A taste of Italy

Last summer I moved out of Toronto's Little Italy.  I had lived there for almost 10 years and I had watched my neighbourhood go through many changes, but now it was time for me to move on.  One thing I miss about my old neighbourhood (aside from the pizza and numerous amazing restaurants) are the food markets on the street. I knew I would have to give up a few things when we temporarily downsized but it's one thing that our new neighbourhood must have within walking distance when we move back into a house!  The markets were never far off when travelling around Italy, actually, I don't remember them being far off in any of the European cities I've travelled to.  

I'd love to share with you some yummy food's I saw along the way during my travels through Italy last summer.  

Caprese Salad

My favourite things to eat while in Italy were Caprese Salad (Fresh tomato, Mozzarella cheese and basil) and Margarita pizza's.  Yes, I went all the way to Italy and I just couldn't get enough of these two very simple but tasty meals.  Oh yeah, let's not forget the red wine with dinner and giant beer's that cooled me off during lunch.  mmm, Well I think I know what I'm having for dinner tonight!!  


I had at least one Margarita pizza a day!!  I love the thin crust and fresh tomato sauce!  Yumm!!


Gelato Cones ;) 




The stack of cones were so pretty, I couldn't resist taking a snap!  I didn't have much gelato while I was in Italy, not exactly sure why.  I love ice cream back home, and it was pretty warm out while in Italy but I guess that were on the go so much and when we finally did stop, all I wanted was pizza!  The gelato flavours were very diverse and I wasn't really sure where to start but when I did finally have some,  I was boring and had the pistachio and stracciatella.  Do you have a favourite flavour?  








Gelato and more gelato!!




The difference between Gelato and Ice Cream?  Well, the basic ingredients are mostly the same, but gelato has a lower butterfat content and while ice cream is churned and creates air (the air  is used as filler), gelato is frozen quickly in small batches to create a denser dessert.





The morning we headed to the bus stop to leave Portovenere, this fruit market appeared for a few hours. Although we couldn't take anything with us, I had to take a look around.

Fresh Figs!!


Mushrooms!


Olive Trees :)



I didn't find any olive trees for sale at the markets, but I was happy to see olive trees everywhere else!  This was taken on a path through Cinque Terre, (five villages) in Italy.  I love kalamata olives and have heard many stories of how I enjoyed a "plate of olives" when visiting family and friends as a little girl.

Chili Peppers bundled up like a bunch of flowers! So Pretty!!!



A few Fruit Markets on the street & outside shops.  I can't tell you how happy I was to find bananas!


Fish Market by the pier in Venice the morning we were leaving town.  Finally figured out where that smell was coming from....



Thanks for dropping by and please stay tuned for my Cooking Lesson in Tuscany!! 



1 comment:

  1. Oh boy, the pizza looks amazing! I love gelato too! It's my fave frozen dessert. The fruit stand looks so beautiful. So artistic.

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