IPSIA " E. ALETTI" TREBISACCE - ITALY

The final meeting at Trebisacce

2009-06-21T16:50:00.001-07:00

Dearest friends,

It was wonderful being part of this Comenius team. It was our first project and we learnt a lot , especially our students who had the chance to leave Italy and see what other European countries look like: your school, your town, your language , your people. Everything has been a terrific experience that they will cherish for ever!!!
We are happy you enjoyed the time you spent at Trebisacce and hope to work again with all of you!!!
Here is the interview that the national TV channel RAI 3 made to you when you were preparing the Comenius dinner.
Love you all,
Teresa , Mimmo

Comenius Meeting Program Trebisacce 11-15 May 2009

2009-04-12T08:43:00.000-07:00

The dish for Trebisacce meeting

2009-02-20T04:35:00.000-08:00

" Bites of breast of duck filled with salmon topped with cuttle fish and Venus rice over a basil sauce served with maize wafer". This is the dish we are going to make for Comenius dinner!!
Doesn't it look mouth watering?

The recipes we elaborated so far in Italian language

2009-02-20T01:04:00.000-08:00

Great time at making Comenius dinner for the students

2008-12-23T02:11:00.000-08:00

Students socialized with the other students working together in the kitchen for the Comenius dinner but also finding time to go around the town and have fun talking in French , English, Italian to start friendships.
They all had great time there with the other partner students!! They hope some of the new friends come to Italy for the meeting!!!!!!
That's what they said about their Comenius experience :

Fabiana:" It was a wonderful experience.....it was the first time out of school where I met other students, the Italian students from Soverato, La Spezia and of course the French students. We had great time and we did many things together!!! We socialized and had fun ! The school is very different from our school...it is very nice and have nice equipment!!!!
Giovanna: " The town is very nice and we had fun with the Italian girls at the hotel....we didn't sleep much..... The French students are very nice....the boys are good looking !!!
Lorenzo: " This is my first time !!! nice experience! we spoke a little French but they know also a little English!!! The girls are very nice!!! Hope they come to Trebisacce for the final meeting!!!
Pino and Rocco" we loved to be in Montauban...but we loved to meet the other students...they are very nice!!!!! we went out together and we worked in the kitchen together ! It was a nice time!!
Ana and Chaiba " We are from Ucraina and Morocco and we are very happy we were at Montauban. It was nice....we don't travel much.....It was not difficult for me from Casablanca I learnt French at school! Our families are in Italy for job!!!

Montauban Meeting

2008-12-23T02:08:00.000-08:00

The angora breeding farm

The cheese farm

The students at the Marie

The museé des Ingres

The beautiful historical town of Montauban

It was a great time for our students that had the chance to meet the the French and Italian students who were there!

The Comenius corner at school

2008-11-07T05:51:00.000-08:00

The students have completed the work started in May about each Comenius partner's country. They found news in Italian and then they translated it into the English language. They made posters where there are some information that best represent each partner's country and school.

The whole school community is stopping there and asks information on a given country and if they can come , too, to our meetings. Hopefully this year they will be able to meet all of you in person and give you the warmest welcome!!!

Our dish

2008-11-05T08:59:00.000-08:00

The recipe card of the dish "Pecorino and citron filled pasta parcels served with orange honey and caciocavallo flavoured ice cream"

Since students and teachers had to work on a recipe based on cheese , they made a dessert where they used some typical cheeses produced in our area , The Alto Jonio Cosentino.

They made a dessert where pecorino cheese, caciocavallo cheese and citron are used.

Montauban Meeting : Program

2008-11-05T08:46:00.000-08:00

Here is the program our partners from Montauban planned for us . It looks it is a very nice one !!!

Monday, November 10th

Arrival Visit of a covered market http://www.marchevictorhugo.fr/index4.htm

Visit of a cheese shop + the World of Spices

http://www.fromages-xavier.com/

Free time and meal (chargeable to every participant)

The « Cité de l’Espace » (admission fees chargeable to every partner) http://www.cite-espace.com/

Arrival to the hotel Mercure

Free time in the evening , (a list of the restaurants will be given to all the partners )

Tuesday, November 11th (in France it’s a bank holiday)

At 8.30 : departure for Cahors and its region and visit of the “Chateau de Haute Serre”,a vineyard http://www.vindecahors.fr/

A conference on “ truffles” in an agricultural school in Grama

http://pagesperso-orange.fr/station-truffe/index.htm

Visit of Rocamadour, a very nice village http://www.rocamadour.com/

Free time for dinner and evening

Wednesday, November 12th

A cup of coffee at school /12h : Working on the project and preparation of the objectives for this year

Regional gastronomic buffet

Visit of Montauban

http://www.montauban-tourisme.com/

Visit of the « Jardin des Simples » and of “Ingres museum”

ttp://www.montauban.com/detente/detente_vie_culturelle/musees/ingres/accueil.phppage=presentation

dinner at the restaurant “ Au fil de l’eau ” ( about 35€) chargeable to each participant)

Thursday, November 13th

Visit of Bruniquel (old houses, belfry and ruins of medieval fortifications)

Visit of an angora goat-breeding and cheese making farm

Lunch at a farm inn (les Chênes) serving home-made products (about 30€, chargeable to each participant) http://www.les-chenes.fr/

16h : Preparation of a Comenius meal (each school must prepare a dish for about 40 people).During our meeting in La Spezia we had decided which dish each school would prepare .Comenius dinner

Friday and Saturday

Departure of the partners according to their flight times

La Spezia meeting: the activities

2008-06-05T10:52:00.000-07:00

THE BUFFET with the creative dishes made with herbs

Visiting the Wine Cellar "Lunae"

The beautiful "Cinque Terre"

Taking a boat to visit the mussel farming

La Spezia meeting: activities

2008-06-05T10:49:00.000-07:00

20th May 2008

Welcome from IPSSAR G. GASINI.Showing the work done by each school and planning the objectives for next meeting in Montauban .Lunch prepared by students for the Comenius partners.

