The weather is getting cooler... here in italy you can tell because everyone is whipping out their leather coats and colorful scarves. And although the leaves aren't changing here just yet, fall is in the air. And since food is so central to everything here in Italia, i thought i would make reminisce on my all-time favorite, make your mouth water, fall foods from the U.S. and also here in Alba.
All American Fall Favorites...
Pumpkin spice lattes:
guilty pleasure... these things have to be absolutely loaded with sugar, but they are so yummy, and taste just like autumn with cinnamon sprinkled on top. I am happy to inform you there are no starbucks here in Alba; on the other hand, although there are an infinite number of small cafe's none of them change their lattes to match the season so no pumpkin spice here in italia for me.
Cranberry Sauce:
I know we have a while until thanksgiving, but when it does come around, ive heard that it is impossible to get cranberry sauce here in Italy! What a disappointment that will be on turkey day, practically the best thanksgiving food (besides mashed potatoes). NC claims he doesn't like cranberry sauce but i have trouble believing this, even if he is the pickiest eater in the world.
Honey crisp apples:
Ahhh... I think i discovered honey crisp apples when working at that roadside farm stand back in high school. I remember i always had to lug around heavy baskets of apples, and occasionally i would start snacking on one. Apples in general always remind me of my Popop, and even if they do sell them here at the market on saturdays im sure they are not as good as his, back in NJ.
Italian favorites:
To be honest i'm not entirely sure whether these are even "fall" foods here in Italy, as I haven't been here long enough to really find out. But i do know that these have become my favorite snacky foods on these increasingly colder evenings and mornings.
Brie:
NC and i have come up with a sneaky plan for saving our pennies while here in Italia... buy our own food from the market, and then cash in our meal tickets. Because it costs so much less to just buy your food from market, we have extra euros left over to spend on frivolously exciting things like traveling to Switzerland by train. Well anyways, i went to the market a few days ago, and bought some eggs for about a euro, and then looked for the cheapest cheese i could find to spend the rest of my fiver on. And so, not knowing any italian, i picked a mysterious white package for about two euros and brought it home with me... and guess what it was?! brie! so perfectly inexpensive here. maybe its just me but im so used to brie being the fancy cheese at home. here its nearly the cheapest thing you can get. As a side bar, NC and i have made a habit of picking a new cheese every weekend market day to bring home and try with bread and wine. The downside to our random cheese picking? we never know what we got, so if we find something we fall in love with (which we did... two weeks ago), chances are slim we will be able to find it again (we have had no luck so far). But brie is always a good substitute in the meantime.
Latte Caldo:
While perhaps this isn't the most appetizing picture in the world, it was all i could find. I shall have to start taking some food pictures while im here. Latte caldos or "hot milks" are my go-to drinks when im not up for coffee (which does occasionally happen). Here in Alba, they froth the milk and sometimes add honey or sugar, and its served to you with a spoon. Its very similar, i suppose, to eating whipped cream, but not as thick.
Birra Nostro:
There is a much fancier, professional name for this kind of beer, but i don't know it because its in Italian. Anyways, I have never liked beer. blech. never been a fan. But here in italia, i have discovered a beer i like, i believe it is their national beer, but im not sure really. Its great to sip at night when you aren't feeling up to a glass of wine but you want to sit outside and people watch. I had it last night with a brioche with tomato and mozzarella... mmmm.
Pomegranates:
A few days ago, i sneakily stole a pomegranate off of a tree on the side of the road. okay actually i stole two. I broke one open and ate it right there, right off the tree in the afternoon sunshine, and put the other in my pocket. It is now residing back at the apartment in our fridge but perhaps i will bring it out later and pick out the little red seeds.
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