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Festa de Noantri in Trastevere

La Festa de Noantri

Meaning the ‘Festival of us’, in oposition to ‘you others who live in other Rione or areas of Rome’. Between 15th and 30th July Trastevere in Festa.

The origine comes from the story that during a tempest at sea, some fishermen found a statue of the Virgin Mary sculped from cedar wood. This Madonna was given to the Carminelite Monks and is now in the Church of Sant’Agata,Trastevere. Thus the Madonna is the protector of all trasteverini.During the festival the Madonna is carried in processions in the various churches in the Rione. The restaurants are decorated for feasting and much wine of the Castelli Romani is drunk.

Posted by Ren on Luglio 2nd, 2009 under roman markets & food fairs | Comment now »

Food fairs in Lazio for July

Sagra dell’olio d’oliva e della pizza-fritta (olive oil and fried pizza)
12 July in Monteflavio
Sagra degli gnocchi al sugo di castrato on 12 July in Nerola
Sagra delle stracciose il 29 luglio 2009 a Nerola (RM)
Egg based pasta
Sagra de bucatini all’amatriciana il 19 luglio 2009 a Nerola (RM)
long pasta in tomato and bacon sauce
Sagra del pesce il 28 luglio 2009 a Nazzano (RM)
Fish festival
Calici di Stelle il 10 luglio 2009 a Piglio (FR)
Sagra delle fettuccine alla trebulana il 26 luglio 2009 a Monteleone Sabino (RI)
9-12 Jul: Festa della Trebbiatura
Historical reenactments, antique tractor/car show, local food and traditional dance.

Pontecorvo (Frosinone, 125km SE of Rome) www.festadellatrebbiatura.it
Sagra della patacca dal 24 al 26 luglio 2009 a Serrone (FR)
Calici di Stelle dal 08 al 10 luglio 2009 a Serrone (FR)
Festival della Birra e Sagra della Bruschetta dal 24 al 27 luglio 2009 a Allumiere (RM)
Beer and bruschetta
Sagra delle regne dal 05 al 12 luglio 2009 a Minturno (LT)
Sagra della cozza dal 04 al 06 luglio 2009 a Anzio (RM)
Mussels

11-12 Juy- Fish festival

Sample Lake Bolsena’s ‘whitefish’, cooked on a giant barbecue, with local recipes and folklore.

Bolsena (140km N of Rome) www.tuscia360.it

Posted by Ren on Luglio 2nd, 2009 under roman markets & food fairs | Comment now »

The Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton

A book about unleashing the power of consciousness, matter and miracles.

Lipton, speaks of instinctive behaviours being passed on to offspring ‘in the form of genetic-based instincts’ – yet there is no serious evidence that DNA encodes habits. He regards the mind as ‘immaterial energy’ seated in the prefrontal cortex of the brain, and does not appear to believe that it can exist independently of the body. He endorses the conventional darwinian view that the evolution of higher mammals somehow brought forth selfconsciousness, and declares that the ‘receptor-effector protein complex’ is ‘the fundamental unit of awareness/intelligence’, ignoring the possibility that mind works through physical forms and structures from more ethereal levels of reality.

By contrast, according to the theosophic or ancient-wisdom tradition, consciousness is not magically generated by matter but is the ultimate ground of the universe; consciousness-life-substance is an eternal and universal unitary essence, manifesting in infinite degrees of density and in endlessly varied forms. The physical world is therefore the outer shell of inner worlds, composed of subtler grades of energy-substance (astral, mental, and spiritual), which are imperceptible to our normal senses but just as material to the entities that inhabit them as our own world is to us. Likewise, the physical body is animated and organized by inner ‘bodies’ – such as an astral model-body, a reincarnating soul or mind, and a spiritual-divine self or monad. Strong support for this worldview is provided by a broad body of scientific research in fields such as fundamental physics, ‘new energy’, psychic and consciousness-related phenomena, and memories of past lives. For adepts possessing the necessary occult powers, subtler realms and bodies are visible and tangible realities.

Posted by Ren on Giugno 30th, 2009 under books we like | Comment now »

Chicken alla pizzaiola

A quick and easy dish for a hot day in Rome!

For Four.

2 cloves garlic, small onion

4 large spoons olive oil, s & p

Pesto sauce (or basil leaves)

400 gr ripe tomatoes

2 or 3 slices chicken breasts x person

same slices as chicken mozzarella cheese

Parmesn cheese (optional)

For the fresh sauce, sauté the garlic and slices onion in olive oil quickly until soft. Add to the tomatoes and pulse.Cook the sauce for 5′ and if the tomatoe is acid, add a small spoon of sugar. (tomatoes in England are not nice and sweet like here).Add seasoning.

