SUNSET POMARICO (ITALY) II

SUNSET

It is so peaceful at sunset, They show all dreams to be met In it, memories are also held There in your heart, your fears are quelled
As the sun dips low in the sky It reminds you of all those times you flew high And with those memories of soaring above, You have the hope and strength to find new love
Because at that sunset you find peace There, is where your fears all cease For dreams you find your strength to fly There, in that sunset sky.

SUNSET AND YOU
Sunsets are not a rare commodity they come and go every night so i compare you not to a sunset for you come once in a life your beauty surpases the colors of the sky painted anew each night by angels on high for god himself has sculpted you he made it so your only seen by few and you do not hide from the moon as all the sunsets do rather you shine bright under its silver light and you dance all night you do far more than any sunset would more breathtaking than any sunset could sunsets have moved and inspired all man kind since forever but you move me each moment, to a love that sunsets could never

Daniel Cook

A SUNSET
my eyes burn more than a rising sunset provoking the horizon to dare and arise to the challenge every time i look at you the sunset is so daring eyes so daring my mind cringing from memories drawing inside as timidly dead as the sunsets colors are bold killing the every last hated emotion its only passion its only a sunset thats captivated my very being
Kathryn Garner

Pictures taken By Spera Gerardo at Pomarico (Italy).

OPUNTIA FICUS - INDICA

Opuntia ficus-indica (Indian Fig Opuntia) is a species of cactus and a long-domesticated crop plant important in agricultural economies throughout arid and semiarid parts of the world. Indian Fig Opuntia is grown primarily as a fruit crop, but also for the vegetable nopales and other uses. Most culinary references to the "prickly pear" are referring to this species. The name "tuna" is also used for the fruit of this cactus, and for Opuntia in general (according to Alexander von Humboldt, it was a word of Haitian origin taken into the Spanish language around 1500).

Cacti are good crops for dry areas because they efficiently convert water into biomass. Opuntia ficus-indica, as the most widespread of the long-domesticated cactuses, is as economically important as corn and tequila agave in Mexico today. Because Opuntia species hybridize easily (much like oaks), the wild origin of Opuntia ficus-indica (or even whether it has a single origin) is hard to be certain about, but Opuntia was eaten by humans at least 9000 years before the present.

The most commercially valuable use for Opuntia ficus-indica today is for the large, sweet fruits, called tunas. Areas with significant tuna-growing cultivation include Mexico, Sicily and the coasts of Southern Italy, Algeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Chile, Brazil, and northern Africa, as well as in Eritrea and Ethiopia where the fruit is called beles.
In Sicily, where the Prickly Pear Fruit is known as ficodinnia (the Italian name being fico d'India), the cactus grows wild and cultivated to heights of 12-16'. The fruits flower in three distinct colors, White, Yellow and Red. They first appear in early May through the early summer and ripen from August through October. The fruits are typically eaten, minus the thick outer skin, after chilling in a refrigerator for a few hours. They have a taste similar to a juicy extra sweet watermelon, very refreshing on a hot summer or fall day. The bright red/purple, or white/yellowish flesh contains many tiny hard seeds that are usually swallowed, but should be avoided by those who have GI problems with seeds.

In the center of Sicily, in the Provence of Enna, in a small village named Gagliano Castelferrata, a Prickly Pear flavored liqueur is produced called "Ficodi", flavored somewhat like a medicinal/aperetif. In the early 1900s, in the United States the Prickly Pear fruit was imported from Sicily and other Mediterranean countries to satisfy the growing population of immigrants arriving from Italy (Sicily)and Greece. The fruit lost its popularity during the mid 1950's and has become increasing in popularity recently in the late 1990s until today, due to the influx of Mexican immigrants. Recently the cattle industry of the Southwest United States has begun to cultivate Opuntia ficus-indica as a fresh source of feed for cattle. The cactus is grown both as a feed source and a boundary fence. Cattle avoid the sharp spines of the cactus and do not stray from an enclosed area of Opuntia ficus-indica. The nutrition available in the cactus pads, which is what the cows feed on, far surpasses that found in corn and other cattle feed. In addition to the food value, the moisture content virtually eliminates watering the cattle and the human effort in achieving that chore.
The cultivating of cactus requires only that it be planted and left to grow on its own, without fertilizer or watering. It is best grown on land useless for growing corn and other cattle feed stock. After a year or two, the pads are ready to eat and the fruit is ready to harvest if so desired. After each feeding the cactus is left to grow another meal which happens quite quickly in the desert lands of the Southwest. The cows can be moved to another cactus feeding area. The only effort to fed the cattle is to walk through the selected cactus feeding area with a propane backpack and torch. The torch burns the pads, slightly grilling the cactus pads and burning off the spines, then the cattle can feed without getting stuck with the cactus spines. The cows become accustomed to hearing the roar of the propane torch, which acts like a dinner bell for them.





