Last weekend I had the pleasure of going to the Ottobrata Zafferana, a local but well-known and wildly popular annual event held every Sunday in October. The Sicilians have a love affair with the festa, which we call festivals and fairs. There doesn't have to be a darn good reason to have a festa, just a reason. Celebrating the life of a saint, local produce, wine, olive oil...it's all good. This weekend was dedicated to honey and mushrooms.
Booths lined the streets as far as the eye could see, offering freshly harvested local produce (featuring the Etna autumn harvest of honey, apples, mushrooms, chestnuts, and wine), local craftspeople, adult beverages, and live music. The best part is that many offered free tastings of their products, from every flavor of honey imaginable (I tasted honey balsamico that, much to my dismay, tasted like Vicks Vapo-Rub, thus the sour face), to liqueurs, olive oil, and cookies.
A festa, no matter where or why, would not be complete without food. The plate of Italian sausage, greens, and funghi (mushrooms) was the real thing. Italian sausage in Sicily...makes sense, doesn't it? These sausages are cooked on roof tiles. Check it out! Sandy, I didn't see any funnel cakes. Darn!
If you are really into arts and crafts and also have a curiosity about the Mafia in Sicily, look at these renditions of the Mafioso. Looks like they've gotten a wiff of those grilled sausages!
1 comment:
hi, new to the site, thanks.
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