little but great apprehensions

taken with polaroid 180 on blue film

so, i have some apprehensions these days.
those can become more serious if they relate to food. (for me.)

well, i have two little-but-great apprehensions apparently.
you know, if you've loved something very much for long time, the problem with that must become much more serious.

so,i don't want to admit it, but i'm afraid that i can't enjoy coffee any more.
since i came home from italy, i've been sick.
i'm getting better and better day by day, but i came to notice that my favorite coffee doesn't taste good as before.
coffee hurts my throat and head.
and that fact hurts my mind.

i'm not sure if it's because i had lost my voice for more than a week.
my throat has been so sensitive originally, and when i get a lot of stress and tiredness, it easily gets perverse.
the trip to italy was kind of hard for me this time, and i firstly lost my voice on the last day of the trip in rome.
so, my throat might have been resisting any small stress since then.

or, i'm afraid that i had too much caffein in italy and my liver might take a defiant attitude after i came home.

anyway, i'm so sad that i can't enjoy coffee which had always entertained me a lot.
and i'm wondering if this situation is temporary one or everlasting one.

another apprehension is related to my favorite bagels.
i like beginning my morning with a bagel.
my favorite breakfast is always consist of a bagel + a cup of coffee (now i drink a cup of tea with a little bit soy milk) + yogurt.
even though my naturopathic doctor recommended me to replace a bagel with other nutritious menu like oatmeal or brown rice, i can't follow that.
and i've loved bagels from a grocery store next to my apartment.
i sometimes tried other bagels from other bakeries and grocery stores, but my most favorites have been always same.

recently i noticed that the store is changing their bagel style.
looks of new bagels are different from former bagels in terms of color, shape and weight.
so, they are totally different.
totally.
i was soooo disappointed with this incident.
i wanted to throw a tantrum, but instead of doing so i bravely decided to try new bagels telling me " you're an adult, aren't you?"

then, i tried a new bagel this morning finally.
it had blueberry flavor.
well, it wasn't that bad as i had been afraid.
it wasn't bad, but i loved former ones.
i'm missing my favorite ones.

i think i need some time to get used to newcomers and say good-bye to my old lovers.


my goodness, i'm experiencing hard time.
food related problems are serious to me.
as i probably told you before, breakfast is my most favorite meal of a day.
and two problems i talked to you today are both related to breakfast.
so serious.
i know only time will tell everything, i know.


dear breakfast,
you're always my joy.
and you're sometimes my anxious, too.
i know love is always like this, isn't it?
sincerely yours,
tomily

around the table in bologna, italy

today, i'm gonna talk about the table in bologna, italy.

my husband i traveled around italy for 9 nights (11days) early in may, 2010.
this was the 2nd trip there for us (the first was exactly a year ago).
this year, i want to introduce some favorite table scenes in italy here.




we (my husband and i) stayed in bologna for just one night.
we didn't have any restaurant information there, but we like finding our favorite during strolling about the town.
you know, usually restaurants in italy close their stores after lunch and reopen them about 6:30~7:30 at night.
so peeking into glasses and silverware on tables in unlit restaurants through the window during siestas is one of my favorite activities in italy :)
and by doing that, i also search for the best place for the day's dinner.

and, this is the restaurant we found there.
i liked their menu.
they have only 4~6 kinds of selection for each courses.
i like that way.
listing only their confident dishes is an essential point for being a good restaurant, i believe.




for our antipasto (appetizer) , we ordered a dish of tuna carpaccio with radish and orange.
we ordered only one dish for each courses, but the chef kindly dished up on separate dishes for my husband and me.
this was so good because we didn't have to devastate this beautiful dish work before eating :))
and of course, it tasted so good as well.




for the primo (first course), we shared a dish of pasta with squid.
we'd not exactly had the idea what kind of taste it would have, but we ordered this without any hesitation.
because, as i firstly said, they don't have so many selection for each courses, and this was probably the only one we could eat from them.
we don't meat, do you remember?

