Mostly in the background - E` tutto nello sfondo

This is the third visual journal page that started with finding images in the painted and gessoed  background. This is how it looked after I started outlining the images I saw with a pencil.
Questa e` la terza pagina del quaderno che e` iniziata con la ricerca di immagini nello sfondo preparato con strati di pittura e gesso, dopo aver definito alcune immagini con la matita. 

Here is the final product after the addition of a lot of color with Portfolio's watersoluble oil pastels. I found all the images, except the woman's face, in the background.
Eccolo dopo l'aggiunta di tanti colori con i pastelli ad olio solubili in acqua della Portfolio. Ho trovato tutte le immagini, eccetto il volto della donna, nello sfondo. 

Creatures n. 2

All of these creatures, except for the little girl's head, legs and one arm, simply appeared in the layered paint background. I just pulled them out of the shadows (probably the shadows of my brain!).
Tutti questi esserini, con l'eccezione della testa, le gambe e un braccio della bambina, sono apparsi nello sfondo fatto con strati di pittura acrilica. Io li ho semplicemente fatti uscire dalle ombre (probabilmente le ombre del mio cervello!).

The entire 2 page journal spread. Le due pagine del quaderno su cui ho dipinto.

Close-ups. Primi piani.

I've done this a bit before, that is, looking for images in the paint, but only in the last few days have I done it a lot, and I think it is having an effect on my brain. Now I'm seeing things everywhere: tree trunks, rocks, food. For example, see those rocks down there, that I spotted this morning when I opened the curtains? I see the head of a large dog on the right, giving a speech to several animals who are lying down facing him. There's even a little cat to his right, just below the larger rock, which could be a crocodile. Time for therapy perhaps?
L'ho gia` fatto un poco in passato e, cioe`, di cercare immagini nella pittura, ma e` solo negli ultimi giorni che lo sto facendo di piu` e credo che abbia avuto un effetto sul mio cervello. Adesso vedo immagini ovunque: nei tronchi degli alberi, nelle pietre, nel cibo. Per esempio, guardate quelle pietre che ho visto questa mattina quando ho aperto le tende. A destra vedo la testa di un un grosso cane e mi pare che stia facendo un discorso a vari animali che gli stanno stradiati di fronte. Alla sua destra c'e anche un gattino, sotto una pietra piu` grande, che potrebbe essere un coccodrillo. Ora di ricoverarmi?

Vegetarian Cabbage Rolls

Let me say right off the bat that this is a very approximate recipe, and since I made it up as I went along there are no precise measurements. I made four large rolls on the stove top and ate two before I even thought of taking a photo. They are good!
I used a variety of cabbage that here is called "Cavolo Verza Riccio" and it is the one in the third photo from the top here. It's the cabbage I've been using since I arrived here and I really like it.
This is what I did:

1. I boiled some generic variety of white short grain rice (not Basmati, not Arborio).

2. I briefly sauteed onions, garlic and a tiny bit of red pepper flakes and to this I added a can of chopped tomatoes and their sauce, 3 bay leaves, and salt. When the sauce was partially cooked I added some sliced white mushrooms and let them cook.

3. In the meanwhile I placed the four large outer leaves of the cabbage, from which I had pared away the toughest upper part of the stem, in boiling water - one at a time - for a minute or so, then let them drain.

4. I mixed the rice with a couple of eggs, grated Rodez cheese (you can use Parmigiano or Pecorino), some diced provolone (mozzarella would be good, but I didn't have any), a bit of the sauce (onions, garlic and all), and a pinch of cumin. Since I decided to add the mushrooms as an afterthought, they did not go into the rice mix, but it would have been even better with them in there.

5. I placed some of the rice mixture into each leaf, rolled it up and closed it with a couple of toothpicks.

4. To the sauce I added some water and half of a vegetarian organic bouillon cube, broken up into tiny pieces because the organic ones do not melt easily. I then placed the the rolls in the sauce, spooned some of the sauce on top of the rolls, put on the lid and let them cook on rather low heat, for maybe 30 minutes. I kept checking and adding a bit of water when necessary.

These are not small rolls, as you may be able to tell from the photo, because those leaves are large, so each roll is about 4 to 4.5 inches long. I had no problem eating two, and am trying to hold out till dinner before I eat the other two!

I don't know if it's this variety of cabbage or the bay leaves that grow in my back yard and smell a lot like cinnamon, but whenever I combine this cabbage with those leaves, the result is yummy! It's a small shrub that grows right at the base of an olive tree, and I want to try to propagate it by cuttings, because I've never smelled bay leaves quite like it.

Let me know if you try it and if you make any vegetarian modifications. I think something having to do with walnuts would be good....

Creatures and Cornbread

In the midst of putting the final touches on this visual journal page entitled "It sure is crowded in here",

I suddenly got a craving for stovetop skillet cornbread, which is kind of odd since I've never been crazy about cornbread and have eaten it only a few times. I searched a lot for a recipe that fit the bill, and the one that most appealed to me was this one by Martha Stewart.
Of course I modified it and, of course, it didn't look anything like the photo of hers. Instead of 5 Tbs of sugar I used 2, instead of powdered milk and water I used buttermilk, instead of melted butter I used olive oil and instead of baking powder which does not exist here, I used Joy of Cooking's substitution, which is baking soda and cream of tartar.
The center bottom burned a bit, because in order to get a very low flame I had to put it on the smallest burner.

