While house hunting I was staying with some friends that I’d met from across the ocean while on my search . They had a wonderful little home for sale that I was interested in. By the time I arrived in Italy, they’d identified problems with the paperwork that couldn’t be resolved, so they were taking it off the market. But, they wouldn’t think of not having me stay with them, even though I wouldn’t be buying their vacation home.
One night, while there they were having friends for dinner. Paolo was cooking up a storm and Anna was working. I told him that I’d get dessert. I’d seen a little gelateria just a few blocks away. I took my translator, Penelope with me to help. Penelope was 6 or 7 at the time. We picked out a selection of gelato, and began our walk back to the house. It was then that I got worried. Dinner wasn’t for another couple of hours, and, would they have room in the freezer? A packed freezer is the norm for a household of five, right? I stressed a little, thinking of how we might salvage my dessert if there was no room.
The smells in the house were really developing when I opened the door to the house. It was going to be be another Italian feast! I was really worried looking at the quantities of food that were in various stages of production. There was no way that a kitchen like this would have any freezer space. I slowly opened it, just in case items would fall from an overpacked freezer. My surprise was that there was absolutely nothing but a cold-pack for a sore muscle in the freezer. Not a single food item!
I put the gelato treats away, and then had to peek into the refrigerator section. It must be packed, what with all the cooking going on. A little more food there, but maybe 25 percent of what I’d expect.
Paulo – how do you do it? Feed your family, me, and even more guests – but there’s nothing in here. In the Italian home, Paulo explained, you eat what is fresh. He’d stopped at the butcher, market, and baker earlier in the day, and stocked up – for the evening meal. He’d do the same thing every day.
To him, he couldn’t imagine any thing else. If you cared about your family and friends – of course you’d only have fresh food for them!