and, it was totally delicious without any doubt!
the chef also dished up for each person as well.

so, the bread here was very desirable one.
it was just that of tuscany; no salt in bread.
most dishes in italy are salty, and so as pasta dishes.
i ate this delicious but a bit salty past dish with this tuscany bread and it worked very well.

my husband was so pleased with this pasta dish and said that it had kind of same flavor as a japanese fried noodle with squid ( ika-yakisoba)!!




for our secondo (main course), we took a dish of octpus stewed with tomatoes, and grilled vegetables for the side.

so, i didn't expect that i could eat this much of seafood in bologna.
i thought that bologna is the central city for meet eaters, and i would hardly be able to find other dishes than meat ones.
but it was not!!
it's kind of impressive, and i appreciated my instinct to find a pleasing restaurant :))

well, we enjoyed this dish, too.
before ending all courses, we ordered half litter red house wine twice, and drank all up!
we finished all courses and a litter of red wine.
we did a good job.
they were all so good.
molto bene, in italian. :))





here's our rule.
when we are so much satisfied with the food in restaurant, we order a dessert and espresso and celebrate the day's beautiful dinner.
we have to decide to forget all calorie thing ;)
so, we ordered a dolce (dessert) they recommended to us and espresso.
i don't exactly remember what this desert was, but it was probably made from ricotta cheese and eggs and cocoa.
it was so good with bitter espresso.

everything here was more than fine.
i hope you try this pretty restaurant in bologna if you have a chance.
i usually don't follow people's recommendation for restaurants, and i dare not do that either.
but this time, i dare to recommend my favorite restaurant to you :))



-restaurant information-
Trattoria Oberdan
Via Oberdan, 43/a-40126 Bologna
051 272309
333 8642524 (cell)








all pictures here were taken with nikon-f on kodak portra 400nc.

most favorite orange marmalade ever

taken with poraroid sx-70 on 600 film

how're you guys?
i feel terribly bad.
i'v lost my voice for more than 5 days.
firstly i lost my voice in rome.
yes, rome in italy.
because of the bad air quality there, the tiredness, the allergy, having caught a cold passed by my husband ;P
so, i've just accomplished my second visit to italy, then i'm afraid that the third visit is never gonna come.
i'm not sure, but i'm just in that mood now.
i hope someday i'll totally forget this pain like a cheerful dog.

anyway, i'm so relieved at my home.
air is clear, my cats are lying down by me, bread is fluffy and moist, and coffee is mild.
i'm just happy to listen to my cat's meow sipping my daily morning coffee in a big mug.

and, i'm also happy to say hello again to my favorite marmalade jam.
i don't remember if i told you i went back to japan and stayed there for about 3 weeks before the trip to italy.
the day before i left japan, my 3rd mom sent me and my 1st mom 6 big jars of homemade orange marmalade!
then i took 2 jars and my 1st mom keeps rest of 4 jars.
as soon as i came back to the U.S., i couldn't resist to open that new marmalade despite i have another jar of marmalade i'd already opened before i went back to japan.
i totally fell in love with my 3rd mom's lovely marmalade.
fyi, i decided to call my aunt in law "my 3rd mom" after i got married.
the 1st mom is my original mother, the 2nd mom is my mother in law, and the 3rd is her.
i don't know if you believe this or not, but the 3rd mom is really important, really the necessity.
even though the thing that i dare not to tell to my 1st and 2nd mom, i can tell her that very honestly.
and she listens that with very calm and kind comments.
i love her as much as my 1st and 2nd.

the bitterness and the soft sweetness of the marmalade gives me a little smile.
a little is enough now.
i want to feel the happiness of my daily life like that.


dear the orange marmalade,
a spoonful of you, golden orange drop is the best medicine to me.
i agree with the saying "good medicine tastes bitter." ;))
sincerely yours,
tomily

p.s. wish me getting my voice back!!