What’s for dinner, dad?

Buondì.

It’s venerdì, thank goodness, so I’m working at home.

After I’m done here, I have an online Swedish lesson (with a new teacher – the other one’s on holiday).

I confess, I’m a little apprehensive, which is daft, I know, as I’m the customer this time…

Ask me on Monday how it went!

When the lesson is over, I’ll pick up my backpack and walk over to our local Coop to do some grocery shopping (beer, wine, um… food?)

My wife and I sort of share the domestic duties.

I do the cooking and the shopping, she does the kids, the clothes (washing and ironing – which she’ll happily subcontract to any teenager with cash-flow issues), along with cleaning the floors and changing the beds, both of which happen sporadically.

The dusting?

That’s a sore point.

“We don’t HAVE dust in our house. I can’t see any. And anyway, it’s not really necessary. My mother never did it. You want me to move all those books? Do you know how long that would take? What is this, anyway? I should do what YOUR mother does? If you want dusting, we should get a cleaner, like everyone else!”

Anyway, I’ve been shopping at the Coop since 2001, when we first moved to this ‘quarter’ of Bologna.

I like the fact I can get there on foot, that I can find everything without wasting time, and in particular, that people there know who I am and will say ‘hello’.

I had my first heart-attack in Coop, standing in the queue on a Friday afternoon (that was before do-it-yourself tills, oh happy days!)

I felt a bit funny, weak like, and had an urge to sit down on the supermarket floor, right there in the queue. But I didn’t, and later, when I’d carried my rucksack of groceries home and downed several cold beers, I felt better…

Occasionally, when I’m teaching late or off sailing, my wife will reluctantly shop in my place.

Arriving at the till, the assistant will take one look at her selection of groceries and say something like:

“Oh, you’ve chosen THAT brand of (pasta, tomato puree, whatever)… You know, your husband usually gets the other one. Sure you wouldn’t like to go back, quickly, and change it?”

After the Coop there’s lunch to cook (just the one kid, today, the others are off somewhere doing teenage stuff.)

And then later, dinnner.

As yet, I haven’t decided what, exactly, but it’ll have pork in it (‘fläskkött‘ in Swedish), ’cause that’s what needs using up.

Which reminds me, years back, we did a cooking video to promote our school!

It was supposed to be part of a series (what fun!), but we fast came to the conclusion that it was way too much work!

It’s still on Youtube, though, like some ancient wedding video found in a dusty cardboard box.

A little glimpse into my life as it was a decade or so ago. Of course, I’m much slimmer these days, and the kids are each three-feet taller. But the kitchen is still the same.

See how ‘carbonara’ was prepared in our house, before my eldest went vegetarian:

(If you don’t see the video, and want to, try this link.)

All of which brings me around to today’s free Italian lesson, which is on cooking vocabulary!

Inspired by the sight of fat old me wizarding it up in the kitchen?

Want to learn some Italian nouns and verbs so you can be a ‘maestro’ of the ‘cucina’, too?

Click here.

P.S.

I have to keep saying this, but if cooking’s not your thing, or if the level is too easy or too hard for you, don’t forget that there are literally thousands of pages of free material for learning Italian on the club website.

You can study whatever you want, whenever you want, no need to wait for my emails.

Start here.

Oppure, if ‘free’ makes you suspicious (what is this, “communism”?) then maybe you should buy something instead?

You’ll find plenty of ways to spend your cash in our new online shop.

A lunedì.