L'arte d'arrangiarsi

The Italians have a saying "l'arte d'arrangiarsi", which translates to the art of making something out of nothing.

For the most part, I've heard this saying used as one would use "making a mountain out of a molehill".

But, when I read Elizabeth Gilbert's incredible Eat, Pray, Love (a book for everyone to relish), she provided a new perspective on the expression - and of course, it has to do with food. She explains that Italians have a knack (an art) to make an incredible meal out of few basic (nothing) ingredients.

There is no food that more exemplifies l'arte d'arrangiarsi than pizza.

In preparation of our upcoming move, I spent the day packing up my kitchen. In doing so, I discovered several foodstuffs that if I didn't use quickly, I'd have to loose them. These included: an envelope of rapid rise yeast, half a zucchini, a sliver of an onion, half a jar of artichoke hearts and a spoonful of capers. Literally, a handful of nothingness.

Add to this some bread flour, a few spices and a can of tomatoes and voila... a satisfying meal after a hard days work.

Now, if I only knew where I packed that corkscrew, I could have enjoyed a glass of wine with dinner.

Tapas Treat

Fridays are usually the hardest of the week where I’m watching the clock tick by anticipating quitting time.

But, it being such a beautiful summer day where the sun was shining and the humidity was at moderate levels, I didn’t want the day to end. So, I asked a friend if she was interested in a glass of wine. Of course, she obliged.

Living in the same building, we decided to take an elevator ride down to the wine bar located adjacent to the lobby of our building. City Vino, is a predominately South American-inspired wine bar and store where you can either enjoy a glass or bottle on site, or take it to go. We ordered a bottle of Malbec from Argentina and enjoyed a variety of tapas, including sautéed choritzo, succulent ribs tacos and fresh caprese salad. The ribs taco were incredible and definitely worth a return visit.

We chose a table outside on the patio, where we could enjoy the mild weather and our New York city views. Here, we chatted about everything – work, our impending move (where we’ll be neighbours again), and our significant others. It’s amazing how chatting with a girlfriend can re-energize you and give you a fresh perspective!

After several hours, we finally stopped our gabbing to notice we were the last guests. The servers had turned the chairs onto the tables and seemed ready to head home. So, we took our cue and left, promising to do it again soon.