A summer cake

The Taste of Sound
(in collaboration with the famous Directors Facchetti and Tonoli)

At last it's summer!

The first sunny days are coming and you can see new and shining colours in the nature.

It is the best moment for eating a coloured and fresh cake.

You could enjoy this cake with your friends in the park!

Ingredients:

· 500 g mascarpone
· 6 eggs
· 1 can of pineapple
· 400 g Savoiardi
· 5 spoons of sugar

Preparation:

1. Break the eggs and divide egg yolks and egg whites, then put the two elements in different containers

2. Add five spoons of sugar to the egg yolks and amalgamate the mixture

3. Beat the egg whites with the mixer

4. Add the mascarpone, the mixture of egg yolks and sugar, the egg whites and amalgamate all the ingredients

5. Take the slices of pineapple out of their syrup

6. Put the slices of pineapple in the cake pan

7. Put some of the cream made with mascarpone, the mix of egg yalks, whites and sugar on the slices of pineapple

8. Soak the Savoiardi in the syrup of pineapple

9. Put the Savoiardi on the cream and add the last layer of cream on the top

10. Put the cake in the refrigerator for 2 hours

Special thanks to Paolo Facchetti and Adriano Tonoli!

Glossary
Egg yolk: the yellow spherical part of an egg that is surrounded by the albumen
Egg white: the white part of an egg
Savoiardi: it is a type of biscuit
Syrup: concentrated solution of sugar in water
Beat: to hit repeatedly, for example Beat the egg whites
Amalgamate: to mix, to combine or blend different things together
Soak: to submerge something in a liquid
Beat until still: to whisk the egg whites until they take on a similar appearance to that of the snow
Slice: Portion of limited thickness separated by a mass by cutting, for example a slice of cake, a slice of ham, etc.
Pan: a cooking utensil that you use to cook an egg, for example

Capri cake

The Corso

Why have I chosen this cake?! Because it's the yummiest I've ever eaten!
For chocolate lovers it will be great fun to bake it... and if you are intolerant to some ingredients... don't worry... Capri cake doesn't containt flour!

                                                                                                                                                             Ingredients:

-100 g butter

-85 g icing sugar

-35 g caster sugar

- 125 g almonds

- 2 eggs

- 4 g yeast

- 100 g dark chocolate

                                  - 15 g bitter cocoa powderer

                                           -25 g potato starch

Preparation:

1)Chop the almonds and powdered dark chocolate, pour into a bowl and add flour and baking powder.

2) In a bowl cream the butter with the icing sugar, add the egg yolks one at a time and gradually mix with the powder mixture.

3)Whisk the egg whites with sugar and use soothing gestures to incorporate them into the mixture.

4) Pour the mixture into a buttered and floured mold with the potato starch.

5)Bake at 160 ° for 45 minutes
6) After cooking, let the cake cool in the mold; take out and then let it cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

This recipe was created by: Moira and Simone

Glossary:
Chop: to crumble    

Yolks: the red part of an eggGradually: slowly

Starch: flour
Pour: to put

Mix: to blend

Whisk: to mix
Mold: a plate to give cakes a particular shape

'Nduja!

From streets to stars

Last year some friends and I went to Calabria to visit a class mate of us. It was his birthday.
While we were at his birthday party, one of our friend was hungry and on the table there were a lot of typical dishes. He took a plate on the table, he thought that it was a big piece of cake, but he didn’t know how wrong he was! After the first piece of that "strange cake", he changed color and he began to sweat. At first we laughed about that joke, but then we started worrying because we knew that it wasn't a cake at all but a very very spicy sausage. He asked for help and we passed him a glass of milk because it is one of the most effective methods against spicy. Water or other similar drink do not help much against the spicy. Since that day every time our friend eats spicy he holds a glass of milk in his hand.. just in case!

The name of the food our friend confused with a cake is 'nduja or simply duja. The name originates from the Latin word "inducere" that means to introduce. 'nduja consists of meat and spices. The anduja is typically associated  to the entire Calabria: it is usually made of fatty pork meat with the addition of Calabrian hot pepper, stuffed into the blind gut and  finally smoked. The 'nduja is consumed on a slice of toasted bread or it can taste even better if used fried to cook a sauce.

