Way Off Topic: Italian Politics Boils Over

You may have heard that Italy will be holding national elections next week, and right now the polls are showing the left in the lead. This Monday, Prime Minister Berlusconi, leader of the center-right coalition currently in power, debated Mr. Prodi, the left's candidate, and during the rebuttal announced that if reelected he will abolish the property tax on people's primary residences.

"Demagoguery," said Mr. Prodi in a post-debate interview, and now Italy's mayors, who rely on the property tax for a significant part of their budget, are all saying that they will have to levy other taxes or cut services if Mr. Berlusconi keeps his promise (he didn't keep a similar promise made before the last elections).

And yesterday the vitriol the politicians have been casting over each other with extraordinary energy spilled out onto the general public, when Mr. Berlusconi, commenting the coolness with which his proposal has been greeted, said he didn't believe there were that many Italians coglioni enough to vote against their own interests (See the tape). More hue and cry, because though the word coglione euphemistically translates as dullard or jerk, it means testicle, and will get you into a fight if you use it in a bar. And now the Blogosphere is abuzz with people commenting, mostly declaring that they are quite happy to be coglioni. We shall see what happens.

Returning to food, a couple of suggestions for Lent:

• Pico de Gallo - A Mexican Fruit Salad
  Many people order "Pico de Gallo" as a salsa like concoction of tomatoes, onions, cilantro and tomatoes. "Pico de Gallo" is in fact a fruit salad seasoned with a spicy chile powder. The term "Pico de Gallo" translates into "beak of the rooster" because of the red chiles used in the seasoning. You can also add in your own favorite fruits such as mangos, plums or nectarines.
• Grilled Tuna with Aioli
  A tuna recipe from France for grilled tuna with aioli, a garlic and herb mayonnaise.