Greenhaws visit Germany, Italy
By LOU GREENHAW
Contributing writer
We had a great time on our vacation in May. We went to Germany to see our former exchange students, through Austria, and into Italy for the duration. Our older son, Cameron, and his wife, Kristy, went along, so it was a Greenhaw family adventure.
As usual, the food was wonderful. In Germany, Tobi's family took us to a monastery on a lake. The specialty was not fish sticks but fish on a stick. They took whole fish, stuck them on a stick and propped them up around a fire to roast. We didn't try them but did indulge in the huge pretzels, cheese spread, and thinly sliced onion that was another specialty.
Our first meal in Italy was near Venice. We went out to dinner with John and Bridget Sims. She is Linden Thiessen's sister. We got to see their apartment which came with nothing — no light fixtures, kitchen cabinets or anything. They introduced Cam and Kristy to bruschetta which they ordered many times throughout the week. That is an appetizer that is slices of toasted hard bread with toppings. They liked the chopped tomatoes and herb best.
We had dinner in Turin with our exchange student, who is coming in August, and her family. The best part was that they ordered for us. We sampled the specialties of Turin. Every course was great. The main course was a lamb chop that was sliced thin, crumbed, and fried. It was served with fried zucchini. The very best part was that we had three desserts so we could sample all the specialties.
We were very impressed with Francesca, and we think she will be a great asset to the high school here. She can bring a little bit of Italy to Hillsboro High School.
We had planned for a year to hike the cinque terra trail. There are five towns carved into the side of mountains overlooking the Mediterranean. They are accessible by boat, train, or a trail. The guide book said that it was a goat trail.
We started at the north end, and the first leg was to take two hours. It took two and half for us, but every view was breathtaking. I was the slow one. Somehow walking a twisting trail up the side of a mountain is not my best skill. We reached the second of the towns and walked to the piazza or open square and plopped down at an umbrella-covered table for a glass of ice tea.
The piazza was filled with other hikers including at least one class of school children. Everyone looked pretty sweaty and bedraggled. Then suddenly into the square drove a hearse. It had flowers attached to the outside, and behind it marched a large group of mourners.
On the far side of the piazza was the church. The church opened onto a ledge above the water, so they carried the casket in the side door. The big hearse from the funeral home left, and a very small city hearse came and took its place. We figured the bigger vehicle probably couldn't make it to the burial site.
It was pretty awkward. People did try to quiet down and let them through the hoard of hikers to get to the church. Later we happened upon two weddings. Two weddings and a funeral sounds like a movie.
Our one meal that was as late as Italians eat was in San Gimignano. We had 10 p.m. reservations and finished eating at midnight. The food was worth the time, and we enjoyed the whole two hours.
Bologna is supposed to be the gastronomic capital of Italy. They make their pasta with only the yolk of the egg, so it is more yellow and lighter. While there, we visited missionary friends, Phil and Sylvia Schroeder. Phil lived in Hillsboro when his dad taught Spanish at Tabor. Now their daughter and her husband are also missionaries there.
We went to church with them. I enjoyed trying to sing the praise songs in Italian. Thank God power point is universal. The sermon was another story. At the end of the sermon, everyone broke into groups to discuss the application. After a while, everyone reported back to the main group.
We spent our last night in Italy in the Dolomites. They are the rugged mountains near the Italian Austrian border. They are very rugged and beautiful. They were snow covered, and the meadows were lush and green but it was only 40 degrees.
It is more fun to visit Europe now that we know more people there and can stop by and share a meal. It is so nice going to a restaurant and having someone who knows what they are doing order for us. We do not go to a lot of the cities, and in the smaller towns, often no one at the trattoria speaks English. We did find that they could usually understand Cameron's Spanish because the languages are similar. We didn't let a language barrier get in the way of eating.
The Italians don't drown their pasta with sauces. In Bologna we had the delicate tagliatelle noodle-like pasta topped with the typical sauce of the region. I have two recipes for it that I use at home. The first has three kinds of meat, so I will opt to share the more Kansas friendly version that uses only beef.
BOLOGNESE STYLE MEAT SAUCE
2 tablespoons chopped yellow onion
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons chopped celery
2 tablespoons chopped carrot
3/4 pound lean ground beef
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup white wine or chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups canned Italian tomatoes, chopped, with juice
Use a heavy deep pot. All the vegetables should be finely chopped. Pour the onion in the oil and butter and sauté briefly over medium heat until barely translucent. Add celery and carrot and cook gently for two minutes. Add the beef, crumbling into the pot. Add 1 teaspoon salt. Cook and stir until meat has lost its color. Add the wine and turn up heat to medium high and cook, stirring occasionally, until all the wine has evaporated. Turn down to medium and add the milk and nutmeg. Cook, stirring frequently until the milk has evaporated. Add the tomatoes and stir thoroughly. After the tomatoes have started to bubble, turn the heat down until the sauce cooks at the lowest simmer. Cook uncovered for 3-4 hours. Taste and add additional salt if necessary. Serve over pasta with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.
