Praying and Eating in Italy



A view down the cliffs from the road in town



At my pretty little church the old ladies of the parish always say the rosary out loud before mass. One person leads half the Hail Mary and then everyone chimes in for the second half. Or at least that’s how we usually do it in Amercia. Here sometimes they all say the first half and only one person says the second half. Actually, I really don’t know for sure this is what is happening as I don’t know the rosary in Italian. But they all have their jobs pretty well worked out. One sweet lady sits in back and hands out the papers for whatever will be that week’s special rosary and litanies. Sometimes I can follow this paper and sometime I can’t because they always seem to break out in song at odd times and with words that are nowhere on the paper. I just sort of la-la-la along with them and desperately try to figure out where they are. Another lady usually does the leading of the prayers and we all jump in for the communal part. But one day the normal leader was missing and another lady took her part. This was the most fun rosary I have ever said. The words to the second half of the Hail Mary go ‘Holy Mary, mother of God’ and then continue on. Well I can understand that much in Italian because they say ‘Santa Maria, Madre Dios.’ That night the lady saying this part was in front of me and it was like I had traveled to a movie set and I was in a dim church with a women wearing a dull, rough scarf over her head and each time it was her turn I loudly heard in a pleading voice--- now you need to say this out loud to get the effect -- "Sahnta Mahreea, mahdray Deeos." I could just imagine the outstretched arms reaching to heaven pleading for the intercession of Mary. It was right out of central casting. I had to hide my smile every single Hail Mary we prayed. Classic Italian and, I thought, pretty hard for anyone in heaven to ignore. It’s Italy!

My daughter and her roommates from Rome came to stay one long weekend and we had a wonderful time. All the ladies in church tried to figure out who these young girls were coming to church praying and going to daily mass, so Don Pio brought an English speaking woman over to get all the info on each of the girls. I’m sure all that information was then passed along to the rest of the church ladies. One old lady named Theresa, the aunt of Adraina, just kept jabbering away to all of us in Italian. We were not sure what she said, but she was having a wonderful time telling us all about something. I received lettuce and endive from her a few days later. So cute!

The girls had to take several busses and a train to get to Praiano from Rome, but were thrilled to be in such an exciting area, even if they did have to walk up my stairs with their heavy backpacks. We did a lot of cooking that weekend as my daughter brought me some coveted food items I couldn’t get in Praiano such as brown sugar, peanut butter, and maple syrup. It rained a bit too so we played cards which was great fun for me as I have been living alone and had zilch English communication. I had also bought Limoncello, Strawcelllo and Prosecco. One night it was St Patrick’s Day and another night it was the Feast of St Joseph, so we celebrated with fervor. We made fresh lemonade with my lemons. I made bread pudding after we went to a great dinner at a local restaurant I wanted to share with them. Another time I made lemon butter sauce with my lemons for flopped German Pancake (their flour is different from ours). Another night I made an American chicken dinner with gravy and potatoes and beans – all fresh—with the Prosecca and Limon and Stawcello. Then we discovered a new restaurant that was just opening for the season. My daughter’s roommates had never been to a fancy restaurant in Italy and had a wonderful time and we all loved the cuisine. The girls also fell in love with one of the very handsome men who ran the restaurant. The next day we all took a long walk to the Praiano beach, but were too tired to go all the way down except for one roomate. She actually ran down the long winding path to the beach and went wading in the cold water. On our way back we decided to stop at the same restaurant from the night before for lunch -- still delicious and a terific view in the daylight. The girls went off the bar one day for coffees and people watching while I made chocolate chip cookies and fresh tomato and garlic on lemon pasta for a good-bye lunch. All in all a fun and filling weekend.



The girls climbing my stairway



I also have been doing a lot of cooking on my own. I buy pasta, meat, tomatoes or sauce and other fresh ingredients and then I make what I think is a small batch of something. Sometimes it is baked, sometimes sautéed, but no matter how hard I try to make a small amount, it always turns out to be at least three to four meals worth of food. The tomatoes are REAL and taste so good, just like the ones we grow and pick ourselves at home.  I have made lemon cookies with lemon glaze and two liters of fresh squeezed lemonade. I put lemons in my water and soda and to help clean the wooden cutting board and any smelly items.  I found a wonderful cheese, Pecorino Sardo, at the store on the other side of town that I absolutely love just plain or grilled. I made a fantastic wine sauce with the lovely chicken they have here and I am thinking of marrying the butcher. Obviously I am going on a diet when I reach America, but not before. It’s Italy!



Dinner at Casa Peggy



Dinner on the town in Praiano