The all-pastry diet

Wheat pie.

Someone gave my family six boxes of Italian pastries. Sometimes life is like this: you get manna from heaven. I've been given a huge amount of this booty, and I feel it's my duty to eat it all before it goes stale. (Sure, I could invite people over to help me eat it. But that would be wrong.)

Therefore I am on the all-pastry diet. Someone has to do it, and I've stepped forward. And while we're on the subject, one of the items is not like the others. It's wheat pie -- pastiera di grano, to Italians. Ever heard of it? It's an Italian Xmas "delicacy" and no one likes it -- or maybe they do, and it's just me that doesn't.

I put it in the same class as Xmas fruitcake, that thing we all kick around the kitchen floor, the rock-hard "cake" that even the dog won't eat. Curious about this odd food item, I googled it. There are 37 steps you have to perform to make this thing! And at the end, all you have is a damn wheat pie! Talk about wasting your time.

I'd write more but I have a lot of pastry to eat. The cannoli with the chocolate drizzled over it is wonderful. See you in a few pounds.

Image: epicurious.com