Simply-aholic

While I know that just a few weeks ago I wrote an entire post dedicated to all of the American food I miss, there are brands and foods from Simply, our Italian supermarket, that I have grown to love. Just as it has been hard to make the transition away from Kraft mac&cheese and Campbell's soup, I will now miss the snacks and cereals that have grown on me these last four months. Following are some brief highlights of Italy's less-culinary snacks.

Muesly Crusty: Yes, I know that says crusty. What an appetizing adjective, right? But don't knock it 'til you've tried it! This granola was the absolute death of my size 6 skinny jeans. It was first purchased with good intentions. After all, granola is good for you. This was jam-packed with fruits and oatmeal and healthy fats, right? Right! And then I ate the whole box. Perhaps this process was repeated several times. Oops.

Grancereale: In a delightful display of American-ness, my roommate and I refer to the snack cookies by this name as "Gran Cereal." They come in several flavors, but fruit and cocoa are our personal favorites. Another "healthy" food, gone wrong.

Magnum: It's like a Dove ice cream bar. Only 100x better. Only I can't stop eating them. The pistachio one is particularly divine. I bribe myself to do schoolwork with the promise of a Magnum bar. There is a rumor that the Champaign Target sells them for the price of an arm and a leg. It may be worth that.

Snack Friends: The most delicious mix of salty snackies imaginable. Mini-ritz, pretzels, sesame seed stars, etc. Incredibly addicting little buggers.

Mykonos Greek Yogurt: I had never had greek yogurt at home before because of my love of good ol' Yoplait. I was sure missing out! This brand comes with honey and walnuts to mix in to create a delightful and healthy addition to any meal! It was almost dessert. Almost.

These are just a few of the many things I am sure I will miss from the Roman grocery store. I'm being sure to stock up on them now-- who knows when I will be able to have them again!

Ciao!

Croutons, Calamari, and Cannoli

This weekend was the final time I was traveling within my program. We have three days left in class and finals next week. Time has truly flown by! I spent Saturday and Sunday in Palermo, Sicily. The weekend started out less-than-stellar, as our flight was delayed by four hours :( We did get some free airport food though, for whatever that is worth. After our late arrival though things started to look up. We wandered through the streets and saw many of the city's main sites including Teatro Massimo (where part of the Godfather was filmed), Quatro Canti (Four Corners), and San Giovanni degli Eremiti.

Our first meal was at a little osteria off the main street. I had croutons for the first time in months!

While they didn't come with a salad, and weren't even exactly croutons-- they were amazing! It was more like still warm, deep fried bread in olive oil. Yum. Yum yum yum. They also gave us those apertifs free of charge, in addition to another whole basket of bread! Carbs should have been the fourth "C" of my title haha. For the main course I ordered a shrimp risotto with zucchini. The heads were already cut off and I was so excited! It was beyond delicious!

I also, admittedly, stole many-a-bite from Clare's fresh fried seafood platter. I have a weak spot for breaded calamari and it was too good to stop! The difference between fresh and frozen seafood is truly remarkable. In the last couple weeks I have grown to love seafood more than I thought possible while in the oceanless expanse known as the Midwest.

Finally I was so excited to try some authentic cannoli! It was entirely delicious and delectable! The ricotta mixture was creamy and the dough crispy and flaky. I would honestly have eaten ten!

It was great to end my study abroad travels in an authentic area of Italy! There was a whole new culture to explore and definitely great food to digest. While technically I could end my food blog after this weekend, I think I am going to continue it throughout my boyfriend and family's visits. So don't quit checking it yet!

Ciao!