Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire

How do you know it's fall in Italy?

The roasted chestnut vendors are in full effect!

Every December I grew up hearing those oh so important words in Nat King Cole's, The Christmas Song.  The first sentence in the song, "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire," always left an image in my head.

Like I said, hearing that first sentence of the song left an image in my head.  But I never really gave much thought to them as a culinary delight because in the U.S. there really aren't many roasted chestnut vendors on the street corners where I've lived each Christmas.  Even though I had never seen them in person, I was left with this impression that roasted chestnuts mean cool weather.  They mean happy times.  They mean Christmas is near.  

If you've never had a roasted chestnut, try it.  They are slightly sweet, slightly smoky, nutty, warm and have a texture that reminds me of sweet potatoes.  Kind of gritty, kind of mash-y.  

They are perfect for a stroll with a loved one through an Italian piazza on a cold evening.  Arm in arm, bundled in coats and scarves and still keeping close, feeding on each other's warmth.  There's something magical about walking through a piazza artistically lit up at night by its fountains and restaurants.  The sounds of water splashing on 400-year-old marble, high heels on the cobblestone, waiters politely trying to draw you into their restaurant by saying "Buona Sera," good evening.  They all play their part.  Then enter roasty, toasty chestnuts into the equation.  Well that, my friends, THAT is what we in the writing biz call romance.  And it is completely, totally VASGO-worthy.

This was all found at Piazza Navona.  A must-see to any person visiting Rome, especially in the evening.  

Now take a look at the guy below.  He's got an intelligent business plan.  This photo is of his roasted chestnut stand in October.  Just before the cool fall weather really hit, he used the small drum, and used fewer chestnuts, fewer materials, etc. because his demand wasn't that high.  Notice the vendor is wearing short sleeves?  That is your proof the next two photos were taken in October.  Early October.  I think he was the only vendor in Piazza Navona during that time of year.

I went to him a few weekends ago. I walked up to his stand, looked over the chestnuts to see if they passed the visual inspection.  They did.  So I asked, how much are they? "Quanto costano?"

His answer: "5 Euro."

All the romance left my brain and VASGO's alter ego from the past, Corporate America Sales Guy, made a brief appearance.

My answer: "Troppo caro!"  Too expensive!  I did the one move every sales person has at his/her disposal to get the other party to counter with a lower price.  It also pressures people to make their decision faster.  

The Patent-Pending Walkaway Move. It can be done in many forms.  Verbally is most common.  A great example is "I didn't really want them anyway.  Especially not at that price."  Physically beginning to walk away is particularly effective.  But not too fast.  You need to let them know they can still get you... but only for a discount. Combinations of the two are highly effective.

Since I had a language barrier, I didn't go with just the verbal routine.  Physical interaction would have to do the talking.  Let the show begin!

My face said I was pensive. Should I spend that much???  Then it went into concern.  My hands followed that by waving no thanks.  Again, I repeated the important words troppo caro, too expensive, a couple of times and then slowly inched my way away from the stand. 

One foot stepped away and I heard, "4 Euro."

Another foot stepped away and I heard, "3 Euro."

And that's when I felt like I would be getting a fair enough deal.  I turned my head back to him.  "Tre Euro?" I replied. 

"3 Euro," he confirmed.  

Not exactly the most romantic thing in my book, but saving 2 Euro might mean I can do a different romantic thing with my expert another day.  Like eating more chestnuts.

The last weekend in November, things changed a bit.  

A Christmas market opened up.  Crowds filled the piazza. There were many more vendors there and at many nearby intersections.  They each used much larger drums to roast the chestnuts over coals.  The colder weather brought on so much more demand for their roasty, toasty product.  That higher demand also made it much more difficult to bargain.  I watched one person ask how much it cost and the vendor said 5 Euro.  The guy started to walk away and I expected the vendor to go through my experience, but he just let him walk away.  I guess the vendor knew he had the upper hand.

Even for 5 Euro at their peak demand, I believe it is still worth it to experience Romantic Rome the way I did. It's a cheap thing to do in Rome and will create memories you'll never forget!

Thanksgiving: VASGO-style

On Thanksgiving this year, my experience was not quite as VASGO as I would have liked.  Italy does not celebrate the holiday so it was just another normal business day.  As I have told on other pages of my site, I am heavily involved in my Roman community and of course I still had one of my group practices the night of Thanksgiving.

