What Fills My Plate

Sicily It is a normal day here in Italy.  We had a rain last night and the sun is trying to show itself through the Venetian haze.  Parents have delivered their children to school and now there are fewer cars  on the streets.  Today is the weekly market day in my village.  There are about 25 stalls selling anything from women's clothing to the smelly cheese I like to buy every so often.  Many villagers turn out for this, most of them crowd around one vegetable seller, the other two veggie sellers get a lot less business. Other popular stalls are the roasted chicken guy, and the fish ladies who try to get me to speak my broken Italian.  They make sure to have old fashioned Italian music blaring from their stereo.  Last week I heard Cella Luna which always brings a smile to my face.  C'e la luna mezz'o mare Mamma mia me maritari, Figghia mia, a cu te dari Mamma mia pensaci tu. There's a MOON IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEA: MOTHER I MUST GET MARRIED -- My da

Easel Will Travel This will be a short blog posting.  It is outdoor painting season. After writing several emails, posting a blog review, and alerting Old Wild West about their lousy burgers and asking for a response, I have received nothing.   Therefore, I can only conclude that they do not care about changing for the better. Other Italian news....Allergy season got a two week break here in the Veneto because of rain, but now it is back in full force.  Sufferers can only wait for another two weeks or so and the pollen will reduce. To Die For Mexican Cuisine On my terrace my jalapeno plants are producing flowers.  It will be only a short time before I will have fresh jalapeno for my Mexican food.  I have been using ones from last summer that rest in the freezer. We have seen a growth of Asian and Mexican food products in the larger grocery stores here.  I don't get too excited about this as a package of 8 corn tortillas costs 8 euros.  We have never bought these expe