Diary by Maura Vitali

3rd May
Dear Diary
Today I passed all day doing homework!! Now I’m very tired. This morning I woke up very early, I had breakfast and I started homework. Then I had lunch and I relaxed a little, but at 3 o’ clock I had to start to study Greek, Latin, Epic and History for Monday and Art for Tuesday. Fortunately I finished homework and studying at 6.30, I had dinner and now I’m writing to you while I listen to music. Lately there are many beautiful new songs on the radio. I like best Stop and Stare of One Republic, 4 minutes of Madonna feat Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, Hot Stuff of Craig David, Falling Down of Duran Duran, In my arms of Kylie Minogue, Stay Beautiful of The Last Goodnight, Bleeding Love of Leona Lewis, Don’t Jump of Tokio Hotel, Love Song of Sara Bareilles and many other songs.
Perhaps it’s better if I go to bed because tomorrow I must go to school even if I wouldn’t go there, I wish it were summer!!!! Kiss.
Maura

Diary by Maura Vitali

2nd May
Dear Diary
Today I passed all day to read a fantastic history novel. It’s called “ A day into ancient Rome” and it was written by Alberto Angela. It’s nearly a documentary of about Ancient Rome, not a novel, but it’s very interesting. I interrupted to read it only to see the new Blue-sky cartoon “Dr. Seuss’ Horton hears a who!” from the creators of “Ice age” dubbed into Italian by Cristian De Sica and many other Italian actor.
Today I didn’t do anything! No homework, nothing of nothing! It was time that I switched off my mind and I relaxed it. What a pity!! Tomorrow I’ll do homework against my will!!! Noooooooooooooooooo! And I’ll do a lot of homework: Latin, Greek, Epic, Maths, English and art. I wouldn’t to do homework but I have to do it. Perhaps it’s better if I go to bed because tomorrow I have a lot of homework to do. Kiss.
Maura

Diary writing by Maura Vitali

1st May
Dear diary
Today is the first day of May and in Italy we celebrate the Labour day. Labour Day is an annual holiday celebrated all over the world that resulted from efforts of the Labour union movement, to celebrate the economics and socials achievements of workers.

The celebration of Labour Day has its origin in the eight hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest.
So, since the '90s, every year the trade unions have organized a massive free concert in Rome, with attendances topping a million people.

I always thought that we celebrated this day only in Italy, but I read that most countries celebrate Labour Day on May 1, known as May Day and International Workers' Day.



In Europe the day has older significance as a rural festival which is predominantly more important than that of the Labour Day movement. The holiday has become internationalized and several countries hold multi-day celebrations including parades, shows and other patriotic and labour-oriented events.
May 1 is a national holiday in Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Jordan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Lebanon, Malaysia, México, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovenia, Sweden, Thailand and Vietnam, besides Italy.

In Slovenia, May 2 is also a national holiday and in Poland, while May 1 is a national holiday, it was renamed from Labour Day to simply "State Holiday" in 1990.
Unfortunately the free concert organized isn’t anything special and I have never watched it. I passed all day dozing and to watching old black and white films.
Now I’d better go to bed.
Kiss
Maura

Scones

INGREDIENTS

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen
* 1/2 cup raisins (or dried currants)
* 1/2 cup sour cream
* 1 large egg

DIRECTIONS

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Grate butter into flour mixture on the large holes of a box grater; use your fingers to work in butter (mixture should resemble coarse meal), then stir in raisins.
3. In a small bowl, whisk sour cream and egg until smooth.
4. Using a fork, stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Use your hands to press the dough against the bowl into a ball. (The dough will be sticky in places, and there may not seem to be enough liquid at first, but as you press, the dough will come together.)
5. Place on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7- to 8-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tsp. of sugar. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles; place on a cookie sheet (preferably lined with parchment paper), about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.

Marina Di Bitonto

Banana Bread

Preparation Time 15 minutes

Cooking Time 50 minutes

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients (serves 10)
Melted low-fat dairy spread, to grease
265g (1 3/4 cups) self-raising flour
40g (1/4 cup) plain flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
140g (2/3 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
125ml (1/2 cup) skim milk
2 eggs, lightly whisked
50g butter, melted, cooled
2 overripe medium bananas, mashed


Method
Preheat oven to 180°C. Brush an 11 x 21cm (base measurement) loaf pan with melted dairy spread to lightly grease. Line the base and 2 opposite sides with non-stick baking paper, allowing it to overhang.
Sift the combined flours and cinnamon into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar and make a well in the centre. Place the milk, eggs, melted butter and banana in a medium bowl, and stir until well combined. Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the surface.
Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from oven and set aside in the pan for 5 minutes. Turn onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into slices to serve.
Notes & tips
This banana bread will keep in an airtight container out of direct sunlight for up to 3 days. Alternatively, place in an airtight container, then label, date and freeze for up to 1 month. Place in the fridge overnight to thaw.

Marina Di Bitonto

Jam Roly-Poly

Jam Roly-Poly or Dead Man's Leg is a traditional British dessert probably invented in the early 19th century. It is a flat-rolled suet pudding, which is then spread with jam and rolled up. In days past, Jam Roly-Poly was also known as shirt-sleeve pudding, because it was often steamed and served in an old shirt-sleeve. Because of this, another nickname for the pudding was dead-man's arm. It was also known as dead man's leg. Jam Roly-Poly features in Mrs Beeton's cookery book, as Roly-Poly Jam Pudding. It is a very rich and heavy dessert which may not be suited to modern tastes. Popular with kids.

Recipe
Ingredients
• 250g/8oz self-raising flour
• Pinch salt
• 125g/4oz shredded suet
• 90-120ml/6-8tbsp water
• 6 tbsp raspberry jam, warmed
• a little milk
• 1 egg, beaten, and caster sugar to glaze
Method
• Sift the flour into a bowl with the salt. Add the suet and sufficient water to create a soft but not sticky dough.
• Turn on to a floured board and roll out to a rectangle about 20x30cm/8x12in.
• Brush the pastry with the warmed jam, leaving a 1cm/½in border all round.
• Fold in this border and brush with milk. With the short side towards you, roll up the pastry loosely and seal the ends well.
• Place on a greased baking sheet, with the sealed edge underneath. Brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle with caster sugar.
• Bake in the oven at 200C/400F/Gas 6 for 35-40 minutes until golden brown.
• Remove from the oven, sprinkle on a little more sugar and serve hot with home-made English custard.
Variation
A peeled, sliced apple may be spread over the jam before rolling up.

Alternative Recipe (Steamed)
• 200g self-raising flour
• 100g vegetable suet
• finely grated zest and juice 1 small lemon
• 1 medium egg, beaten
• 2-4 tbsp milk or water
• 200g red jam of your choice such as plum, cherry, raspberry or strawberry
• pinch salt
• custard or cream to serve.
Method
• Stir the flour, suet, salt and lemon zest together then work to a firm dough with the lemon juice, egg and milk or water.
• Roll out to a rectangle about 25 x 20.5 cm/10 x 8in and spread jam to within 2.5cm/1in of the edges. Roll up starting from a short end and seal the edges well with a little water.
• Set the roll on a sheet of well buttered foil and wrap, making sure you seal the ends well. If you are feeling traditional use cheese cloth or a shirt sleeve to steam in (see below).
• Set in a steamer and steam for 2 hours.
Variation
A peeled, sliced apple may be spread over the jam before rolling up.

By Maria Enrica Peluso