So I am supposed to be channeling my creative artistic spirit into a prose for writing class.....but this blog seems a much better use of my chi.
Yesterday I discovered the Centralie Markete/central market. This was like the best farmers market/fresh cheese/meat/homemade pasta/bakery all combined under one roof. Best of all the food is all fresh and so cheap! I got some lettuce, a cucumber (I thought it was a zucchini), four potatoes, and two onions for one euro and twenty cents! Of course since I still can only speak six words of Italian I just handed the guy a five and was shocked at how much change he gave me back! The only downside of this market is that since every thing is fresh and fridges here are pretty shotty, you can't buy too much at once. Also no one speaks any English! So I either point to what I want and smile or just hand them money and show numbers on my fingers.
A few food observations-
1. Bread here is not salted! So it pretty much just tastes like carbs, you have to put olive oil on it or something salty (hence the popularity of prosciutto).
2.They don't sell anything that is not in season, so no fruit or veggies unless they are readily available.
3.Berries aren't big here, maybe due to the season thing, but they only come in really small packages and are really expensive.
4.Zucchini is tiny! About the size of my thumb, and so far I have only seen yellow peppers
5. Packaged meat at the super market is so expensive! It is cheaper at the butcher shops/central market but I am not yet confident enough that I am ordering the right cut of meat, how much of it, and even what kind of meat it is!
Right around the corner from my apartment is a wine store and small grocery store. Yesterday I frequented these places and made new friends! The wine store man is a very distinguished Italian man who asks me how much I want to pay, then gives me a nice bottle for that much. I think if I go here frequently enough we can really become buddies.
The grocery store, which doesn't have much, nothing refrigerated but some good veggie basics, I went to twice yesterday. The men remembered me and we had a half in Italian, half in English conversation about mi casa, where it was, and that I was cooking, he seemed very impressed an American girl was cooking. He tried to teach me so Italian, I taught him some English, and he gave me a free garlic clove. Now that is good international relations.
You know what makes me laugh.... when you tell the wine guy how much you want to spend, he probably gives you a 4 euro bottle of wine when you tell him you want to spend 8. Then he chuckles and is happy to see you when you return. You are most likely getting the Italian version of Two Buck Chuck. Two Euro Edwardo. Congratulations on making Italian friends of the shopkeepers. You are a great American ambassador!!
ReplyDeleteLauren-
ReplyDeleteYou are doing great--already taking on the vendors in the markets--impressive!
You probably know more about the metric system than I do but here's some helpful info:
When ordering by weight, for example meat or cheese, it is weighed, of course, in grams. In Italy, you order by the "etto" (eight-o), which is 100 grams or about 1/4 pound. So, if you want a half pound of meat, order "due etti" (plural)or "un etto" for a quarter pound and point to what you want if you don't know the Italian word. A kilogram of something is about 2 pounds, so if you want to order approximately 1 pound, ask for "un mezzo kilo" (a half).
As far as finding the "real" Florentines, you need to go Oltrarno--that is, across the Arno, into the medieval quarter. That is the non-tourist area and where the locals live. There are very inexpensive restaurants the further away from the river you go on that side.
Keep on exploring and working on your Italian--you will have a great time. People in Firenze are kind and like Americans, I find.
Steve Lo Re
OK SARAH--
ReplyDeleteJust ignore the fact that I had a senior moment and left a comment for your sister! I am suffering from "first child" syndrome....
Whoo! I liked this post! europe has the best markets ever! And I don't think they eat berries in europe. ok, they do have strawberries. sounds like things are going well for you and that you are really into the food! haha
ReplyDeleteOf course the food was the first thing I figured out! And Steve thank you so much for all that info! That is way more helpful than anything I have learned in actualy Italian class so far. I think I have found my favorite Gellato...i mean it is only the first week, but this one is in the top spot so far
ReplyDelete