Cook the chicken breasts in olive oil on each side until they are not pink inside anymore. Arrange on an oven dish,covering with the tomatoe sauce,top with mozzarella and a small spoon of pesto in the middle (or a basil leaf). Sprinkle with parmesan cheese (optional) and cook in a hot oven for 7 minutes, or until the cheese slightly melts.

Posted by Ren on Giugno 30th, 2009 under recipes | Comment now »

Homage to Michael Jackson

Posted by Ren on Giugno 28th, 2009 under not only cooking | Comment now »

shopping in Rome

Tomatoe sauce & herbs

Cheese da Gianni

Pasta & pomodoro

Ruhdra’s scarves

Rudhra’s shirts

Linen

Posted by Ren on Giugno 28th, 2009 under not only cooking | Comment now »

Gnocchi di patate-Potato gnocchi

Haven’t got my camera so will publish some photos from Wikepaedia

For 4: 500gr potatoes

130gr white flour

salt

Some people like to add egg and nutmeg,but I learnt to make gnocchi in Maremma and this is their classic way.

Boil the potatoes in their skins (keeps them from being too moist), peel and mash with a fork or pass through a potatoe masher.Add salt and flour and knead as bread on a floured surface. The mixture should be quite soft and delicate. Roll into snake like shapes and cut into 2cm pieces.

Roll these pieces on a fork to make little dents in the sides where the sauce gets stuck on. Don’t worry if you find this difficult, they don’t have to come out perfect. Put all on a floured tray.

Boil some salty water and slowly put in your gnocchi into slowly boiling water. They will all come on the surface after about a count of 25. You can do this in small batches as they cook so quickly, once they are all on a large plate, they keep each other warm. Cover with sauce and grate some parmesan on top and add pepper if liked.

Fresh tomatoe sauce:

Pulse slightly two large ripe tomatoes with 5 inch long celery stick and 1 medium carrot. Put some olive oil in a pan and add the mixture. Cook slowly for about 8 minutes or until the flavours are all mixed but not ‘ccoked’, salt and if the tomatoes are slightly acid you can add a small spoon of sugar.

Posted by Ren on Giugno 28th, 2009 under recipes | Comment now »

Chocolate dip strawberries

Gamze my Turkish friend made me these delicious chocolate dip strawberries. It is hot in Rome so we put them in the fridge and the taste is almost like a strawberry ice lolly coated in chocolate!

Melt some 60 percent dark chocolate over boiling water. Wash the strawberries and leave the stems on. When dry, dip in the chocolate and place on a layer of tin foil on a plate. Put them in the fridge for half an hour before eating.

Posted by Ren on Giugno 27th, 2009 under recipes | Comment now »

St.Francis walk in the Rieti Valley

I was just taken to visit the Franciscan shrines in the Rieti valley by a friend. This is a beautiful walk to do. Saint Francis loved the Rieti Valley. Here he found refuge from the vanities of the world. He found kind, simple people who understood his message. He found lush and peaceful nature.
Saint Francis made the Rieti Valley his home along with Assisi and the Verna. Since then, this splendid plain amidst the hills and mountains has been known as the Sacred Valley .

The Saint Francis Walk is the same route travelled by the Saint in the Sacred Valley. By taking the Walk, you will travel along the paths and roads that Saint Francis loved so much. You will be immersed in the same spectacular nature that enveloped Saint Francis and you will have a unique and purely spiritual experience.

Before beginning the Walk, visit the Main Offices of the Saint Francis Walk located at the Rieti Tourist Board Offices in Via Cintia, 87, Rieti. You will be given useful information and recommendations that will help make your Walk a unique and unforgettable experience.

The Walk was conceived by the Director of the Rieti Tourist Board , Diego di Paolo, and was made possible thanks to the precious contributions by the National Forest Rangers Corps and the synergy with provincial institutions. The 80 kilometres that make up the Walk, are divided into eight stops that have been blessed by the presence of Saint Francis.
The stops along the Walk will take you to Medieval Rieti with its palaces and churches, the Greccio, La Foresta, Poggio Bustone and Fontecolombo Sanctuaries set within green and lush woods, the Saint Francis Beech Tree at Rivodutri , the ancient town of Posta , a pearl in the Velino Valley, and to the top of Mount Terminillo.
Along the Saint Francis Walk you will find wooden signposts and in towns you will find arrows and markings on the road to help and guide you along the paths and direct you to the various stops.
You can choose how to do the Walk: on foot, by mountain bike, on horseback, or by car (this choice is available for those with special needs). However you decide to make the Walk, you will find paths and roads of exceptional beauty.

