Vineyards, Mountains and Seascapes

Part 2 of my Adventures in Sicily will focus on the dramatically beautiful scenery of this Mediterranean island. Imagine mountains, mountains everywhere, dominated by the largest volcano in Europe – Mt. Etna. In between were hillsides dotted with sheep and spring wildflowers, rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, farms, endless vineyards, and groves of olive, almond, lemon and blood orange trees. (Photo at right shows an almond tree branch.) In the Trapani region, I got to see a combination manmade/Godmade wonder – the salt flats.

I’ll start with the seaside village of Cefalu and move southward. Notice the village’s rocky coast and gorgeous color of the water. At right, Cefalu’s lovely beach, with waterfront houses in the background.

Moving south, we go to Erice, the mountaintop village mentioned in the previous blog. A winding road led us to the Erice.

By the way, if you visit Sicily, aim for spring or autumn. Summer temps easily hover over a hundred degrees (sometimes nearing 120). Not pleasant conditions for exploring!

In Segesta, I took pics of the flora and fauna around the famous Temple of Segesta. The cactus seen here grows in abundance throughout Sicily, sometimes on the roofs of farm buildings!

Vineyards aplenty! In spring they look rather naked, having not yet emerged from winter hibernation. By fall these fields will be thick with leafy vines and heavy with grapes. Sicily’s fertile soil makes it one of the foremost areas for growing wine grapes.
Sheep! Gotta love ‘em! We had to stop our tour van as a shepherd lead his flock across a country road.

I’ll conclude with this view of the Ionian Sea, taken from the Greek Theater in Taormina. More about the Greek Theater and Taormina in my final Sicily post, along with Mt. Etna, the salt flats and the Valley of Temples.

Today’s recipe:
CANNOLI
This traditional and delectable Sicilian dessert consists of a crispy pastry shell filled with sweetened ricotta cheese. The ends are often dipped in crushed pistachios or shaved chocolate. In Sicily, the shells are usually displayed empty on bakery shelves, then filled upon request. The Palermo bakery in the photo at right was an exception.
You can make your own shells, but it’s a lot easier to buy them at an Italian bakery and use the following recipe to fill them.
Cannoli Filling

Ingredients
2 pounds of drained ricotta cheese
1 ½ cup of confectioner’s sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions
Mix all the ingredients together until well blended and smooth. Fill a piping bag with the filling. Pipe each shell full with the filling. For extra flavor, dip each end of the cannoli into crushed pistachio nuts or shaved semi-sweet chocolate. Dust with powdered sugar.

Sunny Sicily and Book Winner

Just returned from an amazing week in Sicily with my sister, Patt, where breathtaking beauty, both natural and manmade, filled my busy days. Before I launch into Sicily, however; I want to thank everyone who stopped by to read Patti Lacy’s interview.

The winner of Patti’s recent release, The Rhythm of Secrets, is ANN LEE MILLER.

Congratulations, Ann! Please send me your snail mail address at susan.miura@yahoo.com.

Back to the trip. As the plane descended, an island of mountains rose from the sea. Finally, all the books and Google images were about to become reality. The first couple of days were spent in Palermo, Sicily’s capital, where everyone drives teeny cars or motorcycles inches apart from each other, miraculously avoiding accidents. Traffic signs are viewed as mere suggestions. Note to self: never, ever drive in Palermo. For this reason and many others, I was happy to have a tour guide, and happier still that our group numbered only six.

Our hotel faced an apartment building from which laundry hung from every banister, just like you’d imagine. Couldn’t resist snapping a few shots.

While staying in Palermo, we visited two cathedrals in the Monreale area, built by the Normans who conquered Sicily when it was occupied by the Greeks. The Greeks had built enormous temples to their gods, which the Christian Normans destroyed. The used some of the pillars and other parts to build churches, decorated with magnificent mosaics and statues. Walking into these cathedrals filled me with awe and a sense of peace. Photos could never truly reflect the wonder of these masterpieces.