Comenius partners taking pictures before setting to work !

Aperitif Time

The typical focaccia from Genoa

Fish - based starters! Excellent!

Students of Casini IPSSAR making lunch

We did great things during this meeting. After being welcomed by the G. Casini school (teachers and students) who showed us around , we set to work and showed the individual blogs.
The program planned by our partners from La Spezia was a very good one.They took us on a boat to visit the mussel farming and then we toured the "Cinque Terre" (Portovenere, Monterosso, Manarola...). We visited the Organic Vara valley, the Wine Cellar Lunae, the town of Sarzana. Beautiful places, worth a stay either alone or in company!

The students' work on the partecipating countries

2008-05-30T09:25:00.001-07:00

The students of class 3 G doing researches on the partner countries with the ICT teacher in the multimedia lab

The students of the service course just after completing the school project on beer with the headmaster at the centre ,the service teacher on the left and the special needs teacher for disabled students on the right.

Students of classes 3 H , 3 G of the kitchen course and 3 I of the service course have been working on the activities planned for our Comenius project. They made researches through internet finding news about the different countries and working on wall posters for the Comeius Corner at school.

The presentation of our school project"Creative cuisine of the Alto Jonio Calabrese"

2008-05-18T08:35:00.000-07:00

On 17th May in the main hall our school represented by the headmaster has presented its book "Creative cuisine of the Alto Jonio Calabrese" to the territory.It is a two-year work where students guided by cooking teachers have rivised old recipes of our territory according to the new tendencies of today's cuisine : some ingredients have been replaced and some have been added without altering the original recipes; recipes that hold to our tradition but are ideal for the people of this century who have to watch what they eat to be healthy.

At the cerimony there were the President of the bank of Credito Cooperativo dell'Alto Jonio ,our sponsor, and that supports the most interesting schools' initiatives of the territory, the press, the local TV ,tele A1, Mr. Fusca one of the Italian national school inspectors, the headmasters of the secondary schools of the area , the representative of the Italian National Cooks' Federation , the major of Trebisacce and the President of chilly pepper Association from Calabria, one of our Comenius partners and of course students and teachers of our school and people from the town. The spoksman , Mr. Maurella the journalist that made articles on our Comenius meetings talked of our school as the one of the area that is the most open to Europe naming our Comenius project and also the etwinning torneo where at the gala dinner 4 dishes of our Comenius partners were part of the menu.

The school inspector Mr. Fusca underlined the higly formative value of the project since there is the involvement of the territory.

Students worked at the buffet where some dishes of the recipes that are found in the book were displayed. After the cerimony people were served by the service course students.

The limoncello recipe from students of class 3 I

2008-05-17T07:23:00.000-07:00

Below is found the video that students shut using their cell phone while they were showing the limoncello preparation. This after dinner drink was born in Campania region and three towns claim its birth : Amalfi , Capri and Sorrento. It is now being made also at home where there is abundance of lemons and whose recipe has been passed on by home makers . It is an aromatic delicious digestive appreciated by tourists, too!

The label for the limoncello that student Laino Michele made

Students have thought of making some limoncello for the Comenius partners who will meet at La Spezia in May.

Here is their recipe:

Ingredients:
5-6 lemons (organic)
1 litre of grain alcohol
1 litre of water
300 gr. of sugar (more sugar if you wanted sweeter)

Utensils: glass jar, bowl, small kook's knife, strainer, wisker, bottle, pot

Procedure:

Wash lemons carefully and then peel them very finely making sure to leave the white part; put the lemons peel into the glass jar with the alcohol; close it ermetically and leave in infusion for 15 days or more keeping it in a dark place; take a pot where you will pour the water where it will be added the sugar to make the syrup; let the sugar melt over a low flame being careful not to bring it to the boiling point; let it rest until it is cold; take the alcohool with the lemon peels and pour it into the bowl with the syrup; mix it using a wisker; strain it to be sure not to leave any solid part ; bottle the limoncello and keep it in the fridge before servig it!!

Anyway there are many variations of this after dinner drink according to peoples' taste : stronger or weaker (adding more or less water) but if you want a more flavoursome limoncello you have to leave it in infusion for more days and use good lemons!!

The program of La Spezia meeting

2008-05-02T07:22:00.000-07:00

COMENIUS PROJECT: INFLUENCES, TRENDS AND CREATIVITY IN THE EUROPEAN COOKING.
La Spezia, 19 / 23 May 2008

19 May Monday
Arrival
Hotel del golfo Lerici
Via Gerini, 37 - Lerici (Sp)
http://www.hoteldelgolfo.com/
Dinner at Hotel del golfo

20 May Tuesday
9.00 Departure from Hotel del golfo to La Spezia IPSSAR G. Casini
9.30 Catering and hospitality college “quick” tour
10.00 Meeting .Working on the project
12.30 Lunch Prepared by IPSSAR G. Casini students.
Afternoon
Boat tour (military navy boat) Departure from La Spezia to Mussel farming.
http://www.mitilicoltori.it/
Tino and Palmaria islands. Portovenere http://www.isolapalmaria.com/www.portoveneredidattica.it/sce-Legrazie/Territorio/Portov_Imm/immagini_Porto_venere.htm
and Cinque Terre
http://www.cinqueterre.it/

