Peanut brittle, Italian style.

 

Doesn’t this dark confection look just like what you would think Italian peanut brittle would look like? It does to me!  Very earthy and dark.  It reminds me of the rich potpourri I adore from Profumeria Farmaceutica Santa Maria di Novella.  More on that later.

 

When I was young, my mother made peanut brittle every Christmas.  I never liked it because I didn’t, and still don’t, like the taste of raw peanuts.  But this brittle seems to be made with peanuts that have been cooked?  I don’t know.  I don’t love it but I know my mother would!  This one’s for you, Linda!

Can you tell?  I’ve posted about 100 posts in the past 5 days.  And, I’m just getting started!

So, here’s what’s on my mind right this minute.  Today I’ve been reading about the history of leather making here for the past, oh, I don’t know, millennium. And it turns out that this craft, which I’ve always loved in Italy, has left its mark on the city strata.  Not surprising when you think about it.  By the 1300’s, for example, there were already 1500 shoemakers working in Florence.

Still today in the Santa Croce section of the city, east of the cathedral, is the Via dei Conciatoi, or the Street of the Tanneries.  You can see it right in the center of this map, running on an angle from left to right.

Author Laura Morelli writes that “In medieval Florence, many of the tanneries were located along the Arno in order to facilitate washing away the detritus of this process, and in many other cities of medieval Europe the tanneries were required to locate outside the city walls altogether. The via dei Conciatori, in the eastern part of the city near Santa Croce, retains the memory of the Florentine tanneries and is the location of the current Scuola del Cuoio or leather school.”

Sitting right on the banks of the Arno River, the neighborhood of Santa Croce in Florence has been home to water-heavy trades, like hide tanning, since the 13th century and the tradition lives on today. In fact, 35% of national leather production still takes place in this area today!

And, in another part of town, not far from Il Duomo, is another street, Via dei Calzaiuoli, Street of the shoemakers. On this map the street runs N-S right smack dab in the middle.

Via dei Calzaiuoli

Trailing from Piazza del Duomo to Piazza della Signoria, Via dei Calzaiuoli is a popular street filled with high-end to everyday modern stores. You’ll find ultra luxury from Chanel to department store Coin, Sisley, and Furla.

Again, Ms. Morelli tells us “Although they remained of modest means, shoemakers sat atop the leather hierarchy and were considered a pillar of medieval Florentine society. By the 1300s some 1,500 shoemakers were already working in the city. About a third of these settled in the Oltrarno district. Cobblers made shoes for local consumption, but also participated in a lively export trade, forming the roots of the Tuscan international leather shoe industry that still thrives today. The statutes of the shoemakers’ guild or Arte dei Calzaiuoli (or Calzolai) specified many aspects of their working lives, from the quality and types of leather that the shoemakers must use in their production, down to their shop opening hours. Fifteenth-century documents place shoe- and belt-makers’ shops along the via dei Calzaiuoli, as well as on the streets stretching toward the church of Santo Stefano near the Ponte Vecchio. In contrast to the high-end fashion boutiques that line the via dei Calzaiuoli today, surely this street must have been lined instead with more humble workshops.”

Morelli, Laura (2015-04-01). Made in Florence: A Travel Guide to Fabrics, Frames, Jewelry, Leather Goods, Maiolica, Paper, Woodcrafts & More (Laura Morelli’s Authentic Arts) (Kindle Locations 668-669). Authentic Arts Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Next time you are in Florence, maybe you’ll stroll in your hand-made Italian footwear over these two leather-associated streets and think of the long history of this fine art in the city.

Here’s where I live right now in Florence.  In this stately building on the Lungarno Torrigani.  My apartment (which is as big as my house in Denver) is the top 3 large windows on the left side of the building.  I’m officially on the 3rd floor.

This is my view.  I look directly across the Arno at the Uffizi:

Here’s looking out my 2nd bedroom window at the Uffizi.  The tower belongs to the Palazzo Vecchio.  Crazy view!  Almost completely unbelievable to me!

Here’s my bedroom.  I can lie in bed and gaze at the Uffizi, visualizing my favorite paintings.

I’m happy to be living here for a month.  I’ve already found my next place and it is to die for!  I’ll be there for Christmas, New Year’s and my birthday!

See my last post on dates.  Read through to end and you will learn the secret!

Ha!  I bet you thought I meant a man!

But I meant this:

They look like large black olives, no?

So smooth and plump.

 

But, take a closer look.  You’ll believe it is a date, a really fresh one:

 

These are dates I found yesterday at my ordinary grocery store in Florence.  The dates themselves are from Israel.  The label reads: “Datteri:Hayani”

Growing up in the middle of the USA, and even living on both coasts as an adult, I never even knew fresh dates like these were available.  But, of course they were and are!  New worlds!  You may keep your artistic masterpieces!  This is the world I love to explore.

