Tradition in Italian Cuisine

The reason so many people fall in love with Italy has much to do with its cuisine. Italian cooking has been influenced by diverse groups of people and places, historically and in modern times. The Americas, for instance, had a huge influence on Italian cuisine. Tomato sauce, polenta, and anything piccante (hot) would not exist in Italian cuisine without the introduction of tomatoes, maize (corn), and peppers—all plants native to the Americas.

The world has adopted parts of Italy's cuisine, but not the structure of its meals. In Italy a meal is a leisurely sequence of events served in courses on separate plates, each appearing in the appropriate sequence. Americans often find it frustrating for a meal to be so lengthy, but, for Italians, dinner is often the main event and the focus of celebrations.

The cooking style is usually quite simple. There are no really elaborate sauces, and what sauces do exist are used only in small amounts, just enough to moisten pasta or delicately anoint meat or fish. Italian chefs claim, with some justification, that the secret to Italian cooking is “sapori e saperi” (flavors and skills), which implies doing little to excellent fresh ingredients.

It's not for nothing that the "slow food" movement started in Italy. This movement was founded, as the organization's Web site (www.slowfood.com) puts it, to counter "fast food and fast life." Classic Italian food is often of the "slow" kind. Think of pots of luscious ragu, polenta and osso buco (veal shanks), simmering for hours on the stove. It follows logically, then, that the slow cooker is an excellent vehicle for cooking Italian.

Vocabulary:

diverse – різноманітний

Americas – Аметика, США

рolenta – полента (каша з кукурудзи)

piccante – пікантний, пряний

maize – маїс (кукурудза)

peppers – перці

leisurely – неквапливий

course – порядок подачі страв

appropriate sequence - відповідна послідовність

frustrating – марно

lengthy – довгий

elaborate – детальний, детально розроблений

amount – кількість

moisten – зволожити

pasta – паста (макаронні вироби з соусом)

anoint – змастити, приправити

claim – заявляти

justification – виправдання

flavors and skills - аромати і навички

imply - мати на увазі

It's not for nothing – Це не даремно…

to counter - для протистояння

pots of luscious ragu - горщики солодкого рагу

veal shanks – телячі гомілки

simmer – кипіти

stove – піч

excellent vehicle – чудовий засіб, провідник

Граматичний матеріал: Повторення пройдених часів (Perfect Continuous Tenses, Sequence of Tenses)

Ex.1. What have these people been doing or what has been happening?

1. They have been shopping.

2. She ---

3. They ---

4. He ---

Ex. 2. Put the verb into the present continuous (I am ~ing etc.) or present perfect continuous (I have been ~ing etc.).

1. Maria has been learning (learn) English for two years.

2. Hello, Tom. I --- (look) for you all morning. Where have you been?

3. Why --- (you/took) at me like that? Stop it!

4. We always go to Ireland for our holidays. We --- (go) there for years.

5. I --- (think) about what you said and I've decided to take your advice.

6. 'Is Ann on holiday this week?' 'No, she ---e (work).'

7. Sarah is very tired. She --- (work) very hard recently.

Ex. 3. Read the situations and make sentences from the words in brackets.

1. I was very tired when I arrived home.

(I/work/hard all day)

2. The two boys came into the house. They had a football and they were both very tired.

(they/play/football)

3. There was nobody in the room but there was a smell of cigarettes.

(somebody/smoke/in the room)

4. Ann woke up in the middle of the night. She was frightened and didn't know where she was.

(she/dream)

5. When I got home, Mike was sitting in front of the TV. He had just turned it off.

(he/watch/TV)

Ex. 4. Put the verb into the most suitable form, past continuous (I was doing), past perfect (I had done) or past perfect continuous (I had been doing).

1. It was very noisy next door. Our neighbours were having (have) a party.

2. We were good friends. We had known (know) each other for a long time.

3. John and I went for a walk. I had difficulty keeping up with him because he --- (walk) so fast.

4. Mary was sitting on the ground. She was out of breath. She --- (run)

5. When I arrived, everybody was sitting round the table with their mouths full. They --- (eat).

6. When I arrived, everybody was sitting round the table and talking. Their mouths were empty but their stomachs were full. They --- (eat).

7. Jim was on his hands and knees on the floor. He --- (look) for his contact lens.

8. When I arrived, Kate --- (wait) for me. She was rather annoyed with me because I was late and she --- (wait) for a very long time.

Ex. 5. Yesterday you met a friend of yours, Charlie. Here are some of the things Charlie said to you:

1. I'm living in London now.

2. My father isn't very well.

3. Sharon and Paul are getting married next month.

4. Margaret has had a baby.

5. I don't know what Fred is doing.

6. I saw Helen at a party in June and she seemed fine.

7. I haven't seen Diane recently.

8. I'm not enjoying my job very much.

9. You can come and stay at my flat if you are ever in London.

10. My car was stolen a few weeks ago.

11. I want to go on holiday but I can't afford it.

12. I'll tell Ann I saw you.

Later that day you tell another friend what Charlie said.

1. _Charlie said that he was living in London now._

2. He said that ---

3. He ---

4. ---

5. ---

6. ---

7. ---

8. ---

9. ---

10. ---

11. ---

12. ---