21 May Wednesday
9.00 at school. Working on the project
Preparation of a buffet Each school has to prepare 1 dish.
12.30 Lunch
Afternoon
14.30 Wine Cellar Cantinae Lunae
www.cantinelunae.com/ita/home.htm
17.00 Visit Sarzana
Guided tour of the city centre.
19.00 Back to hotel
20.00 To Tellaro. A short walk through the fishing village narrow alleys , an aperitif and a super seafood dinner at Delfino Restaurant
http://www.borghitalia.it/html/borgo_it.php?codice_borgo=499
Delfino Restaurant
www.ristorante-delfino.it/

22 May Thrusday
9.00 Departure from Hotel del Golfo Lerici to Val di Vara.
Visit Varese Ligure village.
Wine Cellar Cinque Terre.
Visiting the famous Organic Valley.
Tour of the most important farms.
http://www.coopcasearia.it/
Liguria's Secret Valley
Val di Vara - the Organic Valley
The Val di Vara is a little known part of Liguria which is gaining a reputation for good quality organic food.
This part of Italy is best known for its stunning coastline, the Italian Riviera .The Val di Vara - a part of Liguria that has hardly been explored by tourists, it's well known in Italy as it has a reputation as a 'green' organic valley. The main town is Varese Ligure, once a resort for wealthy Genoese families.The whole area is making great efforts to be as green as possible: wind turbines and solar panels provide power, and waste is carefully recycled.
Many farmers in the valley raise their cattle organically, and the butcher's in Varese Ligure often has queues outside. There is also an organic cheese factory and organic yoghurt factory. Small producers in the valley also make honey - the chestnut one is particularly good . In the hill village of Castiglione Chiavarese, you can also find wine and olive oil at the Azienda Agricola Pinogino. The area, with its thick chestnut and beech forests, is also noted for its excellent porcini mushrooms.
http://www.cantinacinqueterre.com/

20.30 Dinner Prepared by the Evening classes IPSSAR G. Casini Students.

23 May Friday
Departure.

About our herbs

2008-04-30T14:26:00.000-07:00

Students of class 3 I watching the herbs they planted while the others take pictures from their class found on the second flour!

Our garden with our aromatic plants

2008-04-30T14:16:00.000-07:00

We finally have the herbs garden! Students of classes 3 H and 3 G and 3 I have planted in this little square piece of land that is found in the school internal courtyard : parsley, basil, thyme, fennel, hot cilli pepper, bay leaf, sage, onions, rosemary.We look forward to seeing them grow and use them in our school recipes!

Our aromatic herbs : some information!

2008-04-30T13:57:00.001-07:00

Students of classes 3 H , 3 G and 3 I have found news on the herb plants they planted in our school garden. They made researches using internet and visioning the following web sites : http://www.wikipedia/ and http://www.agraria.org/ . They selected the material and posted their work.

Onion. Many plants in the genus Allium are known by the common name onion but, used without qualifiers, it usually refers to Allium cepa. Allium cepa is also known as the 'garden onion' or 'bulb' onion and 'shallot'. Allium cepa is known only in cultivation, but related wild species occur in Central Asia.
Onions, one of the oldest vegetables known to mankind, are found in a bewildering array of recipes and preparations, spanning almost the totality of the world's cultures; they are nowadays available in fresh, frozen, canned, pickled, and dehydrated forms. Onions can be used, usually chopped or sliced, in almost every type of food, including cooked foods and fresh salads, and as a spicy garnish; they are rarely eaten on their own but usually act as accompaniment to the main course. Depending on the variety, an onion can be sharp, spicy, tangy and pungent or mild and sweet.
Onions pickled in vinegar are eaten as a snack. These are often served as a side serving in fish and chip shops throughout the United Kingdom. Onions are a staple food in India, and are therefore fundamental to Indian cooking. They are commonly used as a base for curries, or made into a paste and eaten as a main course or as a side dish.

History. The onion is easily propagated, transported and stored. The Ancient Egyptians worshipped it, believing that its spherical shape and concentric rings symbolized eternal life. Onions were even used in Egyptian burials as evidenced by onion traces being found in the eye sockets of Ramesses IV. They believed that if buried with the dead, the strong scent of onions would bring breath back to the dead.
In ancient Greece, athletes ate large quantities of onion because it was believed that it would lighten the balance of blood. Roman gladiators were rubbed down with onion to firm up their muscles. In the Middle Ages onions were such an important food that people would pay for their rent with onions and even give them as gifts. Doctors were known to prescribe onions to facilitate bowel movements and erection, and also to relieve headaches, coughs, snakebite and hair loss. The onion was introduced to North America by Christopher Columbus on his 1492 expedition to Haiti Onions were also prescribed by doctors in the early 1500s to help with infertility in women, and even dogs and cattle and many other household pets. However, recent evidence has proven that dogs, cats, and other animals should NOT be given onions in any form, due to toxicity during digestion.

Culinary: Onions, one of the oldest vegetables known to mankind, are found in a bewildering array of recipes and preparations, spanning almost the totality of the world's cultures; they are nowadays available in fresh, frozen, canned, pickled, and dehydrated forms. Onions can be used, usually chopped or sliced, in almost every type of food, including cooked foods and fresh salads, and as a spicy garnish; they are rarely eaten on their own but usually act as accompaniment to the main course. Depending on the variety, an onion can be sharp, spicy, tangy and pungent or mild and sweet.

