Celebrating the 4th of July in Italy

Well Happy Belated 4th of July everyone!!

I meant to post this last night, but sadly in the middle of writing I fell asleep! Actually, I hadn't even started writing, I only successfully opened the page.  I guess that just means I'm exhausted from work and the heat... or quite possibly that I should sleep more!

But I hope everyone had a great day yesterday and that the fireworks didn't get too delayed thanks to the rain I heard about.

Here in Rome, it was beautifully sunny and quite hot all day, but it definitely didn't quite feel like a holiday because I left for work at 7:45 am and then stuck around until 5:30 doing various planning and projects for next week.  And there were definitely no real fireworks for me! :(

Homemade Strawberry Jam Tart

That being said I had a wonderful day because although I started early, I got to work with four great
kids (2 Americans and 2 Italians) for a 4th of July themed English lesson (the 2 Americans were my assistents). We had fun talking about the 4th and playing games. And one of the girls brought in a homemade strawberry tart that she had helped her mother make!
But the most fun for me was all the crafting.  We made Statue of Liberty Crowns and FIREWORKS!! That's right, but don't worry, they weren't the exploding kind.

My firework! I wish I had photographed the kids' projects!
Theirs were amazing!

Although, we also went outside and exploded coca cola and mentos!  They had a lot of fun and so did I!

My beautiful 4th of July grilled dinner

Then after work I took a trip to the super market and got the workings of a non-traditional Italianized
4th of July meal.  When I think 4th of July, I think of hot dogs and hamburgers, pasta salad, potato salad and corn on the cob.  So I made a regular salad, a couple of mini hotdogs (I have no idea why they're so small but they taste like real hot dogs), and veal hamburgers with Asiago cheese.  I originally wanted to make turkey burgers or regular burgers, but I didn't find either at my grocery store, instead I found ground veal and thought it would be a fun

I even found sesame seed buns

experiment.
Let me tell you, it was a delicious experiment that worked out quite well!! I think I'll definitely be making veal burgers again so I'll have a separate post up with the recipe soon.  I made them quite simply and found sesame seed buns in the store as well.  I took out my indoor grill pan and grilled up my burgers and hot dogs and served it up beautifully with ketchup, mustard and mayo on the side.  And I had half a beer, delicious for only 87cents.  I wanted to drink the whole beer but I fell asleep before I could. It was definitely a long day!!
And then I had a plate of cold cherries and peaches all while watching Doctor Who in Italian and then in English (on my computer).  All in all, it was a good 4th of July!

Such gorgeous color

Restaurant Review Rome: Gelati & Mozzarella

I hadn’t had gelato in a while mostly because I’m too busy running around for work. I have had a sundae from McDonald but that certainly doesn’t count as gelato. And yes, I know, terrible. I’m in the land of gelato and really amazing food and I got a McDonald’s Sundae on my way home from work . My only excuse is that it was really late and I hadn’t had dinner yet. I needed something to get through the 20 minute walk home and nothing else cheap and easy was available. It was a fail but necessary. 

So the other day, while on a relaxing vacation walk, I finally had a chance to try the gelateria that my

housemate Adele has been raving about for months. I was a little dubious because it’s called Gelati & Mozzarella.  What does mozzarella have to do with ice cream? Nothing, right?

Well, I finally got there and I understand now.  There is a type of mozzarella in Italy (in the states too, but not as well known) called mozzarella di bufala and it’s made with the milk of the domestic water buffalo. It is traditional in the south of italy and is incredibly rich and creamy. It's considered one of, if not the best kind of mozzarella around.

 So this ice cream shop makes gelato using buffalo milk, hence the name.

They had a lot of incredible looking flavors, most of which were made with buffalo. I tried the stracciatella (cookies and cream) made with buffalo, cuore di cioccolato (heart of chocolate aka more dark chocolate than any normal person can handle) and the pera e cioccolato (pear and chocolate). Delicious, Delicious, Delicious!

The ice cream was incredibly creamy and rich, just how I like it. I got the €3 cup and it was just the right amount for me but if you can’t handle a lot of richness a €2 cup should be enough for you. The texture of the gelato was smooth and wonderful. 

I really enjoyed the cuore di cioccolato because it’s the darkest, deepest dark chocolate I think I’ve ever seen (they even have a regular dark chocolate flavor). It’s rich and smooth but for me, it wasn’t overwhelming. It was like hot fudge in ice cream form.  The stracciatella was also quite good.  I tried it to see about the bufala and it was great. It was just as creamy as I could have hoped.  But I have to say that my absolute favorite was the pera and cioccolato. It was light and creamy but not too sweet.  It was mostly pear flavored gelato with a hint of chocolate. It was divine and paired really well with the other flavors too.

