Tag Archives: Fiat Cinquecento

In my kitchen, December 2019

12 Thursday Dec 2019

Posted by in Art projects, Mangiamo!

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Christmas villageIt’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in my kitchen! The traditional dolci di Natale baking is not until next week, but here is what has been happening in my kitchen so far this month.

Once again, I had a bancarella at the Italian Christmas Mercato, selling handpulled  original prints and handmade cards.  A few days before the event, I decided to make another new Christmas card.  My kitchen table turned into a ‘studio annex’,  full of sketches and linoleum carving tools for a few days!Linocut printmaking Fiat 500

I carved a Fiat Cinquecento (500) carrying a tree on the roof.  The prints barely dried in time, but were very popular!  More photos are on my instagram feed, which is linked in the sidebar.  This is the original 1957 Cinquecento model, with porte di suicidio-suicide doors that hinge on the left.  Find out more in the post The Original Cinquecento. Many of the purchasers had personal stories to tell me about what attracted them to it.  A subject for another post!Linocut Christmas cards Fiat 500

As usual, I made cookies to offer friends who came to visit me at the mercato.  This time I made espresso cookies.  Recipe available in Espresso Cookies.Espresso cookies

Saturday was Papà’s birthday.  He had urgent heart surgery in September, so we were very happy to celebrate this birthday!  Mamma and I made his favourite pasta,  tagliatelle the week before and froze them in little nests on cookie sheets.  They were dropped into boiling water straight from the freezer.Tagliatelle, handmade pasta

Last Christmas a friend brought Baci made with ruby cocoa beans from Italy.  This year I received a box as a gift, purchased from my local Italian deli.  What is ruby chocolate?  It is not white chocolate with pink coloring!  It is milk chocolate made with Brazilian cocoa beans that are a dark purple colour.  They are only fermented for a few days, so they do not turn brown, then citric acid is added to keep the pinky colour.  This is the same idea as squirting lemon juice on apples when making apple pie, to keep them from going brown.  The taste is very slightly berryish and lemony-because of the citric acid.  There are no other ingredients or flavourings added.  Is this just a marketing ploy?  Yes!  But since raspberry and lemon are my 2 favourite flavours, I like them anyways.  Have you tried Ruby Baci?

Panettone is plentiful in December, and I love panettone french toast.  The panettone already has so much flavour that all you really need to do is soak it in eggs and milk then cook it on the stovetop, or even bake it.  I added a bit of orange zest and topped it with fresh ricotta and a drizzle of maple syrup-I do live in Canada after all! Do not use expensive or homemade panettone for this.  The cheap cellophane wrapped ones are good for french toast.Panettone french toast

I made my favourite winter salad, Insalata Purtuall’ with fennel and oranges.  Insalata Purtuall, Orange and fennel saladSince the oranges had to be peeled, I candied the rind to use later this month for panettone or biscotti.Canditi, candied orange rindThe only Christmas baking so far in my kitchen are cranberry pistachio orange biscotti.  It was my first time making them and will definitely make them again.Cranberry pistachio biscotti

Read more about my family’s traditional Christmas baking in a previous post Dolci di Natale. Links for my recipe for Panettone with Orange Walnuts and Figs and for Crustoli can be found in this post.  We will be making Cauzuncill’ and Cartellate in a few days.

Thanks Sherry from Australia for hosting the monthly food blogging event, In My Kitchen (IMK). Read about what is happening in other world kitchens in December by clicking the link to Sherry’s Pickings.

Buon appetito, Cristina

Ruote di Trani

09 Monday Oct 2017

Posted by in Italia, Photography, Puglia, Travel

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In August I took a lovely daytrip to Trani, a quiet, sun drenched fishing port on the Adriatic.  While walking through town and the port in the late morning/early afternoon there were times I felt like I was walking through a movie set! One of the reasons is because of all the macchine d’epoca or vintage cars that I saw, as well as motorini and biciclette. I have compiled a few photos of these vehicles in this post and, for lack of a better title, I am calling it Ruote di Trani or Wheels of Trani.

