Fava Beans and Some Yummy Toast

Fava Beans ("fave" in italian) are abound at this time of year in Italy, or at least this part of Italy. They are at every market stand and every supermarket.

This was my first venture in working with fresh fava beans...

and the rumors are true: these guys are a true labor of love.

First, you peel back the pod to get the beans out, like for peas in a pod. But then you also have to peel the individual beans. If you were smart and decided to follow directions, you would blanch the beans before doing the second peeling to make it easier. I decided to waste the time fiddling with the outer skins while watching The Sopranos.

Turns out there's more than one reason for blanching the beans first. The quick boiling takes away a bit of the bitterness. The first time I cooked them, I just sauteed them and they were still a tad too bitter. Depending on the beans you buy and how long you keep them, they might always have a hint of bitterness, but blanching them quickly tempers it.

So this is how much I had after peeling one kilo of fava beans. I had to keep telling myself the price and time spent were totally worth it for the final product (spoiler: they were).

I decided to use them in pasta. Blanching them first and then cooking the pasta in the fava blanching water.

Then I sauteed the favas in oil, butter, salt, and pepper and added it to the drained pasta. Undercook the pasta slightly so that it can finish it's cooking in the fava bean sauce.

It was delicious!

Side note: I sincerely apologize for my picture-taking (or lack there of) abilities. I promise this food tastes good even though it doesn't look good. Now not only do I have no photo skills, but I eat off of paper plates in a very un-photogenic room.

Anyways, I made this toast after being inspired by this post on Smitten Kitchen.

I've always wanted to make a soft-boiled egg, and these directions were just simple enough. I boiled some water, dropped on egg in it for 6 minutes, and then pulled it out, pealed it, and smashed it over some toasted Pugliese bread. I topped the whole thing with a drizzle of olive oil, excellent aceto balsamico, grated Grana Padana cheese, salt, and pepper.

Heavenly!

-Meri

Farewell, Amanda

I know. I can't believe it either. Right now, Amanda is on her way back to the United States. Crazy.

But, in between the last post and this morning, we accomplished quite a bit! Here is a short summary.

We went to Parma.

It was a cute little town.

It had gelato. So we of course took advantage of that. You know, it's not like gelato is easy to find in Italy...

Cool clock tower.

It was also just absolutely beautiful out. Probably the best weather we had.

You can't really tell from this picture, but there is a sundial on this building.

And this is a horrible picture, but I was really excited to see Prosciutto di Parma hanging in all of the restaurants!

Tiny beer! I swear I'm not drunk in this photo.

Antipasto: prosciutto di Parma and parmigiano. Could life get any better?

(Answer: no.)

My pizza: prosciutto cotto, parmigiano, and an egg! I love eggs on my pizza and this was the first time I saw it available in Italy!

I bought a block of parmigiano because, well, I was in Parma. I had a whole conversation with the young man who worked at the store. Before I bought it, I asked if this parmigiano was good to eat plain or with bread, etc. Well. It was as if I had uttered the most blasphemous comment known to man.

Dude in store: "Con pane???" *insert utterly confused face*

I just stood there and nodded while my face turned bright red.

Then he said: "Oh, anch'io." ("Me too.")

Well, sir, if you're going to taunt me, at least don't admit to committing the same act yourself.

I'll give him a break though. He was very cute.

The next day was super rainy and our time in Reggio-Emilia was generally unsuccessful because we basically just sat in a cafe the whole time. Not that cafe sitting isn't awesome. It's just not great for photo-taking.

When we got back, we went to Cafe Concerto to dry off for a few hours.

Mmmmmmmm aperitivo.

Amanda got a Cosmopolitan.

I got a Long Island Iced Tea. It was absolutely disgusting.

Friday, we went to Florence!

Adorable pony.

Ponte Vecchio!

Cat on a leash. Our favorite part of Florence.

My favorite site in Florence--the church on a hill.

I don't have any pictures, but Ana showed us around later in the day. Thanks Ana!

Saturday we headed over to Bologna. The flowers behind Amanda were purple so I had to take a picture.

These are the tops of the tents of the massive flea market in Bologna. I got myself a 3-euro sweater.

When we got to the center of town, we saw this guy and his show. He was pretty great.

His dog was even better.

That is one talented chin.

This morning I met Amanda at the bus station to say a final goodbye.

I was sad to see Amanda go. I will see her in four months...

-Meri

Amanda's Here!

YAY!

Amanda's here and we've been running around for the past couple of days, but here's a quick run-down.

First, we started with a cappuccino at a cafe right by Amanda's hostel.

For dinner, we hit up Embassy for aperitivo. It's the best aperitivo I've ever had.

And Amanda experienced warmed gnocco fritto stuffed with prosciutto crudo for the first time. It was a happy moment.

Oh, and the giant shards of parmigiano that appear everywhere here. She was a happy gal.

The next day we discovered an awesome market in town. We bought a bunch of souvenirs for people, and then got some pizza as well.

For dinner, pasta! Amanda had gnocchi with four cheeses.

I had penne with tomatoes, mozzarella, balsamic, and shards of parmigiano.

Next, we went out for a drink. It took a good 5 minutes to get the bar tender to understand that Amanda wanted a grasshopper.

We finally got the message through.

Yesterday, we went to Verona!!!!!!!!

I had to take a picture of this sign. It reminded me of my mommy.

Obligatory picture of horse statue.

Trying to take a self-y with my iPhone.

Looking at the outside of the stadium.

Tower!

We climbed to the top! 368 steps.

Juliet's balcony.

Late lunch time! Classic Margherita Pizza.

Panino with prosciutto crudo, tabasco, and a olive spread.

Hot chocolate.

It started to rain, but we managed to see a couple more sights.

Our bangs are struggling in the precipitation.

I got lots of candy on the way to the train. These cookies are called kisses of Juliet and kisses of Romeo.

Quite delicious.

We are super attractive.

More to come!

-Meri