italian court OKs evidence review for amanda knox

Italian court OKs evidence review for Knox
By ALESSANDRA RIZZO

PERUGIA, Italy — Amanda Knox won an important victory in her appeals trial of her murder conviction in Italy on Saturday, when a court ruled that it will allow an independent review of crucial DNA evidence.

The lower court trial, which convicted the American student last year and sentenced her to 26 years in Italian prison, had rejected a similar defense request for an outside review of DNA found on the victim's bra clasp and on a knife the prosecution alleged was used to stab Meredith Kercher.

Prosecutors maintain that Sollecito's DNA was found on the bra clasp and that Knox's DNA was found on the knife. The defense maintains that DNA traces presented at the first trial were inconclusive and also contends they might have been contaminated when they were analyzed.
Knox's mother, Edda Mellas, burst into tears of joy in the courtroom in the university town of Perugia when the appeals court announced its decision. "Finally a little bit of good news," Mellas said, as Knox's family members hugged defense team lawyers.

The court selected two experts from Rome's Sapienza University to review the evidence. The experts will be formally given the task at the trial's next session on Jan. 15.

The request for the review was the first significant test for Knox's defense. A rejection could have dealt a severe blow to their hopes of overturning the conviction.

This is really good news for the defense.

If you missed my earlier post about Amanda:
i've changed my opinion - amanda knox is innocent

soups, pies and pizza rolls

I updated my craft blog roll this week, finding all kinds of new fabulous cooking and crafty sites. People are so talented - it always just amazes me! Just look at this gorgeousness!

I've been in the mood to try some new recipes this week, and thought I would share.

The first recipe was for Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup from Tidymom.net.

As usual, I have to improvise when it comes to ingredients. I couldn't find any boxes of quick cooking long grain and wild rice with seasoning packet, so I bought long grain white rice, and a mix of Riso, Avena e Kamut. I cooked it separately, and tossed a little into the soup near the end. (The long grain white rice I added per the recipe). I also improved with the season packet, thanks to this site. The soup was very good. My husband and I both agreed that it could do with half the amount of heavy cream. Next time I will only add 200ml of cream. But it was very hearty, flavorful and tasty.

Next, I made Tidymom's Homemade Pizza Rolls. Sorry, you have to visit her site for a photo...I didn't take any of my pizza rolls. They didn't last long enough. What I did differently: I added a thin layer of polpa di pomodori and added prosciutto cotto cubetti instead of pepperoni. I didn't have pepperoni on hand. I also used pizza mozzarella instead of the cheeses in the recipe. This was a simple, fun recipe to try, and would be good for parties or kids!

The last recipe I made is your basic Jello pudding and Cool Whip pie - without Jello or Cool Whip because we don't have Jello or Cool Whip in Italy.

I used Elah budino cioccolato 30 secondi and Paneangeli Dolceneve and a gram cracker crust (my mom sent the crumbs to me, but you could use cookie, crushed up). I wanted to make it seasonal, so I added peppermint flavoring to the Dolceneve when it was almost ready. I added to taste. It would be perfect if I had candy cane ships to sprinkle on top! But, considering I don't have Cool Whip here, it turned out pretty darn good. I've been here 8 years and never knew that stuff whipped up like Cool Whip.

Next I want to try out these recipes:

Toffee Pretzel Bark

Chocolate Covered Graham Crackers

Marshmallow Snowman Treats - How CUTE are these?

Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies

But these are next:
You must make these! Almond Chocolate Toffee Crunchies
Made with saltines!

obama calls in the big dog, and bails

Did Obama just quit? ~Treacher

All I keep thinking about after seeing this is:

“It took a Clinton to clean up after the first Bush, it may take another Clinton to clean up after the second one”.

And it reminded me of this old interview:

"I don't want to present myself as some sort of singular figure. I think part of what is different is the times. I do think that, for example, the 1980 election was different. I think Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not. He put us on a fundamentally different path because the country was ready for it. They felt like with all the excesses of the 60s and the 70s and government had grown and grown but there wasn't much sense of accountability in terms of how it was operating. I think he tapped into what people were already feeling. Which is we want clarity, we want optimism, we want a return to that sense of dynamism and entrepreneurship that had been missing."

From Mediaite:

Seriously, what was the thinking here? This has to be one of the worst PR moves in the entirety of the administration. Obviously, Clinton is probably a more popular Democratic figure right now, but they had to imagine this would hurt Obama. I mean, letting a former president explain your tax bill while you head to a Christmas party? A Christmas party?

This isn't the first time Obama made a bad PR move.

“This gentleman right here — he’s got his hand up,” Obama said. “He’s the only one who took me up on it. Go ahead. And I’ll probably need a translation, though, if you’re asking the question in Korean. In fact, I definitely will need a translation.”

“Unfortunately, I hate to disappoint you, President Obama, I’m actually Chinese,” the reporter said.

“All right, thank you very much, everybody,” Obama said after giving a concise answer. “I’m late for my flight.

