The Home Search Continues and Indoc is Kinda Boring

Those of you who know Dinosaur might be familiar with his List of Life Goals – a lengthy handwritten list that is always in his wallet, and additionally, the catalyst of our relationship-spawning conversation.  This list was started back when Dinosaur was in high school, and items worthy of such a lofty title as Life Goal have been added occasionally ever since.  A new goal has not been added in quite some time…until yesterday:  Big, awesome, wood-burning brick pizza oven. 

This epiphany was brought about while we were at the home of an Italian (a “local national”) who works in Dinosaur’s department.  Most of this man’s home (and amazing kitchen) was built with his own hands, and the quality craftsmanship was evident.  Even more evident, as we walked into his kitchen, was the unusually intense heat I felt to my back.  I turned around and was greeted by a blast in the face of hot air and the shocking view, through a brick-lined opening in the wall, of a big, bright fire, glowing orange and crackling from inside a picturesque stone oven. 

I’m going to go ahead and pause here to apologize for not having pictures of this.  Somehow we left the hotel without camera, iPhone, or any other picture-taking advice.  I assure you, readers, that this will not happen again.

Against the wall adjacent to the blazing oven was a large table laden with a rainbow array of pizza toppings and a mountainous bowl of freshly shredded cheese.  Our host poured us a glass of wine and we chatted away in “Englitalian” as the idyllic scene around us continued to bustle…

Wood was added to the already blazing fire until the stones inside the oven were white-hot.  At that point, the flames were pushed to one side of the cavernous oven and the cleared stones were swept clean of ash and debris.  Then the Italian ladies jumped into action – pizza dough was slapped down and flattened, sauce was ladled and evenly spread, cheese was sprinkled, and toppings applied.  Our host then transferred the pizzas from the table to the oven using a long-handled extra-large spatula-looking tool.  From there, it was a skilled dance of turning the pizzas, shifting them, checking for uniform done-ness, removing cooked pizzas, and adding new ones.  It only took about 2-3 minutes for a pizza to cook, and these ladies were churning them out at top speed, so the oven master had his hands full. 

It was wondrous to watch, and even more glorious to eat.  The homemade dough was freshly made that day, the toppings purchased at the market and prepared that day as well.  And the pizza – literally straight from the hot stones to the table.  Amazing.  I don’t know what was more difficult – waiting for the pizza to cool enough before gobbling it up, or trying to decide what combination of gourmet toppings to try from the ever-growing cornucopia of pizzas that were steadily covering the table.

Dinosaur and I are looking forward to finding a place to live, and when we do, we’ll surely have these lovely local nationals over to our place for a good old American BBQ of steaks, ribs, burgers, and dogs.  And you never know – perhaps “obtain a big, awesome charcoal grill” will be added to an Italian’s List of Life Goals.

Just your run of the mill neighborhood volcano, spewing smoke.

Approaching our Sicilian countryside village

Fun with reflections

Rocky coast of lava rocks, fishermen, and the Isli di Cyclopi: after Odysseus escapes from the cyclops Polyphemus (who Odysseus blinded), Polyphemus threw giant rocks into the water after him.