Vanchella Vagabonds

  Eggplants are currently abundant, so Emily and I decided to try making two traditional Sicilian dishes that feature this vegetable that is so popular here. We had eaten both of these dishes before, but we had never tried cooking them: Pasta alla Norma and Caponata di Melanzane. We took the recipes from my favorite Italian cooking YouTube Channel: Pasta Grammar . The hostess of the channel is a Calabrese living in the U.S. with her American husband. You can watch her prepare both of these recipes, and some others, in their video about eggplant. I provide the link for the written recipes below. We first tried Pasta alla Norma when we visited Catania in 2022 . Since it is said to have been created in Catania, I was intent on trying it for the first time there. I was really surprised how much I liked it, as I've never been a huge fan of eggplant. I guess I'd just never had good eggplant before then!  Aside from the eggplant, I'd say the defining feature of this pasta dish is ...

  Emily made her final decision to leave the States and relocate to Europe while she was visiting in June. So we began the planning of her transfer during her stay. While she was divesting of many things (including a car and furniture), it was still a complicated experience to plan, as she was bringing along two guitars, as well as needing a second pair of hands to close her affairs. The original plan is that John would accompany her by airplane. However, John really wanted me to come along. Some of you may know (or have ascertained from our multiple transatlantic crossings) that I do not do long-haul flights. So, I told him if I was to come along, we would have to make the larger portion of the trip cruises. Everyone agreed that this would be a nice way to break up what would inevitably be a hectic time.  So I began the long process of planning a trip with multiple segments: flights for me and John from Sicily to England, and New York to Texas, two transatlantic cruises (our ...