grief

mama's brother was killed in a terrible accident on july 15th. we buried him yesterday.
thoughts on my mind:

• silence speaks volumes
• there are no words to comfort a 15 yr old who feels responsible for his grandfather's death
• funerals are for the living, not the dead
• God alone suffices
• a close-knit family is king
• the call to duty is helpful for getting through nightmarish days
• thankful for the love of good people
• love hearing the memorial bell ring three times before he was carried into the family cementary
• love hearing the strains of taps
• grateful for the many memories at the farm.

Chocolate Croissants and Caramel Cups

While holiday two weeks ago, sister and I very quickly got into a morning breakfast ritual of coffee and chocolate croissants followed by the splitting of a mother-loaded omelet. We would slather our croissants with butter and Nutella. Very good.

Because I have really missed those croissants, Hubby took me to Panera Bread this past weekend for a breakfast of chocolate croissants. It was awful! I could not even finish it. Who in the &*^% screws up chocolate?!?!?!?! If it were not for Panera's egg souffles, I would totally quit that place because, in my book, if you can not get chocolate right, you should not be allowed to serve food to the public.

This morning I attempted to make my own chocolate croissants and they actually tasted better than the ones on the ship! Big giddy up!! However, they do not look as pretty. So I am going to need to make more batches to get the pretty department down pat. Once they look good, I will post photos and the recipe.

I did make some caramel cups for a meeting a had last night. I am not usually a fan of fillo cups, however, I found that the combination richness of the caramel and dark chocolates more than made up for the bland cups. See what you think:

Caramel Cups

2 cans of condensed sweetened milk (do not use fat-free version)

2 boxes of Athens Mini Fillo shells (in frozen section)

Package of Dove's Silky Smooth Dark Chocolate Promises

Peel labels off the condensed sweetened milk cans. Place both cans in a saucepan and cover with water. Boil cans continuously for three hours. Add water as needed throughout cooking time to ensure cans are always covered in water. At the end of cooking time, pull cans out of water and set aside to cool until warm enough to handle. Take Fillo shells out of freezer and let them thaw for about 10-15 minutes. Open cans and scoop caramel into fillo cups. Cut 4-8 Dove squares into four pieces and place each piece on top of caramel.

Pesto Amended

I've moved my tiny basil garden to another spot in the yard, where there is a tad bit more shade than the previous location. Apparently, they are quite happy there as evidenced by the abundance of huge fragrant leaves. Big leaves call for making a batch of pesto. Instead of pulling out my recipe, I just decided to make the batch based on my mood. And I must say that this pesto batch was fabulouso.

Right now I am going through a phase in where I am over Parmesan cheese and more into Pecorino Romano cheese. Romano cheeses, in general, are sharper. Pecorino is made from sheep's milk and has more of a salty & tangy taste. I usually buy a big block of it at Costco's and use it in pasta, salads and pesto. I am eager to try the Caprino Romano, which is made out of goat's milk, but have not found it in the local stores yet. If anyone knows where I can get this without having to order it online, please email me.

Anyhoo- back to the pesto. This time I substituted Parmesan for Pecorino and pine nuts for pecans. We have the motherload of pecans in the freezer from my in-laws, so why buy pine nuts when I can use pecans? Turns out that I like the taste of the pecans much better than the pine nuts. The pecans gave it an earthier taste while the Pecorino brought a saltier flavor (I did not add salt). I also added more garlic cloves (3) and used less olive oil.

Killing Two Birds With One Stone: Naples and Rome

Yesterday we were in Naples; however, Bee was feeling under the weather and stayed behind on the boat to rest. Mom, Dad and I got a driver and toured around town, taking in an old monastery, a magnificent cathedral and a glass domed gallery with some high end shops. Unfortunately, a family member was not all we left behind...the camera got left as well and so only one pic of Naples.

