Breakfast is a super light and simple affair, but one that I am totally head over heals for. Carmen has this cornflakes like cereal with chocolate shavings and when you pour a little warm milk over it, the chocolate gets warm and melty and its a really good way to start your day. She also knows that I don't like coffee but I like tea so she always has hot water and lemons, and tea for me and hot coffee and milk for Christian. There is also always fruit juice and water to drink. Carmen also has out sliced bread that we can put a jam preserve on, or nutella or honey. She also has these dry, chocolate chip cookie like biscottee things that are amazing when dipped in tea or coffee (or in the left over warm milk from you're bowl of chocolate cereal). As you may or may not have guessed, my chocoholic self had the chocolate cereal, a piece of bread with nutella and a biscottee cookie this morning which was and excellent jump start for the Italian quiz I had to take in class today. Carmen also has fruit sitting out (grapes, apples, banana's and peaches) and she makes sure we take a piece with us before we leave for school.
And while I may have been taking what seems an excessive amount of chocolate for breakfast (I assure its not), we really get our five a day here. It seems like every meal we have a number of fruits and vegetables and I am hardly complaining. The produce here always is so fresh and so amazing looking, its hard to not want to eat it.
Last nights supper consisted of a first course pasta dish that was a creamy white cheese sauce (ricotta I think) with shaved carrots and peppers. It was super rich in flavor and the carrots and peppers added a nice little balance of sweet flavor to the cheese sauce. Second course started out much the same as it does every night. Carmen is a huge fan of shredded carrots which we sprinkle with sesimey seeds and sunflower seeds and olive oil. Let me tell you, it sounds like an odd combo, but its good. A really fresh and simple side. We also had pork chops and those were simply amazing. They were marinaded in an vinegar, salt and white wine mixture that left them almost tangy and we squeezed lemon juice over them which gave them even more of a light tart flavor. It was a really nice and light dinner for such a hot summer night. The final side consisted of steamed green beans that were in olive oil and garlic. Oh were they good. This was all pared with a really yummy red wine and finished off with fresh fruit for dessert.
Tonights supper was equally as fantastic. We had spiral pasta in a light pesto sauce with chopped tomatoes for the first course. Second course consisted of our shredded carrot/seed combination and some of the best eggplant Parmesan I have ever had. The sauce was really light and thin and with such a nice mellow flavor that was complimented by basil. It was not a sweet sauce which I liked a ton. The egg plant was sliced really thin, and the Parmesan was really think and melted with in it all. All the flavors were distinguishable, but in a harmonious way that just made the dish so so tasty. Christian has never had egg plant Parmesan before and she doesn't think she will ever be able to eat it again unless its made by Carmen. Dessert tonight was fresh peaches, cut up and cooked in a sugar sauce until caramelized and served with melted chocolate. To say Christian and I siamo contenta, is an understatement.
Still on the topic of food, we went to the mercado today which is a giant building that houses the equivalent of a farmers market, fish market, and bread store all in one. There are stands you can go to and purchase fresh produce, fresh flowers, wine, dried fruit, butcher meats, sea food, pasta, sandwiches, and bread. We had to go there for class today to look around and observe prices and the names of different food. We had an hour to do a 6 question worksheet so I decided to take some pictures while I wandered.
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