4th of July! 🇺🇸♥️

If there was a single day this summer that I would allow myself to miss America, this would be the one. Oh, America. Land of the free and home of the brave. Today America isn’t the only land with those noble qualities, but it sure is a special one, and has historically been a defender of those values in the world. I am proud to be an American. 🇺🇸

Through discussion, observation, and personal experience, I have come to several conclusions on the strengths and weaknesses of Italy and America, these lands that I love. Here is a purely objective side by side comparison.

Things Italy doesn’t have enough of:
-basketball/baseball/football/any kind of ball other than soccer
-peanut butter
-donuts, tacos, and hamburgers
-guns, fireworks, and wide open spaces to blow things up
-classic old movies
-cowboys and country dancing
-red rocks and arches
-good boys my age who speak English
-chocolate
-Stewart family members

Things America doesn’t have enough of:
-legitimate soccer.
-cheese
-ways to eat pasta
-fresh bread, fresh fruit, fresh everything
-classical old music
-cobblestone streets and mid-evil history
-castles and cathedrals
-good boys my age not afraid of commitment
-chocolate
-Faccioli family members

I’ve been working quite earnestly on getting a visit here from my parents and a visit to Utah from the Facciolis. We will see if it works out on both sides. 😉

Almost as much as I have loved learning everything I can about the Italian culture, the Facciolis also enjoy learning about the American lifestyle from my point of view!

Once the family went out of their way to make BBQ which turned absolutely amazing! They also made hamburgers! While the hamburgers were decent, I have to admit that nothing beats an American burger. It’s just not the same. Yet another reason for my Italian family to come visit my American family! That’s one point for team USA.

I have introduced them to a few foods that they have never tried before and frankly boggled their minds. Zucchini in bread? And it’s a sweet bread? Yes, it’s called zucchini bread… but it’s more like cake. I decided to give it a more truthful translation and we call it torta zucchine. They didn’t have any bread loaf tins to bake in, so we made it in a cake pan- only emphasizing that it should really be called zucchini cake.

Somehow the banana bread was just as surprising for the Italians to comprehend. It was hilarious to see everyone’s reactions as they took their first bites of banana bread- a staple in the Stewart kitchen when we have brown bananas. Their eyebrows furrowed together in a confused way as they nodded their slightly tilted heads approvingly. They all said the same thing almost word for word, “It’s different… but it’s good. I’ve never had something like this before.” Francesco expounded upon the obvious, “It’s like taking a bite out of a banana- but in bread!”

By some miracle the recipes for these sweets breads turned out perfect- despite the change in altitude, improvising some ingredients, and converting everything to the metric system! Thankfully the kids helped me bake; they were very helpful in translating my English recipe into Italian ingredients. Liquid vanilla was also nowhere to be found, but they did have little packets of a white powder for vanilla flavoring.

I started by scouring the kitchen for measuring cups and teaspoons- but those don’t exist here. It made us all laugh as I asked Maddi repeatedly where the measuring cups are.

“We need two cups of flour…”

She pulled a mug out of the cupboard, “This? Are you sure?”

Apparently everything is measured here by weight on their little scale- so we converted the portions into grams. It makes for more exact baking, if you know how to work it.

The oven functions in Celsius, not Fahrenheit. Although the metric system makes much more sense than all the arbitrary forms of measurement we use in America, I’m not used to it so it’s difficult for me to comprehend the world in grams and meters.

Today I insisted that we celebrate the 4th of July somehow! Although we had to forgo fireworks, I did prepare a special American dinner for the family with foods they’ve never had before. Although I was a bit nervous, everything turned out better than I could have hoped!

This was not only an American meal, but a Stewart meal. I used my grandma’s recipe for chicken and rice casserole, and discovered that the original recipe was from my great-grandma! I used my mom’s recipes for pretzel jello salad and rainbow chopped salad. I didn’t use a specific recipe for the potato salad- I just made it to my liking.

Maria couldn’t help but put bread on the table. That’s just what we do in Italy. There’s always some fresh bread on the table. “Do you mind?” She asked so politely. At the end of the meal Francesco joked, “It’s not American but will you be offended if we bring out cheese?”

“Oh please,” I insisted, “Grace this table with Italian cheese.” Best Italian American meal ever.

As for the pretzel jello salad, I was rather worried. You see- Italy doesn’t have jello. We looked in three different stores and found no jello. But they do have a clear sugar gelatin for fruit tarts. So we got creative and added some blueberry marmalade to the gelatin mix. The result wasn’t exactly like my mom’s… but it was good! Everyone was surprised by how well the salty pretzels complimented this sweet dish. It was a hit!

The recipes: (you’re welcome)

Yes although I miss America and I’m missing out on fireworks tonight, I am beyond grateful to be here. Sitting around la tavola on their back porch with the Faccioli family and Andrea, I felt completely at home. Today there is nowhere in the world I would rather be. God bless America. God bless Italy. And God bless the Facciolis! ♥️