Backatcha

Ah, the joys of jetlag!
Please be patient with me - I am still trying to get sorted here.
Rest assured my dears, we made it back and I will post soon.

p.s. The Nightmare, 1781, Henry Fuseli - Beautiful, no?

Be not afraid.

Just quickly...
Thanks for all of the emails.
We are not flying through London or the States. We will probably encounter some delays but are well prepared.
If we don't travel - they've won.
Don't worry. I'll be home soon.
xo
do

Keep on keepin' on.

Yes, it's time for the (almost) quarterly pilgrimage to the Motherland. As of this Friday, I will be either closer to you, or farther away.
Miss me yet?

The Mighty Comma.

This is for everyone who ever told me that I shouldn't obsess over my punctuation at work.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060806.wr-rogers07/BNStory/Business/home

My brain, more busy than the labouring spider...

The other day a spider bit me. I never saw the little culprit but it certainly left a mark on my right forefinger. After a few hours it began to swell and turn red.
Curses! I haven’t reached the chapter in my Italian book that deals with doctors and health! So off I went to the pharmacy, tried to explain and failed miserably. I was forced to ask if anyone spoke English or German. One girl’s English was good and she started dragging out books with photos of spiders. The spiders in these photos looked like the cousins of my friend Brad’s window guest in Vancouver (pictured above ~shudder~). Anyhoo, when I told her I didn’t see the thing, pleasant pharmacy girl looked at my finger, then turned and started speaking to her colleagues in fast, unintelligible and what sounded to me like panicked Italian. Since I don’t know what she said I only imagine that they were calling the ambulance, the poison control centre, my mother and I’m pretty sure she mentioned the priest twice.

She marked the edges of the itchy area, which had now spread to my hand and had me sit down for a few minutes to see if the red area grew. Then she applied a patch thing and had me sit in the corner of the shop. What a great opportunity to people watch! You have to ask for almost every item you need, as the only things on the counter in this Italian Farmacia were cellulite creams and candy. ~I thought that was a pretty funny combo.~ It’s the same absolutely no-self-service system in Germany, as why would you pick out drugs for yourself when you never went to school to study them? It’s a totally different health care mentality and takes some getting used to. I’m a rebel and bring everything I think I would ever need from Canada and restock regularly. You have to ask even for aspirin here and if you don’t speak the language, it’s difficult. My friend Suz says pointing to the affected area and grimacing helps. Abject fear of losing my hand aside, I found the whole experience to be pleasantly organized. - Everyone keeps a good idea of who is where in the line to be served and then when it is your turn, the pharmacist greets you, at least in this area, by politely saying "mi dica, signora." (Tell me, Madame) and then you’re up. There was no privacy as the store is small and crowded and I had to speak pretty loudly to be heard over the din. If they didn’t already know me from my previous tortured attempts at Italian at the bakery and butcher’s, they knew me now. It’s a small town.

I ended up getting some cortisone cream for the itch and advice to go to the doctor if the swelling did not decrease. After a little research on the net, and some advice from my Ma, a bread poultice and some Tiger Balm has brought my finger almost down to its normal size. I didn’t even have to break into my extensive store of Canadian import aspirins.

Really, Basil...

By semi-popular demand, a recipe for

Pesto
-One cup Pine Nuts
-clove of Garlic, peeled and chopped
-Sea Salt and fresh ground Black Pepper
-2 overflowing cups of fresh Basil leaves
-One cup of Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated
-extra virgin Olive Oil

Warm the pine nuts a little in a pan to bring out the flavour. If you would like to toast them go ahead and brown them a little but this will change the flavour of your pesto. I have heard both never to do this and to always do this – I have tried both ways and I think it depends on your basil. If it is young and fresh I don’t toast the nuts but only warm them a little; if it is an older basil plant with a more developed flavour or has flowered, then I definitely toast the nuts lightly.

~Don’t forget! You eat first with your eyes!
Remember to put aside a few pine nuts, a little parmesan and some basil leaves to pretty up your dish later.~

Prepare your basil leaves by letting them sit in cold water for a little while before use.
Shake dry and chop lightly.

If you have a mortar and pestle drag it out! A food processor works well too. Crush one clove of garlic, a tiny little bit of sea salt and the basil together until it is a beautiful green mush. Crush the nuts separately and then add to the basil mix. Now smell this – it really is incredible. Add about ¾ of the parmesan cheese a little at a time and stir gently. Add some oil to get whatever consistency you desire, add more cheese if you like, and then season with the salt and pepper to your taste.

If you are using the pesto with pasta – prime the pasta with a little bit of butter and then add a touch of hot water when mixing. If you are making your pesto to serve with risotto, warm the pesto slightly in the microwave or a butter pan before serving.

Pesto can be stored in the fridge for a few days and I’ve heard can be kept in the freezer for about three months. I grow my basil on the balcony. For those of you who remember my history as a plant murderess and are mute and shocked at this fact, look upon the photo above and marvel at my reformed ways!