A kitchen in Rome!  Am I a happy kid, or what?!?

Our first trek into Italian eating was yesterday lunch.  A sidewalk cafe down the street from us.  I thought I took pictures – evidently, I didn’t.  Oh well.  I’ll blame the excitement of lunching on the street in Roma and lack of proper sleep.

I had a great sandwich – filled with tomatoes, mozzarella, arugula – and a thin omelette.  OMG!  Good.  Gastronomic heaven.  Others were having risottos, pasta dishes, much more substantial foods.  I went simple.  I’m glad I did.  It’s hot in Rome right now.  Light meals are much easier on my system…

We hit the grocery store around the corner for fresh pasta and a bunch of vegetables and I cooked up a papardelle with garlic, onions, Italian zucchini, sun-dried tomatoes, bell pepper… Who knows what else…  It was so much fun!

The store itself was fun.  We had a lot of fun in the back with the fresh bakery and butcher.  Very little English was spoken with the woman and man behind the counter.  I said “pane” and pointed to a large loaf on display.  She motioned cut in half and I sad no.  She moved to a quarter and I said “all.”  She good-humoredly lectured me on how to say a “whole loaf.”  I laughed, repeated it back, got an A for my Italian lesson – and promptly forgot the word.

We have a small kitchen but a great gas stove!  And lots of pots and pans.  We’ll cook, again…

After touring the ruins, we headed to a pizzeria – and air conditioning.  My first Roma Caprese salad.  Fabulous, as one would expect.  It’s just amazing how good simple ingredients can be – when they’re grown right and without Monsanto being involved.

Victor ordered an “Assortment” of sandwiches – which turned out to be a singular Tuna sandwich.  Methinks the translation should have been “Assorted” – as in “we have assorted sandwiches for €3,00 each.”  Since he also ordered a large salad and I had ordered a pizza, neither of us left hungry.

The tuna sandwich was awesome.  No mayo or binder…

The huge salad…

Just brimming with fresh produce…

And the Pizza…

Prosciutto and artichokes.  Oh, yeah!

And it was a thin – but substantial – crust.

It was also a combination I wouldn’t have thought of, but damn!  It worked well!

We haven’t even scratched the surface of Rome – sights or food – so there’s plenty more exploring and excursioning to do.

This is a lot of fun!