Late for his flight? You mean Air Force One would leave without him?

Mr. Obama concluded his remarks at about 7:30, saying he couldn’t stay for dinner.

“I’ve got to go home to tuck in the girls and walk the dog and scoop the poop,” he said.

How many people here believe he had to walk the dog, and scoop the poop?

And who can forget these moments?

Or any of these, really.

Don't miss this post, from HotAir: Great news: Bill Clinton apparently now president again

Or: From Audacity to Animosity - No president has alienated his base the way Obama has.

sights and sounds around town

The bells that we hear, every day. And when I say we hear them, I mean we HEAR them. Try sleeping with that in the summer, when the windows are open....




Our neighbor is the reporter, talking about the 500th Anniversary celebration of the Madonna della Gamba, seen below. It is a Sanctuary for the Miracle of the Madonna that 500 years ago appeared and healed a little girl's leg...


This is the parade, they celebrate every year, but only bring out the statue every 25 years. We have front row seats!


This is the ride on the funivia from Selvino to Albino. From Selvino, you can go even higher, on a two person funivia, and there is a yummy restaurant at the top. This is the video for the Opening of the new funivia.


If we don't take the funivia to Selvino, we have to drive on this road. My mom doesn't like this road. Here is another view, you can see how windy it is. My husband, before I moved to Italy, crashed and totaled his car at the 2:47 mark. Something tells me he was trying to copy the rally cars in his new sports car... He's lucky he only totaled the car.


This is a news report about the Albino Shopping festival. We went, of course. The stores stay open late, set up booths outside, and there is all kinds of activity, food, wine, music, etc. These are scenes from around town, before the festival. My favorite bread shop - Il Fornaio, at 2:29 in the video, you can see it.. In Seattle when you see the sign at Il Fornaio, it lists Albino.


This is a parade of the Alpini soldiers from Albino. Franc's dad, and Zio were both Alpini.


These are sbandieratori putting on a show during the parade.


Thisis the town Franco is from, and where we got married, Alzano Lombardo - Chiesa di S. Martino


Another church, cool bells.


This is a cool video someone shot of Bergamo, which is the main town. This was shot at Christmas time, and shows how lovely it is.


And here's a little snippit of me in Rome in October. We went down for a wedding.

Hope you enjoyed a little taste of life in a small town in Italy.
:O)

mmm....soup!

It was snowing yesterday, and I was in the mood for some savory soup. I thought about making my standby buonissimo pasta e fagioli, but decided to try something new. If you're not familiar with my cooking style, I like easy, easy, easy and delicious. I also tend to like things that I can make, add in that I already have on hand. Yesterday I came up with my new soup:

(this is not my soup, but similar. 
mine didn't stick around long enough for a photo)

Easy Peasy Chicken Chili
Makes about 4-6 servings, depending on your bowl size.

Chicken breast (I used about four slices of breast)
1 Chicken bouillon or 5 cups Chicken broth
1 can Cannellini Beans
Small pasta (I used Barilla Ditalini Rigati, but any small pasta will work)
A few baby carrots or corn
1 small onion
Casa Fiesta Mexican Spices Mix (I don't see this on their web site, I bought it in Italy. It is your basic mix of Mexican spices)
a couple of little red dry peppers
salt and pepper
parmigiano cheese (or jack)

• Cut up raw chicken into little cubes and sauté in a deep soup pot, with a dollop or two of olive oil.
• When chicken is cooked, add in diced onion and sliced baby carrots (you could use corn, but I didn't, but I bet that would be good). (add a touch of olive oil if it needs it) Cook until onion is nice and soft and golden - about five or 10 minutes.
• Add five cups water and bouillon OR five cuts chicken broth.
• Add (drained) can of beans.
• Add about 1 teaspoon to 1 tblsp of Mexican seasoning. Season to your taste.
• Same with salt and pepper.
• Add chopped up little red peppers. I added two, and my soup was spicy! Adjust to your liking. (if you break them up with your fingers remember to wash your hands and do not touch your eyes!)
• Let boil (medium boil) for about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust. Let boil longer if you want, or if you are ready to eat, give it a taste...need anything else, salt? Pepper?
• Add pasta (I added about three small handfuls), and boil for required time. My pasta was nine minutes.
• I served it in some clay bowls, and topped it off with grated parmigiano.

So easy, but it was SO tasty. You can also deck this out with sour cream, or tortilla chips, or whatever, but it was de-lish just as it is...at least we thought so! haha You can add more chicken, more beans, or more pasta, and even more broth to make more, or to make it more hearty.

Another soup I made a few weeks ago, that was super tasty, was this Outrageous Garlic Soup. I didn't add all the garlic it calls for, and it was still plenty garlicky. I think I shorted it by a few cloves. I really love the idea of adding in the bread for a short cut to béchamel. I also used my immersion blender instead of a blender. Immersion blenders are a must for soup making!

Buon appetito!