Buon Appetito!

Daniele and Paola invited us over to their flat so they could teach us how to make homemade passatelli. This hearty soup is local to the Emilia-Romagna region and is a favorite of their two year old son, Marco.

Here is the recipe....
A large pot of broth cooked the day before: this broth was made from coarsely-chopped carrots, celery, onions, beef ribs with meat, and chopped pieces of chicken on the bone. Cool the broth in the fridge overnight and remove the solidified fat from the top. Throw the fat away...unless you have another good use in mind.
200 grams of Grated Hard Rolls: Daniele and Paola collect all their leftover rolls from the week and then they grate them with the small side of a cheese grater. The bread needs to be very hard to grate properly. After you grate it run the crumbs through a sifter.
200 grams of Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
Zest from 1/4 of a small lemon
3-4 Eggs
1 Tbsp. of Flour

Combine the breadcrumbs, cheese, lemon zest and flour. Make a well and crack 3 or 4 eggs, depending on their size, in the middle slowly combining all ingredients. Knead the dough into a tube shape about three inches thick. Tear off a small amount of dough and squeeze it through a schiacciapatate, potato masher, until the pasta is about two to three inches long. Cut the pasta free with a knife. Continue this process until all the dough is passatelli-shaped.

Meanwhile bring the broth to a boil in a large pot (meat and veggies removed). Cook the passatelli in the broth until it begins to float (7-8 minutes). Serve immediately as the primi piatti or first course. The broth is rich and the passatelli are yummy. This is no big surprise since nearly one half of the pasta is cheese. The meat and veggies can then be eaten as the second course. Some folks like to eat their meat with mustard while others prefer moutarde which in Italy is a spicy and vinegary combination of syrup and pickled fruits.

Lucchetti d'amore

On February 9th we took a day trip to Florence, the capital of Tuscany. Florence's art and architecture are among the most beautiful sights in the world. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there touring museums (including seeing Michelangelo's David), and taking in the unbelievable views of the city from Piazzale di Michelangelo. This is the Florence Cathedral, truly a breathtaking work of art.


Pallazzo Vecchio houses the town hall and an art museum. Note the copy of 'David' near the door.

Ponte Vecchio originally hosted butcher shops. Now the bridge is lined by jewelry shops.
A relatively new trend in Europe is to engrave or write you and your lover's names on a lock and attach it to a bridge. The couple then throws the key into the river to symbolize the lasting nature of their love. It seems that Alberto and Bubu were doing quite well after their first six months.
There is an incredible view from Michelangelo's Park. Unfortunately, none of our pictures can really capture the magnificence of Florence.

Andiamo!

We left Erlangen February 1st bound for Italy. The Humboldt has kindly funded a month for John to conduct research with his old buddy, Daniele. The journey south proved to be really beautiful through Munich, Innsbruck, Verona and on to Bologna. This is the view as we approached Innsbruck.
This is a castle we saw once we entered Italy. It really seemed like the landscape, architecture, and the color of rocks and soil changed once we crossed the border.
This is the view from Daniele's second floor porch on our first morning in Bologna.
We took a short drive to the coast of the Adriatic Sea on our first Sunday in Bologna. It was a surprisingly short drive, about 45 miles, and a really beautiful coastal area. Of course we collected a "sample" of shells. It was so refreshing to be at the beach. There is something incredibly soothing about listening to the waves, collecting shells, and especially the smell of ocean air.

This might make an interesting trace fossil one day. If you look at the hole in the center of the picture there is an imprint of the sole of a shoe just above it. This is from one of the many fashionistas on the beach that day.

This Blog is Under New Management

October to February is a long time, so as a bridge I am going to attempt to offer a brief run-down of what has happened since our last post.

Here goes....

Joey visited us in October. We had a great little two night camp-out in our apartment.
Our friends, Heather and Corey gave us a great gift! We love our little Ka! It has made traveling so much easier. We are so thankful!

At the beginning of December we had a great opportunity to meet the Chambery Huntleys in Munich for a Molitor Thanksgiving. This is a view of the Alps from Munich about forty miles away.On December 13 we took a quick visit to Bamberg, Germany. We started getting ready for Christmas just after Thanksgiving. We had a really great time decorating and preparing for the Huntley's European Vacation. We scoped out the Christmas Market in Nurnberg on opening night. Here's a picture of the Christmas Angel.
Here are a few pictures from our adventures with the Huntley Family over Christmas. We had a phenomenal time taking in the sites, eating really wonderful food and sharing some priceless memories with the ones we love. Here's a picture of John and Frieda in Erlangen at the Christmas Market. (Picture Courtesy of Ruth Huntley)Over the three week visit we got to see Erlangen, Uttenreuth, Nuremburg, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Bamberg, Moosburg, Dachau, Munich and the Black Forest in Germany. In France we visited Chambery, Chamonix, La Plagne, Lac du Bourget and Abbaye Royale d'Hautecombe. This is a picture of a picture of Mont Blanc because it was too snowy and foggy to see it while we were there. (Picture Courtesy of Ruth Huntley)
By far, this was my favorite pastime on vacation. Gosh, I love that boy! (Picture Courtesy of Ruth Huntley)
On our way back from France we stopped in Switzerland for the night to see some of our friends in Sugiez on Lac de Morat. Our camera had long since run out of battery power so we don't have any pictures. You will just have to trust that we enjoyed our drive through Switzerland....very much!

We love you guys! Thanks for keeping up with us and faithfully checking for new posts.