Till We Meet Again

It’s been six weeks since I started my Italian class, and it’s the end of the cycle. Time to review the results and map out some potential future learning opportunities.

To sum the six weeks of Italian classes (and recipes), it was fun, fun fun! Did I learn the language? Not really, but can you learn a language in six weeks anyway?! I did get the feel for Italian grammar and vocabulary (and the recipes surely helped to immerse myself into this rich culture and cuisine), but you probably need months if not years to be able to comfortably express yourself in a foreign language. (Well, look who is talking here :), I didn’t speak English till my early 20s when we came to the US. Therefore, I found it extremely ironic that in my graduating college class, it was me who became a valedictorian, a foreigner in her 30s with a 3 year-old in tow and a previous college education that apparently couldn’t be “translated” into the American educational system).

OK, I digress. Back to Italian language. I feel that even though it was fun and a great learning experience, it’s probably not the best time to continue with the studies right now. Too many things are on my mind at this time, and a lot of other priorities are lined in a row to be taken care of. All in its due time. I think I’ll bring the textbook to work and just review, read, memorize when I have time during the day, no pressure, go with the flow kind of thing. And maybe in the future, I’ll get some different materials or even join another class, but at this point in life some more pressing issues need to be taken care of first.

So, it is definitely not a farewell but a goodbye.

A piu tardi, see you later! And till we meet again! 🙂

What’s Cooking This Week

So we’re at the end of our Italian series. Hope you had fun cooking with me and picked up a few favorite recipes along the way. I started the series with an Italian staple, pasta in tomato sauce (with a little twist). I want to end it with another family staple done in a slightly different way. I really enjoyed it, try it, you’ll like it too!

Recipe # 12

Pizza di Prosciutto e Ficchi

(Pizza with Prosciutto and Figs)

1 pre-made pizza crust, individual size (I used Udi’s gluten free crust)

5-6 figs

3 slices of prosciutto

1 large sweet potato, baked

1/4 cup of shredded cheddar (I used daiya shreds)

1 Tbspoon oil spread or butter (I used Earth Balance oil spread)

1/2 tspoon each dried basil and garlic powder

salt, pepper

Mash cooked sweet potato with 1 Tbspoon of oil spread/butter, add garlic powder, salt/pepper to taste. Spread the potato mash on top of pizza. Cut the prosciutto slices and slice the figs in quarters lengthwise, arrange on pizza crust, season with dried basil and top with cheddar shreds.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 7-8 minutes. You can have the whole thing for lunch and not feel guilty about it. It also makes a great appetizer to pass around at your next cocktail gathering, just cut it in smaller slices.

Enjoy!