Glossary

Nduja: meat, and extra spicy spreadable Calabrian.
Spicy: having an agreeably pungent taste
Spreadable: it’s like a cream that you can spread, for example, on a piece of bread
Classmate: when someone is with you in your school classroom
Sweat: when you feel hot water evaporates off the surface of your skin
Laugh: when someone find something funny he laughs
Joke: it’s like a prank, a little game with friends
Sausage: highly seasoned minced meat stuffed in casings
Spices: any of a variety of pungent aromatic vegetable substances used for flavoring food
Fatty: containing or composed of fat
Blind gut: initial part of the intestine
Slice: a thin flat piece cut off of some foods
Sauce: flavorful relish served as an accompaniment to food

The value of things

The first time that I heard this song I didn’t give much weight to its meaning but I liked its rhythm.
Later I understood the meaning as well as the value of things and people. Similar experiences have happened to me, the most recent was a trivial quarrel with a friend but fortunately we put aside the pride and we saved our friendship.

I chose this song because it reflects on a very common and important theme: we realize the value of things only after we have lost them.This song makes us understand how the things that at first seem useless,once lost become necessary.
Simple things, simple habits, simple gestures become essential.
Unfortunately, the guy inthe song doesn’t put aside the pride and accept that the girl he loves isn’t longer at his side, suffering for love .

The message is to give the right importance to everything and everyone, because everything and everyone areessential.

Put aside the pride when you have to fight for something or someone important!

Well you only need the light when its burning low

Only miss the sun when it starts to snow

Only know you love her when you let her go 

Only know you’ve been high when you’re feeling low

Only hate the road when you’re missing home

Only know you love her when you let her go

And you let her go 

Staring at the bottom of your glass

Hoping one day you’ll make a dream last

But dreams come slow and they go so fast 

You see her when you close your eyes

Maybe one day you’ll understand why

Everything you touch surely dies 

But you only need the light when its burning low

Only miss the sun when it starts to snow

Only know you love her when you let her go 

Only know you’ve been high when you’re feeling low

Only hate the road when you’re missing home

Only know you love her when you let her go 

Staring at the ceiling in the dark

Same old empty feeling in your heart

Cos love comes slow and it goes so fast 

Well you see her when you fall asleep

But never to touch and never to keep

Cos you loved her too much and you dived too deep 

Well you only need the light when its burning low

Only miss the sun when it starts to snow

Only know you love her when you let her go 

Only know you’ve been high when you’re feeling low

Only hate the road when you’re missing home

Only know you love her when you let her go

And you let her go

And you let her go

Well you let her go 

Cos you only need the light when its burning low

Only miss the sun when it starts to snow

Only know you love her when you let her go 

Only know you’ve been high when you’re feeling low

Only hate the road when you’re missing home

Only know you love her when you let her go 

Cos you only need the light when its burning low

Only miss the sun when it starts to snow

Only know you love her when you let her go 

Only know you’ve been high when you’re feeling low

Only hate the road when you’re missing home

Only know you love her when you let her go

And you let her go.

Glossary

Useless: something that is not useful
Surely: something that is sure
Ceiling: the highest part of the wall
Empty: something that does not contain anything
Give much weight:
Trivial: something for granted
Quarrel: discuss with a person
Put aside: forget something

Impossible (the end of a love story)

The Smiths

I've chosen this song because James Arthur has decided to express his sorrow in a song. The first time that I have listened to this song, it gave me the shivers.

I like this song because it conveys the sorrow of a story that has finished, the love rage and the sadness that sometimes we experience when a story ends. The first time I listened to this song I was moved by the words of the lyrics. But the thing I find more interesting is James Arthur's voice: so sweet and at the same time so powerful...

Enjoy that sound!

IMPOSSIBLE 

I remember years ago

Someone told me I should take

Caution when it comes to love

I did

And you were strong and I was not

My illusion, my mistake

I was careless, I forgotI did

And now when all is done

There is nothing to say

You have gone, and so effortlessly

You have won

You can go ahead tell them

Tell them all I know now

Shout it from the roof tops

Write it on the sky line

All we had is gone now

Tell them I was happy

And my heart is broken

All my scars are open

Tell them what I hoped would be

Impossible, impossible

Impossible, impossible

Falling out of love is hard

Falling for betrayal is worse

Broken trust and broken hearts

I know. I know

Thinking all you need is there

Building faith on love and words

Empty promises will wear

I know.

I know

And now when all is gone

There is nothing to say

And if you're done with embarrassing me

On your own you can go ahead tell them

Tell them all I know now

Shout it from the roof tops

Write it on the sky line

All we had is gone now

Tell them I was happy

And my heart is broken

All my scars are open

Tell them what I hoped would be

Impossible, impossible

Impossible impossible

I remember years ago

Someone told me I should take

Caution when it comes to love

I did

Tell them all I know now

Shout it from the roof tops

Write it on the sky line

All we had is gone now

Tell them I was happy

And my heart is broken

All my scars are open

Tell them what I hoped would be

Impossible, impossible

Impossible, impossible

Impossible, impossible

Glossary
Mistake: a mistake is an error
Careless: when you're careless about something, you're not giving it much attention or consideration
Embarrassing: something that is shameful or humiliating
Shout: utter in a loud voice
Faith:when you have faith, you trust or believe in something very strongly
Ahead: when you're ahead, you're further along or further forward

Summer paradise!

