"Live with no regrets" is a hard thing to do when you've studied abroad. My one regret about this experience: coming home. One of the major problems I've faced is being able to re-accustom myself to Italian-American cooking. Coming from a long line of Italians, (many of which are terrific cooks) I can't stop longing for authentic Italian cuisine.
I lived in Florence as a part of a study abroad program. I didn't need this experience to graduate nor any of the school credits I was receiving. Therefore, I opted to take a course that would be fun and I'd get something else out of. I thought: "What better place to learn to cook than the Mecca of food and wine?" The instructor of the course, Giancarlo Russo, was a whiz in the kitchen. He's traveled so much in his youth that he's learn to cook all types of dishes.
Although he was well versed in several types of cuisine, we focused on Italian (specifically Tuscan) cooking. We made all types of dishes, spaghetti alle vongole or spaghetti with clam sauce, spaghetti alla carbonara, pappa al pomodoro or potato tomato soup and much more. One of the lessons he stressed most to the class was that Italian olive oil is good for you. As nave Americans, we assumed it's oil, so it must be inherently unhealthy. However, Giancarlo made it very clear that it is one of the few oils that can be consumed daily and actually benefit your health.
Still having doubts, I decided to investigate further in case he was just a crazy, old, Italian man pouring poison down our throats. According to an article on the Global Healing Center website, titled, "The Benefits of Olive Oil" he wasn't crazy at all. He may have been old and Italian, but he was most definitely not crazy! (At least not in the strictest terms.) Dr. Group addresses many of the benefits of consuming and using Italian olive oil. I found more information still on the Unaprol website, which is an Italian producer of olive oil. Their product contains an abundance of antioxidants and Vitamin E.
My face spoke all the things I was thinking when Giancarlo drowned my pappa al pomodoro (that I had worked so hard on) in olive oil. "Trust Tio Giancarlo, trust" he would say numerous times throughout the summer. Eventually I did learn to trust that crazy yet adorable, old man.
I lived in Florence as a part of a study abroad program. I didn't need this experience to graduate nor any of the school credits I was receiving. Therefore, I opted to take a course that would be fun and I'd get something else out of. I thought: "What better place to learn to cook than the Mecca of food and wine?" The instructor of the course, Giancarlo Russo, was a whiz in the kitchen. He's traveled so much in his youth that he's learn to cook all types of dishes.
Although he was well versed in several types of cuisine, we focused on Italian (specifically Tuscan) cooking. We made all types of dishes, spaghetti alle vongole or spaghetti with clam sauce, spaghetti alla carbonara, pappa al pomodoro or potato tomato soup and much more. One of the lessons he stressed most to the class was that Italian olive oil is good for you. As nave Americans, we assumed it's oil, so it must be inherently unhealthy. However, Giancarlo made it very clear that it is one of the few oils that can be consumed daily and actually benefit your health.
Still having doubts, I decided to investigate further in case he was just a crazy, old, Italian man pouring poison down our throats. According to an article on the Global Healing Center website, titled, "The Benefits of Olive Oil" he wasn't crazy at all. He may have been old and Italian, but he was most definitely not crazy! (At least not in the strictest terms.) Dr. Group addresses many of the benefits of consuming and using Italian olive oil. I found more information still on the Unaprol website, which is an Italian producer of olive oil. Their product contains an abundance of antioxidants and Vitamin E.
My face spoke all the things I was thinking when Giancarlo drowned my pappa al pomodoro (that I had worked so hard on) in olive oil. "Trust Tio Giancarlo, trust" he would say numerous times throughout the summer. Eventually I did learn to trust that crazy yet adorable, old man.
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For more details related to olive oil, for Italian cooking or otherwise, please contact Unaprol.
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