お茶の間留学

BTS; they’re rather popular, aren’t they? Unfortunately you could write everything I know about K-Pop on the back of a stamp. Chocolate? Everyone likes chocolate, don’t they? Though I am currently trying to avoid sweet things in a rather desperate attempt to lose weight. Most likely it will be in vain but one must try. It seems a bit disingenuous to write about chocolate if I’m not currently eating the stuff myself.

 Sightseeing! You’re probably a fan of sightseeing, aren’t you? Yet, in the midst of this pandemic, you might say I lacked sensitivity if I wrote about that. Perhaps I could write about flowers, it’s a much loved topic, isn’t it? Alas, my knowledge of botany is barely superior to that of a small child’s. It’s even possible that they can remember many things of that sort that I long since forgot.

 This mass appeal business is proving more difficult than it at first appeared but wait, I might have just the thing, the weather! We’ve all had countless conversations about the weather, haven’t we? It’s raining here today but it’s okay for me, I actually really like the rain. Anyway, thanks for reading. 

currently:現在

avoid:避ける

desperate:必死の

attempt :試みる

most likely:ほとんどの場合[

in vain:無駄

disingenuous:不誠実

midst :真っ只中

lacked:不足していた

perhaps:多分

alas:悲しいかな

botany:植物学

 barely:かろうじて

superior:優れている

La carne viene cotta in un liquido composto da parti uguali di acqua e olio (di solito un bicchiere di uno e dell'altro). Una volta che la carne è cotta, si prende il liquido rimasto e si crea una salsa unendovi acciughe, prezzemolo e parmigiano tritati.

The meat is cooked in a liquid consisting of equal parts of water and oil (usually a glass of both). Once the meat is cooked, take the remaining liquid and create a sauce by combining anchovies, parsley and chopped parmesan.

 La tinca al forno è un secondo di pesce tipico di Clusane, un paese sul lago d'Iseo. La tinca è un pesce

d'acqua dolce e nella provincia di Brescia viene pescato proprio nel lago d'Iseo. Viene riempita con un ripieno
composto di pane grattato, burro, olio, formaggio Grana e un mix di spezie (cannella, noce moscata, chiodi di garofano, sale e pepe) e di aromi (prezzemolo, alloro e aglio). La tinca viene poi fatta cuocere in una teglia di terracotta bagnata con olio insieme alle foglie d’alloro e coperta con una parte del ripieno. Si aggiunge qualche noce di burro e si fa cuocere in forno. Infine viene servita con una bella fetta di polenta, ovviamente.

Baked tench is a fish main course typical of Clusane, a town on Lake Iseo. Tench is a freshwater fish and in the province of Brescia it is caught right in Lake Iseo. It's filled with a filling made of breadcrumbs, butter, oil, Grana cheese and a mix of spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt and pepper) and herbs (parsley, bay leaf and garlic). The tench is then cooked in an earthenware pan dipped in oil together with the bay leaves and covered with part of the filling. Add a few knobs of butter and cook in the oven. Finally, it's served with a nice slice of polenta, of course.

 I biscotti bresciani sono un dolce che ho sempre mangiato da quando sono piccola e che compravo in panetteria. Sono dei semplicissimi biscotti di pasta frolla ricoperti di zucchero, ma sono uno dei dolci più buoni che possiate assaggiare. Probabilmente io sono un po' di parte, però li consiglio sicuramente.

Brescia biscuits are a dessert that I've always eaten since I was little and that I bought at the bakery. They are very simple shortbread cookies covered with sugar, but they are one of the best desserts you can taste. I'm probably a bit biased, but I definitely recommend them.

 liquid consisting:液体からなる

remaining :残り

combining:組み合わせる

anchovies:アンチョビ

parsley:パセリ

chopped parmesan:パルメザンのみじんぎり

breadcrumbs:パン粉

earthenware pan:陶器鍋

dipped:浸した

For cooking enthusiasts, today I thought I'd introduce you to some typical dishes of my area: the province of Brescia.

 I casoncelli (in


dialetto i casonsèi) sono la variante bresciana del raviolo ripieno, presente in quasi tutto il nord Italia. Possono essere di carne o verdura, serviti con burro fuso, salvia e abbondante parmigiano, sono tra i piatti tipici più diffusi e amati. Si trovano in tutti i ristoranti della provincia e nelle sagre di paese.

Casoncelli (casonsèi in dialect) is the Brescian variant of stuffed ravioli, present in almost all of northern Italy. They can be meat or vegetable, and served with melted butter, sage and abundant Parmesan. They are among the most popular and most loved dishes. They are found in all the restaurants in the province and in the village festivals.