The Troll

We are good friends and last summer we went to the sea in Sardegna together.
Every day we went to the beach and we used to listen to this song.

Now, every time we occur to listen to this song we immediately remember ot that great time we spent having fun!
“Take me back, take me back, back to summer paradise”: this sentence is very important for us because we hope to live those moments again very soon.
We enjoyed a lot going to the beach with so many friends (… and beautiful guys as well!)

So… we share this positive and funny song to wish a great summer holiday to everybody!

Oh, oh, take me back, take me back

Oh yeah, back to summer paradise 

My heart is sinking as I’m lifting up

Above the clouds away from you

And I can’t believe I’m leaving

Oh, I don’t kno-kno-know what I’m gonna do 

But someday I will find my way back

To where your name is written in the sand 

‘Cause I remember every sunset

I remember every words you said

We were never gonna say goodbye

Singin’ la-ta-ta-ta-ta 

Tell me how to get back to

Back to summer paradise with you

And I’ll be there in a heartbeat, oh, oh

I’ll be there in a heartbeat, oh, oh

(Tell ‘em) 

My soul is broken, streets are frozen

I can’t stop these feelings melting through

And I’d give away a thousand days, oh

Just to have another one with you

(What’d you say?) 

Well, real life can wait

(It can wait)

We’re crashing like waves

(Uh-uh)

We’re playin’ in the sand

(Me and you)

Holding your hand, yeah, yeah 

‘Cause I remember every sunset

I remember every words you said

We were never gonna say goodbye

Singin’ la-ta-ta-ta-ta 

Tell me how to get back to

Back to summer paradise with you

And I’ll be there in a heartbeat, oh, oh

I’ll be there in a heartbeat, oh, oh 

Yeah, uh, I remember sunny mornings and summer evenings

Now you’re not next to me and I am freezing

Was it real? Oh baby, tell me, was I dreaming?

How can you show me paradise when I’m leaving? 

Now my heartbeat is sinking, hope’s shrinking

When I try to speak, no words, lip-syncing

Hope this is not just wishful thinking

Tell me that you care and I’ll be there in a heartbeat 

Someday I will find my way back

To where your name is written in the sand

(Yeah, yeah, yeah, let’s go) 

‘Cause I remember every sunset

And I remember every words you said

We were never gonna say goodbye

(No, no, no)

Singin’ la-ta-ta-ta-ta 

Tell me how to get back to

Back to summer paradise with you

(Yeah)

And I’ll be there in a heartbeat 

I remember where we first kissed

How I didn’t wanna leave your lips

And how I’ve never ever felt so high

Singin’ la-ta-ta-ta-ta 

So tell me how to get back to

Back to summer paradise with you

And I’ll be there in a heartbeat, yeah oh, oh

I’ll be there in a heartbeat

(Summer paradise)

Oh, oh, I’ll be there in a heartbeat

Glossary 

Sink: to go down, below the surface of water, mud, etc. 

Clouds: a cloud is a clump of water vapor that you can see in the sky. Clouds are sometimes white and puffy, and other times so big and gray that they completely block the sun

Sand: the very tiny, loose pieces of rock that cover beaches, deserts, etc.

Sunset: the time when the sun goes below the horizon in the evening

Heartbeat: the action or sound of the heart as it pumps blood

Wave: a movement up and down or back and forth

A song for football

The next generations

Good morning dear readers,

this song was a catchphrase of the summer 2010 and now all times we listen, we think of the football. The song remember the beautiful moments of football and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Waka Waka is a song performed by the Colombian singer Shakira with the South African group Freshlyground, chosen as the official anthem of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which took place in South Africa. The song was written by the same Shakira and John Hill based on the song Cameroonian Zangalewa, which was almost entirely taken up in the refrain.

The South Africans have criticized the fact that the official song was not played by a local artist, believing that Shakira does not represent their country. Shakira responded to this criticism by saying that the World Cup is a global event that connects countries, religions and conditions in a single passion, furthermore the World Cup is an event able to unite and integrate, and this is the topic of this song .

