It’s very twentieth century to always be transported by carriage, by car, by tram, by train. But this is not the law of Nature
Amalia Moretti Foggia, pediatrician, writes under numerous pseudonyms which changes depending on the content. In particular, he curates two columns for the Domenica del Corriere: The doctor’s word, written by Doctor Amal, and Tra i fornelli, the most successful one, written by Petronilla. We chose
two examples of his generous production
«We must walk; it is necessary to walk if you want to fully enjoy that great good that is perfect health!
But do you do your essential walk every day? And how long is it?
You spend the whole day working upright on your legs, and you never sit down; and therefore you always feel very tired?
But that of yours is not walking; remember: it’s holding yourself up!
And do you walk the road from home to the office every day?
But your short walk is not enough, remember, to satisfy the many needs of your body!
And since the distances are long, do you always have to be transported in order to do your day’s work?
But limit your work, in this case, since you don’t have to keep your legs idle all the time; but you must walk with them.
In fact, a law of Nature warns: «To each organ of your body, I have assigned its special office, and its various jobs to be performed; and it is only from the concerted combination of the thousand works of its thousand organs that that supreme good that I generously lavish on it can come to your body, that great good that is health. But if, not following my commandments, just one of your organs were to either not work, or work little, full agreement would then be lacking; the right balance to break; and perfect health is missing.”
This is what the Great Mother says, warns and threatens.
Do not forget, therefore, the warning, but always keep it in mind; and every evening, before going to bed, take stock of the walking you have done during the day; and promise yourself to take action the next day if you find yourself… in a “deficit”.
I know how much the comforts of sedentary work are appreciated; and how sweet it is to laze for hours in an armchair and at the café; it is very tempting, and also very… twentieth century to always be transported by carriage, by car, by tram, by train. Comfortable, indeed, and sweet, and tempting, and very… modern, but… how contrary to what sovereign Nature demands!
In fact, observe yourself while you walk. Observe how all the muscles of your body are then in motion, all of them, from those of the legs to those of the abdomen, chest, neck and arms, which, in a uniform way, you always swing, albeit imperceptibly, as you march.
By walking, you therefore perform regular, uniform, complete, mild gymnastics, never violent, but suitable, but rather necessary, for your organism as a terrestrial biped, destined to walk with its two legs; and not to run; and not to fly; and not to get too carried away, and above all always.
Necessary gymnastics, since, as you walk, your skin works more, slightly sweating; the louder and deeper your lungs breathe; the blood flows through your veins more quickly; and your organic turnover is thus more activated; that is, the continuous bringing of oxygen to your blood, and therefore to your body, by your lungs; and the continuous elimination, through skin and lungs, of the toxic materials gradually accumulated in your blood, in your body, and which are the very waste of your own life.
Necessary gymnastics since, as you walk, the large muscle bands that form the front wall of your abdomen are always and alternately contracting and relaxing. And since, immediately behind that thin wall, the great mass of your intestine is in a complicated tangle, which is seven meters long and which is always full of materials to be expelled, so the more you walk, the more you will contract those wide bands; the more they will press the underlying intestine; and the more it will be excited to empty itself without the need for pills, powders, potions and similar concoctions.
Gymnastics is also necessary for your psyche, your soul, your mind. In the brain it is, in fact, the psycho-motor area; that is, in it (and in the area itself) the center of the psyche, of the soul, of the mind, and the center of motion are found gathered; so that one always influences the other. In fact, walking often calms overexcited nerves; and often even the anger that torments the soul fades and the pain that tears the heart is mitigated. While walking (especially through fields and meadows) poets always have their most sublime inspirations and geniuses their brightest ideas. Walking in the woods and amidst the raging storm, Beethoven in fact had the inspiration for his wonderful symphonies; and just walking among the golden temples of the Acropolis, Plato and the Peripatetics discussed philosophy.
Gymnastics, in short, is necessary, and must always be performed every day and with due regularity, since otherwise… Haven’t I told you that, in this case, sovereign Nature threatens, and that it is not in vain that it threatens those who do not follow its will?
In fact, the ailments that afflict those who don’t want to walk are very painful, and sometimes serious!
Without eggs, without butter and even without sugar: a cake for these times
of PETRONILLA
You can prepare, and very quickly, an exquisite and very sweet cake even without eggs, even without butter, and even without sugar, as long as…
As long as, having old people or children in the family, you can have certified jam and as long as (countryside) you can have white flour or as long as you can get it in exchange for bread, from your baker.
So if, having jam and flour, you wanted to make your kids happy for once…
Pour 250 gr. of flour in a basin; add a sachet of dry yeast; mix well; and gradually mix with about ¼ of milk (or water and milk or powdered or condensed) until you obtain a fluid batter.
Add 200 gr. of any jam, 1 tablespoon of raisins (if you have them), after having softened them in hot water, and a pinch of those anise seeds that grocers sell.
Mix everything well together; pour into a cake tin (or into a baking tray); place in a preheated oven or cover and place between hot embers; and after half an hour you will have a swollen, soft, very sweet cake; a cake which, although without eggs, without sugar and without butter, will make everyone think of that famous “sponge cake” of… times gone by!