Nuovo Cibo

Before coming to Rome, I detested zucchini and had never really eaten eggplant (or drunk wine, but that's another story). Now I am obsessed with both, especially when the former is sautéed and accompanied by melted mozzarella on ciabatta. In wondering why the States haven't caught on to the fact that zucchini flowers are edible and delish, I Wikipedia'd them... and was met with this wonderful fact:

"In a culinary context, zucchini is treated as a vegetable, which means it is usually cooked and presented as a savory dish or accompaniment. Botanically, however, the zucchini is an immature fruit, being the swollen ovary of the female zucchini flower." 

So now you know. 

I also had rabbit (in pasta sauce) and basically raw beef for the first time on Saturday night. Adventures for my taste buds!

Carpe Diem

I did something impulsive today.

Well, kind of. I had been thinking of it off-and-on as an "If I were a different person..." sort of thing for a few years, then let myself be convinced to do it for real about a month ago, then tried to pursue it two weeks ago but was foiled by misinformation and was crushed into resignation that it shouldn't happen after all. But today, quite unexpectedly, the opportunity presented itself—and, without my usual waffling and listing of all the hypothetical consequences, I took the bull by the horns.

Or more specifically, I took a needle to the nose: a souvenir of Rome and a symbol of the newer person I've become since landing here.

I Miei Nuovi Amici

• Single-serving containers of pesto
• The secret coffee vending machine
• ACE juice
• Pear juice
• Nutella boat cookies
• Zucchini-and-mozzarella sandwiches
• Vino bianco for less than 2 euros

(Do you sense a theme? Oy gevalt.)

I'm attending the canonization ceremony at St. Peter's this weekend, so maybe by Monday I can add Pope Benedict XVI to this list too—or at least an Australian cardinal.

The Top of a Muffin

I'm pretty sure I have gained weight since arriving here a month ago, despite the heightened amount of walking I've been doing. This gelato-and-pastry habit I've fallen into (or just carried over from my binge-eating in the states) has to stop, for the sake of my wallet and my waistline. 

Those cornetti con cioccolato are divine and a scoop of stracciatella hits the spot every time, but I am putting myself on a restricted diet of no more than two pastries and two small cups of gelato a week, starting this Friday in Venice. Quality over quantity. Try to avoid diabetes.

EDIT (Sunday): Well, that was a fail. Starting over tomorrow. Cornetti don't count.

I should probably also stop buying those 38-cent packs of wafer cookies at the supermarket. They disappear embarrassingly quickly down my throat.

In related news, apparently spoom is a thing.