Market shopping in Italy

One of my favorite things about Italy were all the markets that would be held at least once a week in even the smallest of towns.   Cities, of course, would have several neighborhood market days during the week.

This tradition started hundreds of years ago and you'll still see mention of it or illustrations in old story books and in art work from the past.

It was a way to bring other items for sale to the smaller towns and also for the farmers and other handicrafters to be able to sell what they had made.

For me?  It was a way to get the very freshest fruits and vegetables to eat.

This particular market was on the road between where I lived and the US Army Post where I worked.  It was only about a mile from my rental house.   This particular day was a rainy day.

There will be several people selling fruits and vegetables and often they do not have the same thing-- and sometimes the crowd will be very thick in front of a particular seller's space and that always made me stop and look to see what "I" might also need to notice that they were selling.

You can also buy fresh flowers at a very reasonable price.  I would often do this in the spring time and buy some tulips. The people selling fish and/ or meat had special enclosed cases that were either heated (if the dishes were already cooked) or refrigerated and/or on ice as you can see in this photo of one of the fish vendors. In my little town, of Lerino, every Friday night there was the 'very nice fish man' that was selling a large variety of already prepared fish dishes.  I often bought food from him.       Blood oranges!   My absolute favorite oranges.   This is a different variety than I usually see, because even the outside skin turns red on the sweetest type that I enjoyed every year that I lived  in Italy.  This photo was taken during the spring and towards the end of the blood orange season. The prices are for PER KILO and are in EURO. And, oh my goodness... I never even liked asparagus until I had the bianco (or white) asparagus.   It is covered up by straw/etc. so that the sun doesn't turn it green and the flavor is so delicate and wonderful.  When asparagus season rolled around every spring, the local restaurants and small family owned 'trattorias' would start putting out special signs, in Italian, of course, advertising their special WHITE ASPARAGUS spring dishes. One of my favorite foods is the fresh asparagus risotto.   So good.   And in the spring, at this particular market, were always a couple of vendors that sold plants for the yard or flower pots.  I always bought some from both of them and put them in the hanging balcony rail flower pots.   Guess what is in this bucket? Already 'soaked' beans so that you can start cooking them immediately!   Another one of my favorite foods!   One of my favorite pizzas had olives, marinated artichokes, and prosciutto ham.     And the springtime tulips.

Errands and a great lunch

I love this type of tomato.  They are so sweet tasting.  They were a bit pricy since they are grown in southern Italy in Sicily and it's not quite 'tomato harvesting season' here yet.   However, I wanted to make my caprese salad with my fresh mozzarella cheese that I had bought last week at the grocery store. 

I left my house early today and ran some errands and when I finished I was actually in the neighborhood of the school.  I do need to work at school this weekend- however, I also wanted to get back to my little town and stop at the bakery before they ran out of bread and closed.  I didn't get to go there last weekend and I only made it there one day during spring break.   So, I opted to go to my house instead of going to work.  *That will be tomorrow's plan.   On Saturdays, there is this very small market, taking up the space of a parking lot, selling a variety of things: clothing, food, fresh fish, veggies, and other odds and ends.  I had never stopped there because I was always on my way somewhere else and then they'd be closed when I came back through the same area on my way home.

When I got to the bakery in my little town; they only had ONE piece of bread with the fresh olives baked in it left.  I grabbed it and a couple other whole wheat pieces.  They do make/sell white breads but, I personally like whole grain breads better.  See the salad that I made?  Pretty, huh?   Fresh slices of mozzarella cheese (this is a big hunk of soft cheese stored in a salty like brine water-- it is NOT, I repeat: NOT like mozzarella cheese sold in the states!  This is not the same stuff that is sold in slices or shredded.), the tomatoes from the today's market, fresh basil leaves from the plant that I bought last week, and just a little salt and fresh ground black pepper sprinkled on.   The final touch?  It is all drizzled with dark green olive oil (I found this olive oil, from the first pressing of the olives,  at a local festival celebrating the harvest of the olive trees a few weeks after my arrival last November.) and sweet aged balsamic vinegar.   

 I also had some of the fresh cooked shrimp, like the local Wednesday Fish Man sells.  Someone at the market was selling fresh 'uncooked' fish and they had a few cooked fish items that you could buy.

I must also confess that after I arrived home and unpacked everything- that I didn't even notice the time; but, I started taking photos and cutting the tomatoes all up/etc.  The next thing I knew, I had taken the photos and I had lunch ready to eat.   So, I ate it and it was so good.  The bread you see is necessary to dip of the left-over olive oil mixed with the balsamic vinegar.  Not just because I think it tastes amazing.

It wasn't until I had finished eating my meal that I realized it was only 10:30am!   Oh well, I'm calling it BRUNCH.

I also splurged and bought myself some yellow tulips. 

A good start of the day, I'd say.  

I went to the market in Camisano, Italy today... and all I can say is: "It's Hammer TIME!"

A skirt?  Or... upon closer inspection....

It's Hammer Time PANTS!!!!

And they come in even more than 2 different patterns... I guess that I should warn you... That you MIGHT soon be seeing these sold in stores... because I guess I should tell you about that one time when I lived in Seoul, Korea... about what I found being sold in the markets and I blogged about it here... http://iwouldratherbeknitting.blogspot.it/2008/01/please-tell-me-that-we-are-not-trapped.html about an early 'fashion trend' from the past that actually did hit the stores later on.... So, start looking for this item now--- get on the cutting edge of the 'newly (but repeated) fashion trend of:  HAMMER TIME pants! And for those 'singing along to' ... "You can't touch this..."  and for those who are going... "What is this Hammer Time" that she is talking about???? I present you... Hammer Time pants... first edition of Hammer Time pants (well, other than the Genie's in the bottles that grant you 3 wishes... they did wear the Hammer Time pants first)...

The best thing about winter...

Home-made crepes with nutella (hazelnut chocolate sauce) and bananas.   YUMMMY!!   The photo was taken just before the crepe is folded together.   This was my special treat that I'd buy at the outdoor winter markets in Germany.