To be cool or not to be cool, that is the question... Or the chicken and the egg?

Once in a while you have a day that is unlike any other. It's the kind of day when you realise just how fortunate you are. Today was such a day. We had a class about food technology, which was mostly about food preservation methods and extending shelf life. Not exactly the most exciting subject, but it is like building a house. You may put up a wall and be quite contented about your day's work, however, without a proper foundation the house may not be built to last. In other words; it's basic knowledge we need to have in order form an informed opinion about the food industry.

If it wasn't for my dear and respected colleagues this may have turned out to be a rather dull kind of day. Nevertheless, the University of Gastronomic Sciences brings together people from all sorts of backgrounds and professions, which is truly amazing when it comes to cross pollination of knowledge and view points! Putting these kinds of people together means that the sometimes dry material we are learning is turned into exciting real life situations through all sorts of discussions!

Example? To refrigerate eggs or not. Ok, so maybe you never thought about it, but apparently this is different the world over! Our class is made up of various nationalities, enabling us to do an in class survey immediately. In American supermarkets eggs are in the chilled section and American consumers usually keep their eggs in the fridge. Here in Europe few people put eggs in the fridge. Even in tropical Latin American countries not everyone refrigerates eggs. But what is the reasoning behind all this? Is it purely a cultural issue or is there a scientific explanation? I mean, seriously, I won't be able to sleep tonight without figuring out this dilemma! Luckily our professor is able to provide us with some essential information.

Aha! So you want to know the answer now too, do you? I told you this is intriguing stuff! Ok then, here goes! Eggs do not need to be refrigerated and there is no health risk to storing them outside of the fridge (sorry FDA!). However, it does make them last longer if they are refrigerated. On the other hand, as I'm convinced that science can only overruled by one woman, let's see what my grandmother's opinion is on the matter. She always use to say that only the freshest eggs would do for her cooking. Anything else ran the risk of ruining the result and with the number of hours she would spend in the kitchen, that simply wasn't worth the try. It's not just about how much love you put in a dish, it's also about how much love you put in your grocery shopping.

So, thanks to my class mates and my old grannie, I am able to sleep tonight. I'm already looking forward to breakfast tomorrow. Unrefrigerated, poached eggs on toast! With an espresso of course!

Real chicken soup (no, that's not Campbell's!)

Chicken soup the way we do it in the old country.
Nothing goes to waste. In fact, are you crazy? Throwing the stuff
away that adds the most flavour?! Don't be scared of that chicken
head and feet: it's all part of it, as is chicken breast fillet.

First we enjoy the stock with beautiful handmade pasta

And some more...

Then the Italians teach us foreigners a little trick:
add a splash of red wine to the broth

What can I say? Italians looove chicks!

To eat not too much, not too little, but just enough

I'm in Italy: the land of the good, the tasty and the plenty. If I was an actress who had to put on a lot of weight within a very short period of time I would definitely come here. There's not one moment in the day that one cannot eat in this country. Where ever you go, whatever you do, there is always food involved. And you know what? I love it! I've been here for just one month and my obsession with food has increased to the point that there are few moments in the day that I don't think about food. It's like a mad, all consuming love affair. 


But like passionate love, there comes a moment when you snap out of the warm, fuzzy day dream that has been dominating your life lately. I mean, you love being around the object of your affection, but really, you need a moment for yourself. Call it a breather. Before you overdose, you must lay off the excess and administer the right medicine in the appropriate dosage. But how do you go about it? Do you do it the tough way and go cold turkey? Or do you try to manage the situation by tempering your obsession?

I have to say it is kind of a luxury problem. Never in history did we have so much food so readily available as we do now. And what do we really need to do for it? It's not exactly like we are ploughing the land for twelve hours to then go home and take care of our six children. When my grandparents were young they had meat once a week and they would go out of their minds when it was someone's birthday and they could have cake. Only my great grand father was allowed to have a breakfast of several eggs, strong coffee and a shot of eau de vie. But this man was built like a giant with hands the size of shovels. It kinda makes sense when you think about it. 

I don't eat meat every day either. However, the reason for that is not that I can't afford it. In between such luxuries as holidays, seasonal clothes shopping and expensive tuition fees I am still able to find sufficient financial resources to eat well. I choose to eat animal protein in limited quantities because I believe it's healthier for a human being like myself to eat mostly vegetables, legumes and fruit. In Italy I'm in the right place as there is loads of fresh produce and the peasant kitchen is all about making do with what you have and that definitely isn't steak every night! 

So what is a girl to do when she's invited to a dinner with almost exclusively Italians? It's nothing special really, just four courses with the very best ingredients and lots of love added to it. The only thing is that the second course is served twice, for who's interested, which means everybody. Don't get me wrong, I love a good pasta, but after one plate I've had more than enough and I'm already struggling with the main (which is also a considerably large portion). And here you can't cheat with salad either, as it is served as a separate course. Even gelato doesn't come in size small, so I generally eat half and hope that my grandmother will forgive me for throwing away food. What would my grandmother do in my place? A trip down memory lane teaches me that she was one of the worst perpetrators of force feeding in my childhood. Food is a gift and must be cherished!!! 

Right... I wish she was here so I could show her the excess of food that's available these days. It wouldn't matter anyway. She lived through the war, she knew what it's like to go hungry and she was a trooper. You can't explain gluttony to a veteran like her. Just to get things straight, I'm not into diets or weight loss. A real woman eats and has curves. Full stop. What I'm philosophising about is whether we actually NEED to EAT so much. Which leaves me with one option really. Defend myself at the table for the remainder of my stay in Italy. Because I'm just going to do it my way. I will eat, oh yes Siree!!! Just not too much, not too little, but enough.