There’s a small bar near the window to eat your ice cream or your pastries (they also do amazing pastries) but I chose to walk and eat since it was crowded when I was there. It really is adorable inside and their pastries and sweets look quite delicious. I really wanted to try a bit of everything, but I’ll have to save it for another time.  

Visiting Florence

It’s amazing.

When I go to Florence it’s as if nothing ever changes and then of course you take a closer look and realize that lots of things have changed, but it’s all background change. Nothing important has changed. The people are the same. The atmosphere is the same. Florence is always the same gorgeous city full of the same amazing sites.

I took this picture on Sunday, hence why it's not lit up

I got to Florence on Saturday and took a long lazy walking tour through center. There are some new restaurants, cafes, and gelaterias but the most important ones, the best still remain exactly where they have always been. They have stayed the same.

For example, for dinner we went to Trattoria Anita, what was a fixture in my life when I lived in Florence. It’s still the same and still incredible. It is so incredible that it deserves its own blog posting (which should be up soon)

Then there’s Old Stove Signoria.  My fixture. My home away from home in Florence. It’s an ordinary bar in Piazza Signoria and I practically lived there for the last two years of my stay in

Old Stove Signoria... A quiet moment

bella Firenze. I made friends with the hilarious bartenders and with their friends too.  It’s not the best food, but the atmosphere is incredible and the staff are friendly and awesome, especially the night staff.  There have been a few changes over the years, but it’s still an amazing place.  I don’t love the new kitchen but I still love the music, radio and live. Plus on Tuesday and Saturday nights they still do karaoke too. The karaoke is hilarious and fun and I love going and singing with my Italian girls who just egg me on and have me try random, difficult songs for the hell of it. 

That was my Saturday in Florence. Amazing dinner with my friend Lindsay and then karaoke at Old Stove after a cider at the other  Old Stove near the Porcellino.  It was a great night with awesome people and general hilarity and went on till the early hours of the morning. 

Now just a general warning, if you are a single, attractive single (well, okay, you don’t have to be single) female, you will get hit on at Old Stove Signoria. It is inevitable. The bartenders are hilarious and will hit on attractive females but it is part of their amazing Italian charm.  Just don’t let yourself get too charmed. ;)

The view from the bench in front of Old Stove

Then on Sunday after a nice long sleep, Lindsay made me an awesome homemade breakfast and then I went for a walk around the city. I met up with one of my favorite Italians, Alessio . We had a brief catch up session at Old Stove over a cider. (I know, I go to Old Stove a lot when I’m in Florence but in the day it’s very  relaxing and chill.) It’s been about 2 years since I’ve been able to sit down with him so I was super excited.

After my gab session I ran around the city confirming that nothing has changed terribly drastically.  I went to Via dei Neri and got a gelato from one of my favorites, Gelateria dei Neri (my review here). It’s still one of the best in the city. I get it way too often when I’m in the city but I love it wayyy too much.

I took a nice, long walk up to Piazzale Michelangelo and took lots of gorgeous pictures of the beautiful

One of the views walking down from Piazzale Michelangelo

sun and landscapes. It was refreshing and amazingly relaxing before my early evening with Lindsay and her most adorable son at a Carnevale party where we munched and danced to the Macarena. 

Then after a long day I wandered back to Old Stove for a cider and a chicken burger. Really I wandered over to say goodbye to everyone, but I was hungry so I decided to get a snack before training it back to Rome. The chicken burger was pretty good but I covered it in mayo, ketchup and Tabasco (I always ask for Tabasco because I love spicy wayyy too much not to do it). Then while I ate I took some time to write in the crowd like old times.  Some things never change. Somehow or other I can sit in a crowded pub and still focus on writing. It’s one of the few times I don’t get easily distracted.

Overall, I’d say it was an awesome weekend filled with good food, old friends, and cold cider. I’m definitely glad I got away from Rome for the weekend. Goodness knows I’ll be back to Florence again quite soon. 

