Do Do This At Home

What goes on behind this door?

This is where I live, 4th floor. I think that's my host brother's red vespa out front.

Good cooking, vegetables aside. Today we had bruschetta. Real bruschetta. Pronounced BRU-SKE-TA. This is how it went:

First, my personal chef/ host father Ferdi (who doubles as a surgeon) pan-grilled fresh slices of italian bread. The bread was given to him by a friend; it's from the south of Italy, and it takes a whole week to rise, not a few hours like yeast-infected bread. Ferdi then cut up chunks of garlic and showed me how to rub the garlic directly on the toasted bread. Toasting the bread hardens the outside, so that when I ran my piece of garlic all over its surface it was grated away to a sliver. Next, of course, comes the olive oil. Pour it in "C" motion for even coverage without over-dosing. 

Two big spoonfuls of Ferdi's tomato concoction go on top. Stewed tomatoes, still warm, mixed with garlic and just two other spices that I forgot the name of. Delicious. After the fit I threw in my last post, one might be tempted to say that vegetables are growing on me (not literally, that'd be weird), BUT tomatoes here are so so sweet they hardly count as vegetables. 

Finally, basil on top, shredded with my own hands, fresh fresh fresh.  

Serve with Pecorino white wine. Not related to the cheese. I think. This wine is also known as the best wine I've ever tasted in my life.   

Eat, savor, repeat.