I was disappointed because I did not take any photos of my favourite macchina, as every time I saw a Cinquecento, a Fiat 500, it was speeding past me too quick to snap a photo! I have a bit of an obsession with them-but only the old ones.  It turns out I actually did photograph one though! 

This is a Fiat Cinquecento Giardiniera, also known as the 500K or the Autobianchi Giardiniera.  It is basically a Cinquecento station wagon, made from 1960-1977.  If you think I am joking, cover the back half of the car, and you will see that the front half is totally 500ish!  In 1970, production was transferred to Autobianchi, a Fiat subsidiary in Monza.  Later models were branded as Autobianchi rather than Fiat. Notice this one has porte di suicidio or suicide doors, which are hinged at the rear instead of the front.  They make it easier to get in and out of the car, but are a safety hazard at higher speeds.  I wrote about porte di suicidio here. Notice the bird photobomb in the corner!

The Centoventisei or Fiat 126 was a more modern model to replace the Cinquecento in 1973.  The 126 never became as popular.  My Zio used to have one that was a Robin’s egg blue.  It were very popular in the former eastern bloc countries because of its fuel efficiency.  Later models were made in Poland as the Polski 126p.

This ‘vintage’ photo of a white Fiat 126 was taken by me on my previous visit to Trani, in 1994.  My Zio had one just like this.  I think it even had the same dented front.  Thankfully, not much has changed to the look of Trani since 1994!

This photo of a late 1960’s/early 1970’s Renault 4 GTL on the street in front of old buildings looks like it was taken 50 years ago rather than just 2 months ago!

I spotted this Piaggio Ape (AH·peh) 3 wheeled vehicle at the port.  Piaggio also makes the Vespa motorino.  An Ape is basically a Vespa with 2 wheels at the back supporting a flatbed.  Piaggio started making the Ape in 1948 to fill the post-war need for inexpensive light commercial transport.  Ape means bee.  I thought it was named for the cute buzzing sound it makes while driving, but it could also be referring to the work ethic of this ‘worker bee’ hardworking vehicle.  Api make great delivery vehicles for narrow cobblestone streets and alleyways.

I hope you enjoyed your phototour of Trani’s ruote. Grazie mille to Franco for helping me identify them! Ciao, Cristina

The Original Cinquecento

21 Sunday Aug 2016

Posted by in Italian language, Roma

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Fiat CinquecentoMy love affair with the Fiat Cinquecento (cheen·kweh·CHEN·toh) began when I was 16.  I really wanted one, but it would not fit into my valigia, so I had to settle for something else.  I don’t know if I will ever own a super cute Cinquecento, but I have spent years photographing them all over Italia.  A few weeks ago in Roma, I took this photo of an adorable Cinquecento just around the corner from the Pantheon.

After posting the photo on Instagram, I learned that this is the original Cinquecento model, the 1957 Cinquecento Nuova!  It has a smaller engine, the cloth roof folds back all the way rather than half-way, and it has ‘porte di suicidio’ or ‘suicide doors’.  These are doors hinged at the rear rather than the front.  They are named so because before the use of seat belts, there was increased risk of falling out of the car if the doors accidentally opened.  Not only that, but the airflow of the moving car keeps the doors open, rather than closing them, as would happen with a front-hinged door.  This does make it easier to push someone out of the moving vehicle, which is probably why all the 1930’s gangster movies have cars with rear-hinged doors!

The Cinquecento was the first real ‘city’ car, a small, light-weight, fuel-efficient car.  Cinquecento means 500 in italiano.  The car was given this name because the engine was 500 cc and it weighed 500 kg (1100 lbs).  Today most cars weigh 3 times that amount!  The owner of this Cinquecento was a very old man with a cane.  He could well be the original owner.  I hope he buckles up his cintura!