Restaurant Review Florence: Gelateria dei Neri

In Florence, I have a few favorite gelato places and among the top is Gelateria dei Neri.  It's one of my favorite, if not my all time favorite gelato place in Florence.  I've been going there since 2006 when I first studied abroad. We would go once a week (at least) since it is right next to Santa Croce, where the Sarah Florence Program is.
It's conveniently located directly between Santa Croce and Piazza Signoria, meaning it's also quite close to the Ponte Vecchio. For anyone who's not been to Florence, super, super central and easy to walk to.
Now, every time I'm in the city I take a stroll down Via dei Neri and grab myself a €2.50 cup of gelato.  I always get a cup because I find that cones can get really messy and I'm notorious for spilling without extra incentive.  Cups all the way!
I love Gelateria dei Neri because they have so many flavors to choose from, especially in the summer. They have all of the traditional flavors like chocolate (cioccolato), strawberry (fragola), vanilla (crema), and cookies & cream (stracciatella) but they have a lot of other unique and awesome flavors.
They have a ton of fruit flavors and so many chocolate options that I could die of happiness.

I love, absolutely love their dark chocolate (cioccolato amaro).  It is rich and dark and creamily potent. If you love dark chocolate in general then this is definitely the flavor for you.
Their mint flavor is tasty as is the mango.  One of my other favorites is the crostata e fragolino di bosco which is a cream gelato swirled with strawberry jam and chunks of strawberry crostata (a type of fruit crumble/pie). It's absolutely delicious and unique to Gelateria dei Neri.
In summer time the options are even more plentiful.  I've been there a lot and still haven't tried each flavor although this is partially because I am a creature of habit.  There are a couple of flavors that I am stuck on, like the dark chocolate and the fragolino di bosco.  Even this last weekend I got dark chocolate, fragolino di bosco and the frutti di bosco (fruit of the wood, aka mixed berry).  I was not

dissappointed.  In fact, I was quite pleased with my choice.  The fruit and cream really helped to balance the thickness and density of the dark chocolate.
If you ever find yourself in Florence I highly recommend you try some gelato at Gelateria dei Neri.
It's easy to get to with lots of great choices.  And if you're in Florence during winter, they even have crepes and other kinds of desserts just in case it's too cold for ice cream!

Baking Exploits in Italy...

If you know me, or have read through some of the posts from last year then you know that I really like baking. I enjoy making desserts, even though I'm not a particularly precise person. I use recipes and then completely change things as I go even when baking.  It's supposed to be the science of cooking, and is, but I still like to tweak and play.
That being said, I haven't baked in ages.
I tried baking cupcakes back in December but sadly they didn't come out as well as they could have.  I had a couple of problems to contend with. The main issue was ingredients. Since Italians aren't big cake bakers (they're great with desserts and pastries but don't make fluffy cakes and cupcakes like we make in the States) I had a hard time finding the right kind of baking powder and baking soda. Vanilla comes in powder form, unless you go to specialty shops. Brown sugar here is not brown sugar but cane sugar, so it is darker in color but not finely ground. It doesn't pack well and therefore changes the texture of any cake or cookie that calls for it.
Ingredients were a slight problem, and so was measuring. I didn't own a measuring cup here because a measuring cup here doesn't measure cups but milliliters.  I didn't feel like taking the effort to convert my recipes into Italy appropriate measurements  so I just used a drinking glass to measure... Yes, so this doesn't really work.
Anyone with half a brain, probably wouldn't have tried to make it work but I'm a little insistent on doing things my way.
My chocolate chip cupcakes were edible but they weren't quite right either. They didn't rise the right way and certainly didn't get fluffy like I wanted.  No one complained, so I suppose they were good, but I wasn't happy with them.
I wanted to try again, but then th eoven broke.  Ok, not quite the oven, just the dial.
That being said, it took over a month for it to get fixed. I live in Italy after all.
So I had bought new pans, measuring cups and spoons and I couldn't bake until last night!
I finally got to bake something successfully last night.
My student gave me lemons from her garden so I decided to use them to make lemon squares for the

first time ever.  I looked up a bunch of recipes before getting the oven fixed which was quite comical. I looked up No Bake Lemon Cake and No Bake Lemon Bars and for some reason Yummly (a recipe search engine) linked me to a bunch of recipes that definitely required baking.
I was a little confounded but in the end it was fine, because I found 2 recipes that seemed great for when I got my oven back. Luckily, we got a new dial Wednesday morning so yesterday evening after work it was time to try some baking.
I'm going to have to post the recipe later on because my lemon squares came out wonderfully. Sweet, moist and gooey.
I made 2 batches and I was ridiculously pleased with both!

my beautiful lemon squares

The Italian Coffee Bar

an espresso just for me

OK, I never liked coffee.  