Read the following fascinating info from the website, which I have thoughtfully translated here for you. The purveyor: Mc.Garlet, Quality tropical produce, “Keep in touch with the flavour”  mcgarlet.it

Best part:  here you can find a way to “stabilize lazy intestines.”

DATTERI

DATTERI FRESCHI
PIANTA
I datteri fanno parte della famiglia delle Arecaceae e la raccolta avviene nei mesi di agosto e settembre.
La palma da dattero (Phoenix dactylifera L.) è una pianta originaria del Nordafrica. È inoltre ampiamente coltivata dalla penisola arabica fino al Golfo Persico, dove forma la caratteristica vegetazione delle oasi. Si coltiva anche alle Canarie, nel Mediterraneo settentrionale e nella parte meridionale degli Stati Uniti. 

PLANT
The dates are part of the Arecaceae family and the harvest takes place in the months of August and September.
The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is a plant native to North Africa. It is also widely cultivated from the Arabian Peninsula to the Persian Gulf, where it forms the characteristic vegetation of the oasis. It also grows in the Canary Islands, in the northern Mediterranean and the southern United States.

FRUTTI
Sono bacche oblunghe, di colore arancione scuro a maturità, lunghe fino a 5 cm nelle varietà coltivate, con polpa zuccherina, contenenti un seme di consistenza legnosa.
I datteri freschi sono lisci e perfettamente cilindrici. I migliori sono senza dubbio quelli iraniani, piuttosto grossi, scuri e dolcissimi.

FRUITS
They are oblong berries, dark orange when mature, up to 5 cm in the cultivated variety, with sweet pulp, containing a woody texture seed.
The fresh dates are smooth and perfectly cylindrical. The best are undoubtedly those Iranians, rather thick, dark and sweet.

DIFFERENZE TRA DATTERI SECCHI E DATTERI FRESCHI
Quasi tutti i datteri vengono fatti seccare al sole, in modo tale da aumentare la concentrazione degli zuccheri. In questo modo diventano più dolci e si conservano più a lungo. Questa caratteristica li rende disponibili tutto l’anno.
I datteri freschi sono molto meno calorici e più ricchi di vitamine di quelli secchi, possono essere consumati come frutta in tutti i periodi, sia d’estate che d’inverno.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DATES DRIED AND FRESH DATES
Almost all the dates are dried in the sun, so as to increase the concentration of sugars. In this way it becomes sweeter and are preserved longer. This makes them available throughout the year.
The fresh dates are much less caloric and richer in vitamins than dry ones, they can be eaten as a fruit in all seasons, both summer and winter.

CURIOSITA
Considerata la prima pianta coltivata dall’umanità, fin dall’antichità si capì che era possibile fecondarla artificialmente, appendendo vicino ai fiori della pianta femminile le infiorescenze quasi mature asportate dalla pianta maschile.
La palma da dattero è una pianta ricca di significati simbolici: per gli Egiziani era un simbolo di fertilità, raffigurata dai Cartaginesi nelle monete e nei monumenti e utilizzata da Greci come ornamento per celebrazioni trionfali, fortuna e prosperità.
I latini attribuivano valori simbolici di onore e vittoria, perché pur gravata dal peso consistente dei suoi frutti non si piegava, ma anzi cercava disperatamente di ergersi verso l’alto. Nella tradizione cristiana, le foglie rappresentano un simbolo di pace e ricordano l’entrata di Gesù in Gerusalemme. Gli antichi romani usavano donare un ramo di palma agli attori più bravi, agli aurighi e ai gladiatori e per i Cristiani, le foglie delle palme sono tuttora un simbolo di pace.

CURIOSITY
Considered the first plant cultivated by humanity since ancient times it was understood that it was possible to fertilize artificially, hanging close to the flowers of the female plant the flowers almost ripe removed from the male plant.
The date palm is a plant rich in symbolic meanings: for the Egyptians was a fertility symbol, depicted by the Carthaginians in the coins and monuments and used by Greeks as an ornament for the triumphal celebrations, luck and prosperity.
The Latin attributed symbolic values of honor and victory, because although burdened by the considerable weight of the fruit did not bend, but rather desperately tried to stand up. In the Christian tradition, the leaves are a symbol of peace and remember the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The ancient Romans used to give a palm branch to the best actors, the charioteers and gladiators, and for Christians, the palm leaves are still a symbol of peace.

