Posted by michaelp on Wednesday, May 17, 2017 in 2017 Blog post.

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Today after departing from Cefalu we ventured into the Sicilian countryside in the mountains where we took part in a three course feast with the residents of a beautiful casetta in the hills. The house was equipped with a rather large garden where the owners grew the majority of their vegetables to cook in their modern abode. They had 3 cats, 2 beautiful orange twins who would not let me within 30 feet of them, and 1 brown striped ocelot looking guy who attempted to cut the eyes right out of my head. It was a sleek house, all white, and very clean with an outdoor kitchen and bathroom surrounded by the most beautiful garden scenery and a buddha statue. We arrived around 4 and proceeded to spend the next 6 hours laying around, chatting, cooking, and eating not really in hurry to get anywhere and not in rush to prepare the food and eat it. This was quite the culture shock because when I heard we were going to a cooking class I imagined us all in a classroom with our own cooking stations following a teacher along while prepared the food and then proceed to eat it. However, this was not the case and the experience we received was like spending a sunday at your grandparents house. Since the house was isolated there was no connection to the outside world, not even cell service, and it was very peaceful being surrounded by mountains, gardens, and trees. It is true we were there for a cooking class, but that is not the experience I got out of this. This is exactly how I imagined an Italian sunday, the family gets together and spends the day on their terrace drinking, chatting, laughing and just slowing down and taking time to enjoy the day and bask in the peacefulness of the mountains. An antipasto is prepared first, in our case we made rice balls today, and there is really no rush to make the dish and it is enjoyed as a pre-dinner snack. After this is finished there is no hurry to move on to the main course and we spent about another hour lounging before we even began preparing the sausage and the pasta. The sun started to set and the air became crisp and cool as we dined on lentil pasta and sausage wrapped in 3 different types of leaves and grilled. Everyone was conversing and hanging out as we slowly made our way through the dinner and we were just taking the time to relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery while our hosts prepared old-school cannoli’s made from crepes. This light and sweet dessert wrapped up the meal perfectly as the sun had now set and it became very chilly outside and we were forced to enjoy it indoors. Overall the experience was nothing like I had expected but gave me a confirmation about the Italians and their relaxed eating style. Its something people fail to enjoy back home, but the pace of the meal, the delicacies we enjoyed, and the pure beauty of the casetta gave me a chance to really appreciate all the beautiful things Sicily has to offer.