I haven’t been reading enough lately so I’ve decided to participate in the Readers Imbibing Peril (R.I.P.) 2006 Autumn Challenge hosted by Stainless Steel Droppings. The challenge is to choose five books that meet the broad criteria of “…being scary, eerie, moody, dripping with atmosphere, gothic, unsettling, etc. and vow to read them.” I think it sounds fun and although it takes a while for autumn to truly arrive in Sicily, I’m ready for some chills!

I decided to choose my reading list from my own bookshelf rather than purchase anything new. I have read all of these but it’s been a while and I have such a terrible memory that it will be like I’m reading everything for the first time anyway. All of the books on this list cannot be classified as “Gothic” and they aren’t all scary in the traditional sense but to me they all fit the criteria of being at least one of these things: scary, eerie, moody, dripping with atmosphere, gothic and unsettling.

So here’s the list:

1. Beowulf translated by R.M. Liuzza
2. The Turn of the Screw byHenry James
3. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
4. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
5. Six Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allen Poe (including: The Gold Bug, The Oblong Box, The Mystery of Marie Roget, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Murders in Rue Morgue, and The Pit and the Pendulum)

I don’t know which order I’ll choose for my Autumn reading. Knowing me, I’ll be reading 2 or 3 of them at any one time! Thanks to Bloglily for pointing me in the direction of this challenge!

We went out to eat for a freind’s birthday and I just had to photograph some of the seafood (even though I don’t eat it myself)! I tasted one of the little fried fish but the flavor was too strong for me. I couldn’t bring myself to even try the deep-fried baby octupus.

Here is the octupus salad that I have talked about before. It’s chopped up octupus with olive oil, lemon, and parsely.

I’ve tasted it before and the flavor is good but I don’t like the texture of octupus or squid. So I didn’t feel the need to taste it again!

Next is a photo of some Paella. I didn’t even know that they made Paella in Sicily but two people who ordered it and really enjoyed it!

I didn’t even try the Paella when I was in Spain so I certainly didn’t try it here. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m not a big seafood eater.

That damn lobster was staring right at me!

And finally, my favorite. The pizza. Without seafood.

This wasn’t actually my pizza but I think I’ll order it next time. My pizza had grilled zucchini, corn and cherry tomatoes and it was also very good!

Latest Recipes at Pinch My Salt, originally uploaded by elskermeg.

These are the most recent recipes to be found at my food blog, Pinch My Salt. Sorry I haven’t been writing much about “Life in Sicily” lately. I’ve been spending a lot of time getting the other site up and running. I think it’s looking pretty good so check it out if you haven’t already. Soon I’ll get to work on posting more travel photos/stories on this site. In the meantime, you’ll probably find more photos than words here but I’ll make sure I’m posting something regularly.

Caltagirone, originally uploaded by elskermeg.

This is a photo I took in the town of Caltagirone when I was there for the Festa di San Giacomo. To see all of the photos from the celebration, go here.

We went out for pizza the other night and this was what I ate. It was divided into four sections with different toppings: Porcini mushroom cream, black olive paste, four cheeses, and bruschetta. YUM!

Could have brought such joy!

No dignity, it lies there

spilling out, wasted.

Southwestern Macaroni Casserole, originally uploaded by elskermeg.

So I got creative with a box of macaroni and cheese the other night. Sometimes, you just have to make do with what you find in the pantry. But this turned out to be so good, it certainly didn’t feel like a sacrifice! You can find the recipe for this Southwestern Macaroni Casserole over at the new site, Pinch My Salt

I have also added an About this site page and The Animals page. The Animals are still under construction but should be finished by next week. Check them out by clicking on the tab underneath all those yummy Sicilian Pastries on the top of this page.

The biggest news is that I have started a new Web site that is strictly dedicated to food! Since the food posts have basically taken over this site, I’ve decided to let them live in a place all their own. I will still talk about food here (I really can’t help it) but it will slowly turn back into an “Adventures in Sicily” site. So, when you get a chance, please check out the other place. It’s called Pinch My Salt and, although it’s a work in progress, I have already moved all of my old food posts over there. I will be posting the majority of new recipes and food photos on the other site (maybe someday it will turn into a cookbook!). I would appreciate any feedback, tips or suggestions for improving both this site and the new one so let me know what you think!