Our first lunch on our own served as an interesting lesson in Sicilian dining. On the plus side: meals are beyond delicious, made with fresh ingredients, colorful, masterfully seasoned. Desserts: Mama Mia! Creative and vibrant, rich with ricotta, mascarpone, almonds, pistachios and fruit, often artfully decorated with marzipan. Wonderfully decadent! On the flip side, you are charged a sitting fee (usually $2 or $3 per person, depending on the location) and always charged for water, which is room temperature. Waiters tend to leave you alone once the meal is served, so if you need anything….oh well.

If you visit Sicily, don’t miss a visit to Erice, a mountaintop village with an amazing view of the coast and a castle dedicated to Venus, as well as a lovely church. Narrow winding streets are lined with artsy shops selling ceramics, souvenirs and more. A quaint square (piazza) is surrounded by cafés and pastry shops with tempting cannoli shells waiting to be filled upon request. A visit to Erice transports you to another world, another time. Put it on your bucket list.
That’s probably enough on Sicily for one post. Stay tuned for a few more sights, tastes and photos, along with a recipe, next week.

Sensational Sicily

Buongiorno! Come and spend a moment in beautiful Sicily, land of volcanoes and beaches, age-old ruins, elaborate churches, amazing food and….my ancestors! I think part of what makes Sicily so fascinating is all the people who conquered it through the years. The Greeks, French, Spaniards, Austrians…did I miss anyone? In the end, all those cultures wove their way into Sicily’s art, food and architecture. There is sooo much to see in Sicily, so I’ll just have to stick with a couple of hot spots.

My Sicily obsession: I’m dying to see Gole Dell’Alcantara (“the throat of Alcantara), a gorge on the Alcantara river formed by lava in ancient times. It looks eerily beautiful and dramatic. Obsession number 2 is the Blue Grotto (pictured), which is actually in Capri, but you can take a boat from Sicily. It’s a sea cave illuminated by sunlight passing through an underwater cavity.

Interesting Sites: Teatro Massimo (Palermo), an architectural masterpieces and one of the larges opera houses in Europe. The Sanctuary of Santa Rosalina (Palermo) is a church built into a cave! There are many Greek ruins in Trapani, but if you’re into ruins, you’ve got to see Agrigento’s Valley of the Temples.

Beaches! Sicily is a beach lover’s paradise! Some of the best are Mondello Lido (close to Palermo) and at the Resort of Montelle (near Messina). Spiaggia Sabie Nere in the Aeolian islands actually has black sand beaches. Another don’t miss is Lido Mazzaro, where you take a 15-minute cable car ride down from the medieval town of Taormina to reach the beach.

Food! If you love seafood, Sicily is the place for you. Surrounded by the Mediterranean and Ionian seas, Sicily turns to the water for many of its famous dishes. Shellfish and squid are particularly prevalent. Other popular ingredients are lemons, artichokes, garlic, olive oil, tomatoes, peppers, olives, rice and of course, pasta. Sicilians love their foods to be as colorful as they are rich in spices and textures. Here’s one of my favorite recipes:

Sicilian Amaretti Cookies
(Note: Many Italian regions have Amaretti cookie recipes. Some are hard and crunchy, but the Sicilian version is crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.)

1 can (8 ounces) almond paste, see note
1 cup superfine sugar
2 large egg whites

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. If you don’t have parchment, grease cookie sheets with butter. Break the almond paste into small pieces and place in mixing bowl with sugar. Work it into small pieces with your fingertips for a few minutes before mixing to achieve the proper texture. Mix on low speed until very fine.
Add egg whites in two additions, mixing well between. Continue mixing the dough until smooth; about 3 to 4 minutes. With a teaspoon mold dough into 1 1/2-inch mounds on baking sheets, 1 inch apart. Dampen paper towel and lightly press the top of each cookie to smooth the surface. Bake 15 minutes or until cookies have risen and are a deep golden color with tiny cracks.
Remove from oven and place baking pan on rack to cool. When cool, gently peel cookies from parchment. If they stick, turn the paper over and wipe the bottom of the parchment with a damp paper towel. If using greased cookie sheets, remove while still warm. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.
Cook's note: Do not use almond filling, almond paste provides the wonderful, chewy texture.