Basil (Ocimum basilicum) of the Family Lamiaceae, is also known as Sweet Basil .It is a tender low-growing herb that is grown as a perennial in warm, tropical climates. Basil is originally native to India and other tropical regions of Asia, having been cultivated there for more than 5,000 years. It is prominently featured in varied cuisines throughout the world including Italian, Thai, Vietnamese and Laotian. It grows to between 30–60 cm tall, with opposite, light green, silky leaves 3–5 cm long and 1–3 cm broad. The flowers are quite big, white in color and arranged in a terminal spike. Unusual among Lamiaceae, the four stamens and the pistl are not pushed under the upper lip of the corolla, but lay over the inferior. After entomophilous pollination, the corolla falls off and four round achenes develop inside the bilabiate calyx. The plant tastes somewhat like anise, with a strong, pungent, sweet smell. Basil is very sensitive to cold, with best growth in hot, dry conditions. While most common varieties are treated as annuals, some are perennial, including African Blue and Holy Thai basil.

Culinary: one of the most used aromatic plants in the kitchen to give flavour to salads, sauces, soups, cheeses. It is the main ingredient of the famous pesto alla genovese. The juice of its leaves rubbed on the skin keeps away moskitos.

Thyme is a genus of about 350 species of aromatic perennial herbaceous plants and sub-shrubs to 40 cm tall, in the family Lamiaceae and native to Europe, North Africa and Asia. A number of species have different chemotype. The stems tend to be narrow or even wiry; the leaves are evergreen in most species, arranged in opposite pairs, oval, entire, and small, 4-20 mm long. The flowers are in dense terminal heads, with an uneven calyx, with the upper lip three-lobed, and the lower cleft; the corolla is tubular, 4-10 mm long, and white, pink or purple.

Ancient Egyptians used thyme in embalming. The ancient Greeks used it in their baths and burnt it as incense in their temples, believing that thyme was a source of courage. It was thought that the spread of thyme throughout Europe was thanks to the Romans, as they used it to purify their rooms and to "give an aromatic flavour to cheese" and liqueurs". In the European Middle Ages, the herb was placed beneath pillows to aid sleep and ward off nightmares. (Huxley 1992). In this period, women would also often give knights and warriors gifts that included thyme leaves as it was believed to bring courage to the bearer. Thyme was also used as incense and placed on coffins during funerals as it was supposed to assure passage into the next life.[

Culinary: thyme is used most widely in cooking and provides lots of iron. Thyme is a basic ingredient in French, Greek, Italian, Persian, Spanish and Turkish cuisines, and in those derived from them. It is also widely used in Lebanese and Caribbean cuisines.
Thyme is often used to flavour meats, soups and stews. It has a particular affinity to and is often used as a primary flavour with roasted meats ,lamb, tomatoes, sauces, vegetables, mushrooms, aromatic oils and vinegar. Thyme, while flavourful, does not overpower and blends well with other herbs and spices.
In French cuisine, along with bay and parsley it is a common component of the bouquet garni, and of herbes de Provence. In some Middle Eastern countries, the condiment za'atar contains thyme as a vital ingredient.

Bay leaf (plural bay leaves) is the aromatic leaf of several species of the Laurel family (Lauraceae). Fresh or dried bay leaves are used in cooking for their distinctive flavor and fragrance.
Laurus nobilis, is a culinary herb often used to flavor soups, stews, and braises and pâtés in Mediterranean Cuisine. The fresh leaves are very mild and do not develop their full flavor until several weeks after picking and drying. Ancient Greeks and Romans crowned victors with wreaths of laurel. The term "baccalaureate," means laurel berry, and refers to the ancient practice of honoring scholars and poets with garlands from the bay laurel tree. Romans felt the leaves protected them against thunder and the plague. Later, Italians and the English believed bay leaves brought good luck and warded off evil. The given name and surname "Laurence," is derived from the Roman name for the plant and the honorary practices using its boughs of leaves and berries.
Culinary: Bay leaves are a fixture in the cooking of many European cuisines (particularly those of the Mediterranean), as well as in North America. They are used in soups, stews, meat, seafood, and vegetable dishes. The leaves also flavor classic French dishes such as bouillabaise and bouillon. The leaves are most often used whole (sometimes in a bouquet garni), and removed before serving. In Indian cuisine, bay leaves are often used in biryani and many salads.

Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) is a bright green, biennial herb, also used as spice. It is very common in Middle Eastern, European, and American cooking. Parsley is used for its lea in much the same way as coriander (which is also known as Chinese parsley or cilantro), although it has a milder flavor. Two forms of parsley are used as herbs: curly leaf and Italian, or flat leaf (P. neapolitanum). Curly leaf parsley is often used as a garnish. Many people think flat leaf parsley has a stronger flavor, and this opinion is backed by chemical analysis which finds much higher levels of essential oil in the flat-leaved cultivars. One of the compounds of the essential oil is apiol. The use of curly leaf parsley may be favored by some because it cannot be confused with poison hemlock like flat leaf parsley or chervil.
Parsley is widely used as a companion plant in gardens. Like many other umbellifers, it attracts predatory insects, including wasps and predatory flies to gardens, which then tend to protect plants nearby. They are especially useful for protecting tomato plants, for example the wasps that kill tomato hornworms also eat nectar from parsley. While parsley is biennial, not blooming until its second year, even in its first year it is reputed to help cover up the strong scent of the tomato plant, reducing pest attraction.

