Instantly Italy

Italian speaking practice and grammar tutoring

[Family Recipes] Le cupete piemontesi

Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

I was born and raised in Liguria but half of my family comes from Piemonte. 

My mom was born in Sale delle Langhe (a tiny village that carries the name of a fancy tourist destination for foodies but doesn’t have anything to do with it) and one of her sisters lives in Mondovì, a town located between the mountains and the plains, 80 kilometers south of Turin.

[Read more…]

[Family Recipes] Insalata Russa, A Staple on Our Christmas Table

Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

I have been thinking a lot about Christmas, lately.

It’s been a really strange year – I am being kind, 2020 – and Christmas won’t make an exception. Christmas is all about traditions and knowing that everything will be the same, year after year, but this obviously cannot be said for this year.

[Read more…]

[Family Recipes] Bunet, a Piedmontese Delicacy That Smells of Chocolate and Sundays Past

Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

When I was a kid, Sunday lunches at my grandmother’s were a very big deal. 

My father worked shifts, sometimes he had to work at weekends too, and we didn’t get to celebrate every Sunday together, which meant that the Sundays he was home were really special days.

[Read more…]

Italian Eating Habits: Do Italians Eat In A Healthy Way?

Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

How can you be so thin when you eat so many carbohydrates? 

This is one of the questions I get asked the most by non-Italians when we chat about Italian eating habits. I actually have no quick answer and I always just reply with a smile and “I don’t know”. But after having been asked such a question so many times, I started thinking about it.

[Read more…]

[Hidden Italy] The Enchanting Valle dei Mòcheni in Trentino-Alto-Adige

Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

I strongly believe in the power of letting things happen the way they are supposed to, lately. 

I used to be a very organized person when it came to traveling. I prepared everything in detail, made a list of the things I wanted to see and do and tried to stick to the plan as much as I could. And obviously, I used to freak out when things changed, all of a sudden, as sometimes happens in life.

[Read more…]

How To Eat Vegan in Italy Without Missing Out on the Tradition: a List of Plant-Based Traditional Italian Dishes

Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

Traveling as a vegan can be difficult sometimes.

Vegan options are everywhere today but, depending on the place where you are in Italy, the choice might be quite limited. If you are in a big city, I am sure you have plenty of options, while if you find yourself somewhere in the countryside – like where I live, for example – being vegan can sometimes mean having to eat a salad and little else.

[Read more…]

[Family Recipes] My mom’s Christmas dessert: salame al cioccolato

Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

What makes Christmas so special? Traditions. 

Every year, when Christmas comes, you already know it will all be the same as the year before: you will decorate the tree with the same old lights and ornaments, you will buy presents for family and friends and probably gather with them eating the same food and doing the same things you do every year.

[Read more…]