This time for Africa

You're a good soldier

Choosing your battles

Pick yourself up and dust yourself off and back in the saddle

You're on the front line

Everyone's watching

You know it's serious we're getting closer, this isn't over

The pressure is on

You feel it

But you've got it all

Believe it

When you get down oh oh

And if you get up eh eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

'Cause this is Africa

Tsamina mina eh eh

Waka waka eh eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

This time for Africa

Listen to your God

This is our motto

Your time to shine don't wait in line y vamos por todo

People are raising

Their expectations

Go on and feed them this is your moment no hesitations

Today's your day

I feel it

You paved the way

Believe it

If you get down get up oh oh

When you get down get up eh eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

This time for Africa

Tsamina mina eh eh

Waka waka eh eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

Anawa aa

Tsamina mina eh eh

Waka waka eh eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

This time for Africa

Ame la mejole biggi biggi mubbo wa A to Z

Asi tsu zala makyuni biggi biggi mubbo from East to West

Asi waga waga ma eh eh waga waga ma eh eh

Tendency suna tsibuye 'cause this is Africa (Africa, Africa Africa)

Tsamina mina, eh eh

Waka waka, eh eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

Anawa a a

Tsamina mina, eh eh

Waka waka, eh eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

This time for Africa

Django eh eh

Django eh eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

Anawa a a

We're all Africa

We're all Africa

We're all Africa

Glossary
catchphrase: Hit of summer
anthem: an anthem is a song that represents the ideals of a group of people
take place: come to pass
able: the skill to do something
refrain: the part of a song where a soloist is joined by a group of singers
shine: to give off a bright

No guns allowed

Black blood in the veins

This song was written by Snoop Lion, his daughter Cori B and Drake and it was directed by Jelly Terrero. The song itself is a very important message against violence. This song especially talks about the childrens who were killed at the elementary school by a delinquent who, after that, killed his father and wanted to kill the mother who taught at the school where he killed the childrens. The age of the childrens who lost their lives in the massacre includes from 6 to 7 years. Instead, the murderer was 24 years old and he had four different weapons. In our opinion, this was one of the most traumatic massacre ever. Nowdays, in this world many people have no soul, and there's no difference a between adults, seniors and children. Now you have no longer respect for anyone, always hope to have a better world tomorrow. The sentence in the lyrics that struck us most in this song is: "Bullets do not choose a victim/it is the shooter that picks' em".

Lyrics

Money makes a man and that's a crime
If we all were rich, we'd spend more time
With our daughters and sons, they're losing their minds
We all feel hurt, here's mine, hear me now

Cause, no guns are allowed, in here tonight
We're gonna have a free-for-all, no fights
I wanna get lost in the crowd, in here tonight
I need to hear my thoughts, turn the music up loud

Let the music play, me don't want no more gunplay
When the bodies hit the ground, there's nothing left to say, ay, ay
Me don't want to see no more innocent blood shed
Me don't want to see no more youth dead
Come hear me now

Cause, no guns are allowed, in here tonight
We're gonna have a free-for-all, no fights
I wanna get lost in the crowd, in here tonight
I need to hear my thoughts, turn the music up loud

Yeah, yeah, yeah, news from back home
This when it hurts to be gone
Two more young names to be carved out of stone
One summer day that went horribly wrong
Got my dawg on the phone
Cryin' and sayin' to leave him alone, but I'm not leavin' his side
I know that somebody died, somebody's child
Some people ducked down and some people hide
Some people just cannot react in time
Bullets do not choose a victim
It is the shooter that picks 'em
They just can't wait to get you in the system
The district attorney could use a conviction
Told you no guns and then you didn't listen
Life is so heavy with that on your soul
Dedicate this to Shyanne and Josh
And pour sumthin' out for the lives that they stole

Cause, no guns are allowed, in here tonight
We're gonna have a free for all, no fights
I wanna get lost in the crowd, in here tonight
I need to hear my thoughts, turn the music up loud

Money makes a man and that's a crime
Money makes a man and that's a crime
I wanna get lost in the crowd, in here tonight

Glossary

to Carve: to make an object or shape by cutting wood or stone
to Duck. to move your body down quickly to avoid being hit or seen
Crowd: a large group of people who are together in one place
Dawg: slang for "my close acquaintance of an African-American ethnic background"
to React: to respond to a stimulus
District: a district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by local government

...And hoping for a better life

Lionesses 

The A Team is a single of the singer Ed Sheeran, the first extract from the third studio album published June 12, 2011.

This song is about an eighteen years old girl who lives in the drug world.

Ed Sheeran describes the characteristics of this girl (white lips, pale face and burned lungs) who prostitutes herself to afford drugs before killing herself.