Culinary: In parts of Europe, and particularly in West Asia, many foods are served with chopped parsley sprinkled on top. The fresh flavor of parsley goes extremely well with fish. Parsley is a key ingredient in several West Asian salads, e.g., tabbouleh which is the national dish of Lebanon. In Southern and Central Europe, parsley is part of bouquet garni, a bundle of fresh herbs used to flavor stocks, soups, and sauces. Additionally, parsley is often used as a garnish. Persillade is mixture of chopped garlic and chopped parsley. Gremolata is a mixture of parsley, garlic, and lemon zest. Its leaves are widely used in the kitchen to flavour soups, fish, vegetables, cheeses: they are added at the last minute because with cooking most of the aroma is lost

Hot chili pepper, chilli pepper, or more simply just "chili", is the fruit of the plants from the genus Capsicum, which are members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Even though chilis may be thought of as a vegetable, their culinary usage is generally as a spice, the part of the plant that is usually harvested is the fruit, and botany considers the plant a berry shrub. The name, which is spelled differently in many regions (chili, chile, or chilli), comes from Nahuatl via the Spanish word chile. The term chili in most of the world refers exclusively to the smaller, hot types of capsicum. The mild larger types are called bell pepper in the United States, Canada (and sometimes the United Kingdom), sweet pepper in Britain and Ireland, capsicum in India and Australasia, and paprika in many European countries. Finally, bell peppers are often named simply by their colour (e.g. green or red pepper).

Culinary:it is an antifermentative and it goes well with all meats especially in hot monts. Its fruits whole, chopped or grounded are used to flavour lots of dishes. It is a digestive.

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is a hardy, umbelliferous, perennial herb, with yellow flowers and feathery leaves, that grows wild in most parts of temperate Europe, but is generally considered indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean, whence it spreads eastwards to India. It has followed civilization, especially where Romans have colonized, and may be found growing wild in many parts of the world upon dry soils near the sea-coast and upon river-banks. It is a member of the family Apiaceae. It is a highly aromatic and flavorful herb with culinary and medicina uses, and is one of the primary ingredients of absinthe. Fennel is used as a food plant by the larvaeof some Lepidoptera species including the Mouse Moth and the Anise Swallowtail.

Culinary:its fruits (called seeds) go well with porchetta and all meats. Fresh leaves are used to give flavour to salads, fish dishes sauces and balsamic vinegar. The wild fennel is used in Sicily to prepare pasta con le sarde.

Mentha (mint) is a genus of about 25 species (and many hundreds of varieties) of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae (Mint Family). Species within Mentha have a subcosmopolitan distribution across Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and North America. Several mint hybrids commonly occur.Mints are aromatic, almost exclusively perennial, rarely annual, herbs. They have wide-spreading underground rhizomes and erect, branched stems. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, from simple oblong to lanceolate, often downy, and with a serrated margin. Leaf colors range from dark green and gray-green to purple, blue and sometimes pale yellow. The flowers are produced in clusters ('verticils') on an erect spike, white to purple, the corolla two-lipped with four subequal lobes, the upper lobe usually the largest. The fruit is a small dry capsule containing one to four seeds.While the species that make up the Mentha genus are widely distributed and can be found in many environments, many grow best in wet environments and moist soils. Mints will grow 10–120 cm tall and can spread over an indeterminate sized area. Due to the tendency to spread unchecked, mints are considered invasive.

Culinary: the leaf, fresh or dried, is the culinary source of mint. Fresh mint is usually preferred over dried mint when storage of the mint is not a problem. The leaves have a pleasant warm, fresh, aromatic, sweet flavor with a cool aftertaste. Mint leaves are used in teas, beverages, jellies, syrups, candies, and ice creams. In Middle Eastern cuisine mint is used on lamb dishes. In British cuisine, mint sauce is popular with lamb.

Common Sage (Salvia officinalis) is a small evergreen subshrub, with woody stems, grayish leaves, and blue to purplish flowers. It is native to the Mediterranean region.It is much cultivated as a kitchen and medicinal herb, and, according to certain sources, grows in every field. Common sage is also grown in parts of Europe, especially the Balkans for distillation of the essential oil, though other species, such as Salvia triloba may also be harvested and distilled with it.It is also called Garden sage, Kitchen sage, and Dalmatian sage. The word sage or derived names are also used for a number of related and non related species.

Culinary: the leaves are very much used in the kitchen to give aroma to foods and facilitate digestion. They are usually used to season pasta and gnocchi in butter, toprepare sauces , roasted meats , fish. legumes, oils and aromatic vinegar. Leaves dipped in batter and fried are very good.

Rosemary is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant evergreen needle-like leaves. It is native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which also includes many other herbs. The name rosemary has nothing to do with the rose or the name Mary, but derives from the Latin name rosmarinus, which literally means "dew of the sea", though some think this too may be derived from an earlier name.The fresh and dried leaves are used frequently in traditional Mediterranean cuisine as an herb; they have a bitter, astringent taste, which complements a wide variety of foods. A tisane can also be made from them. They are extensively used in cooking, and when burned give off a distinct mustard smell, as well as a smell similar to that of burning which can be used to flavor foods while barbecueing. Rosemary is extremely high in iron, calcium, and Vitamin B6

Culinary: it is used to give flavour to meats, fish, soups, focaccia, oil and aromatic vinegar. It is a depurative and digestive.

Recipes Glossary

2008-03-31T12:58:00.000-07:00

Italian English
Aglio Garlic
Albumi Egg Whites
Affettare To slice
Aneto Dill
Arance biondo Biondo oranges
Arrotolare To roll
Bietola Chard

Borragine Borage
Buccia d’arancia grattugiata Grated orange peel
Cavolo Cabbage
Cipolla Onion
Condire To season
Contornare To garnish
Composto Mixture
Coriandolo Coriander
Dischetti Disc-shapes

Erba cipollina Chives
Farina di semola Wheat flour
Fave secche Dried fava beans
Fichi Figs

Finocchio Fennel

Fiori di zucchine courgette flowers
Formare To make
Frullare To blend
Frustare To wisk
Incorporare To incorporate
Infornare To bake
Lardo Lard
Lievito per dolci Baking yeast
Licurda Onion type soup

