Market Visit- Soverato, Calabria Italy

This is the local market about a 20 minute drive from me.  We will be shopping for our food stuffs at these markets regularly and Im very excited to watch the continuing seasonal changes reflected in the offerings.  When I was in Rome I saw an abundance of artichokes as it was just the beginning of the season upon my arrival.  As these phase out the changes show. In the southern regions of Italy there are differences as it is about 10 degrees warmer here.  Prolific fish as I am on the sea. Oranges and clementines, huge bulbs of fennel, mushrooms that don't have an actual name, raw honey of several varieties and the list goes on.

 Awesome sun dried figs, nuts seeds, procini mushrooms (dried) cookies a bounty and a fun group of guys here.

Happy Birthday to My Brother

Today is my brother's birthday !

I want to give a very big wish to him today for a Happy Happy Birthday! Today I scaled and filleted fish which brought back fond memories of our youth.  Our Dad took us fishing quite often and we had the opportunity to spend some wonderful time in some beautiful places.  We often brought home trout, blue gill, bass and salmon- huge salmon... As a matter of fact we caught so much salmon one year in Washington Island, Wisconsin that the small plane we flew over in couldn't take off with the weight.  If memory serves we took a ferry and the fish flew... Another time we had a stringer of blue gill and sun fish setting in the lake on the shore and a huge turtle tried to take the stringer of all of the fish. Another time while we fished with live bait an osprey swooped down to eat the bait and one of us either caught it or nearly did.  I also recall that my brother caught the back of his head, luckily our Dad had surgical skills.

We really were gifted so many wonderful experiences by our parents, not just fishing.  I was gifted a brother with whom I have enjoyed many adventures.  I am so very proud you Jim,  you mean the world to me.  I look forward to many more adventures with you.  Happy Happy Birthday!

Love, Pam

Big ugly fish and other crazy things for my nephews

Hi boys! I hope you are going to like these photos.  Look at the type of fish they catch off the beach where I am right now.  I am in southern Italy a region called Calabria.  A region is kind of like a state is in the United States.  Italy, the country where I am has several regions.  This one is south and warmer and is known for having short people and spicy hot food!  every where else in Italy they don't eat a lot of spicy food.  Here they have Blue Fin Tuna.  Only 3 areas around here do.  Today we cooked with Blue Fin tuna.

A Blue Fin Tuna.  Some grow to be bigger than you guys.  That is the teacher , the head Chef.  He is showing us how to clean it.

These fish are really bloody

 Thats them cooking

They are finished cooking

These are at the market where I shop, some still even have hooks in their mouths.

look at this ugly guy!

 This is a bowl of scorpion fish mostly little ones.  They have poison in them so they are tricky to eat a professional has to clean them and handle them.

lots and lots of fish

This is the inside of a sea urchin.  I ate this with bread.  It was really good.  It tastes like salty water and a little sweet.  You can get it in a sushi restaurant, you may have already tried it.  It is orange at home.

This is what the outside of it looks like.  Lots of spikey things.  When you see these guys under water they are on the bottom and the spikey things move around almost like waving.  On the very bottom there is a valve that lets in fresh water, they move pretty slowly.  Pretty cool aren't they.

I miss you both! 

Love you, Aunt Pam