In an interview, the singer explains the song's title this way: "A drug like crack cocaine is called a 'Class A drug'. That's in the same category as heroin. Instead of making it clear and just saying what the problem was, I'd say, 'She's in the 'Class A' team.' It was kind of my way of covering up (a person's addiction), I guess, making it a bit more subtle."

The video tells the life of this girl sleeping on a bench in a park.

During the day she is in the streets to sell newspapers, but no one buys them if not a boy (the singer Ed Sheeran). With little money she earns she buys something to eat and she sits in front of a shop window with all the people walking by and she cries. She decides to freshen her make up, put on a shirt and a miniskirt and go into the street. A car stops and she assumes a sensual attitude, gets in the car and goes into a hotel room.

At the end of her work, she takes the money to buy the drug and in the end she commits suicide.

We chose this song for two reasons: the first reason is for the words. We love the way the singer describes the life of this girl. The second reason is the subject: drugs. We think that drugs are a serious problem nowadays, above all for the consequences that drug may have on you for the rest of your life.

White lips, pale face 

Breathing in snowflakes 

Burnt lungs, sour taste 

Light's gone, day's end 

Struggling to pay rent 

Long nights, strange men 

And they say 

She's in the Class A Team 

Stuck in her daydream 

Been this way since 18 

But lately her face seems 

Slowly sinking, wasting 

Crumbling like pastries 

And they scream 

The worst things in life come free to us 

Cos we're just under the upperhand 

And go mad for a couple of grams 

And she don't want to go outside tonight 

And in a pipe she flies to the Motherland 

Or sells love to another man 

It's too cold outside 

For angels to fly 

Angels to fly 

Ripped gloves, raincoat 

Tried to swim and stay afloat 

Dry house, wet clothes 

Loose change, bank notes 

Weary-eyed, dry throat 

Call girl, no phone 

An angel will die 

Covered in white 

Closed eye 

And hoping for a better life 

This time, we'll fade out tonight 

Straight down the line 

And they say 

She's in the Class A Team 

Stuck in her daydream 

Been this way since 18 

But lately her face seems 

Slowly sinking, wasting 

Crumbling like pastries 

They scream 

The worst things in life come free to us 

And we're all under the upperhand 

Go mad for a couple of grams 

And we don't want to go outside tonight 

And in a pipe we fly to the Motherland 

Or sell love to another man 

It's too cold 

For angels to fly 

Angels to fly 

To fly, fly 

Or angels to die.

Glossary

Struggling: to struggle in a difficult situation. 

Upperhand: vantage point of superiority, over an opponent. 

Day dream: dreaming with a open eyes, fantasying. 

Sinking: a person with a shock, upset. 

Crumbly: object that quickly crumbles. 

Mad: person with a mental disorder, mentally ill. 

Motherland: country, nation in which someone was born. 

Stuck: a person locked in a situation. 

Afloat: an object that floats, which remains on the water surface. 

Raincoat: a piece of clothes that protects from water. 

Freshen: to remake a make up

Dance inna Babylon

Five Guys

Italian reggae band Mellow Mood was born in Pordenone in 2005 but officially debuted in 2009 with their first record, entitled “Move!”. It was an unexpected success and the two singles “Only You” and “Dance Inna Babylon” got a total of more than ten million views on YouTube.
Their heartfelt live shows led Rototom Sunsplash to name Mellow Mood best Italian reggae band. After a slight line-up change, Mellow Mood went back into the studio to record “Well Well Well”.
We chose this band because they are emerging. We met them at a their concert in Palazzolo, it was fantastic, we sang their songs for many hours. The thing we liked most was when the fog machine and strobe lights were turned on and the band performed the song "Dance inna Babylon". It is actually our favourite song: the lyrics are very nice, we find it unique and a very powerful experience but the best thing is the rhythm.

Lyrics - Dance inna Babylon

Dance inna Babylon, until its throne a fall
I'n'I who see teachings of the Rastaman,
Back inna the yard living gets so hard,
Never play the game of a politician

Dance inna Babylon, until its throne a fall,
I'n'I who see teachings of the Rastaman,
Back inna the yard living gets so hard,
Never play the game of a politician

With righteousness I will bring you to my heart,
reveal you all I have ever heard
and everything will be so far away,
cause you to me mean every word I say

Me just can't try to fight that all only with me hands
but with you here, with no fear, I know it could be better
and I always know where we a come from
and I'll fight till Jah keep me so strong!