Actually, I down right detested it until I moved back to Italy in 2009/2010 and even then I really only drank it about once a month for the caffeine. I was on a masters program and super active.  I needed the pick me up.  

I started to appreciate the strength and depth of flavor very slowly. I'm not sure when I started ordering espresso and cappuccino less for the caffeine and more for the taste, but I now drink coffee (ok, not as much American coffee but Italian coffee) with pleasure.  

But more than the espresso itself, more than the macchiato or cappuccino, I find that in Italy I love the entire process of getting a coffee.  

In the United States we have Starbucks and quick places where you run in and run out.  You have quick drip coffees, to go cups and people impatiently tapping their toes on line.  Italy is not like that.  

a macchiato and Italian doughnut like thing

Italian coffee bars are an entirely different experience.  Expect slow movement and expect to enjoy it.  

When you walk into an Italian coffee bar there is the promise of time to enjoy your coffee.  There is no need for a to go cup, in fact most often they've not even heard of them.  There is no need to run, to rush.  You can stand at the bar and socialize or you can sit at a table and sip your espresso.  Grab a cornetto or some other wonderful pastry, because your servers making the coffee will not make it any faster.  You can make idle conversation with friends or if by yourself it is completely acceptable to talk to random strangers at the bar.  

It is normal to discuss the weather, or about soccer, or politics (although I would avoid the politic talk simply because Italian politics are fairly incomprehensible and usually result in loud discussions about the idiot known as Berlusconi).  It's okay to ask the person next to you how their day is going. Eavesdropping is a normal sport and you're entitled to an opinion.  It's okay to pry (and kind of fun too).  

A coffee bar is a great place to flirt or simply people watch.  

Either circumstance is acceptable. 

What I love is that no one rushes you. No one expects you to vacate your space quickly. No one expects you to down your espresso in one scalding hot gulp.  

An espresso, for as small as it is, is expected to be sipped and enjoyed. You can take pleasure in consumption. 

In the USA it always feels like there's a giant dragon at your back, breathing down your shoulders encouraging, no prodding you into moving faster.  Get away from the counter, drink as you move. Drink your coffee as you drive, as you work.  It's not about the flavor but about the energy you receive from the caffeine dose.  

In Italy, it's the flavor not the caffeine that must be savored. It's the richness of the bold, dark coffee and the creaminess of the rich, steamed foam.  It's the perfect blend of bitter espresso with the sweetness of sugar. And more than that, it's the atmosphere of camaraderie. Anyone can speak to anyone else.  You can take a moment to breathe and savor your day.  

a cappuccino and sweet treat in Testaccio

Foreign Food and Roman Specialties

Normally when I'm in Italy I don't eat much food that isn't Italian. I go out with my girls and we have Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Mexican food in the days before I leave so I can minimize the cravings once I'm here.  In the US, on a regular basis I eat foods from around the world. One of the nice things about NJ is that I've grown up with such a fantastic exposure to foods from different cultures.
I love food and I love trying all sorts of flavor combinations.
When in Italy, however, I generally stick to Italian food. There are a couple of distinct reasons for this. The first reason is simple. There are a majority of Italian restaurants. The kind of variety that exists in the North East specifically NYC and my area of North Bergen, does not exist around the globe. I hazard that it doesn't exist all over the United States either. Certain areas have a larger influx of immigrants and therefore have a larger availability of different cultural cuisine. Italy is no different in that sense.  Certain cities in Italy do have more availability of different types of food. For example Rome and even Florence have more Chinese, Japanese and Mexican available than in other parts of the country. They have larger populations of immigrants and tourists passing through and therefore have more availability of different foods. Rome is surprisingly filled with a lot of options for foreign food. That being said, there is still a majority of Italian restaurants even here.  Italians, I have found, tend to eat more Italian food. It is a deep part of their culture, unlike when you talk about food in the USA, which has less tradition and therefore more variety.  
Another reason that I don't often eat foreign foods while in Italy is because what does exist here does not taste like what we find in the US. It has been Italianized, just as most food in the states has been Americanized.  Because I grew up in New Jersey I like most of the Americanized versions better. Also, because many of my friends are of different nationalities I was fortunate enough to be able to try homemade Korean, Chinese, Japanese and various other cuisines.  Homemade is very different than what you find in any restaurant.
The other reason that I don't often eat foreign food in Italy is simply because I love trying new kinds of Italian food. there are countless regional specialties that we as Americans have never tried. We don't even know that they exist.
Most of the Italian food in the states has been Americanized and also comes from certain southern regions. We know some specific dishes from Naples, Sicily and Rome, but they are versions of those original dishes.  However, those are only 3 of 20 regions. each region has it's own speciaties and the majority have not made it stateside.
For example, Lazio, the region where Rome is located, has a ton of specialties that I didn't even know existed. All I had heard about was Spaghetti alla Carbona.  Who could forget the creamy egg based sauce rich with bacon? In Rome, they don't use bacon (bacon as we know it does not quite exist in Italy) but pancetta (pig's belly) or guanciale (pig's cheek).  Both are similar to bacon but are perhaps a little leaner.  However, there are lots of plates we rarely, if ever, see in the states

