Tonight I had some odds and ends in the fridge that needed using up.  If you’ve ever had squacquerone, you might wonder how I had squacquerone that needs using up!  But it is what it is.  I had squacquerone, pancetta, a shallot and Carnaroli rice and chicken broth hanging around, so this is what we got!

I frequently say that we are “home bodies”.  Joe and I can spend days at home, with just the two of us for human contact, and not be “bored”.  But that is not really telling the entire story.  In the US, we each had a car, and we could (and would) come and go as we pleased.  I’d head out to shop for my Amazon business, shop for groceries, drive 20 miles to have lunch with friends, and Joe would do the same.  In Italy we are more of a single unit.  We rent a car when we want to do something that requires one.  Yes, we go out independently.  Hair salons, massages, yoga, a run to the store, or for me, an “aperitivo with the girls”, etc.  But by and large, we are a single unit.  We enjoy each other’s company.  We have lived alone, without a car, in a town where everything is within walking distance.  Together for four years.  If any one has been training for a quarantine, it’s us!  Thus, our loses might seem trivial to some people.  And yet, we feel them deeply.