Saturday, July 23, 2011

Italians Have Great Ideas

I have only been to Italy twice, both times many years ago when I was in boarding school in southern France. On a weekend pass, I went with friends just over the border to Ventimiglia where they had a wonderful covered market. We paced the aisles admiring the wide variety of goods from ripe fruits and beautiful veggies to clothing. Being 15, I was more interested in the clothes than the food. I bought a marine blue sweater that smelled of wooly comfort.

The second visit to Italy occurred during roughly the same time - my mother took me to Genoa to meet my Dad's ship for a brief weekend. At a restaurant that evening, I tried what for me seemed an incredibly exotic combination - prosciutto e melone - and learned why Italians are justly famous for their food. I had never thought of eating meat with fruit but I also have never forgotten how good it tasted.

Every summer, when the melons begin to smell ripe from a yard away, I buy one and twist a strip of prosciutto around the slices. It is the best first course or the best lunch that life offers, bar none. The sweet fruit and the salty meat love each other with a lasting passion. Some day, I hope to return to see more of Italy; Italians have such great ideas.

8 Comments:

Blogger Greg said...

A classic, tasty and beautiful combination. What brand of prosciutto do you use?

Saturday, July 23, 2011  
Blogger Zoomie said...

Greg, I think I used Columbus this time - made in SF. It's not cheap but it's pretty good.

Saturday, July 23, 2011  
Blogger cookiecrumb said...

Ah! But you have fruit with meat when you eat chutney with curry. It's nice after all.

Saturday, July 23, 2011  
Blogger Ms Brown Mouse said...

Italy, return, really! :)

Sunday, July 24, 2011  
Blogger Zoomie said...

Cookiecrumb, you're right! And applesauce with pork. Why did this seem so exotic and sophisticated? Maybe I was charmed just by being out of the boarding school and in a foreign country?

Ms Mouse, gotta go! One day soon.

Sunday, July 24, 2011  
Blogger cookiecrumb said...

Right. Ham with pineapple! Turkey with cranberries! I am planning a chicken salad with melon; stay tuned.

Sunday, July 24, 2011  
Blogger Ms Brown Mouse said...

Cookie, some folks I know consider ham & pinapple an evil :)

Sunday, July 24, 2011  
Blogger cookiecrumb said...

Mouse: It is. But many of us in Zoomie's and my generation have been forced to eat it. Not proud.

Sunday, July 24, 2011  

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home