All About Ricotta

Madam Malerba, chef of Malerba Antico teaches us how to prepare tuma fritte.

     Last week, Christopher and I traveled with a group of other Americans to a turismo rurale farm to see the production of ricotta cheese. We got to see every step of the process, from the sheep that produce the milk to the kitchen where Madame Malerba (wife of owner, Philippe Malerba) taught us to prepare an appetizer, tuma fritte, and sweetened, fruited ricotta to fill cannoli. After the demonstration, and once the cheese we saw made was ready, we sat down to an incredible lunch that featured ricotta and other cheeses prepared at Malerba Antico. This was a real treat because recently Malerba Antico was awarded national recognition for their ricotta. Christopher and I came hope with a container of fresh ricotta that we used for the next few days with melon, pistachio and honey for breakfast, spread on toast for lunch and accompanying pasta and meat sauce for dinner.

 

 A cheese maker stirs the vat of sheep milk and rennet. First, tuma cheese is removed from the vat and placed in a wicker basket. The remaining mixture becomes ricotta.

As the cheese forms, the cheese maker offers Christopher a pony ride. Whether it be sweet treats or opportunities to explore or play, the Sicilians have not hesitated to pay special attention to the children in our party.

 Sheep feeding and resting in the barn. They are accompanied by several goat friends that help keep them heading in the right direction when they travel in a herd. The shepherds of the Malerba sheep like to walk them long distances because it helps the quality of milk production.

Christopher visits with a two-day old lamb. "It's so cute!" he proclaimed.

Mdina: Malta's Silent City

      
      By and far, our favorite experience on Malta was our trip to the walled, medieval city of Mdina. Mdina was the former capital of the island, and is now known as The Silent City because less than three hundred residents reside behind its walls. Automobiles are banned past the main gates (over an empty moat), so the only ways to tour the city are by foot or horse carriage. We opted for the horse carriage and Maltese guide, and it was truly rewarding because nothing compared to the atmosphere of the horse's hoofbeats echoing down the narrow stone corridors as we peered ahead to discover what was around each turn. 
      After our tour was over, we passed back across the stone bridge to wander the streets a little bit longer and have lunch at a cafe located in the former Carmelite priory. Christopher was treated to a milkshake, and we shared a pasta with Maltese sausage and a Maltese crusted pizza with chicken and mushrooms. We stopped at a few shops, and then it was time to head back to the 21st century and descend the hill into modern Malta.

 The streets were very narrow and winding. Many times our carriage driver had to ring a bell to let others know that we were coming. 

 Most of Mdina's former palaces are now private homes. Is this one for sale? I'm ready to move in!

 One of the bell towers of the Cathedral of the Conversion of St. Paul. It was built in the traditional location where the Apostle Paul met Publius after his ship wrecked on Malta.

Our horse leads the way through another winding corridor in Mdina. Many of the buildings featured iron streetlamps with amber glass like the one ahead.

The Knights of St. John

Exterior of the Grand Master's Palace in Valletta, current home of Malta's Parliament.

      The Knights of St. John, or Knights Hospitaller, were one of the most famous Christian orders of knights in the Middle Ages. Founded in the early 11th century, the order was charged with providing care for religious pilgrims to the Holy Land. In 1530, as part of an agreement with Charles V of Spain, the Knights were given Malta in exchange for the yearly gift of one of its native falcons (later a plot point in Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon which I read during the weekend). In return, the Knights had a permanent location from which they could administer aid  to Holy Land travelers as well as launching naval actions against the Ottomans and Barbary pirates. 

      During their almost three-hundred-year residency on Malta, the Knights built and fortified the capital city of Valletta and filled its palace and cathedral with the best art, tapestries and cultural treasures that their accumulated fortunes could provide. The wealth amassed by the Knights came under scrutiny and it was argued that they became corrupted from their original cause and were living idly in decadence. The power of the Knights and their support by European leaders weakened until 1798 when Malta was seized by Napoleon. 

Armoury Corridor - The walls are lined with armor, the portraits of former Grand Masters and murals of naval battles. The marble floor features coats of arms of the noble families of the Knights of St. John.

 

 Christopher was excited to be where real knights lived and see their armor. We had been reading several books featuring knights in preparation for our visit. He might have been slightly disappointed that we didn't encounter any dragons.

 St. John Co-Cathedral in Valletta.

 The interior of the co-cathedral was covered floor to ceiling in gilt, murals and marble.

 Altar of the Co-Cathedral. Note the Maltese Crosses on the railing in the lower left of the photo.