Surrounded by the Sabine and Rieti hills, from amongst which Terminillo rises in splendour, it is furrowed by a network of rivers – the Velino, the Salto, the Turano – and is spotted throughout with villages, castles and hamlets, creating the thousand colours of a fertile and generous countryside.
But above all, the Rieti valley is marked by the sign of the cross, the four Franciscan shrines which mark the four extremes of the valley and which jealously guard the memory of the places where Saint Francis stayed: the hermitages of Poggio Bustone, Fontecolombo, Greccio and La Foresta continue to welcome pilgrims in the name of the Holy Man from Assisi, and to give his message of peace and goodwill.

How to get there:-From Rome
From the Ring Road, take the A1 Firenze-Roma highway (exit 10), exit (before the Roma-Nord off ramp) at Fiano Romano and continue along the SS4 Salaria towards Rieti.
Rieti is roughly 75 km from Rome and can be reached in about an hour even if you decide to take the SS4 Salaria the entire wa.

Posted by Ren on Giugno 26th, 2009 under not only cooking | Comment now »

Without Borders-Film Festival in Rome

The “Without Borders Film Festival”, which takes place in Rome at the CASA DEL CINEMA in Villa Borghese from the 1st to the 3rd of July is meant to show what human beings have in common going beyond religious and cultural differences. Telling stories of encounters between different peoples. Showing that it is possible to go beyond geographical and mental borders.

Wednesday 1

Sala Deluxe h 16.00

Dunya and Desie, director/by Dana Nechushtan

Dutch candidate at Oscar 2008 best foreign film

Sala Deluxe h 18.00

Off and Running director/by Nicole Opper

Tribeca film festival 2009.

Teatro all’aperto h 19.30 (open air theatre)

Concert by Nour Eddine: “Bahja”

Teatro all’aperto h 21.30 (open air theatre)

Ramchand Pakistani director/by Mehreen Jabbar

Premio Fipresci della critica, Asian Film Festival New Dehli 2008.

Thursday 2

Sala Deluxe h 16.00

Prey the Devil Back to Hell director/by Gingi Retiker

Tribeca 2008.

Forward Ever, Backward Never director/by Barbara Melega

Sala deluxe h 18.00

Feminin and Masculin /by Sadaf Foroughi

Berlin Wall /by Sharam Karimi

Head Wind /by Mohammad Rasoulof

Tribeca 2008

Tooba /by Shirin Neshat

Teatro all’aperto h 21.30 (open air theatre)

Sing for Darfur /by Johan Kramer

Istanbul International Film Festival 2009, Best dramatic film Paris ECU 2009.

Friday 3

Sala Deluxe h 16.00

You Cannot Hide from Allah, /by Petr Lom

Kashmir: Journey to Freedom, /by Udi Aloni Berlin film festival 2009.

Sala Kodak, h 17.30

Yodok Stories /by Andrzej Fidyk

Tribeca film festival 2009

Sala Deluxe h 18.00

Walkabout /by Nicholas Roeg

Teatro all’aperto, h 21.30 (open air theatre)

Windmills/by Scott Thrift

I Bring What I love /by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

Special Jury prize at Middle East Film Festival, Abu Dhabi 2008.

Posted by Ren on Giugno 25th, 2009 under not only cooking | Comment now »

The transition Handbook by Rob Hopkins

This book happily describes the British grassroots “Transition Towns” movement. Meant to be a guide and motivator, the handbook discusses how several U.K. towns are preparing for the twin threats of climate change and peak oil. Hopkins, a teacher of permaculture and natural building and a cofounder of the Transition Network, urges a community response—local sustainability made fun—in which groups grapple with issues like food, transportation, energy, building materials, and waste and even develop their own local currency.

The book has three sections, the Head, the Heart and the Hands. The Head explores the issues of peak oil and climate change, and how when looked at together, we need to be focusing on the rebuilding of resilience as well as cutting carbon emissions. It argues that the focus of our lives will become increasingly local and small scale as we come to terms with the real implications of the energy crisis we are heading into. The Heart looks at where we find the personal tools for responding to what can feel like overwhelming challenges. It argues that key to our success will be our ability to generate positive visions of future, to harness the power of engaged optimism, and overcome powerlessness. The Hands offers a detailed exploration of the Transition model, setting out its principles, its origins, the 12 Steps of Transition, how they were applied in the first year of Transition Town Totnes, as well as offering a taste of how the model has been applied in a range of other settings. The book also contains lots of ‘Tools for Transition’, exercises and activities that can help to deepen this work in your community.