Melanzana Eggplant

Miele d'arancio Orange honey
Montare To stiffen
Naccarello Mackarel
Panna montata Whipped cream
Patate Potatoes
Peperoncini Hot chilly peppers
Pizzico Pinch
Pomodori Tomatoes
Ricotta Ricotta cheese
Salsa di fichi Figs sauce
Sedano Celery
Separare To separate
Siccirra Wild fennel type herb
Sfilettare To filet
Spicchio d’aglio Garlic clove
Spolverare To dust
Togliere To remove
Tuorli d’uovo pastorizzati Pasteurised egg yolks
Triglie Mullets
Tritare To mince
Zafferano Saffron
Zucchero Sugar
Attrezzature Utensils
Carta da forno Waxed paper

Casseruola Saucepan
Coltello trinciante Large cook’s knife
Coltello tagliaverdure Small cook’s knife
Frusta Wisk
Forno convenzionale Conventional oven
Frullino mixer
Pentola Pot
Pentola in terracotta Terracotta pot
Piatto Large Plate
Tagliere Cutting board
Teglia Baking tray
Teglia da forno antiaderente Non-sticking baking tray

Pictures (from top) : Saffron, Coriander and Garlic flowers.

The glossary refers to the recipe cards and to the dishes elaborated up to now.

The new recipe elaborated by cooking teacher and students

2008-03-31T12:53:00.000-07:00

It is a recipe that will be made at La Spezia meeting and as agreed on our Almeria meeting it comprises some herbs of our area that can also grew wild and that will give the dish a particular flavour.

"Spiced Red Mullets with fennel and orange honey in borage broth "

The dishes of the theme evening

2008-03-31T12:46:00.000-07:00

We proposed four dishes of our partners' menu created in 2007. It was a real success!!! They were presented by the cooking teacher Domenico Guarino to the guests of our gala dinner for the Pizza Torneo and the headmaster in his interview about the Pizza Stage- Torneo released to tele A1 explained why we included the dishes in our dinner menu of the Pizza Torneo.

Among our special guests there were the Provveditore agli Studi di Cosenza , the headmasters of the high schools of The Alto Jonio Cosentino, the major, the press, the school staff, the four partecipatinmg schools with headmaster, referent teachers, students.
The dishes included in the menu were the paella, the salmon, lasagne portofino, the poires and courgettes. We also handed an evaluation card for the dishes and what they appreciated the most was the salmon!

Here are some photos ( from top to bottom) : the menu, the evaluation card handed to our guests, lasagne Portofino, the salmon, the poires and courgettes, the paella, the students that served with the service teachers, the preparation phase of the dishes.

Here is the link to youtube where you can vision the interview to my headmaster made by a local TV tele A1 where he speaks of the etwinning torneo but also of Comenius project!!

You can read about Comenius also on the following sites.

www.pizzacrosseuropetorneo.blogspot.com

www.scuoladipizza.it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpy8YfgqYT4

Planning the theme evening

2008-02-20T01:44:00.000-08:00

We have thought of when to propose the dishes that are part of the menu each school worked on in 2007 and since our school doesn't have a restaurant pedagogique open to public in the evening, we thought of proposing the dishes in occasion of an Etwinning pizza torneo project that will be held in our school premises from 10-15 March. Our partners are from Hungary, Bulgaria, Portugal, Romania, Turkye, Russia. It is a nice way to show the work of our students and disseminate the Comenius practice among our partners and community.

Our school and Comenius

2007-12-31T07:24:00.000-08:00

The vocational school “ Ezio Aletti” was named after the engineer Ezio Aletti, the previous owner of the building, which in the past was a bathing establishment and that later was donated to the Town Hall of Trebisacce stating in his will that it should have hosted a vocational school. The building is near the train station and a few metres away from the beach .It is a three-storey building and in the 40s and 50s it hosted people who used to spend their Summer vacation in this town. In the 70s it was restored inside to host the school.
It is found in the School District N° 29 and hosts about 850 students with different social backgrounds coming from villages and towns found on the nearby mountains , hills and coasts of the “ Alto Ionio Cosentino” .
It is a mixed school where boys and girls, aged 14-19, can choose from the following courses: the electronic and electrotechnical course-the chemistry-biology course-the hotel and restaurant course.
Our school has also links with the University of Calabria which is 100 km. far from where we live and with which we have signed a Protocol that gives students the possibility of taking at school the admission test for the Faculty of Maths and Science.It was the first to be accredited by the quality certification in the whole Calabria region.
In order to speed up the intercultural process among students we offer them the opportunity to take part to school projects (POF) and national projects (PON) that are always students’ centered and where the equality of gender is also guaranteed.
Another target of our school formative plan is the European dimension. Allowing our students to take part to Socrates projects we are also taking them into the history, the cultural heritage, lifestyles , working procedures of other European countries.
Our school has grown a lot since we started this Comenius project: etwinning, Youth projects are also being proposed to our students who are willing to take part showing an increasing interest and motivation towards other cultures.

Our garden

2007-12-31T07:13:00.000-08:00

We started looking where we can have our herbs garden at school. We decided to plant them in our school internal courtyard where the big tree standing in the middle fell and that now left room where we can plant our herbs with the new coming year. We will plant rosmary, hot peppers , parsley, wild fennel, basil, dill, garlic, and sage and other seasonal herbs that we use in our kitchen.

The picture is with the tree but we wanted to post it just to show you where the garden will be.

At the beginning of the new year in March we will plant our herbs.

Recipe card "Mackarel with scamorza crust"

2007-12-31T07:09:00.000-08:00

Here is our fish dish combined with scamorza cheese!

Recipe card "Bagia Sibarita"

2007-12-31T07:06:00.000-08:00

This is a special yet simple dessert that makes use of one of our main products: figs!!

