Stranger in a Strange Land

[Cecile Marion]

Hopefully, you won’t have any problems, but if you wake up in the morning wondering what the heck you did to your upper arm, you’ll know what we’ve been moaning about. Beats getting the shingles anyway. 😀

[Michael Ventura]

6 minutes ago, Cecile Marion said:

Hopefully, you won’t have any problems, but if you wake up in the morning wondering what the heck you did to your upper arm, you’ll know what we’ve been moaning about. Beats getting the shingles anyway. 😀

 

Yes, the sheet of info they gave me to read said that some 80% of people getting this vaccine will experience some pain in the arm for the next 24 to 48 hours.  Like you said, it sure beats getting shingles.  I remember my father getting shingles and it was tough to see him in so much pain.

[Bryan]

Back to coffee I recall ordering a latte in Italy and receiving a glass of milk. It amused my friends.....

 

We use a Moka pot to brew ours. I've tried grinding beans and using ready ground, but can't tell the difference. I can't take espresso neat, I have add milk to make it palatable. 

 

Our son was using a Moka pot in somebody's newly decorated kitchen, when the pot exploded and spread the walls with grinds and debris. Fortunately nobody hurt.

 

We've used a selection of Moka pots for years, and, to date, no incidents. I've a friend who has a bells and whistles coffee machine, but he's had to spend more than  my annual coffee budget on maintenance. Moka rules Ok !

 

Finally, I try to limit my ground coffee intake to a single dose with breakfast, but don't always succeed.

[Ed Rooney]

You can say latte in Seattle. In Italy you have to say caffe latte. 

[Betty LaRue]

I accidentally bought a package of coffee that were beans instead of grounds. I took it to my daughter’s, because I know they have a grinder. My son-in-law ground them for me.

I noticed this morning when I opened the bag that the grind was very course. Trying to decide whether my usual measurement would make it too strong or too weak, I decided to put a tiny bit less in the coffee pot basket. 
What came out was barely colored water. If I’d put a coin at the bottom of my cup, I could have read the year of minting.  I added the same amount of scoops to the old grounds, ran about 16 ounces of water through and finally got a tasty brew.

 

[Bryan]

3 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

You can say latte in Seattle. In Italy you have to say caffe latte. 

 

I wonder when the word latte entered the UK vocabulary Edo. I'd always called it milky coffee until one day,. I think at a museum in London, I asked for that and the girl serving said do you mean a latte? Maybe the usage took time to spread to the provinces.

 

More widely our diet has changed incredibly over the years, brought up in a colliery village there was plenty to eat but not much variety. I must have been in my 20s before I had my first curry, and Iikewise my first taste of Italian food. Even more recently experiments on our allotment have added parsnips, kale, spinach and squash to our diet, not to mention chillies, both hot and sweet, aubergines and spicy salad leaves. It's a hugely different diet to 1950s rationing and stodge.

[Ed Rooney]

The variety of cuisines is one of the best things to come out of immigration and world travel. We can thank the jet aircraft, the same factor that is helping destroy the world climate. The half-Italian names for coffee come from Seattle and the American coffee revolution, I believe. They've coined a name for every slight variation. 

 

Also, in the States we say eggplant. You say aubergine eggplant. You use the French or Continental name for several veggies. I do enjoy some of the older English dishes once in awhile. I haven't seen bubble and squeak lately. 

 

Stay healthy, Bryan.

Edited December 11, 2020 by Ed Rooney

[Robert M Estall]

You need to have done a roast on a Sunday for there to be a bowl of left-over veggies on a Monday. Best if there are several sprouts. A quick spin in the food processor, tip it into a fry pan et voila, Bubble and Squeak

Edited December 11, 2020 by Robert M Estall

[Mr Standfast]

Nom, nom...

[Dyn Llun]

6 hours ago, Bryan said:

 

I wonder when the word latte entered the UK vocabulary Edo. I'd always called it milky coffee until one day,. I think at a museum in London, I asked for that and the girl serving said do you mean a latte? Maybe the usage took time to spread to the provinces.

 

More widely our diet has changed incredibly over the years, brought up in a colliery village there was plenty to eat but not much variety. I must have been in my 20s before I had my first curry, and Iikewise my first taste of Italian food. Even more recently experiments on our allotment have added parsnips, kale, spinach and squash to our diet, not to mention chillies, both hot and sweet, aubergines and spicy salad leaves. It's a hugely different diet to 1950s rationing and stodge.

The Italian and cafe and coffee culture arrived in Wales many generations ago with the influx of Italian immigrants. They came during hard times from a region of north Italy near Bardi to work in the coal and steel industries in the S. Wales Valleys. They brought their ice cream, coffee and cafe culture with them and almost every town in Wales, especially the valleys has a Conti, Gazzi, Bracchi, etc. cafe. We have a Conti's just ten minutes from here and he still makes great ice cream at the back of his cafe and he's over 90.  In Splott when I was a kid we had two Gazzi's, same family. The son ran the cafe in Splott Road and mama and papa the fish and chip shop. I had an Italian 'pen friend' when i was 14 and used to go to mama and papa Gazzi's for six penny worth of chips and a translation because Louisa used to write to me in Italian. If you want a photography connection, she sent a photograph of herself with one letter. Gorgeous 16 year old, long black hair, leaning against a Vespa scooter in a piazza in Rome. She asked for a photograph of me. I duly sent one and never heard from her again.......

[Ed Rooney]

Mi dispiace, Dyn. Let's assume you were just too young for her.

