Thanksgiving

The weather has been extraordinayry lately--clear skies and temperatures in the mid 60s F. Our host has purchased a turkey so that we can celebrate Thanksgiving in style. She claims to have ordered a 6 kilo bird, but the one we picked up today weighs in at over 7 and a half kilos. That is 16.5 lbs for you non-metric folks. It is a big bird, and I think Ursula's estimation of a three hour cooking time is waaaaay under. Add to this the fact that her ancient gas oven only has two settings--hot and off--and we may not be eating until 9 or 10 tonight. At least it will be tasty. I have smeared herb butter underneath the skin and Ursula has stuffed it full of bread, bacon and apples. Mmm.

Side dishes include pierogies (the other two wwoofers are both Polish-Americans), chestnut risotto, green beans with almonds and apple sauce (Italians don't even have a word for cranberries). Dessert will be a "pumpkin" pie, which is made from an orange-fleshed squash that I spent over an hour today running through a small foodmill in order to puree it. So, as you can see, we will be celebrating our day of thanks in full American-Polish-German-Italian style. Awesome.

(The cranberries part reminds me of something I bought a few weeks ago. I went into a pharmacy looking for cranberry suppliments and came out with a bottle of "bear grapes." No lie, that is what uva ursino translates too. The pharmacist, who spoke some English, assured me that this would serve the same purpose.)

Our time here in Italy is coming to a close. On Tuesday afternoon, Josh and I will board a British Airways flight to Edinburgh to begin our three month stay in the UK. Italy has been great fun, but I think we both agree that it is time for some new surroundings. That and we are both craving breakfasts and tall glasses of dark beer. Anyhoo, more on this subject when I'm not supposed to be helping with dinner--