PROPRIETÀ
Questi frutti possono avere un effetto terapeutico per l’infiammazione delle vie respiratorie: basta cuocerne in 1/2 litro di latte 100 grammi per alcuni minuti e aggiungere un cucchiaio di miele.
I datteri freschi sono un frutto energetico e molto rimineralizzante.
Tra le loro proprietà ci sono anche quelle di contribuire a far scomparire l’acne della pubertà e di regolarizzare gli intestini pigri.
Inoltre, forniscono pochissime proteine, e sono adatti quindi nelle diete ipoproteich. I datteri contengono più potassio delle banane.

PROPERTY
These fruits can have a therapeutic effect for inflammation of the respiratory tract: just boil in 1/2 liter of milk 100 grams for a few minutes and add a tablespoon of honey.
The fresh dates is a very energetic fruit and mineralizing.
Among their properties, there are also those to help to wipe the acne of puberty and stabilizing lazy intestines.
In addition, they provide very little protein, and are therefore suitable in ipoproteich diets. The dates contain more potassium in bananas.

IN CUCINA
I datteri freschi si possono mangiare al naturale come un qualsiasi frutto: sono molto indicati per la colazione. Sono ottimi anche nei dessert, snocciolati e farciti con frutta secca come mandorle, nocciole o noci, per fare il gelato e per accompagnare i formaggi, specie quelli più saporiti.
Anche l’abbinamento di datteri con il té alla cannella è una vera prelibatezza, mentre la tradizione araba vuole che il dattero fresco sia immerso nel tè nero bollente come dolcificante.
Ottimo è anche l’abbinamento con una buona selezione di Rum.
Il succo detto anche “miele di dattero” può sostituire burro e zucchero in cucina: si ottiene frullando i datteri fino a ottenere una crema (aggiungendo poca acqua) da conservare in frigorifero. La polvere dei noccioli è usata in fitoterapia.

IN THE KITCHEN
The fresh dates can be eaten plain as any fruit: they are very suitable for breakfast. They are also excellent desserts, pitted and stuffed with dried fruits such as almonds, hazelnuts or walnuts, to make ice cream, and to accompany cheeses, particularly flavorful ones.
Even the combination of dates with tea with cinnamon is a delicacy, while the Arab tradition, the fresh date is immersed in boiling black tea as a sweetener.
Great is also the combination with a good selection of Rum.
The juice also known as “honey of date” can replace butter and sugar in the kitchen: is obtained by blending the dates until creamy (adding a little water) to be stored in the refrigerator. The powder of kernels is used in herbal medicine.

CONSUMAZIONE
Prima di consumarli è preferibile lasciarli almeno un’ora a temperatura ambiente.

CONSUME
Before consumption it is preferable to leave at least an hour at room temperature.

Moving abroad, no matter to how wonderful a place, takes adjustment.  I’m adjusting.  This morning when the alarm went off at 7 a.m. to rise for school, I felt like a dead person and my apartment was cold. I wanted to pull up the duvet, roll over, and go back to the dream I was having. After all,  it was 11 p.m. my time and I was getting up to start my day learning a new language.  Well, not entirely new, but still.

I’ve gone from a bucolic suburban setting with a car to drive for errands to urban living as a pedestrian.  As I write this, the workers 3 floors down on the pavement below are drilling the cobblestone street to repair something below grade.  It’s noisy and my nerves are stretched very thin. Everything is new.  Walking to the street corner takes concentration since I live on a steep narrow hill, which I love, but it takes focus not to step in front of a bicycle or Vespa.

But, I’m still glad I’m here. :-))

On the brighter side of the ledger:  I survived the first day of class, even though my brain was not operating.  Also, I had a cappuccino at the cafe at the Opera del Duomo and, although the Opera houses masterpieces of Gothic and Renaissance sculpture, I had a superb modern coffee in a terrifically trendy place.  Loved it!

This shows the cafe from outside; I stood at bar and drank the liquid caffeinated bliss!  Tres chic!

The city was filled with runners today.  Everywhere you walked, you had to dodge runners. A jolly spirit everywhere! And a gorgeous sunny day!

First things first:  I finally found the restaurant I’ve loved for decades.  Near Dante house.  This is a memo for myself.

 

Second:  this is for my favorite girls back in Denver.  They love Hello Kitty.  They are ages 4 and 8.

 

Here’s my language school, where I start classes tomorrow.  Wish me luck!

 

And finally, the best for last:  street art is still a living art here. There is always at least one artist at work in this part of town.  I love it.

I could never tire of this view from my new living room!  I am directly across the Arno from the Uffizi!

 

 

After the sun set:

 

Many visitors took advantage of the evening viewing hours last night.  The top floor of the Uffizi was illuminated and filled with art lovers.

 

I love following the exterior lines of the Vasari Corridor.  What a splendid way to spend a Saturday evening in Florence!

 

The newscasters try to make sense of Trump.  Good luck.  I look forward to understanding him myself. Or not, maybe.