Eh, what can I say? I'm not crazy about it, but I'm eating it.

A Sunday outing - Giretto domenicale

I usually do nothing on Sunday, at least nothing that involves leaving the premises, but today was different. My friends and neighbors, Klaus and Alex, who are originally from Germany, but currently live here, took me with them to one of their favorite places: the antiques market in Martina Franca.
In genere faccio quasi nulla di domenica, almeno nulla che richieda che mi allontani da casa, ma oggi e` stato diverso. I miei amici e vicini di casa, Klaus e Alex, che vengono dalla Germania ma che attualmente vivono qui, mi hanno portata in uno dei loro luoghi preferiti: il mercatino dell'antiquariato a Martina Franca. 

Klaus and Alex with a friend of theirs - Klaus e Alex con un loro amico.

Here I'm with another friend of theirs whom I had just met. Just so you don't think I hang out only with dogs, trees and trulli!
Qui sono con un altro loro amico che avevo appena conosciuto. Cosi` non pensate che frequento solo cani, alberi e trulli!

What's Buffalo Bill doing on the streets of Martina Franca? Please notice the little dog running alongside him.

Che ci fa Buffalo Bill sulle strade di Martina Franca? Vi prego di notare il cagnolino che gli corre accanto. 

Of course there had to be a cappuccino break. I think she looks like me.
Naturalmente non e` potuta mancare la pausa cappuccino. A me sembra che mi assomigli.

Our excursion ended with a tasty and long lunch at the Trattoria delle Ruote, on a country road on the outskirts of Martina Franca.
La passeggiata si e` conclusa con un gustoso e lungo pranzetto nella Trattoria delle Ruote, in una strada di campagna vicino a Martina Franca. 

A quick visit to Brindisi - Un veloce giro per Brindisi

A few photos of Brindisi, where I spent my last two years of Italian high school, taken a couple of mornings ago.
Qualche foto di Brindisi, dove ho frequentato gli ultimi due anni del liceo scientifico, scattate un paio di  giorni fa. 

My car was in the shop so we had to walk for about 30 minutes to get to the bus stop, trying not to slip and slide on patches of ice.
This is what it looked like around here that morning.
La mia macchina era dal meccanico, quindi abbiamo dovuto fare 30 minuti di strada a piedi per arrivare alla fermata dell'autobus, cercando di non scivolare sulle strade ghiacciate. Questo era il panorama intorno a casa quella mattina. 

Someone's having fun! - C''e` qualcuno che si diverte!

We spent the last few days planting fruit trees, repairing a 21 ft segment of collapsed dry wall (with expert help) and pulling previously cut ivy off of a large olive tree. I let the dogs run loose and they were all in heaven, but the one who had the biggest blast was the infamous Cirillo. The trouble-maker, the bully, the leader of the pack, the one who leads the others down the road to perdition.
Abbiamo trascorso i giorni passati a piantare alberi da frutta, a riparare circa 7 mt. di muretto a secco crollato (con l'aiuto di un esperto) e a tirare giu` da un grande ulivo dell'edera tagliata in precedenza. Ho lasciato liberi i cani ed erano tutti al settimo cielo, ma quello che piu` se l'e` spassata e` stato il famigerato Cirillo. Cirillo il provocatore, il bullo, il capo squadra, quello che porta gli altri sulla strada della perdizione. 

Cirillo digs, Coco the red-head and Argo the saint look on, while Luna gets behind him and leaps around trying to catch flying clods of dirt and rocks, which she then crunches down on.
Cirillo scava, Coco la rossa e Argo il santo osservano, mentre Luna si mette dietro Cirillo e salta qui e li` cercando di acchiappare al volo zolle di terra e pietre, che poi rosiccchia. 

It's not easy to get as filthy as he does, but Cirillo has his ways.
Non e` facile insozzarsi come fa lui, ma Cirillo ha i suoi metodi.

Every now and then a fight breaks out over ownership of the hole, but Argo does not participate, all this is beneath his dignity.  He usually prefers to remove himself from the chaos, looking down on it from a distance.
Ogni tanto scoppia qualche rissa per il possesso del buco, ma solo Argo non si abbassa a queste piccolezze, preferendo osservare a distanza. 

Sometimes a fig branch can be a handy headrest.
A volte un ramo di fico puo` tornare utile come poggiatesta. 

Oh yes, fruit trees were planted, retaining walls were repaired and an olive tree was cleaned up. I'm lucky to have guests who like to work!
Ah si`, quasi dimenticavo, sono stati piantati alberi da frutta, riparati muretti a secco e un ulivo tutto ripulito dall'edera. Sono fortunata di avere ospiti a cui piace lavorare!

That's all folks!

Alla prossima!

A Sunday walk in the neighborhood - Una passeggiata domenicale nella contrada

It was too glorious of a day not to go for a walk, so off we went, camera in hand.  Everywhere, silence and sun. This is a taste of what we saw.
Era una giornata troppo splendida per non fare una passeggiata, quindi, macchina fotografica in mano, ci siamo avviate. Ovunque, silenzio e sole. Ecco un assaggio di quello che abbiamo visto.