Picture of the Day: Autumn Shoreline in Kingston

Kingston, Ontario, Canada
10.2004 

Picture of the Day: Family of Zebras

Kruger National Park, South Africa
7.26.2004 

Wandering Through Mercato Trionfale

One of my favorite parts about traveling is stumbling upon things unexpectedly. Often time when things don't go as planned you open yourself up to something different that you might not have otherwise experienced. While Frank and I were in Rome earlier this year wandering through Mercato Trionfale was one of those lucky discoveries.

It all started when we tried to visit the Vatican Museum. Our first day in Rome was a Sunday which meant the Vatican Museum was closed. In general it is closed Sundays except for the last one of the month when admission is free. Unfortunately, our Sunday happened to be the third one of the month so we thought we would visit on Monday. 

As we approached the Musuem entrance on Monday, things definitely seemed amiss since there was no one there apart from a couple of stray tourists taking a photo of the beautifully carved entranceway. Further inspection of a sign posted nearby showed that in addition to it being closed the day before, the Museum was also closed that day. There was really nothing that we could do but come back the next day.   

On Tuesday we tried again, heading to the Vatican Museum right after breakfast. Predictibly after being closed for two days the line was enormous, seeming to snake along the wall almost back to St. Peter's Square. While waiting in line doesn't bother me so much (I had previously waited in line about an hour to get into the Vatican Museum on a different trip) it is really not Frank's thing. You can book tickets with online reservations to skip wait but when we had tried the day before nothing was available. 

By the museum entrance some guys were hawking for travel agencies nearby to provide tours of the museum or to simply sell tickets with time reservations. Frank did a bit of haggling and we paid for two tickets with a bit of a markup, of course. The only catch was that our reservation was an hour from then so we had some time to kill.

We had already visited St. Peter's Bascilica the afternoon before after finding out the museum was closed so I pulled out a map of the area to see what might be nearby. A short way north on Via Tunisi I saw Mercato Trionfale marked on the map. Frank and I both love food markets so we decided to head that way. After a five minute walk we popped in through an unimposing side entrance right into the thick of the hustle and bustle.

The covered market spans a whole block with over 270 stalls and seems to go on forever. The produce in the market was amazing. Stall after stall was full of fresh fruit and vegetables all of which was perfectly ripe and looked like it was picked that very day. Bushels of heirloom tomatoes, stacks of slender zucchini, baskets of lettuce: everything you could think of was there. If we were going to be heading to the Vatican Musuem directly afterwards I would have loved to pick up a few items.

Apart from the lovely produce, the market was also amazing for people watching with locals out shopping for that evening's dinner. I really wish that I was able to do that kind of daily shopping for fresh ingredients back at home.

I was particularly intrigued with the heads of Romanesco broccoli for sale because of their lovely color and shape. Being a math nerd I couldn't help but admire the approximate fractal pattern, with each bud composed of a series of smaller buds. I thought it was so cool, that I looked it up later and also discovered that the number of spirals on the head of Romanesco broccoli is a Fibonacci number. The world truly is an amazing place.

Wandering by all the tempting food was making us hungry even though we had recently had breakfast so we couldn't resist splitting a piece of focaccia from one of the bakery stands.

The seafood section of the market was full of freshly caught selections including everything from calamari to swordfish.

We also wandered past cases of wonderful meats and cheeses. Especially impressive were the rows of hanging dried cured meats. Watching the butchers skillfully cut paper thin slices of prosciutto and bresaola by hand was amazing.

One of butcher cut off a chunk of the porchetta he was slicing, placed it in a square of butcher's paper and pressed it into Frank's hand. Lucky for me, Frank shared some the wonderfully moist pork loin with me. If meat can melt in your mouth, this certainly did.

It was nearing time for us to return back to the Vatican Museum so we threaded our way back through the beautiful vegetable stalls on our way out. Visiting the market was definitely a feast for the senses and it was a lovely accident. I would highly recommend that if you are ever in the Vatican area, you make an intentional stop.

Mercato Trionfale Details
Location: Via Andrea Doria 3, Rome
Hours: Mon, Wed, Thurs, and Sat 7 a.m. – 2 p.m. and Tues & Fri 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. 

Picture of the Day: View of Westerkerk Overlooking a Canal

Amsterdam, The Netherlands
8.11.2004 

Picture of the Day: View Over Amboise From the Chateau

Amboise, France
11.2003 

Zucchini Bread Recipe

Every year as soon as summer fades and the weather cools down I get bitten by the baking bug. Yesterday was a chilly, rainy day and was perfect for turning on the oven. I decided to make a batch of zucchini bread since I had one last large zucchini from the end of summer harvest from my garden.

I love to make quick breads and in particular zucchini bread has a special place in my heart and stomach. It was something that my family made often when I was a kid and is a childhood favorite. As an adult a slice of zucchini bread with a dab butter and a cup of tea makes the perfect treat for me on a rainy afternoon.

The recipe I use today is essentially the same as my traditional family one but I replaced half of the oil with applesauce to make it a little lighter. It makes the zucchini bread a titch sweeter and moister but retains all the flavors of my youth.

Ingredients List
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 3 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 3 tsp. vanilla
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 cups zucchini, grated
- 1/2 cup nuts, chopped 

Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 and grease and flour two loaf pans
- Slice zucchini in half, remove seeds and grate using a large box grater or the coarsest grater in a food processor
- Stir together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon
- In a separate bowl beat together eggs, applesauce, oil, and vanilla and then stir in sugar
- Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until fully incorporated
- Stir in zucchini and nuts and then pour batter into prepared pans
- Bake for 40-50 minutes until tester inserted in the center comes out clean 
- Let cool for 15 minutes, remove loaves from pans and then let them cool completely on wire racks 

The recipe makes two loaves, so feel free to share one or since it freezes well, wrap one up and freeze it for a later day. I've also baked up the batter in mini loaves and muffins with great success.

Are you doing any fall baking? What is in your oven?

Picture of the Day: Stone Lantern Finial Covered with Lichens

Gujo Hachiman, Japan
7.21.2012 

Picture of the Day: Fallen Ginko Leaf

Narita, Japan
11.2008 

Protecting Outdoor Pumpkins From Animals

Most of the time I love that my neighborhood is home to a bunch of little animals. Watching a bunny hop across my backyard through my kitchen window as I am watching dishes gives me a warm feeling inside.

On the downside, these cute little critters tend to like to munch on things that I am growing in my garden. Additionally, whenever I put pumpkins and gourds out on my front porch, within a day or two nibble marks start showing up on them.

This year I thought I would try something new by spraying some animal repellent on the pumpkins. I decided to buy some Bonide Shot-Gun Repels-All Animal Repellent since it is all natural and not poisonous to animals. I don't mind the animals hanging out in my yard, I just don't want them to chew on my pumpkins. I sprayed the Repels-All on my pumpkins and gourds and let it dry. Like all animal repellents, it has a pretty strong smell which dissipated after a little while.

It has been a few days now and so far I haven't seen any evidence of little critters snacking on my pumpkins so I am pretty ecstatic. Finally, I can decorate my front porch with pumpkins and have it look cute for more than a day or two.

If you try this yourself please note that I don't have children or pets, so if you do please read the instruction labels to make sure that you use it safely with no issues. Also, I have no affiliation with Bonide Shot-Gun Repels-All Animal Repellent so all opinions are my own, however if you do buy it through my Amazon link I will get a small amount of compensation since I am an Amazon Associate.

Picture of the Day: Jan Hus Memorial in Old Town Square

Prague, Czech Rebublic
6.2006