• Spaghetti al "Cacio e Pepe" - one of the most simple yet delicious dishes made with Pecorino "cacio", pepper and either olive oil or lard
• Bucatini alla Matriciana - this spaghetti like pasta has a hole through the middle and is served with a red sauce made with lard, bacon, onions, tomatoes, wine and Pecorino cheese 
• Tonnarelli alla Gricia - tonnarelli are a thicker kind of spaghetti and really compliment the hardiness of some of the Italian sauces, alla gricia is like the matriciana except it has no tomato base 
• Gnocchi alla Romana - these gnocchi are much larger than what we are used to in the states and are baked with butter, cheese and nutmeg
• Carciofi alla Giudia - fried artichokes, soft and tender on the inside and crispy on the outside, you can eat the entire thing and you should!!
• Carciofi alla Romana - baked with mint and garlic
• Suppli - are fried and breaded balls of rice in Bolognese sauce filled with mozzarella cheese (they have a Sicilian counterpart called arancini)
• Fiori di Zucca - deep fried Zucchini flower filled with mozzarella and anchovies, they are literally bursting with flavor
• Cicoria - 
• Porchetta - suckling pig roasted with laurel herb, garlic and black pepper, delicious on sandwiches and often found in markets
• Veal Saltimbocca (veal scallopine with ham and sage) - saltimbocca literally means "jump in your mouth" which is what should happen if it's prepared well, it is thinly sliced veal topped with ham and sage cooked in whit wine, butter and seasonings.
• Coda alla Vaccinara (Roman Oxtail Stew) - oxtail stew is one of the traditional preparations of sweetmeats in Rome, the offals are slowly cooked with vegetables, red wine, garlic and spices

I haven't tried all of it yet, but I'm certainly going to.  I have lots of time here in Rome, so I'm going to make the most of it, and my stomach will love me for it. Then, when I get a bit homesick or long for exotic flavors I'll try some of the foreign cuisine available to me here, or I'll just wait till I'm back stateside for Christmas.  

Pizza Pizza

I've had some great pizza over the years, both in Italy and in the states. I've learned that no two pies are exactly alike. Florence has some of the best thin crusted pizzas but they're not the same as pizzas from Naples. Naples has the original, the absolute best pizza that I've ever had in my life. You can not beat the thin crust with homemade sauce and fresh bufala mozzarella with oregano... Simple yet delicious. My mouth is watering at the thought. The ingredients in all Italian pizzas are fresh and very often organic. The vegetable toppings pack a lot of flavor even before additional seasonings.
But that's not to say that I haven't found some wonderful pizza here in the U.S.A. Pizza here, however, is enormously different. The pies themselves are larger and the flavor and ingredient combinations are drastically different too. I think that American pizza, whether fast food, homemade or 5 star restaurant quality  is generally more adventurous in its flavor pairings than most anything you'll find abroad. No Italian would dream of pputting pineapple or chicken or barbeque sauce onto a pizza.
Italians, I find, don't use their imaginations as much when it comes to food. They are so richly steeped in tradition that they don't often have to think outside of the box to get fantastic flavors and dishes. Here in the U.S.S we don't have the same kind of tried and true traditional mentality. We are a melting pot, a stew of traditions and cultures. As a result, our food tradition (at least on the east cost) we are often willing to play with our food, to combine one tradition with another.  Pizza is delicious, so is BBQ, so let's combine them together and make a BBQ Chicken Pizza. Like Thai food? There are many places that will put Thai spicing and traditional ingredients onto a pizza. One tradition is not enough. We can combine and play and experiment until we have something new and delicious.
The original, the traditional will always be respected and will always have a place in our diets but it is fun to try the new and untested.  In places like NYC, the unique and new is a challenge, it is something to be tried and enjoyed.
When my family makes pizza at home, we use the traditions that Grams shared with us but we also like to play around with sasonings with the sauce and vegetables that with use.  Grams showed us the typical margherita and marinara pizzas. But after her long exposure to the United States, she came to appreciate stranger combinations and was willing to try some new things.
Pizza is probably one of my favorite foods and part of that is because it is such a versatile food. You can stick with the traditional or you can experiment with outlandish ingredients that somehow when combined and baked together, no longer seem so outlandish.  There is literally nothing to love about pizza.