 

I'm a New Yorker with an Irish passport, but in my heart I'm also quasi-Romano. You won't find spaghetti bolognese or spaghetti and meatballs in Italy. Those are both NYC dishes gone international--everywhere but Italy. In Italy, meatballs are a separate dish and in Bologna, it's tagliatelle with the classic sauce made with beef, pork, and filler. 

[spacecadet]

4 minutes ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

 

 in Bologna, it's tagliatelle with the classic sauce made with beef, pork, and filler. 

e.g.

 

 

Edited December 11, 2020 by spacecadet

[Ed Rooney]

 

Mark, have you like me found that tagliatelle is one of those pastas that can vary in width between linguine and fettuccini?

[spacecadet]

2 minutes ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

Mark, have you like me found that tagliatelle is one of those pastas that can vary in width between linguine and fettuccini?

Ooh, now you're asking. That one was billed as tagliatelle. Wider than either. Probably. That's as far as my linguinistics goes, I'm afraid.

[Betty LaRue]

Spaghetti & meatballs my style. Must have garlic bread.

 

[Vincent Lowe]

12 hours ago, Bryan said:

 

I wonder when the word latte entered the UK vocabulary Edo. I'd always called it milky coffee until one day,. I think at a museum in London, I asked for that and the girl serving said do you mean a latte? Maybe the usage took time to spread to the provinces.

 

Reminds me of when I called in at the coffee/bookshop at Inverkirkaig in the far north-west of Scotland a few years ago.  I asked for a cappuccino and was told "Oh sorry... cappuccino hasn't reached this far north yet!"

 

With or without cappuccino though it's well worth a visit - but then I can't resist a good bookshop (or a good coffee shop) - Achins Bookshop

 

 

[Bryan]

6 hours ago, Dyn Llun said:

The Italian and cafe and coffee culture arrived in Wales many generations ago with the influx of Italian immigrants. Gorgeous 16 year old, long black hair, leaning against a Vespa scooter in a piazza in Rome. She asked for a photograph of me. I duly sent one and never heard from her again.......

 

Sad about the girl 😢 but a nice story.

 

The Italians do get around. I don't remember any Italian restaurants years ago in the NE, but there were several families selling ice cream, at least one of which is still in business. The names Minchella and Dragone spring to mind.

 

These days there are pizza places in every town. Should you find yourself in Durham post lockdown,  La Spaghetta, is my favourite Italian restaurant. You can't book in advance, you will probably have to queue,  and it's often full of students, but there's a great atmosphere and very good food at reasonable prices.  Not part of a chain to the best of my knowledge,  we've been going for years and never been disappointed.

[spacecadet]

29 minutes ago, Bryan said:

You can't book in advance,

I bet you can now!

[MizBrown]

4 hours ago, Bryan said:

The Italians do get around.

We've got Florentines operating a pizza and Italian food place here in Jinotega, Nicaragua (population around 50K).  We have had Chinese restaurants but not all Chinese can cook.  Ours used instant ramen and steam table canned vegetables and is now closed.   Mexican here is like Chinese in the US.   Cuban restaurants, too, the fraternal ex-socialist brothers.   One Cuban restaurant here, more elsewhere.   One otherwise Nicaraguan restaurant in Jinotega serves sushi (how safe, I dunno).

 

Everywhere in the world seems to have people from everywhere else in the world these days.

[Ed Rooney]

Betty, what do you put in your meatballs; they look good and they are not too big. They look . . . Italian.

[Betty LaRue]

4 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

Betty, what do you put in your meatballs; they look good and they are not too big. They look . . . Italian.

Ed, I’m rather ashamed to admit they are Italian meatballs from the market’s frozen food section. There are Swedish also available but I only like the Italian.
I used to make my own Italian style recipe, and a few times just a meat sauce. A few years ago I discovered these, and they are just as good (or almost) as what I made and a whole lot less trouble.
With my back issues, I can’t handle standing in the kitchen and make time-consuming complicated recipes like I used to.  I just put them straight out of the freezer into my sauce and simmer for awhile. 
When I make pies these days, I usually make the pastry one day, refrigerate it, then make the filling the next and bake, or my day is ruined. I absolutely refuse to buy frozen pastry. I’m a pie snob. ☺️

[Ed Rooney]

That makes total sense, Betty. This dish I get at Marks and Spencer Foodhall.  It's microwave ready and it's not bad. The meatballs they get just right, a mix of beef and pork and herbs and breadcrumbs. There tomato sauce is a bit sweet. I add some sea salt to rebalance it.  I add olive oil and cheese too.

 

 

 

 

[Allan Bell]

Hey guys I am reading this at 10.00 in the morning and you are making me hungry already.

 

I am having a Tesco Indian Butter Chicken meal from the microwave today at lunchtime. They are quite nice. I add some mango chutney and have a slice of garlic Ciabatta on the side.

 

Allan

 

[Ed Rooney]

The best ready meals at M&S too are Indian. India is one of great cuisines. Chicken, lamb, or veggie, it's all good. 

[Allan Bell]

Unfortunately if I want M&S food it is a car journey of 8 miles across Lincoln City taking 23 minutes plus the return. Wish there was an M&S on my local business park which is only 2.5 miles and 5 minutes away. That is where my Tesco store is along with Aldi, Lidl and Lincoln Co-op. I would even settle for a Waitrose. Never tried Aldi or Lidl and for some reason don't want to join the throng in those stores.

 

All store names used above in the interests of equal advertising.

 

Allan