About Italian Food: The days are a lot longer...

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Italian Food Italian Food Quick/Easy Recipes Le Basi Classic Recipes From Kyle Phillips, your Guide to Italian Food We're not into Daylight Savings Time yet, but the days have gotten much longer lately: Daughter C has afternoon swimming lessons a couple of times a week, and I was used to it being dark beyond the pool's glass windows. But it isn't any longer. And seeing all those kids splashing (and getting better at swimming) makes me realize... Ack! Bathing Suit Season is around the corner! We'll take a look at a few things that will make facing a bathing suit a little easier. Minestre: Soups Soups are one of the healthier things one can eat when dieting. Especially vegetable soups, which supply an abundance of vitamins, minerals, and fiber, and are, if made with water, low in nasty fats and such. A few ideas: Art's Minestrone After being told he was pre-diabetic, Art began to have this minestrone for breakfast and follow it with a daily walk. All the nasty indicators went down, and he lost weight too. Zuppa Magra di Cipolle This is an old, old Piemontese recipe that starts with a dozen onions... To make it lighter, use oil instead of butter. Michela's Healthy Minestrone Michela Cariolaro's minestrone della salute combines vegetables and legumes, thus providing greens, fiber, proteins, and more. Brodo Magro di Digiuno This is an old recipe for a meatless vegetable broth, eaten by the King on days the Church forbade meats. It's a good base for vegetarian risotti and such too. Cacciucco alla Livornese Cacciucco is a fish stew, and heartier than a vegetable soup, but it is fish based... And good, too! Carne e Pesce Though some people think of hearty dishes when it comes to Italian meats, and there are many, Italians have a deathly fear of weighing down the stomach (especially in summer) and there are many lighter options as well. The important thing to keep in mind is portion size. Italian cookbooks (and nutritionists) generally figure a portion of meat or fish to be 100 g (1/4 pound), which is quite reasonable. Filettini all'Arancia This veal scaloppine recipe is relatively recent, as is shown by the inclusion of Worcestershire sauce. Fesa di Vitello al Limone Arista Alla Reggiana Pork loin is quite versatile, and is also well suited to marinades. This pork loin recipe takes some planning -- one has to marinate the meat -- but is quite tasty, and also easy to cook. Fish? Fish, especially white fish, is almost always light! Light enough that one can even cook it with richer ingredients... Filetti di Branzino in Crosta Sea bass is in and of itself tasty, and also richly flavored enough to work well with sundried tomatoes in a rather different crosta. Nasello Piccante ai Peperoni Verdi Nasello, European hake, comes in a considerable variety of sizes, and larger ones will yield very nice fillets that are perfect in a zesty bell pepper sauce. Filetti di Spatola al PaneScabbard fish are deep-water fish that look rather menacing, but are extremely tasty. They're also easy to use, because their skins don't have scales -- all you need to do is wipe the skin with a soft cloth, and it's ready. Insalate... Salads (and Greens) The ultimate dieting food! And also quite healthy. Pinzimonio This is more of a suggestion than a recipe; pinzimonio can be, depending upon the occasion, either a vegetable or a tasty antipasto. It's wonderful either way. Involtini Vegetariani The word involtino generally refers to a preparation with meat, a scallop rolled up around a filling. But leafy vegetables such as Swiss chard are perfectly suited to the task too, and do a fine job of containing a potato filling here. Torta Salata ai Peperoni, Capperi... Though many people associate Italian cooking with pasta, there's a very long tradition of making savory pies of the sort that the French might call a quiche. For example, this savory pie with peppers, capers and tuna. A Vegetable Tiella Tom writes, "I remember as a child being kidded by my northern Italian playmates that I was a eating a cooking pan, since Tiella simply means a pan to those not of the South (this is how my folks explained it to me)." Those northerners were missing out. Insalate Romane Rome has an especially rich tradition of salads and greens, and here we have a collection. Vinegar! A discussion of salads naturally brings vinegar to mind. And Italians have been making it from wine (or apples) and flavoring it for centuries. Many tasty options! La Galleria delle Verdure, Shots from Italian vegetable markets Elsewhere on About: Where to Go After the Diet? About has a rich travel channel, with sites dedicated to most every place on the planet, and also to a variety of kinds of travel, from cruise ships to camping. No armchair traveling per se, but we can do that quite well on our own :-/ And here are some suggestions for those so inclined: Bay of Islands Just about three hours of driving north from Auckland, New Zealand. Fascinating! Taking a bath in Japan Different countries follow different customs, and in Japan the rules for taking a bath differ from those in Italy. Here's how to avoid making a mistake. The Chiang Mai Temples Many years ago a professor of mine took his family to Thailand. And came back babbling about the temples. You may too. VolunTourism, or Volunteer Travel One of Wife Elisabetta's professors instead vacationed in India every year, treating patients in a hospital (he was an MD) as a volunteer. Lois Friedland takes a look at volunteer travel, and suggests things to keep in mind if you decide to do it. Diving: Avoid Sea Urchins This seems like obvious advice, but it isn't always that easy, especially if the route to the water is rocky and strewn with algae. Natalie also says what to do if you do step on an urchin. Getting out of Town: An Overview of Tuscan Beaches Yes, Tuscany has a long coastline, with beaches of all kinds: family, nudist, cheap, (really) exclusive... And then there are the rocky coves perfect for diving... Italian Food Ads Italian Dessert Italians Food Food Menus Italian Pizza Italian Cities Featured Articles Neapolitan Pan-Sautéed Asparagus Neapolitan Tomatoes Stuffed With Rice Roast Kid or Lamb Carciofi e Patate Soffritti Il Migliaccio, Sette Anni Dopo To Finish Up? Limoncello!   More from About.com Disney Trip Planner Everything you need to plan the perfect Disney vacation -- from when to go and what to do, to saving money and picking a hotel. More > Join About.com's User Panel! Share your opinions and help us make make About.com more relevant, informative and enjoyable to use. More> This newsletter is written by: Kyle Phillips Italian Food Guide Email Me | My Blog | My Forum   Sign up for more free newsletters on your favorite topics You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the About Italian Food newsletter. If you wish to change your email address or unsubscribe, please click here. About respects your privacy: Our Privacy Policy Contact Information: 249 West 17th Street New York, NY, 10011 © 2010 About.com   This and That Fiano Minutolo, A Very Fine Puglian White The About Italian Food Page on Facebook Using Facebook for Professional Networking Advertisement