  Il risotto con i loertis (cime di luppolo o asparagi selvatici) è un buon primo piatto che viene cucinato principalmente in primavera, periodo in cui è possibile trovare i loertis. La preparazione è molto semplice, basta seguire la procedura solita del risotto (utilizzando un brodo vegetale) e quando mancano 10 minuti alla fine della cottura si aggiungono i loertis. Quando il risotto è pronto, si manteca con burro e formaggio grana.

I loertis vengono, inoltre, utilizzati spesso anche nelle frittate.

Loertis is also often used in omelettes.

  Lo spiedo (el spèt) è una modalità di cottura della cacciagione, di solito coniglio, pollo e uccellini. La carne tagliata a pezzi di media grandezza viene infilzata su degli spiedi di ferro (da qui il nome) e cotta molto lentamente a temperatura costante per circa 5 o 6 ore. I pezzi di carne sono alternati a pancetta e verdure come cipolle, patate e peperoni. Durante la cottura la carne viene spennellata con burro fuso e aromi vari per darle sapore. A cottura terminata viene servito con la polenta e un buon vino rosso.

The spit is a way of cooking game, usually rabbit, chicken and birds. The meat, cut into medium-sized pieces, is skewered on iron skewers (hence the name) and cooked very slowly at a constant temperature for about five or six hours. The pieces of meat are alternated with bacon and vegetables such as onions, potatoes and peppers. During cooking, the meat is brushed with melted butter and various aromas to give it flavor. When cooked, it is served with polenta (a dish of boiled cornmeal) and a good red wine.

enthusiasts:愛好家

stuffed:詰めた

sage:セージ

abundant:豊富な

parmesan cheese:パルメザンチーズ

among:～の中で

stir:かき混ぜる

constant temperature:一定温度

alternated:交互になった

during cooking:調理中

flavor:フレーバー

     The official name of the country is “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”. Let's break that down into digestible parts.

     The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UK, for short) is made up of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

     Great Britain is not the name of any country, rather it is the name of the island which is home to England, Scotland, and Wales. Therefore anyone who is from Edinburgh, Scotland could be called British, same applies to anyone from Cardiff in Wales, and of course London in England.

     Northern Ireland is on the island of Ireland, which is home to two countries: Northern Ireland (which is part of the UK) and the Republic of Ireland (an independent country which is not a part of the UK). The history of Ireland is complex but in summary the island is divided by passports, and religious and political views.

     One important note is that the countries which make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is that they are exactly that: countries.

      They all have their own government, laws, and control of their own education and healthcare systems, as well as the police and other emergency services, and can have their own version of the state currency "the Pound Sterling".

     They also all have a very strong cultural identity and their own dialects, languages, traditions, and folklore. For example, men in Scotland wear kilts during ceremonies (a type of Highland dress, usually with a tartan design and resembles a skirt). The Welsh have their own language which is used in everyday life especially on road signs next to the English translation. (Note, a slang term in Wales for microwave is popty ping, however the real Welsh is actually microndon.) English folklore is very famous not only in the British Isles but worldwide. Names like "Robin Hood" and "King Arthur" are well known and are both great English legends.

 　 As Northern Ireland was once part of the Republic of Ireland (before Ireland became an independent country), it shares a great deal of heritage with its neighbour but one thing that the Northern Irish celebrate (which tends to be controversial) is "The Twelfth" – the celebration of the Battle of the Boyne which was on the 12th of July 1690. After the battle, Protestantism became the main religion of the north of the island.

     With that in mind each country is very patriotic about its identity, some more than others. For example, call an English person British and they will for the most part not think anything of it, now call a Scottish or Welsh person British (or worse English) and you may have a very different response.

     The UK's capital city is London, which is also the capital city of England, but of course the other countries in the union have their own capital cities too. Scotland has Edinburgh, Wales has Cardiff, and Northern Ireland has Belfast.

     Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland generally view England as the domineering force and have some reservations which stem from centuries of internal conflicts. English people generally have a positive view of the United Kingdom and like to keep past indiscretions in the past and prefer to focus on all the benefits which the country has gained thanks to the union. However, recent events such as the referendum for Scottish Independence from the UK in 2014, and the UK's referendum to leave the European Union in 2016, (as well as the most recent 2019 general election) have called into question the unity of the United Kingdom, and the results have caused more division between the countries. Only time will tell if the United Kingdom will stay as a country we all know.

confusion:混乱

clarify:明らかにする

digestible: 消化可能

divided by:～で割った

therefore:したがって

complex:複雑

in summary:要約すると

religious and political views:宗教的および政治的見解

dialects:方言

Republic of Ireland:アイルランド共和国

heritage:遺産

Protestantism:プロテスタント

Patriotic:愛国心の強い

the domineering force :支配的な勢力

internal conflicts:内紛

gain:得る

union:組合

referendum:国民投票

unity:団結