"I'm Three": An Interview with Christopher

   
     The birthday boy was slightly reluctant to sit down for an interview. "I need to concentrate on my truck first," he told me with a determined look in his blue eyes. "I need you to hold this scoop" he said as he placed a toy shovel in my hands. Hopeful for some insight I persisted. "If I help you work, can I ask you some questions?" He was firm. "No. Soon. I need to finish this job first."

     After a few minutes, he sat down on the carpet and was ready to take my questions. He looked relaxed in his firetruck pajamas as he toyed with a blue plastic drill set.

How old are you? Three.
What makes you happy? Trucks.
What is your favorite animal? Bees.
What is your favorite food? Cake.
What is your favorite TV show? Mighty Machines.
What is your favorite toy? Crane truck with bucket.
What do you like to do? Play garbage trucks, fire trucks and cars.
What is your favorite color? Green.
What is your favorite song? The Garbage Truck Comes (an original and ever evolving composition).
Who is your best friend? Nicholas.
What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy? (taps interviewer's nose) Take care of her. 
What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? Have fun. Play dinosaurs and dragons.
Where is your favorite place to go? Playground.
What is your favorite book? Dinotrux
What do you want to do when you grow up? Be tall and drive a little car.

Malta Bene

    
       The expression "molto bene" means "very good" in Italian, and that is exactly how we would describe our weekend on the island of Malta, located south of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea. Welcome visitors to the island have been taken with the inhabitants' hospitality for millennia. The Apostle Paul, when shipwrecked on the island, found "the native people showed us unusual kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all" (Acts 28:2). Malta was also the home of Calypso, another famed hostess that kept Odysseus luxuriously fed and sheltered in Homer's Odyssey. Unwelcome visitors have been faced with strong walls of defense from successive ruling powerhouses from the ancient Romans to the medieval Knights of St. John to the British from whom they gained their independence in 1964.
         The colorful history of Malta gave us plenty to explore during our visit, but we also made some time to relax, have some fun and sample the famous Maltese food and hospitality. In the next couple of days, I will be highlighting our favorite experiences. For now, I hope you enjoy some pictures of our weekend. Have a great Labor Day!

At a Valletta cafe, Christopher and Matt toast to a successful ferry ride and start to our vacation in Malta. Christopher's highlights include his first time at the beach, drinking a milkshake in a medieval Carmelite priory and regaling the dinner waitstaff with tale of his windy ride on the top of a double decker Malta bus.

 The view of St. Julian's Bay from our balcony at the InterContinental Malta.

St. Paul's Bay is named because according to tradition, this is where Paul was shipwrecked on his way to Rome. He preached on Malta for a time in the city of Melita (now Rabat) and is honored with several churches and a cathedral on the island.

During World War II, a German bomb pierced the Rotunda of Mosta during evening mass. Miraculously, the bomb did not explode, saving the lives of almost 300 parishoners. Malta has the unfortunate distinction of being the most bombed country during the war.

       

Benvenuti Sicilia

  

      It's hard to believe four weeks have passed since we arrived in Sicily. We've moved into our new home, our furniture (and Christopher's TOYS) have been delivered, our car is here and we have successfully completed our two-week base and intercultural orientations. Now that the boxes are unpacked and Matt has started at the hospital, I feel like we are getting settled into our new life. I decided it would be a perfect time to start blogging about all of our new adventures. Here are some of the highlights of our Sicilian odyssey thus far.

1. The landscape. My first view of Sicily was as our plane was descending upon the island. Through the tiny plane window, I could see the dark, smoky smudge of Mt. Etna, fields of golden flax and rugged trees with loden green foliage. It reminded me heavily of Van Gogh's cypress paintings, Wheat Field with Cypresses and Road with Cypress and Star. As the artist described the trees "always occupying my thoughts," the richness of the Sicilian countryside that surrounds us is always close in my mind.

2. Our blessings. Christopher slept almost the entire flight from Virginia. Thanks to our lovely sponsor, our house was ready with loaner furniture and kitchen equipment when we arrived. Despite being told things move slowly in August because most Italians are on vacation, our furniture and car were able to be picked up within a week. We had internet access almost immediately. Christopher enjoyed his full days at the Child Development Center (his first time in all-day care) while Matt and I went to orientation. The time change wasn't rough on our sleep schedules. Our house is really nice and our neighbors have been friendly and welcoming.

3. Sicilian food. We've tried several culinary delights and types of restaurants. Dishes are very seasonal so everything has been fresh and delicious. We've been to a small, traditional restaurant in a medieval village, an outdoor cafe situated in a piazza, a nice, urban restaurant, an agriturismo and we've even brought home and prepared food from the market. The agriturismo has been our definitive favorite. It's a farm-restaurant where over 80% of what you are served is grown or produced on site. The evening featured over seventeen dishes spread across hours of relaxed dining on a stone terrace.