Interestingly enough, if you live in Rome and didn't have obligations that night, I found out there were efforts made by a few pubs locally, about three or four total in the entire city, that offered a Thanksgiving meal.  That was nice to hear about. My thanks go out to you fine folks who decided to keep the tradition strong even if you're not in your  homeland.

The good news is that even though I was busy that day, I still got my turkey fix.  Some of our expat friends got together this weekend to build a fabulous Turkey Day meal and we were happy to attend. We even got to share it with some Italians who had never experienced a Thanksgiving meal before.  My favorite comment from one of them as I carved the turkey was "I have never seen a whole turkey before!"

So this year was abnormal.

Lucy-Lou from Kentucky writes:
________________________________________________________________________________

Dear Vasgo, 


What's a normal Thanksgiving Day like for you?


Sincerely,
Lucy-Lou
_________________________________________________________________________________

Great question, LL!  If I were living in the U.S. still, I'd be creating a delicious meal because Thanksgiving is the one day I get to be EXTRA particular about all the food I eat. Typically one goes to be with their family that day to cook, be thankful for many things, go through the chaos of being with multiple animals, children, aunts, uncles, and more and end it with a fantastic meal.

Since I didn't have the luxury of getting back to where my family lived, my expert and I would celebrate as if the whole family were visiting us and we would cook as gourmet a Thanksgiving meal as possible.  Here's the final plate from last year's for example:

The photo doesn't do it justice, so here's the real details from my November 2010 Thanksgiving.

My expert and I woke up fairly early and got straight to cooking. First, baking the stuffing, Rosemary Bread Stuffing with Speck, Fennel and Lemon.  

How was it?  TO. DIE. FOR. 

Here's the end result:
While that was baking, it was time to work on dessert: Pioneer Woman's Pumpkin Cake with Whiskey Whipped Cream. Here it is while mixing in the whiskey-soaked golden raisins:And straight out of the oven:

Probably the biggest job of the morning was assembling the Roquefort Potato Gratin. Using a mandoline to slice the potatoes made the job about a million times easier.

We had a last minute addition to the menu, but there was plenty of time for assembly and baking of the home made Brioche Rolls. So buttery and delicious!

If you could have smelled these, you would not have been able to resist them.  The sea salt on top of them REALLY made them outstanding.
The final step in the middle of the day was prepping the turkey, our Malt-Beer Brined Turkey with Malt Glaze. We brined it overnight, took it out of the fridge in the morning, got it prepped, got all of the aromatics ready to stuff inside, laced him up, and in the oven he went. Here he is, fresh out with his glaze shining:
In the background of that picture, you can see the broccolini, which eventually became Broccolini with Smoked Paprika, Garlic and Almonds. It was cooked just before eating, and unfortunately we didn't get any separate pictures of it.

A feast fit for two, or twenty-two:
Now you see this plate again.  Makes more sense doesn't it?
Then came dessert! The recipe is fantastic and the whiskey soaked raisins absolutely MAKE the cake a winner.  So moist, so spiced and flavorful.  And with the home made whiskey-whipped cream, you can't go wrong.

Yes, it may be a bit overboard, especially considering only two people could eat it.  But it's a new and fantastic tradition my expert and I have created for ourselves that is absolutely VASGO-style and I fondly remember it, and fondly look forward to it in two years from now.

Even though it's a few days past, Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

VASGO Turns 10,000

Age amounts to very little in the timeless space called the Internet.  One could say a website's age is determined by page views.  Particularly this one. (me.)

Therefore, I, mayor of VASGOville, hereby declare just VASGO to be 10,000 clicks old.  In Italian cyberspace, you would not ask "How old are you?" like in the United States. Instead it would be worded "How many clicks do you have?"

(The joke there for those not accustomed to Italian language, or really any Latin-based romance language for that matter, is that the construction of the English phrase "How old are you?" to find out one's age is very often "How many years do you have?" as the most literal translation.)

(Told you it was funny.)

Anyway, regardless of my humor whether you find it funny or not, we are here today to celebrate just VASGO because last weekend it turned 10,000.  Thank you to EVERYONE all over the world!

