. The beach is the bet solution but getting there is a problem. Traffic, pollution and the extreme heat make it impossible to get near the water

So I just enjoy the heat on the balcony.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 According to the weather report we are having an African January here in Sicily. Beautiful warm weather and the sun is shining, a great day for a walk. HAPPY NEW YEAR! BUON ANNO!

THE FAM TOUR ---- WOW SICILY

 11 international bloggers and influencers  (here below you will see one of the most famous bloggers in Sicily) 

from Finland, Croatia etc. have arrived in Palermo a couple of days ago to visit Western Sicily. After a tour of 5 days they will write about their experience in Sicily. 

BREAKING NEWS : NEW BLOG ON SICILY

 Hello everyone! I just wanted to let you know that I have another blog, and it's exclusively about Sicily, its customs and traditions.

If you want to follow me there and keep up with the news in Sicily, here is the link

https://traditionalsicily.blogspot.com/

SUMMER TIME IN SICILY MEANS ..... FASHION TIME!

 

PENNY LOAFERS ARE BACK!

 Remember those comfortable penny loafers we used to wear in school in the 1960s? Well, they are back ... at least here in Italy. The famous Italian women's magazine DONNA MODERNA did an article on them.  

It brought me back to my high school days when we wore penny loafers with our dress uniform. Did we feel elegant in them! Here is a picture of me and my best friend on 187th St. and Belmont Avenue in the Bronx. Our high school was Mother Butler Memorial H.S. ?

Aren't  we fashionable and glamorous?

And here is the article on Penny Loafers in Donna Moderna. 

WORLD PASTA DAY

BUON APPETITO!

Photos https://www.facebook.com/TheFirstTouristOfficeinItaly

 

SUNDAY BREAKFAST

 Did you know that KEFIR is very good for you? It has many nutrients and it's a powerful PROBIOTIC.

Instead of the classic pancakes I made KEFIR PANCAKES, with banana and honey on top, as well as Maple Syrup. 

INTERNATONAL SPICES

There was a time when I couldn't find hard-to-find spices here in Sicily. Now however things have changed. We can get practically everything on Amazon or online. I had been looking for ALLSPICE for several years and finally here it is, on Amazon. The Indian spice ASAFOETIDA was also not available, but now it is. This spice is mostly used in South Indian recipes, such as Sambhar, a delicious lentil stew. Chinese 5 spice powder is now also easily available, as is the 4 Spices, Quatre Epices, What to make with this French combination I have no clue, but I will definitely find recipes...online.

The original Sicilian ANISETTE biscuits ----Biscotti all'anice

 My American friends probably know what I'm talking about when I say Anisette ....the delicious anice cookies made famous by STELLA D'ORO.  In New York I used to eat them every morning. My mom would make me tea and I would dip the Stella D'Oro cookies in the tea. The most delicious breakfast ever! After which I would hop on the bus and go to school.

Well, here in Sicily these are very popular cookies. Whenever I used to come to Sicily to visit my father he would take me to Castellammare del Golfo where at the time they made the best Anisette cookies, and buy me one kilogram for me to take back to Rome, where I lived in the 80s. 

Nowadays the best anice cookies are made by MEETCAFFE, a coffee shop where they make a great coffee and delicious sweets (cannolis etc). Here are the ANISETTE they made just for me. Don't they look inviting?

Food from the East

 If you haven't tried KIMCHI, a delicious dish from Korea, it's about time you did.  It is a fermented food, which as we all know is very healthy. It is rich in antioxidants and probiotics. It's good for the immune system, it helps inflammation and it is an anti-aging food. It's also a good source of Vit. A and Vit. C.

Here is how to make it. Get one Chinese Cabbage and wash each leaf carefully. Place the leaves in a bowl in layers, adding rock salt on each layer, let it stay for 2  days. Now wash off the salt, rinse the leaves and squeeze all the liquid from them. Chop the leaves, then add 3 Tablespoons red chili  pepper and 1 Tablespoon Cayenne pepper, Add 1 teaspoon salt (I use pink Himalayan salt), 1 Tablespoon sugar, 2 garlic cloves chopped, 1 piece of ginger also chopped. Mix everything together and put  the cabbage mixture in a glass container, add 1 cup water, close and keep for 5 days before eating.

Put a cover and weigh down with heavy cans.

Serve with rice.