Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts

Sunday, September 19, 2010

A Tale of Two Cheeses...How Yoga Enables Me

I've been a yoga guide (teacher) here in Italy for the past three years. Jokingly in the class I tell all of the students I only practice yoga so I can eat more Italian food. This past month, we've been working on a sequence I call "Twist and Flow." A detoxifying vinyasa sequence, which I tell the class not only brings fresh blood and oxygen to our internal organs...but it also whittles away inches from our mid-section thus allowing us to eat more Mozzarella di Bufala. Three weeks ago a couple of my Italian students pulled me aside and began to rave about a cheese they claim is MUCH BETTER than my beloved Bufala.(Above) It's called Burrata. The expression on their face while describing this Italian delight from the Puglia region of Italy, was one of overwhelming delight. My class ends at 6:30pm and I was already hungry before they started talking of this creamy cheese from the heavens. They kept repeating..."It's just like Bufala, but better!" As the name would suggest, this cheese is made with butter. Well...I like Bufala...and I like butter...so this immediately became a "must find, must have" Italian food. I asked several of my Italian friends. They'd never seen the cheese in the Vento. Well...I found it! At the Camisano market, where I have been buying my cheese for the past three years. There it sat right next to the Bufula. The price was much higher than my beloved milk of buffalo cheese. As I stood in line, my mouth began to water. Were the two ladies in my class right...could there be a cheese that is better than what I have been coveting for the past three years?
When I cut into the Burrato, I could easily see the difference between the two cheeses. Burrato has a more pronounced crust than Bufula does. Also, you can quickly tell this cheese uses "butter." It almost looks as if someone stuffed bufula with even more delicious cheese. While cutting this wonderful piece of cheese, I noticed it was "sticky." What I mean is, it stuck to my fingers. Quickly, I began to smell the butter. I was ready to get this stuff in my belly and quick! I prepared a couple of plates, each with both Burrata and Bufula on them. I dressed them like I always do and then of course poured some wine. The Burrata lived up to it's "butter" taste. Although it was very creamy, it had a ton of texture too. It looked fantastic, smelled fantastic....BUT, I'm not converted. Not by a long shot! Don't get me wrong, the Burrata was very good, but no where close to as good as Bufula. I might have to put some of this cheese on a pizza to see how it tastes there. Here is a pic of my lunch.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Traditional Ethiopian Eats






This is what a typical Ethiopian dinner looks like. There are several types of spicy meats, or wat served on injera, a spongy bread. The bread also serves as your fork. In the middle of this meat lovers dish, there was also some spicy bean dish.





As you can see, I wasted little time before going all in. The food was perfectly seasoned and as you can tell by the video, the restaurant had incredible atmosphere. Combine those with some good beer (blog coming) and good company...and well....TIA!
(This Is Africa)

(Randy, Guy, and Randy diggin' in too!)

Saturday, September 6, 2008

The ALL New "Two Great Tastes...That Taste Great Together!"

You may or may not know my son only eats a limited diet. Shelly and I have joked about buying him a shirt with "I Love Carbs!" on it. Two of Ollie's favorite foods are French Fries, (who doesn't love them?) and Pizza. We had our fair share of fries in Germany. I'm a firm believer Germans make the best fries in the world. Now of course we live in Italy...where many would argue you can find the best pizzas in the world. Imagine the joy in my foodie heart when I discovered the unthinkable. Imagine the silent thought proccess of the possibility of this unthinkable possibility in Ollie's mind. By now I think you might be thinking what Ollie and I were thinking...Is there a new "TWO GREAT TASTES THAT TASTE GREAT TOGETHER?"


OH YES! IT IS TRUE! WE HAVE FOUND THE FOODIE MECCA...at least Ollie's.

Notice how Ollie's amazement changes to uncertainty as he slowly maneuvers the first piece of what could do for his food enjoyment, what Einstein did for science. CHANGE THE WORLD! It wasn't long before he discovered the truth. FRENCH FRY PIZZA IS "THE NEW TWO GREAT TASTES THAT TASTE GREAT TOGETHER!"

Maddy soon followed in this discovery. And while I can't prove this, (becuase the pictures were deleted by the very adults eating this pizza; which Ollie and I believe might also create world peace) many adults at the table either enjoyed this awesome pizza...or at least smelled it's heavenly aroma.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Coming Soon!

As soon as I get to Italy.