Source

You helped us reach this milestone in less than three months since official launch date.  Because of this, it's time to learn a little about VASGO's audience.

Dear Australia,
You are my 10th best reader. I had no idea that although you are rich in natural resources and have a lot of fertile land, more than one-third of you is desert. (source)


Dear Malta,
You are my 9th best reader. I had no idea that your location in the Mediterranean, midway between Africa and Europe has made you a highly sought-after "prize" over the centuries.  For example, you were fought over in the 16th century when the Knights of St. John repelled 30,000 soldiers of Suleyman the Magnificent's Ottoman Empire. (source)


Dear India,
You are my 8th best reader. I had no idea that you hold the largest business in the world: Indian Railways, employing over a million people.  I am equally fascinated that Chess was invented in you, as well as Martial Arts. (source)


Dear Germany,
You are my 7th best reader. I enjoyed visiting you about 12 years ago.  I had no idea that you have more soccer (also called calcio, futbol, football and I'm sure others depending on where you are from) fan clubs in your country than anywhere else in the world. I'm very surprised to hear that you are ranked SECOND in world-wide beer consumption per person after that of Ireland (another surprise). (source)


Dear Netherlands,
You are my 6th best reader. In a few months, I will finally get to visit you.  I had a feeling the "Netherlands" and "Holland" are in fact one and the same.  However, I had no idea that one quarter of your entire country is below sea level, that about 30% of all Dutch babies are born at home and that the Dutch are the tallest people in Europe. (source)


Dear Canada,
You are my 5th best reader. I have visited you about four times over my life.  I am not surprised to find out that hockey is one of your national sports.  However, I had no idea lacrosse would ALSO be considered your national sport.  Most surprising is the fact that your country consumes more macaroni and cheese than any other nation on earth!  (source)


Dear United Kingdom,
You are my 4th best reader. I really never knew how you broke down, better said, that you are composed of four different nations: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.  Additionally, if I took Northern Ireland out of the equation, I never knew I could call the three of you Great Britain. (source)


Dear Switzerland,
You are my 3rd best reader. I knew you were known for being neutral, but I had no idea you remained neutral in EVERY major war since 1815.  Furthermore, I am interested to find out your neutrality is the reason why you host such organizations as the Red Cross, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and one of the United Nation's two European offices. (source)


Dear Italy,
You are my 2nd best reader. I absolutely love living in you!  You have given the world so much in terms of art, music, food and much more.  But most of that is common knowledge.  What I didn't know about you is that UNICEF's 2007 report on child well-being in rich countries ranked you as the best country for family and peer relationships. (source)


Dear United States,
You are my number 1 best reader! You are a fascinating mix of cultures.  You are an enormous country compared to the rest of the world.  I already knew you owned the wettest place on earth (most recorded rainfall per X? is in Hawaii) but what I didn't know was that you house the world's highest roller coaster! (in Ohio). (source)

To all countries around the world that read just VASGO, thank you so much!

Happy Thanksgiving

This week in just VASGO, things have been delayed more than usual and I apologize for not being able to prioritize posting over the other activities.

I would like to say, however, that I have a bunch of good excuses for not being able to post this week. As proper contractual verbiage goes, these excuses include but are not limited to:

1. Moving to a new apartment.
2. Having a very important side project to complete which has taken up all of my day-time writing ability.
3. Being involved with the community every available week night, and now more recently on the weekends as well.
4. And much, much more.

Alas, because of these difficulties, all I can give you today is a snippet of VASGO.  The normal posting of these will happen soon enough!

So what happened this week?

• You helped me surpass 10,000 page views in 3 months!  You truly are the best readers a writer could have!  Thank you so much!

• The cold is starting to set in and that means romantic evening walks in the Roman Piazzas and not-so-romantic bargaining with roasted chestnut vendors for some of their warm comfort food.

• Let's not forget Thanksgiving!  It's not really done in Italy, so I think it is appropriate to write a post of what usually happens at my Thanksgivings (when I have a full kitchen in the U.S. to do it in).  I'll probably name this one Post from the Past because I certainly won't have pictures of a meal today.

And that's it for now!  So on this lovely day where so many of my American friends are waking up and preparing their turkeys to roast for hours, I leave you with this:

O wonderful readers,
I write truthfully.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I am thankful for thee!