Ficus-indica has various medicinal uses - including use as a hangover cure (see source at bottom of page). Recently, extracts for the cactus pear fruit has shown to possess antioxidative properties and can cause reduction of DNA damage in human peripheral lymphocytes. This extract has become a potential source of raw material for pharmaceutical and functional food industries. The shoots of O. ficus-indica have been shown to contain at least some mescaline.
The plant is considered a pest species in parts of the Mediterranean due to its ability to spread rapidly beyond the zones it was originally cultivated in. In Hebrew, the plant is referred to as "tzabar." This lead to the popular use of the term "Sabra" to refer to an Israeli-born Jew, alluding to the fruit and the people alike being tenacious and thorny (rough and masculine) on the outside but sweet and soft (delicate and sensitive) on the inside. Kishkashta a main character on a 1970-80's Israeli children's show, "Ma Pit'om," was a large, talking felt puppet of the Opuntia cactus.

Recent DNA analysis indicates that O. ficus-indica was domesticated from Opuntia species which are native to central Mexico. The Codex Mendoza, and other early sources, show Opuntia cladodes as well as cochineal dye (which needs cultivated Opuntia) in Aztec tribute rolls. The plant spread to many parts of the Americas in pre-Columbian times, and since Columbus, have spread to many parts of the world, especially the Mediterranean where they have become naturalized (and in fact were believed to be native by many). This spread was facilitated by the carrying of nopales on ships to prevent scurvy.

Pictures taken By Spera Gerardo at Pomarico (Italy), text by:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opuntia_ficus-indica

PARASOL MUSHROOM

The parasol mushroom (Macrolepiota procera) is a basidiomycete fungus with a large, prominent fruiting body resembling a lady's parasol. It is a fairly common species on well-drained soils. It is found solitary or in groups and fairy rings in pastures and occasionally in woodland. Globally, it is widespread in temperate regions.

The height and cap diameter of a mature specimen may both reach 40 cm, a size truly impressive for the fruiting body of an agaric. The stipe is relatively thin and reaches full height before the cap has expanded. The stipe is very fibrous in texture which garners it inedible. The surface is characteristically wrapped in a snakeskin-like pattern of scaly growths. The immature cap is compact and egg-shaped, with the cap margin around the stipe, sealing a chamber inside the cap. As it matures, the margin breaks off, leaving a fleshy, movable ring around the stipe. At full maturity, the cap is more or less flat, with a chocolate-brown umbo in the centre that is leathery to touch. Dark and cap-coloured flakes remain on the upper surface of the cap and can be removed easily. The gills are crowded, free, and white with a pale pink tinge sometimes present. The spore print is white. It has a pleasant nutty smell. When sliced, the white flesh may turn a pale pink.
It is a very sought after and popular fungus in Europe, due in part to its large size, seasonal frequency and versatility in the kitchen.
The parasol mushroom is difficult to mistake for any other, especially in regions like eastern Europe where the poisonous look-alike Chlorophyllum molybdites does not occur. Nevertheless, as with picking any fungus for consumption, caution should be exercised at all times.
The parasol mushroom may be eaten raw. It is popular soaked in butter. Only the cap of fresh specimens is considered edible.

Smaller but similar in appearance is the common shaggy parasol (Chlorophyllum rhacodes.) Its edibility is suspect as it causes mild sickness in some people, especially when eaten raw. One must learn to distinguish the two as their geographical ranges overlap.
Differences from the parasol mushroom include its smaller dimensions, pungent (fruity) and reddening flesh when cut, lack of patterns on its stipe, and very shaggy cap surface.
Macrolepiota mastoidea, a European species, is yet another very large edible mushroom. Its dimensions are generally smaller than that of M. procera and the markings on its stipe less obvious. It is also much rarer.
Species of Agaricus have brown spores and the gills of mature specimens are never white.
There are a few poisonous species which can be mistaken for M. procera.
Chlorophyllum molybdites, a species that causes the largest number of annual mushroom poisonings in North America due to its close similarity. Faintly green gills and a pale green spore print give it away. Furthermore this mushroom lacks the aforementioned snakeskin pattern that is generally present on the parasol mushroom. Its range is reportedly expanding into Europe.
Leucocoprinus brunnea, also found in North America, slowly turns brown when sliced.
White and immature species of Amanita are also a potential hazard. To be sure, one must only pick parasol mushrooms past their button stage. A general rule of thumb with the parasol mushroom as compared to amanita species is that the parasol mushroom has darker flakes on a lighter surface, whereas amanita species have the opposite, lighter flakes (if there are any) on a darker surface, such as the Panther cap.