We were up around 5:45 this morning to start our long day of sightseeing in Rome. The tour started with some interesting history on Rome and a view of the old senate building and Forum from Julius Caesar’s reign, as well as the oldest shopping market on the planet.

We spent some time in Trevi Square viewing the Fontana del Trevi but did not toss any coins since we have all already found our true loves...

No trip to Rome would be complete without a trip to the coliseum, where we actually saw some gladiators fight. Outside there are many men dressed as gladiators hoping to make money off of tourist by taking pictures with them. Apparently things got a bit territorial between an old timer and a new comer and a good-old-fashion fist fight broke out. Several other gladiators got involved and we were just as enthralled as the Roman mobs of old...

After a homemade lasagna (fabulous) lunch, we spent the afternoon in the Vatican City where we were in awe of the Sistine Chapel and the Museum galleries. Bee’s favorite item was an enormous circular, marble bath tub that filled an entire room and belonged to Emperor Nero’s wife. Due to her issues with dry skin, the tub was frequently filled with Donkey’s milk. Unfortunately this was a great expense to the emperor and when he got tired of paying the bill, he had her killed. Ladies, let this be a lesson to you about staying within the budget...

We ended our time at St. Peter’s Cathedral, which is built over the tomb of Peter and is also the site of his martyrdom.

Another Day, Another Beautiful Island

Today we returned to Italy, more specifically, to the island of Sicily. We began in the port town of Catania, an architecturally amazing town built in the seventeenth century. In the distance we could see Mt. Etna, Europe's largest active volcano.

From there we headed to Taormina, a lovely town situated on Mount Tauro overlooking the Ionian Sea. Here we visited a Greco-Roman theater that had originally been built before the time of Christ.

Afterwards we spent some time shopping and enjoying gelato...

F Harry’s Toe, Mother-n-law’s tongue, and Drunk as a Donkey... A few things we learned in Santorini

Our last day in Greece was spent on the island of picture perfect Santorini. We had really been looking forward to this because this is the location of the typical pictures you see in brochures of Greece, with the white buildings and blue roofs overlooking the sea. All the villages are set high on cliffs which provide spectacular views. The available modes of transportation down to the sea are sky gondola, walking or donkey ride.

There are over 400 churches in Santorni, adding to the beautiful architecture...

We spent some time shopping in the town of Oia, which has very narrow cobblestone streets that are only about two shoulders wide. Dad’s version of shopping...

Seventy percent of Santorini is covered in grapes, which makes wine one of their top exports. We were able to visit one of the local wineries, Domaine Sigalas. Here we learned about the production of the wine and got a chance to taste it as well. In addition, we were told about the myth of Bahkos, who is attributed with bringing vines to the island. The story goes that he planted the original vine in the bone of a bird for transportation to the island, but when the vine out grew the bone he planted it in the skull of a lion. Eventually the vine out grew the skull and he moved it to the skull of a donkey. Therefore the locals say that if you have a little wine you get light as a bird, a little more and you get the courage of a lion, and any more than that you will become an ass.

The island receives very little rain fall, and the grapes are actually watered by a mist that comes up from the sea over night. This arid climate allows for cactus to grow throughout the landscape, and the following picture is of a prickly cactus the locals refer to as Mother-n-law’s tongue, which we thought was hilarious.

Our last bit of knowledge gained was that “thank you” in Greek sounds like F Harry’s Toe in English. So F Harry’s Toe to Greece, we loved our time here!

The Greek Isles, Part 2

This morning we woke to Argostolli, Greece, a quaint town on the island of Kefolonia. If you have ever seen the movie Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, it was filmed here.

This Island is made up of steep mountains that plunge to white sand beaches, edged by a clear, torquoise sea. We toured an underground cave via a boat ride on Melissani Lake, and then took a winding ride down the beautiful coast line...

which took us to the village of Fiskardo for coffee, Baklava, and shopping. Dad was a good sport on the shopping...

Another great day in paradise...