Dance inna Babylon, until its throne a fall
I'n'I who see teachings of the Rastaman,
Back inna the yard living gets so hard,
Never play the game of a politician

Dance inna Babylon, until itsthrone a fall,
I'n'I who see teachings of the Rastaman,
Back inna the yard living gets so hard,
Never play the game of a politician

Inna this race, where people rise and fall
ain't got no money? Well you've got to bow!
But with your work, with the knowledge of your edge,
you won't believe to every single word dem say

Me not a soldier, it's not there where I'm supposed to be
and ain't no work, ain't no game, me nah work for your deals
Me see everyone suffering alone
but together dem can't never get we down

Dance inna Babylon, until its throne a fall
I'n'I who see teachings of the Rastaman,
Back inna the yard living gets so hard,
Never play the game of a politician

Dance inna Babylon, until its throne a fall
I'n'I who see teachings of the rastaman,
Bagk inna the yard living gets so hard,
Never play the game of a politician

Blaze, blaze up the fire, and look down the road
Blaze, blaze up the fire, for dem who neva bow
Blaze, blaze up the fire, and look down the road
Blaze, blaze up the fire, becaw dem neva tell you what:

Children suffering, struggling for politic strategy
Dem neva care 'bout woman, only what dem a conquering
Dem boundaries and barriers control all we humanity
But sufferah still shouting and you won't hear about it!

Glossary

Heartfelt: of a feeling or its expression
Growth: the process of increasing in size
Slight: small in degree
Righteousness: the quality of being morally right or justifiable
to Reveal: to make (previously unknown or secret information) known to others
Knowledge: facts, information, and skills acquired through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject
Rototom Sunsplash: it is a European reggae festival
Boundary: a line which marks the limits of an area
Strobe lights: such a lamp used for creating special lighting effects, as in a theater or discotheque or at a rock concert
Fog machine: it is a device that emits a dense vapor that appears similar to fog or smoke which is most commonly used in professional entertainment applications

The Sarmale: a food that tastes like love.

Broket's Team

5 years ago, I do not remember exactly the day, there was a Romanian event I have never heard about until that day. All my relatives and my parents were chatting about what to cook for that day, but I did not know why. In the afternoon my mother began cooking the usual Christmas food such as Russian salad, veal omelet, some desserts and a dish made of gelatin.

The second day we went to a Romanian oratory where all my relatives came with a lot of food: I didn’t know many of the dishes on those tables. When everybody was there, we began eating and tasting more or less every speciality. I started right away to sample the desserts as they are my favorite, I continued with a traditional Romanian food, then came the moment when I tasted the so-called "Sarmale". It didn’t look particularly appetizing but tasting it I fell in love! After eating a couple of sarmale I asked those who have cooked them for the recipe. Since they were very kind they gave me the recipe and I passed it to my aunt I showed it to my mother thinking that maybe she did not know that special recipe, but she said that she already knew how to cook Sarmale very well, the problem was that it took a long time to do, so I told her that if she cooked it the day after I would helped her. She accepted! The following day my mother prepared all ingredients including rice and told me to start making the rolls, which is not easy, but after a while I learned how to do it.

Following my mother’s instructions step by step, I prepared Sarmale and put them on the stove. A delicious smell was already spreading…


I tasted a couple of Sarmale as soon as they were ready and I would say that that day I ate the most delicious food of Romania!


This is the recipe for 8 people

Ingredients

-500 G pork meat minced;
-100 G rice;
-100 G tomato concentrate;
-about 40/50 vine leaves (sold in brine in Romanian shops);
-1 beautiful large onion;

-2/3 tablespoons of olive oil (maybe sunflower);
-some of thyme and bay leaf;
-dill;
-parsley;
-salt and pepper.

Method
Before proceeding with the composition, wash well and several times with hot water the vine leaves in brine because they are salty and we don’t want our sarmale to be too salty.

Add ground beef to the finely chopped onion, rice, oil, bay leaf, thyme, parsley and dill (everything must be chopped very finely). Season with salt and pepper. If the mixture is not so homogenous add half a cup of hot water. Now taste the mixture: salt and pepper should be enough otherwise Sarmale will be insipid.

Once you have made the dough you proceed to make the rolls.

They do not have to be too big: the perfect size is about 3/4 cm. We put the vine leaf on the palm of the hand and we fill it with the meat, then we roll up and turn with the opening towards us. We must close the rolls very well otherwise in cooking they will get open.

Take a pot of 5 liters and put a little oil. Then settle the remaining grape leaves in order to get a first layer. Fill the pot with hot water and put on the fire for about two hours until Sarmale get soft.In the last half hour of cooking add the tomato paste.

Sarmale are ready when also the rice is perfectly cooked.

You can serve them with polenta and sour cream (or Greek yogurt) and green chili peppers in vinegar.

