The Thing About "Cozze"

I know this may appear to be a short entry and maybe of not as of an exiting nature as many of our other trips and adventures we have experienced during this staying in Rome and shared on this blog, but I wanted to commit to memory and this form of permanent documentation an observation and a couple of thoughts about family life.

And in this matter for this particular entry sea food has a great deal of importance, given the specific of the occasion.  Michele discovered a few years ago the great and exotic taste of "cozze" (mussels) and especially the home made cooked fashion that my mother prepared for him. So it became a tradition for us every time we come visit nonna Anna, that we have them cooked the same way before we leave, at least once. With the traveling and visiting we end up doing each time, the tradition is squeezed to the last week of our stay, which of course lands in the first week of August when Rome and Italy in general close down for the summer holidays (this is for real: almost every retail store closes down for at least two weeks - I guess they do not understand the option of scattered holiday breaks for employees and the opportunity to take advantage of the tourists' shopping desires! Go figure!).

So, finding a pescheria (fish store) that still serves fresh daily picked mussels is quite a challenge. In short, this year, like the previous ones, we woke up early in the morning and went to the sea, which for us is a little town called Fiumicino, about 30 minutes from home. This time even nonna Anna came with me (it was quite early and she was up, so the stars were aligned for her to be in the mood for going out!...- my mom is not in the habit of leaving the house too often since my dad passed away). We reached destination in no time at all and bought 3 kilos of cozze and 1 kilo of "telline" (a smaller version of clams that I cannot name in English). Coming back home it took over a couple of hours to cook the fish and managing to place on the table these huge bowls that could hold the food.  After all, it takes forever to eat them, but they are all shell, so in the end you eat very little substance - however delicious it may be.

The tradition made everyone happy, even if it took a long time to prepare, my mom was happy to do the meal especially for Michele, and the telline for me.  Nick followed along, and as I reflect on the occasion I think of small ways in which we can demonstrate affection, especially to family members. It may not always show in the most straightforward ways, but if one steps back to reflect, it can be felt in different fashions, which hold the same degree of importance.  I helped along and did the dishes, and even took these few photographs to commemorate the occasion.

... Marco had scrambled eggs.