Recipe card "Maccaria with fava licurda"

2007-12-31T06:59:00.000-08:00

This is a very popular dish in our region where simple ingredients are used!

The city of Almeria

2007-12-31T06:56:00.000-08:00

We had a great time in Almeria with our Comenius friends and with the teachers and students of the Spanish school. We visited the city with the tour guide giving us news about places and people that we wouldn't had otherwise.

Domenico and I went to the market in the city centre and of which some of the partners told us great things about the great variety and goodness of the products sold there : fruit, vegetables. fish, meat, cheese, salami . They were right it is really a wonderful market!

We were taken to churches, tapas places, typical restaurants , wine producers, greenhouses.

Pictures (from top) : The medieval castle that we visited before leaving realized during the Turks' domination; Almeria landscape taken from the castle; cruise ship; at a tapas place with the Comenius partners; at the wine cellar we visited up in the Sierra Nevada; at the greenhouse where peppers are being grown and that are sent to all Europe, a landscape of all the greenhouses in Almeria

Almeria, October 2008

2007-12-31T06:50:00.000-08:00

We had a great time in Almeria. We set to work and each of us showed the initial part of the blogs that have been made by each partecipating school. We had a great time because we all worked for the buffet planned in Gravdal . Each scool had to prepare a dish and it was fun going to buy the ingredients we needed to make our dishes , it was exciting seeing everybody working in the kitcken of IES of Almeria and how the students of the hosting school helped us in making everything ready for the buffet.
DURING THE MEETING

- Presentation of the educational trainings in Almeria as well as of the different parts of their school
- Visit of the fittings of the school
- Preparation of the objectives and of a common technical form
- Conditions of the creation of a blog for the project in each centre
- Meeting with the press
- Visit of the central market and of typical products
- Preparation and dressing of an international buffet of local food products in the restaurant of the school.Each school, preparing one of the creative dishes imagined by the students during the year
- Visit of a greenhouse of organic products in the region of Almeria
- Visit of a wine cellar and tasting of Laujar wines
- Visit of some villages of the Alpujarras
- Visit of a traditional restaurant
- Guided visit of the town
- Achievement of an Andalusian meal by the students of the school and served to the participants in the school restaurant
- Meeting with the local authorities , Radio, Television and Press

Planning of the activities for 2007/2008

October 2007

Comenius meeting in Almeria : preparation of the objectives.
Organization of the groups of work in each school.

November 2007

Each school will have to create its own blog . In this blog the students can introduce themselves (in their native language and in English). All along the year , the blogs will have to be regularly supplied , including all the technical forms of the previous year in English and in another language.

Beginning of 2008

Each school will have to prepare a theme evening in the school restaurant using the technical forms of the other partners (technical forms prepared for the menus in 2006/2007) The menu will be proposed by the students in their school in order to spread outside the school the work done.A jury will give their opinion.
This jury can be composed of some of the clients dining that evening.

Photos will be taken during the preparation in the kitchen and during the service in order to illustrate the file.

A common questionnaire will be given to the clients. This questionnaire will particularly focus on the cooking differences highlighted by the dishes proposed.
March 2008:

Translation of the professionnal glossary. This glossary made in 2006/2007 will be translated into 2 languages (at least into English).

This glossary takes all the words used in the technical forms proposed last year. Then it will be put on the blog .

First term 2008

Creation of a garden or a green house of aromats in each school (except Lofoten because of the climate. They will use aromatics from local producers.).

The students will see the importance of the use of these aromats and will exchange ideas with their partners: all the students must take part in this creation.
Photos will be taken and put on the blog.

From november to march 2008

Creation of a dish based on aromatic herbs. In March the students will have to propose a creative dish using aromats They will use the common technical form and will present photos. This dish will have to respect the project which aims at a creative gastronomy and use only traditional products. This dish will be presented in La Spezia in May.

Geographic cultural study of the countries in the partnership.

During history and geography lessons the students could be taught some notions about the culture, the geography, the history, the language and the gastronomy of their partners The students can make files and exhibitions.

Exchange of the work of the students during the year

Each center will inform all the partners on the development of the work and with the webcam teachers and students will discuss. Some time slots will be installed to allow each school to exchange with a partner.
During the preparation of the menus in the school restaurants the evening party will be broadcast through a webcam.

Communication between students

The students who are interested in an individual exchange can exchange their e-mail address through their teachers

Next project meetings

The next meeting will take place from May 19th to 23rd 2008 in la Spezia in Italy.

Another meeting is planned in October in Montauban.
Each center will present the work of the year (photos, blog,...)and will make the technical form of the dish based on aromats.

The dish we prepared in Almeria

2007-12-31T06:42:00.000-08:00

Amberjack (Ricciola) with sweet pearls of Calabria (olives) and crispy vegetable rings
Ingredients for 10 people
Amberjack N° 10 350 gr. each
Calabrian sweet olives 250 gr.
Green peppers 180 gr.
Potatoes 250 gr.
Zucchini 180 gr.
Red onions 180 gr.
Lemons 3Flour 35 gr.
Beer 3 dl.
Bread-crumbs 85 gr.
Rosemary 10 crisps
Wild fennel 10 crisps
Garlic 2 clovesChives 20 crisps
Extravergin olive oil 2 dl.
Fresh dill 30 gr.Frying oil 1 lt.
Red ground pepper 20 gr.
Eggplants 180 gr.
Cougette flowers 30 gr.Basil 30 gr.
Procedure
Clean, wash and filet the fish and after season it only with salt. Roll the fish filets and seal them with the chives tails . Place a sprig of rosemary and wild fennel over the filets and then lay them on a fish steaming tray and let them cook for 15 minutesMeantime, wash the olives well and fry them in a pan with extravergin olive oil, garlic, red ground pepper, salt. Add a little bit of water and let everything cook for other 10 minutes at medium heat. Take a bowl and mix the flour with a pinch of salt, bread crumbs, red ground pepper and the beer to obtain a smooth batter. Peel and wash potatoes, green peppers, zucchini, onions, courgette flowers, eggplants and basil. Cut the vegetables with a round cutter to make rings.Dip them in the batter you have made in advance.Fry one at a time the different types of vegetables in plenty frying oil. As soon as the vegetable rings start to brown place them on a blotting paper so they can loose the extra oil . Do the same thing for the whole basil leaves and the zucchini courgettes. On an serving platter put some sauce made with the olives and arrange the filets of amberjack which will be served with crispy vegetable rings and lemon slices.
Domenico Guarino

