I've been a good napoletana today, it started with me making an old lady style ragù with paccheri for lunch. A good ragù takes at least three hours to cook so they say. It's not difficult, it just takes ages.
Then I went out for a walk. The weather was beautiful today, it made me think that spring is on its way. Or will we go straight to summer...? I hope not, I love spring time, where as summer time - here at least - becomes unbearable due to the heat and humidity. I didn't even wear a coat today which shows how warm it was. I'm thinking I might have even caught a bit of sun too!
Continuing the good napoletana role, I picked up some mignon dolci (mini cakes) for dessert (see above). These are a must at Sunday lunch in many homes. Some might argue that they all taste similar...I think they're nice every so often, as long as they're not al gusto di caffè. Blee! Lemony ones are my favourite.
It's a real test of my Italian when I buy them as I have to tell the pasticceria person what I want putting on the little tray and there's normally a queue on Sunday so no time for forgetting the names of cakes - or even worse, not knowing the names. Pointing doesn't always work as from behind the glass an optical illusion occurs and they inevitably pick up the one next to the one I really wanted. Sometimes when I'm not feeling up to it I just say "Mi fai un misto" ("give me a mix"). This is potentially dangerous though as they might try to give you the stuff they can't get rid of so don't take your eye off pasticceria person for a second or you'll end up with a tray of caffè flavoured cakes or even worse, babbà.
Hope you had a buona domenica!