Pictures taken By Spera Gerardo at Pomarico (Italy), text by:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasol_mushroom

Olive

The Olive (Olea europaea) is a species of small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean region, from Lebanon, Syria and the maritime parts of Asia Minor and northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea. Its fruit, the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the Mediterranean region as the source of olive oil.

The Olive tree is an evergreen tree or shrub native to the Mediterranean, Asia and parts of Africa. It is short and squat, and rarely exceeds 8–15 meters in height. The silvery green leaves are oblong in shape, measuring 4–10 cm long and 1–3 cm wide. The trunk is typically gnarled and twisted.
The small white flowers, with four-cleft calyx and corolla, two stamens and bifid stigma, are borne generally on the last year's wood, in racemes springing from the axils of the leaves.
The fruit is a small drupe 1–2.5 cm long, thinner-fleshed and smaller in wild plants than in orchard cultivars. Olives are harvested at the green stage or left to ripen to a rich purple colour (black olive). Canned black olives may contain chemicals that turn them black artificially.

The olive is one of the plants most cited in recorded literature. In Homer's Odyssey, Odysseus crawls beneath two shoots of olive that grow from a single stock. The Roman poet, Horace mentions it in reference to his own diet, which he describes as very simple: "As for me, olives, endives, and smooth mallows provide sustenance." Lord Monboddo comments on the olive in 1779 as one of the foods preferred by the ancients and as one of the most perfect foods.
The leafy branches of the olive tree, olive leaf as a symbol of abundance, glory and peace, were used to crown the victors of friendly games and bloody war. As emblems of benediction and purification, they were also ritually offered to deities and powerful figures: some were even found in Tutankhamen's tomb.
Olive oil has long been considered sacred; it was used to anoint kings and athletes in ancient Greece. It was burnt in the sacred lamps of temples as well as being the "eternal flame" of the original Olympic Games. Victors in these games were crowned with its leaves. Today it is still used in many religious ceremonies.

Olive oil is a fruit oil obtained from the olive (Olea europaea; family Oleaceae along with lilacs, jasmine and ash trees), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. The wild olive tree originated in Asia Minor, today the country of Turkey. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps.


Over 750 million olive trees are cultivated worldwide, 95% of which are in the Mediterranean region. Most of global production comes from Southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
World production in 2002 was 2.6 million metric tons, of which Spain contributed 40% to 45%. In 2006 Turkey accounted for about 5% of world production, similar to the Spanish province of Jaen alone, well known for the biggest olive groves in the world.
Of the European production, 93% comes from Spain, Italy, Greece.
Greece devotes 60% of its cultivated land to olive growing. It is the world's top producer of black olives and has more varieties of olives than any other country. Greece holds third place in world olive production with more than 132 million trees, which produce approximately 350,000 tons of olive oil annually, of which 82% is extra-virgin (see below for an explanation of terms). About half of the annual Greek olive oil production is exported, but only some 5% of this reflects the origin of the bottled product. Greece exports mainly to European Union (EU) countries, principally Italy, which receives about three-quarters of total exports. Olives are grown for oil in mainland Greece, with Peloponnese being the source of 65% of Greek production, as well as in Crete, the Aegean Islands and Ionian Islands.
Among the many different olive varieties or cultivars in Italy are Frantoio, Leccino Pendolino, and Moraiolo. In Spain the most important varieties are the Picual, Alberquina, Hojiblanca, and Manzanillo de Jaén. In Greece : Koroneiki. In France : Picholine. In California : Mission. In Portugal : Galega. The oil from the varieties varies in flavour and stability (shelf life).
In North America, Italian and Spanish olive oils are the best-known, and top-quality extra-virgin oils from Italy, Spain and Greece are sold at high prices, often in "prestige" packaging. A large part of US olive oil imports come from the EU, especially Spain. The US imported 28.95 million gallons of olive oil in 1994, a 215% increase from 1984. The US is Italy's biggest customer, importing 22% of total Italian production of 131.6 million gallons in 1994.

Pictures taken By Spera Gerardo at Pomarico (Italy), text by:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_oil