Terremoto in Central Italy

I am sure, by now, you have seen the recent news regarding the terrible earthquake that hit the hill towns of Amatrice, Accumoli, Pescara del Tronto and Arquata del Tronto.

This was the third earthquake we've felt since we've lived in Italy, and we've been hundreds of miles from the epicenter each time. I can tell you, the shaking is scary. I can't even imagine what it would be like to be right in the middle of it. 

At around 3:35 am on Wednesday morning we felt the bed move. It moved. Side to side.  We both said, "What was that?"  On occasion, when a large ship passes by our apartment, we feel some vibrations. We're that close to the water and we're talking large cruise ships. This wasn't that kind of vibration. And because we'd felt the shakes of two previous earthquakes, the last one being the large one in Aquila in April of 2009, we already knew what we were experiencing. 

Mike grabbed the flashlight on the night table, focusing the beam on the chandelier above us. It was swinging in an arc of about 10 inches in each direction. That's some pretty good movement. Fortunately, it is not centered over our bed, or I would have been running! It's an old Murano glass chandelier, a bit over 3 feet in height, constructed of quite heavy glass. And it was swinging merrily above us. We both said "Earthquake" at the same moment. 

The Murano glass chandelier in our bedroom

We didn't panic, we could tell the epicenter was far enough from us. After a couple of minutes, the chandelier settled down. 

I then picked up my phone and checked Facebook. Sure enough, a friend in Cannaregio had posted she felt it also.  I have no idea how I would function without Facebook. Can you imagine, an earthquake of 6.2 magnitude hits, and the first thing I do is check Facebook. What is wrong with me?  

 Shortly after the news feeds reported the location and severity.  We went back to sleep. 

As the morning hours ticked by, the news reports worsened. The numbers crept up. The photos were frightening. I couldn't stop looking at  the news, even though I didn't want to watch.

Amatrice, Italy - photo www.telegraph.co.uk

Weird that the town clock stopped ticking, frozen in time, at 3:36 am.  Weird, also,  that this earthquake happened at the same time of day, within minutes, of the one that hit Aquila a few years earlier.  More sad than weird is that Amatrice was preparing for it's big Festa coming up this weekend, the Sagra dell' Amatriciana, the famous spaghetti dish named after this hilltown. Tourists were already in town for the event.

Last night in my English lesson with my student Francesco we discussed the earthquake. He had just returned to Venice 2 days ago after having been on vacation in the same region. Talk about luck. He'd have been right smack in the middle of the earthquake. Much of our lesson was spent fixing his pronunciation of the word. By the end of the hour, he'd moved from "Hearth-quick" to a much better "earthquake".  I hadn't planned for this to be the topic of our lesson. Funny how things just happen. 

I returned home thinking how lucky we all are. We're still here. Our homes are intact. In the blink of an eye, 200 plus people have lost their lives, and thousands are in makeshift tents wondering what happens next.  And this is just another reminder of how precious life is. My mantra over the last nearly 10 years has been this:  Tomorrow isn't guaranteed. All I know for sure is that I have this moment, and it is up to me to make the best of it. 

If there is a lesson for us out of disasters like this, I think it's this.  Make the most of each day. We don't know if we will have tomorrow. Leave with no regrets. And, love. Love well. Tell the people you love that you love them. 

In Italian, I would tell you all " Ti voglio bene".  Used for family and  close acquaintances, this is a step down from the full blown  I love you, "Ti amo". 

In honor of the people of Amatrice, we're making their signature dish this week. We're using Mario Batali's recipe ( http://www.mariobatali.com/recipes/bucatini-allamatriciana/)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
12 ounces thinly sliced guanciale pancetta, or good bacon
1 red onion, cut lengthwise in half and then into 1/4-inch-thick half-moons
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons hot red pepper flakes
2 cups Basic Tomato Sauce
1 pound Bucatini
Freshly grated Pecorino Romano

Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot, and add 2 tablespoons salt.

Meanwhile, in a 10- to 12-inch saute pan, combine the olive oil, guanciale, onion, garlic, and re pepper flakes; set over low heat and cook until the onion is softened and the guanciale has rendered much of its fat, about 12 minutes.

Drain all but 1/4 cup of the fat out of the pan (and set aside to cook you eggs for tomorrow's breakfast). Add the tomato sauce, turn up the heat, and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and allow to bubble for 6 to 7 minutes.

While the sauce simmers, cook the bucatini in the boiling water for about a minute less than the package directions, until still very firm; drain.

Add the pasta to the simmering sauce and toss for about 1 minute to coat. Divide the pasta among four heated bowls and serve immediately, topped with freshly grated pecorino.

Spaghetti all'Amatriciana, photo courtesy lucasardellaejanira.it

During the coming days and months, the people of Amatrice and the surrounding towns affected will need support. The Florentine, a local newspaper in Florence, has compiled an excellent list of  ways we can help, including everything from donating blood to attending events which are making matching donations.  Here's the link. 

http://www.theflorentine.net/news/2016/08/central-italy-earthquake-how-to-help/


Ti Voglio bene.

The Great Octopus Experiment!

Ever since we first ate grilled Octopus in Santorini, we fell in love with it.  We loved it so much we ate it numerous times while there. The photo above was taken at Mama Thira's in Firastefani on the island where they string out the legs to dry in the sun for hours before grilling them.  We also had excellent octopus recently in Porto, Portugal. Craving some octopus, we decided this week it was time for us to try our hand at grilling them at home.  Here in Venice, we see octous at the fish market regularly, but we don't ever see grilled octopus being served anywhere. It's always prepared as a marinated seafood salad.  But- we wanted grilled.  We researched several recipes and decided to try one of Mario Batali's. How bad could a Mario recipe be, right?  

The next step was to go to the fish monger to procure some octopus.  Mike went down to our neighborhood fish guys in Campo Santa Margherita and asked for a kilo ( roughly 2 lbs) and they cleaned it right there for him. To be honest we were not keen on the idea of having to clean it ourselves at home.

Unwrapping the package at home, Mike discovered he had 3 of them in the there! We put 2 in the freezer, and proceeded to the next step in the recipe. The octopus was washed (see above), then put in a pot of water along with a wine cork (this is Mario's method), and boiled for about 45 minutes.

 Here's our dinner boiling! Not a pretty sight!

 And here it is, just out of the pot, looking a little bit better!  Next step is to marinate it in olive oil, lemon and some spices for 15 minutes to an hour.

 Here's the octopus being readied to go out on the grill.  Grilling only takes about 5 minutes on each side. Mike cut the legs apart, we did not eat the head part.

 And here is dinner, plated along with grilled potatoes, red peppers, onions and some roasted cabbage.  The final verdict on the experiment- it was good, but not as good as we had in Santorini.  We have 2 more in the freezer, we're determined to try another recipe to see if we can improve on it. If not, I think we're headed back to Santorini.