It goes well with a glass of red wine.

Enjoy your meal !!!

Glossary
Sample: a small part from a larger whole, showing the quality, style, or nature of the whole
Tasted: to test the flavor or quality of by taking some into the mouth
A couple: a few; several; more than one but not many
Cook: to prepare (food) by heat
Recipe: a set of instructions for making or preparing something, esp. a food dish
Stove: an apparatus that furnishes heat for warmth or cooking
Smell: to detect the odor of (something) through the nose; inhale the odor of something
Brine: water saturated or strongly impregnated with salt
Chat: to have an informal conversation
Gelatin: a colorless water-soluble glutinous protein obtained from animal tissues such as bone and skin
Appetizing: appealing or stimulating the appetite
Step by step: doing things in an order, one after the other
Smell: to detect the odor of (something) through the nose; inhale the odor of something
Minced: chopped into very small pieces
Salty: tasting of or containing salt; saline
Ground beef: the flesh of a cow, steer, or bull raised and killed for meat
Chop: to cut or separate (something) with quick, heavy blows, using a sharp tool like an ax or a knife
Season: a period of the year when something is available/
to make more temperate, acceptable, or suitable by adding something else

Insipid:something insipid is lacking in flavor or interest
Dough: flour combined with water, milk, etc., in a thick mass for baking
Pot: a container made of baked clay, metal, etc., used for cooking, serving, and other purposes
Layer: a thickness of some material laid on or spread over a surface
Tomato paste: tomato pulp
Sour: having an acid taste resembling that of vinegar

Have we really found the answer to everything?

The Chiari Herald

In 2011 Nas and Bob Marley’s son, Damian a.k.a. Jr Gong, wrote this fabulous song where there are clear questions about the difference of thought, culture, life style and religion.
Questioning the lifestyle of the poor and the rich as well, the singers are sarcastically saying that science is not always right.
We think that if this song could be heard in 15 years it would have the same shocking effect.
In this video there are two singers sitting on thrones, in the background there are pyramids, animals and some people.
All the population meet near the houses and there are two women dancing.
They move constantly across a bridge to the desert and the two singers are in a pond with a waterfall behind, in the sky there are stars and the moon.
The singer is sitting on the throne and at his right there is the Islamic symbol and at his left there is the Christian one.
The two hip hop’s legends describe the ill society using unusual and little considered topics, like the Egyptian culture, clairvoyance, zoo, paparazzi and sacred books’ writers and if you try to imagine the scenery while listening to this song you can do a trip in your mind and take a look at the perversity of the actual world.
In this song the masters mix hip hop with classic music and a little bit of reggaeton in one of the most catchy song of all time with American slang and a Hindi refrain.

Close your eyes, good listening and have a good trip!

Lyrics:

Sabali, Sabali, Sabali, yonkontê
Sabali, Sabali, Sabali, kiye
Ni kêra môgô
Sabali, Sabali, Sabali, yonkontê
Sabali, Sabali, Sabali, kagni
Ni kêra môgô

Some of the smartest dummies
Can't read the language of Egyptian mummies
An' a fly go a moon
And can't find food for the starving tummies
Pay no mind to the youths
Cause it's not like the future depends on it
But save the animals in the zoo
Cause the chimpanzee dem a make big money
This is how the media pillages
On the TV the picture is
Savages in villages
And the scientists still can't explain the pyramids, huh
Evangelists making a living on the videos of ribs of the little kids
Stereotyping the image of the images

[RIT]

Huh, we born not knowing, are we born knowing all?
We growing wiser, are we just growing tall?
Can you read thoughts? can you read palms?
Huh, can you predict the future? can you see storms, coming?
The Earth was flat if you went too far you would fall off
Now the Earth is round if the shape changes again everybody would start laughing
The average man can't prove of most of the things that he chooses to speak of
[…]Can you read signs? can you read stars?
Can you make peace? can you fight war?
Can you milk cows, even though you drive cars? huh
Can you survive, Against All Odds, Now?