Source

Free Things To Do In Rome: Chiese

I have been a big proponent of Free Things To Do In Rome while living here and I can't believe this is the first time I am mentioning such an obvious thing.

Where can you find outstanding architecture?
Where can you find beautiful paintings?
Where can you find sculptures from some of history's most revered artists?
And all for free (usually)?

The answer is CHURCHES of course.  In italiano, chiese.  And they are ALL OVER ROME!

Seriously.  You could be in any random neighborhood with the purpose of trying a great gelateria you had heard about and stumble on a church during their open hours.  Why not go in?  It's free entertainment (usually) and here in Rome, you will be amazed at the grandeur of some of these establishments.  

Don't believe me?  Have a taste of this!

Santa Balbina

Santa Maria in Trastevere

Santa Maria Della Consolazione

St. Peter's Basilica

Santi Ambrogio e Carlo al Corso

San Giovanni in Laterano

Like I said, going into the churches allows you to see some wonderful art, even what some consider masterpieces.

The Ecstasy of St. Teresa by Gianlorenzo Bernini,  in Santa Maria della Vittoria.  Most just know the artist as Bernini.

.

The Madonna di Loreto by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, in Sant'Agostino.  Most just know the artist as Caravaggio.

The Pieta' by Michelangelo Buonarroti (THE Michelangelo in case you didn't know his full name), in St. Peter's Basilica.  My expert tells me this was Michelangelo's first major work of sculpture for a public place, and basically secured his getting the commission to create the David.  He was 24 years old when he completed this!

I still encourage all to visit the museums in the area which often charge admission, however, free art is the best art!

Free Things To Do In Rome: Starlings Play Target Practice

Once upon a time there went an old saying:

A Starling a day keeps the worm away.
A thousand Starlings a day keeps EVERYONE away.

Here in Rome, the latter has never been so true as the Starlings take to the skies each evening around sunset and dance a mesmerizing flight, erratic and yet fluid.  They are fascinating to watch, never knowing which direction they fly and when they will change their course.  However, beauty can easily disguise a monster.

I don't think this is a starling, but it was the closest photo of a wild bird I was able to take while living out here.

You can search online today and very easily find articles from 2008 or earlier discussing the problems with the birds.

The issue that has persisted for years and years is that in the fall and winter months, these birds come out of their trees and join together for this dance.  More specifically, during this dance as any pet owner might know, their bodies which were previously inactive, become active and with more motion and blood circulating in their bodies, their metabolic rates are boosted and their internal organs work their magic resulting in a natural production of what we scientists like to call a bowel movement.

And when you have thousands, no.  Hundreds of thousands of starlings in the sky at one single time with overactive bladders, what you get is a mess.

Hey what are all those specks in the sky?  Better zoom in.

This photo does not do my post justice.  My camera isn't that great, and they moved around way too much. And they were all over the sky, not just right there. 

Apparently in the past the birds caused enough damage to the outdoor Roman art to make the government attempt to stop them.  Today and for the last several years, an agency has been given an annual budget to use loudspeakers when the masses come out for a dance and play starling distress calls.  From the articles I have read, particularly this one, this method has significantly reduced the number of birds that once danced with the sunset.

To give you a better idea of what I saw, here's a picture from someone else on a different day.

Source

Make sure you come out to Rome and watch some of these amazing flight patterns.  Bird watching can be fun.  It's one of the many Free Things To Do In Rome.  And taking a little risk that you might be a target makes life just a little more interesting!

The Cider House RULES!

Yes, the title of this post is a play on words from the American movie many knew and loved, The Cider House Rules. However, I'm here to tell you about a little something VASGO called a sidreria.  My recent adventures in Spain opened me up to the concept of a sidreria and its operation.

Let's begin by exploring what it is.  A sidreria is a hard cider manufacturing facility that in the old days was really only that, but nowadays, caters more to their public appeal and serves food like a restaurant would.  You might consider it your local microbrewery/restaurant down the street, except you get to pour the cider yourself!

Now if anyone is unsure of what cider is, I will make this easy.  Think apples.  Lots of apples.

Hard ciders in the U.S. are a bit different than the ones out here in Basque, Spain.  Ok, quite a bit different.  In the States, you'll find ciders that are sweeter than sugar.  And as a person who prefers dry beverages, those ones back home have always been tough to take down.  In Spain, though, my recent experience tells me the range goes from dry, all the way to mostly dry with a hint of sweetness.  Not a big range.