Posted by Ren on Giugno 25th, 2009 under books we like, things we like out in the world! | Comment now »

Norcino liquor

1 litre alcohol (vodka or grappa), 21 green walnuts (picked on the day of St.John), 2gr cinnemon, 9 cloves, lemon peel, 600gr sugar, 400cl water.

Preparation-Divide each green nut into four parts. Put into a large glass jar together with all the ingredients escept the sugar. Leave to infuse for 40 days in natural light, shaking the liquid each day. Melt the sugar with the water and when cold, add to the alcohol mixture. Leave in natural light again for 10 days, shaking each day. Filter and put in glass bottles and enjoy.

Just remember that green walnuts will leave a deep brown dye on your hands or anything they come in contact with!

Posted by Ren on Giugno 22nd, 2009 under recipes | Comment now »

Citta dell’Utopia-City of Utopia

La Citta dell’Utopia- ALL DAY 20th JUNE-an initiative promoting home made products, organic lunch, farmers market and artisan products

In Via Valeriano near the Metro of San Paolo

Posted by Ren on Giugno 18th, 2009 under roman markets & food fairs | Comment now »

Drinking water in Roman fountains

The water coming out of the little fountains of Rome is cold and refreshing, coming from the mountain springs outside the city is very safe to drink!

This kind of fountain is called “il nasone” by the Romans, as the curved pipe resembles a “big nose.”The Roman municipality has 2,000 of these ‘nasoni’, 378 all within the walls of the city.

So don’t waste your money on bottled water. Just fill up your bottle as you walk around and drink it free and no waste of plastic!

rainer maria rilke on Roman water:

‘Waters infinitely full of life move along the ancient aqueducts into the great city and dance in the many city squares over white basins of stone and spread out in large, spacious pools and murmur by day and lift up their murmuring to the night, which is vast here and starry and soft with winds. And there are gardens here, unforgettable boulevards, and staircases designed by Michelangelo, staircases constructed on the pattern of downward-gliding waters and, as they descend, widely giving birth to step out of wave. Through such impressions one gathers oneself, wins oneself back from the exacting multiplicity, which speaks and chatters there (and how talkative it is!), and one slowly learns to recognize the very few Things in which something eternal endures that one can love and something solitary that one can gently take part in.’

some addresses for ‘NASONI’:The “Fontanella” in Via Lata.Go from Via del Corso to Piazza del Collegio Romano, :The Fontanella in Villa Borghese.Walk down the Viale Aranciera going to the lake,youwill see a large stone with a spout coming out.Campo de Fiori (2), Parco degli Aranci, Piazza delle Cinque Scole,Piazza del Colosseo, Piazza Navona, Piazza Sonnino, Piaza Vittoria (4), Via A.Doria 3), Via della Lungaretta, to name a few.

Posted by Ren on Giugno 12th, 2009 under Italy we love | Comment now »

Feast of St.John

.28th June the feast of St.John is celebrated with the traditional snails, herbs and nuts, all symbolically representing the solstice.

artemiseiperico(st.John’s wort)

ruta garlic

all used as a talisman against bad luck

snails

and nuts

Posted by Ren on Giugno 10th, 2009 under recipes | Comment now »

Genzano infiorata

12 - 13 - 14 & 15 June 2009

South of Rome, the town of Genzano hosts a flower festival on Corpus Christi. Boys and girls gather flowers at the suburb of the town. Then they make the flower carpet as long as 310m. Saturday and Sunday the petals are laid within the sketches until the full “carpet”, which will measure the length of almost three football fields, is finally completed.

Posted by Ren on Giugno 10th, 2009 under recipes | Comment now »

Fried basil or mint and zucchini pasta sauce

3 or 4 medium zucchini cut in thin rounds
8 leaves basil, or green mint
1 medium onion cut in thin rounds
olive oil, 1 egg (optional) ,s & p
Linguine pasta or spaghetti

Lightly fry the zucchini and onion in some olive oil. Set aside. In a small frying pan heat some olive oil and when ready throw in the basil or mint leaves to fry.Cook your linguine pasta in hot salted water, drain. Add the basil or mint to the zucchini mixture and mix with the pasta. At this stage you can add one beaten egg to coat the hot pasta. It is more delicate without cheese.

Posted by Ren on Giugno 10th, 2009 under recipes | Comment now »