I told him: “you don’t need to look beyond the open-air markets to find out, silly.”

And he said: “well let’s head to the market because I am running out of ideas for the 12 days of edible delights and it’s only the 5th day.”

So, we headed to the Sant’ Ambrogio market in Florence and here’s what we saw on the 5th day of December:

kale (cavolo riccio), potatoes (patate), broccoli (broccoli), artichokes (carciofi), thistle (cardo), cauliflower (cavolfiore), cabbage (cavolo), fennel (finocchio), onions (cipolle), spinach (spinaci), carrots (carote), beans (fagioli) and lentils (lenticchie), radicchio (radicchio), oranges (arancie), clementines (clementine), mandarins (mandarini), persimmons (cachi), pomegranates (melagrane), pears (pere), kiwis (kiwi), almonds (mandorle)

The Campo dei Fiori in Rome hosts an open-air food market that offers delicious food year round.

In Florence, look no further than the Sant’Ambrogio market.
Winter food is mostly a continuation of the stronger autumn harvests that continue to grow, but there are also some unexpected veggies that ripen even in the thick of the coldest months.

Eating in Italy in the winter is all about these hearty gems: cabbage, cavolo nero, kale, and cauliflower are perfect in hot soups while carrots, fennel, and lettuce add some color to the season’s salads.

Speaking of salads, another stunningly good veggie that makes its debut in December is radicchio. It adds a bitter, spicy note to salads and can also take center stage when grilled with lemon and parmesan shavings. For a special treat, try the decadent radicchio al lardo – radicchio leaves dressed in pig fat. Yowza!

Italian tradition has it that the best, most flavorful cabbage is harvested after a frost. This means that the markets and restaurants fill up with the stuff after the first frost of the year.

It was warmish and very festive!

Lungarno

Dolce and Gabbana

How sweet he is!

And I can buy these at my ordinary local grocery store in Florence.  Will wonders never cease?

In Italy these are called ribes rosso.

There are two distinct fruits which are called currants: (1) the dried zante grape; like a raisin, used in baked goods and (2) a fresh tiny berry related to the gooseberry.

Currants are black, red, or white.

The black ones are used for preserves, syrups and liqueurs; while the red and white berries are for eating out of hand.

The red ones are really good just for looking at!  Looking at beautiful things is my favorite pastime.  Always has been.

I simply cannot help myself.

Virgil, Aeneid, Book 4:

Italiam non sponte sequor

“It is by divine will, not my own, that I pursue Italy.”

ITALY’S 6 SWEET CHRISTMAS BREADS: PANETTONE AND BEYOND

Italy boasts a dizzying variety of Christmas sweets—including lots and lots of holiday “breads.” Or so their names, which all include the word “pane” or “pan,” would make you think.

But they’re not all really breads. And they’re definitely not all the same. Here’s how to tell the difference between them!

An Italian Christmas breadPandoro, popular in Verona and Venice
Pandoro: This sweet Christmas bread from Verona is star-shaped and dusted with powdered sugar (some say to make it look like the nearby mountains). The name pan d’oro means “bread of gold,” and since white bread cost a lot in the Middle Ages and was consumed only by the wealthy, that’s exactly what this would have seemed like to the Veronese families who pinched pennies to enjoy this treat once a year! Today, you’ll sometimes see a hole cut in pandoro and filled with chantilly cream or gelato.

Pandolce: Meaning “sweet bread,” pandolce is the variety from Genova. Legend has it that the famed 16th-century Doge of Genova, Andrea Doria, invited Genovese chefs to submit recipes for a food that would represent the Republic’s wealth, as well as be nutritious, durable and suitable for long sea voyages—and so pandolce was born. It’s dense, crumbly, and filled with spices and candied fruits. According to tradition, a part of the pandolce should be set aside for the poor, while another should be kept for the feast day of St. Blaise on Feb. 3.

One of the sweet Italian Christmas breads Panforte, a Christmas sweet from Siena
Panforte: Despite the name, this isn’t really a bread at all. Instead, it’s a chewy, dense fruitcake from Siena, heavily flavored with honey, cloves, coriander, cinnamon and white pepper. Thanks to its durability, Crusaders carried panforte with them on their quests. Records showing that cakes of panforte even were paid to Sienese monastery as a kind of tithe in 1205!

Holiday Italian bread Panpepato—the chocolate version.
Panpepato (or pampepato): Not really a bread, either, panpepato (“spiced bread”) is a heavy gingerbread cake spiced with cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, honey, nuts dark chocolate, and candied fruit. It dates back to 15th century Ferrara, although some say its origins are Tuscan, and the cake’s shape is supposed to look like a clergyman’s cap. In 1465, the first reference to panpepato showed up in writing in no less than a record book for the noble house of d’Esta, saying that the Duke gave his butler a gold ducat, telling him to put it inside the panpepato being served to the guests.

Holiday sweet bread in Italy Panettone, one of the most famous Italian Christmas sweets
Panettone: Hailing from Milan, panettone is a sweet, dome-shaped bread loaf studded with raisins and candied citrus peels. Interestingly, the dough takes several days to make: Like sourdough, it has to be cured. Serve it up with either a hot beverage or a sweet wine like Moscato d’Asti.

Pangiallo: From Rome and the Lazio region, pangiallo, a golden yellow (giallo) bread filled with nuts, raisins, spices, and candied fruit (including lime peels), has ancient origins. Pagan Romans baked up pangiallo’s predecessor during the winter solstice as offerings to facilitate the sun’s return. The nuts, though, are a recent addition; previously, Romans used dried plum and apricot kernels instead, since nuts were simply too expensive.

the above article is taken from: https://www.walksofitaly.com/blog/food-and-wine/italian-christmas-treats-pandoro-panettone-italy

http://nyti.ms/2gUklUl

And no, for once, I’m not referring to art.  Cheers to Tintoretto the drink, not the painter!

As the holiday season begins its annual appearance, why not kick it off with a Tintoretto?!

A drink typical of Asolo, in the province of Treviso, the Tintoretto is perfect to make this time of year, as it relies on the tanginess of the seasonal pomegranate. Plus,it has the color of the Christmas season!  The fact that it is also Italian and named after the Venetian painter, Tintoretto, just gives me two more reasons to love it!

The drink is made with one part pomegranate juice to 2 parts prosecco.  You can add seltzer water to lighten it further, or skip the prosecco and mix just pomegranate juice with the seltzer.  Either way, it’s a refreshing and beautiful cocktail!  I like it with a few of the arils added as well.  But I am crazy for pomegranates.  I split and eat a whole one almost every evening this time of year.

Want more Italian?  Then practice your italiano by reading this from Wikipedia!

Il Tintoretto è una variante dei cocktail Bellini, Rossini e Mimosa. Viene preparato con il succo di melograno e prosecco.

Si serve in flûte e ha un sapore fresco e rinfrescante. Il nome rende omaggio al pittore veneziano Tintoretto.

Il cocktail è composto da 1/3 di succo di melograno e 2/3 di prosecco freddo, il periodo ideale per gustarlo sono i mesi di settembre e ottobre, quando appunto maturano i frutti. Il Tintoretto è tipico delle città di Asolo, in provincia di Treviso.