Maybe it's because the apples they use are not sweet ones.  Perhaps they have access to only a single variety of apple?  From my brewing experience, I learned that if I wanted to make dry cider similar to that of Strongbow brand, I had to buy a particular juice from special apples.  Ones that weren't sweet.  And definitely NOT from concentrate.

The same goes for wine-making from what I understand.  I also welcome you to correct me if I am wrong.  The grapes you buy from the grocery store to eat are most certainly not the types of grapes you would make wine with.  Unless you wanted sugar wine.  The better grapes for wine are quite tiny and they are hardly ever sweet.

Back to the sidreria.

Let me give you a quick idea of how it unfolded for me.

I walked into a building almost half the length of a football field, or a soccer pitch depending on your preference, and noticed two walls filled with massive barrels.  My thoughts instantly went into VASGO-mode.  What's in these barrels?  Is it something delicious?

I walked over to a friend who knows more about the details of our dinner.  Excuse me, but what is this?

Una sidreria.  Cidre in italiano.  You know, hard cider.


Talk about the best surprise a VASGO could ever get.  I just stepped foot into a sidreria without knowing it.  And I was so glad I brought my camera.

Here's how you experience a sidreria.

#1. Grab a glass.
#2. Walk over to a barrel in the wall.
#3. Observe how people fill their glasses.
#4. Fill up your glass. Important note, you MUST start down low and move the glass up the stream towards the barrel.
#5. Drink the golden nectar.
#6. Repeat #4 and #5 until you have tried every different barrel to determine which variety you like best.

My favorite was barrel number 3.  It was dry, had the faintest hint of sweetness and was quite tart.  Delicious.

Then you combine it with the rest of the meal and you end up with a wonderful dining experience.

Delicious salad to start.

Traditional fish omelette as first plate.

This...

 ... goes on this... 

 ... and becomes this.

And then dessert! Manchego Cheese and a fruit paste/jelly, possibly of quince.

To all headed to Basque, Spain, do NOT pass up the opportunity of going to a sidreria!

How to Harvest Olives for Olive Oil

Ready boys and girls? Get out your ladders, plastic rakes and fine mesh netting because it's the middle of fall and the olives shouldn't be allowed to get much riper.  You wouldn't want the olive oil to taste bitter, would you?

just VASGO presents:   How to Harvest Olives for Olive Oil

#1: Set up two very large, fine mesh nets under your olive trees.  Best to buy some large plastic clips to keep them secured together.  That last thing you want to do is let those savory fruits fall through and have to pick them up by hand.

#2: Make sure the olives have a place to gather if your trees are planted on a slope.  Remember, the purpose is to make sure you collect the olives, not just see how far they can roll down the hill.

#3: Grab a plastic rake and start pulling those olives down!  Be careful not to step on them though.  First of all, it makes the bottom of your shoes dirty.  Secondly, you do not want to press already-squished olives.  Once the meat on the small fruits is exposed to oxygen, flavors change and eventually things become bitter.  Or more simply stated, not good tasting.

#4: Get up in the tree or on your ladder and get every last one of those olives off the tree.

#5: Admire all of your hard work accomplished.

#6: Start from the top of the slope and begin pushing the olives down the hill for collection.

It never hurts to remove some of the leaves and branches while pushing them all together.

#7: Carefully pour the olives into bins.  When full, you will use these to transport them safely to the commercial olive pressing company.

#8: Load them up on your wagon to make transporting up the hill easier.

#9: Spill your olives that you worked so hard to gather carefully.

#10: Call everyone over and beg them for help to pick up all the olives you spilled.

#11: Ask this guy to stop making fun of you for spilling his olives.

#12: Wait a few days for the owners of the olive trees to let you know they had the olives pressed and the bottle of oil that was promised to you is waiting for pick up.

And that's it!  So easy!

Olive harvesting is good exercise, good family fun and relatively inexpensive depending on where you have to travel to reach the farm.  For example, my round trip train ticket to this plot of land in Umbria only cost me 10 Euro.  All you have to do is look online to see who needs your help!

And now, a short video of what it was like out there.