This weekend is a Guard weekend in our house which means I'm flying solo on the parenting duties. It's a 3 day Guard weekend to boot so there you go. I know I should be happy that he is doing his patriotic duty but the only thing on my mind right now is I'm soooooo exhausted from the cries, whines, and all the rest....I found myself wanting to take a nap at least five times today! Speaking of napping, I read an article in Cookie magazine tonight which offered some creative ideas for "lazy parents"...I thought it was really funny. Basically, its a "how-to take a nap" while caring for the kids guide. My favorite game was the "sleeping princess game"...that is, Momma plays the "sleeping princess" while the kids figure out how to rescue her. The only problem with that one is I would have a very very hard time waking back up!
Anyway...I had a dinner party last night so the kitchen was a messy diaster this morning. Despite the mess though we had a really fun night. I invited a new friend "H" and her husband and new baby as well as her parents visiting from Sambuca in Sicilia. I was in heaven listening to their stories of the beauty of Sicily. Of course they raise small farm animals and have extensive fruit and vegetable gardens, plus a working vineyard and olive groves...I say "of course" because that is basically my dream life. I've never been south of Naples though so it was a unique opportunity for me to ask all the questions I could think of about the island.
La signora (my friend's mom) brought il dolce which was a really delicious (and I mean delicious) sweet fried dough called Sfingi. She gave me the recipe and I can't wait to try it even though I am terrible at frying anything. To make the dough you will need flour, eggs, brewer's yeast and boiled mashed potatoes(loads of patate here in Maine of course!). Place the dough in a ceramic bowl and then rest it on another bowl of steaming hot water. It will need to stay there for several hours. When it starts to bubble you poke it once or twice and then leave it for a bit longer. Finally, the dough is fried in olio di semi (vegetable oil) and then it can either be drizzled with honey or sprinkled with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon. La signora stressed how important it was to carefully handle the sfingi after they come out of the oil as they are very delicate to the touch.
I wanted to take a picture of them but I couldn't find my camera! Of course.
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