4. The Sigonella Library. We stumbled upon the library on one of our first days here while we were trying to find a place to access our email. I'm not sure what I expected, but I was really impressed with their collection of books, magazines and DVDS and the services they offer. Christopher and I have already made several visits to story time and to check out books. They have a large collection of books on or about Sicily which was a delight to find because many of the titles were on my Amazon wishlist. And if there is something that they don't have in their catalog, they can have it shipped from one of the other base libraries anywhere in the world.

Catching Up, Tampa Redux

     We've been in Tampa for a little over a week, and it seems like we've been out of the apartment exploring for the majority of our days. Matt's schedule at the hospital for his ortho trauma rotation hasn't been too challenging thus far, and he was able to enjoy Easter weekend with us. Christopher's egg hunt was pure delight for all of us. The lizards we hid in his eggs were great cause for excitement since he's had plenty of experience chasing them in our backyard and on the sidewalks in Hyde Park. We rounded out the weekend with a trip to Lowry Park Zoo. Christopher and I had visited the zoo during our last rotation in Tampa, but he was much too small to remember, so it was nice to reacquaint ourselves with their top notch facility.
     Earlier in the week, Christopher and I ventured to the Glazer Children's Museum in beautiful downtown Tampa. He is still talking about his adventures there as a firefighter, crane operator, ferry captain, and playing in an impromptu drum circle. The museum is less than two years old and a must-see for families visiting the area. I've included some of the pictures from our zoo adventure below.

 Riding his first mini-coaster at Lowry Park Zoo.

 An okapi, an amalgamation of a giraffe and zebra that belongs to the giraffe family. We got to check them out on our behind-the-scenes tram tour.

Sweet father and son moment.

    

Have a great weekend!

The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size.  ~Gertrude S. Wister

I thought these two looked like such happy friends, blooming together on the camellia bush beside our house. The sunny day has gradually declined into wind and clouds, so I decided to bring them in to protect them from the storm and brighten our home. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Room for Improvement

     It is often suggested that one take stock of their accomplishments to determine their progress toward reaching life goals. This is no such blog post. After realizing I inadvertently and unknowingly hung up on a cell conversation with my friend Eliza (for oh, the umpteenth time) yesterday, I decided to take stock of some areas that could use some work. I will lay myself bare, come clean and confess: these are some things I completely suck at doing. Hopefully, if you've witnessed any of these in action, you can have a good laugh.
      1. Operating a touch screen phone. Poor Eliza and I laugh all the time that it is a rare thing if we get through a whole conversation without me managing to hang up my cell phone. I like to blame it on my chubby little cheeks and dangling earrings, but the truth is sometimes I can't even manage to slide my finger across the screen to answer a call. That's why when a surprised reporter asked me why I didn't like to use my cell phone in the car, I told him "Because I know I'm not good at it." I'm a single task type of person. And my phones don't like me - I'm currently on my fourth Android in three years after several random failures.
      2. Doing the dishes. I loathe this task more than any other household responsibility. I like to think that I'm choosing to have meaningful time with my family while the dishes pile around the sink, but that is only part of the story. Having a dishwasher has made the task a little bit better, but I still try to shirk responsibility any time I can. In fact, just yesterday I swept all of my floors to procrastinate from putting a load in the washer. My grandmother used to insist on doing the dishes, nay, she would cry if not given the opportunity. I think it was how she used to work out her frustrations as she stood and scrubbed. She would be disappointed to know that in one flight of fancy, I considered throwing out all of the dirty dishes and buying new. Ok, it wasn't just one flight of fancy.
      3. Completing craft projects. I love to look at arts and crafts websites and blogs. I love to stroll along aisles of fabric and decorative papers and bins of beads and paint. Sometimes, I even indulge in the purchase of patterns and supplies. These patterns and supplies often find themselves in two drawers to the left of my desk, neatly organized and patiently waiting for me to work them into their intended project. I will let the contents of one of the drawers speak for itself: apron pattern, six yards of seasonal fabric to make aprons, four yards of fabric to make ottoman cover (wood to make ottoman in garage), wooden letters to paint for Christopher's room, brown paint for wooden letters, assorted zippers to make flower pins, pins, hot glue gun, hot glue gun sticks.
     I do feel like I've improved at each of these over the past few years, but they are all certainly works in progress. And this is by no means an exclusive list. Sometimes, I think my neurotic tendencies have no bounds. But those habits, my friends, are a post for another day.