A little Italian Reminiscence

I miss Italy, especially Florence. But too much. I can't even begin to explain how much Italy really became a part of me in the last 3 years. I studied, I taught English, I lived the life that I really wanted to live. And then, I had to come back to NJ. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to be here, with my family and friends. But Italy calls to me...

Maybe it's the air. It's clean, less pollution in Florence than here in the states.
Then there's the atmosphere. The atmosphere is truely incredible. There's the art, the earth, the hills of Tuscany. The city is alive. The people are in constant motion but not like here. They don't run all over the place. Each Florentine moves calmly, at least until there's a soccer game or a historic soccer game. I have lots of Florentine friends now. They're incredible. They're all characters, funny, nice, kind, ridiculous and often very, very particular. I miss them a lot.

And then there's the food. That might be what calls to me the most, or maybe it was the first thing that called to me from childhood. I grew up in an Italian household and my grandmother cooked up traditional Neapolitan fare. I learned later on that my grandmother's style of cooking was particular to her region and then occassionally influenced by American cuisine.
As Americans we often imagine that Italian food is exactly like what we find in Italian-American restaurants. We have this vision of a homogenized food that remains the same through the small peninsula. In reality there are 20 regions in Italy, and each region has its own completely unique dishes. Here in the states we most commonly think of lasagna, pasta alfredo (a plate that doesn't actually exist in true Italian cuisine), eggplant and chicken parmigian, pastas, ravioli, bruschetta.
These plates exist in portions of Italy, but there are so many more dishes as well.

If you look at Florence, there are some wonderful plates that are rarely if even seen in the states. There is bread made without salt especially to dip into sauce and clean your plate. There are unforgettable starters like "crostini fiorentini" which are chicken liver pate over grilled bread, crostini with black cabbage, and "pazanella" which is a bread salad made with tomatoes, fennel and other fresh vegetables. For first courses there are a ton of different types of risotto and pastas that don't exist in the US (mostly because the Italian food here is generally southern based). There are dishes like "pappa al pomodoro" which is stale bread cooked in fresh tomato sauce, "ribollita" also made with stale bread but cooked with broth and vegetables, polenta (similar to grits) with black cabbage, "cannelloni" a pasta shell with a ricotta based filling sometimes with spinach, and "pappardelle sulla lepre" a broad based noodle with a hare (rabbit) sauce. The second plates are superior. There's Florentine Steak, which you should absolutely order "al sangue", rare to medium rare. There's also "cinghiale" wild boar, grilled fillet, "lampredotto" which is stomach lining (I know, as Americans, first thought, gross but trust me, it's delicious, if a little heavy).
There are even more delicious options but I have to stop, I'm seriously starting to get hungry... And since it's not possible to eat most of these dishes in Jersey, it's best I stop. ;)

The list of food to try in Italy is long. Each region has its own specialties but what I remember most about eating in Italy is the freshness of the food. In restaurants, supermarkets, all of the food is super fresh. Each vegetable has a taste. Here in the states, I can't find the same tastes, the same freshness.
Until I was 19 I didn't eat tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, eggplant, stringbeans, asparagus, pumpkin, ect. ect. Honestly, let's just say that the list of what I wouldn't eat was considerably longer than what I did eat. And then I went to Florence for a year with SLC and I lived with a Florentine family. I loved living with them and ate with them each night. In that year, I learned how to appreciate almost all of the food that I didn't like before. In part I liked to eat the food because my host mom was a great cook but also because each vegetable was actually delicious. It had the right texture. Nothing grown in mass, nothing with a ton of chemicals. Very little is imported from far or frozen for prolonged periods.

The food was delicious. Cooking is an art appreciated by all. I couldn't make a mistake with any of the food there.
Here I often eat vegetables with less taste (or overseasoned to compensate for the lack of natural vegetable taste)  or food cooked quickly. There is an entirely different approach to food and the culture of food.

--Raspberry Truffle