Newspaper articles

2007-12-31T06:38:00.000-08:00

Comenius project has been diffused inside the school by articles made by teachers and students on the school newspaper and outside the school by the newspaper articles that have been made at the end of each project meeting by Mr. Franco Maurella who writes for "Il Quotidiano" with issues in the whole Calabria region.

Gravdal Photos

2007-12-31T06:35:00.001-08:00

We had a great time in Gravdal. We have seen one of the best places in the world, thanks to Comenius!!!!In the first picture we are at the Viking museum and after that everybody had lunch in the open air...we can't forget what we ate...it was fantastic!!!!!!!!Teresa

Gravdal meeting, Norway

2007-12-31T06:30:00.000-08:00

Going to Gravdal , Norway, has been one of the most beautiful experiences we have lived so far both for us teachers and for the students who had the chance to admire a breathtaking landscape, taste food that you wouldn’t find elsewhere and get a warm welcome from the partner school and Comenius staff Per, Willy, Roger, our special hosts.
We have also worked and been delighted by the songs the children from the elementary school sang for us.
Activities during the meeting:
-Presentation of the educational trainings in Norway and of the school of Gravdal by the headmaster-
-Visit of the fittings of the school-Conditions of the creation of a blog for the project in each centre ( for the activities of the second year)
-Meeting with the press
-Visit of an aquaculture centre
-Preparation and dressing of an international buffet of local food products in the restaurant of the school
-Visit of the Lofoten Islands
-A show : songs prepared by the children of the primary school of Gravdal
-Visit of a factory of food products based on fish
-Visit of the museum of the Vikings
-Fishing the cod on the school boat
-Cooking on the boat
-Visit of a farm breeding lamb with the Lofoten label
-Visit of the aquarium of Kavelbag
Comenius meeting in Gravdal
-Report of the activities of the year and presentation of the works
-Achievement of recipes
- Presentation of typical products of each region by each partner
- Visit of food factories
Activities in each centre
In Gravdal each scool had to present the project outputs we agreed on at the meeting in Limoges concerning this first year of work 2006/07.
As for our school we made the creation of a comenius file on the school web site, a logo, presentation of a DVD on the region, achievement of a DVD about the recipes, mobility of students.
Dates of the meeting in Almeria
We will meet there from Tuesday October 16th to Saturday October 20th 2007. During this meeting we’ll set the activities for the school year 2007/2008.
In order to make the exchange of videos easier we have also decided to work with Windows Media Player and to use Microsoft software. Besides, the blogs will be created on “blogger” google blog

The logo

2007-12-31T06:27:00.000-08:00

The students have made a logo trying to stick to the theme of the project. As you can see there is a type of food typical of each country: cheese for France, salmon for Norway, paella for Spain and pasta for Italy.

Limoges photos

2007-12-31T05:50:00.000-08:00

We were struck of the beauty of both the city and the school Jean Monnet. We took some photos so everyone in the school and outside the school can admire.

Limoges Meeting

2007-12-30T15:21:00.000-08:00

Going to the lycée des métiers "Jean Monnet" in Limoges, France, where the first comenius project meeting took place, has been for us a very special experience for the warm welcome of our project coordinator, the school staff but also for the nice atmosphere we found there and where we easily socialized with the other partners ans set to work.

Here is what we achieved during the meeting:

Presentation of the educational professional system and of the different fields of study in « the Lycée des métiers » and technical visit of the premises and fittings (kitchens, laboratories, workshop....)

Presentations of videos and photos of the partner schools and their educational system.Proposal of the objectives of the first year and achievement of a common recipe cardVisit of a distillery of local liqueurs .

Demonstration of vacuum-cooked dishes made by a cooking teacher.

Preparation of the European buffet made with all the local products brought by all the partners. Each school presented some typical products of its country or region (pork meat, drinks, cakes...). The preparation was made by the teachers of the different schools with the students of the Lycée Jean Monnet.

Visit of the « porcelain house » (Haviland)

Visit of the town with the tourist train proposed by the Tourist Board .

Visit of a pork butcher and caterer .

Visit of the town center market and of the “taste market” ( a market of local products) during the “week of the taste” .

Visit of the festival of « la Frairie des Petits Ventres », a yearly gastronomical fairIntegration of the group in the official delegation of the town hall of Limoges.

Preparation by the students of a typical local meal served in the educational restaurantReception of the French educational inspector and of the press.Planning of the activities for 2006/2007.

Planning of the activities for 2006/2007

We have all agreed on working at the following activities through the year.

Competition, exhibitions and logosCreation of a Comenius site

Achievement of a CD Rom on the region of the different partners

Realisation of a traditional and creative menuMaking out of a word bank of the hotel keeping industry

Exchange of works during the school yearExchange of students’electronic mails

Preparation and achievement of a regional buffet We also agreed on the next meeting which will take place in Gravdal , Norway from 8th t0 12th May 2007.