[RIT]

Who wrote the Bible? Who wrote the Qur'an?
And was it a lightning storm
That gave birth to the earth
And then dinosaurs were born? damn
Who made up words? who made up numbers?
And what kind of spell is mankind under?
Everything on the planet we preserve and can it
[…]Like somebody got a doll of me
Stickin' needles in my arteries
But I can't feel it
Sometimes it's like 'pardon me, but I got a real big spirit'
I'm fearless.... I'm fearless
Don't you try and grab hold of my soul
It's like a military soldier since seven years old
I held real dead bodies in my arms […]

Glossary
A.k.a.: Also know as
Average man: the normal and common  man
Catchy: a nice thing to hear
Claim: when you express your right to something
Clairvoyance: the ability to predict the future
Dummy: a dummy is a type of doll that looks like a person/stupid
Fearless: invulnerable to fear on intimidation, without any fear
Flat: something straight
Pillage: to rob someone
Refrain: the repeating part of a song
Rib: a bone of the body
Root: the part of the plant that’s underground
Shape: the form of something
Starving: people who have so hungry that they could die
Stereotyping: repeating often the same images
Storm: a violent weather condition
Tummies: the principal organ of digestion
Wiser: when you possess knowledge of something 

Youths: young people

The fire of passion and The Ink Spots

the Hammer

This song is a beautiful jazz track performed by The ink spots (they are an unknown group, who sang during the 1940s) in 1944 in which the band imagines a love story between a man and a woman. The man is a bourgeois who has lost all his ambition of wordly acclaim beacause he's fallen in love.I think this is one of the most romantic song written during the second World War.

Unfortunately there's no video for this song, maybe beaucause it was written in hard times.                 

Lyrics:

I don’t want to set the world on fire
I just want to start
A flame in your heart
In my heart I have that one desire
And that one is you
No other will do
I’ve lost all ambition for worldly acclaim
I just want to be the one you love
And with your admission that you feel the same
I’ll have reached the goal I’m dreaming of

Believe me
I don’t want to set the world on fire
I just want to start
A flame in your heart

[Spoken Word] I don't wanna set the world on fire, honey
I love you too much
I just wanna start a great big flame
Down in your heart
You see, way down inside of me
Darlin' I have only one desire
And that one desire is you
And I know nobody else ain't gonna do

Believe me
I don’t want to set the world on fire
I just want to start
A flame in your heart

The song's lyrics is not very long but in a few verses The ink spots had made an eloquent track.
In the first verses they compare the war destruction (the world is on fire because of the Second World War) with the passion and tje flame that burns the main character heart beacause he's in love with a woman.
This man is ready to give up his fame and all his ambitions to run after his beloved lady and he
doesn't want anything else but passion.
Maybe he thinks that only this girl can give him what he wants for his life.This track is the perfect mix of Jazz and Doo Wop, two of the most famous kinds of music in the 19th
century.

Glossary

Flame: burning gas or vapor, as from wood or coal. A fire makes flames, flames can be dangerous because you can get burnt
Wanna: want to, it expresses a desire

Wordly acclaim: the fame and notoriety in the society

Darling: a person very dear

Boulevard of Broken Dreams

 JMC7

I wasn’t that type of guy that listens to rock music. I usually preferred the most commercial one, like some rap, pop, the Italian one… But that day I started loving that music genre!

It was a Saturday afternoon, my friend Giovanni and I were ready… We were ready to go to the betting shop like we do every week and place a winning bet... or at least to try to win!
During the trip Gio connected his phone to the car’s bluetooth, and he started playing some random songs.

Than he looked at me saying: “Listen to this!”

I don’t know... My first impression was how good that song was, how relaxing music can be.

So I tried to listen to it a few more times and then I fell in love!
I started listening to other similar songs and to other bands: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, etc. I loved them all, but this was the one that makes me appreciate this type of music, so... here it is!

The text talks about Jimmy, a guy that is in a psychological confusion, sadness and loneliness period.
He is in a lonely, silence and empty road and he is walking alone. This guy consideres this road like a house and the only place he has ever really known. In that street the only living things are his heart and his shadow and he sometimes has the wish that beside him there could be someone but “Till then I walk alone".

“Boulevard of broken dreams”

I walk a lonely road,

The only one that I have ever known,

Don't know where it goes,

But it's home to me and I walk alone,

I walk this empty street,

On the boulevard of broken dreams,

Where the city sleeps,

And I'm the only one and I walk alone

I walk alone,

I walk alone,

I walk alone,

I walk a..

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me,

My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating,

Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me,

'Til then I walk alone

I'm walking down the line,

That divides me somewhere in my mind,

On the borderline of the edge,

And where I walk alone,

Read between the lines of what's

Fucked up and everything's alright,

Check my vital signs to know I'm still alive,

And I walk alone

Glossary:
Trip: a journey for some purpose (usually including the return)
Betting shop: a licensed bookmaker's shop where people may place bets, watch horse races etc on television, and collect their winnings
Appreciate: to recognize with gratitude, to be grateful for something
Sadness: emotions experienced when not in a state of well-being
Loneliness: sadness resulting from being forsaken or abandoned

Beside: postion of someone or sometingh near you