I think: "what a shame you can't boil mozzarella" (boiling offers depressives the greatest degree of satisfaction!) I dig around for a clean T-shirt (not so easy, since I've given up doing laundry...). I pull myself together enough to go out and buy a nice mozzarella di bufala, made with buffalo milk, and I run into my friend Carlotta on the way. Carlotta's an actress, a Buddhist, a yoga teacher, numerologist and naturalist. In spite of the fact that she's the type who lives on carrot juice and algae, Carlotta's just who you'd hope to run into when you're down and out. She's got a smile that'll put you right back on your feet. Half an hour later I'm cutting the crusts off 8 slices of sandwich bread and slicing the mozzarella while Carlotta pulls the cork on a bottle of prosecco (any flexible soul knows when it's time to break their vows of abstinence). She's suggested we go off to the lake for a picnic. It's the first thing I've undertaken in a month of misery. I agree, but my melancholy is pressed inside like the mozzarella pressed between two perfectly tailored slices of bread. Depression abates and departs -- you've just got to know when it's over and take care not to let it overflow. Which is what the mozzarella sandwiches would do, if you were to fry them as they are. Instead, you "glue" the edges by alternately immersing them in water and flour several times. This forms a sticky white seal (edible, of course!) which keeps the cheese from escaping. Beat two eggs together with salt and pepper and submerge the sandwiches in the mixture for a few moments. We drink a toast while the frying pan sizzles away in the background, signal that it's time to fry the mozzarella sandwiches. We might refer to this dish as "mozzarella in a jacket", but its name in Italian, mozzarella in carrozza, means "mozzarella in a cart". They're called that because the fried casing makes the sandwiches portable -- perfect for travelling and picnics! Oh, and my depression? I cut it, wrapped it up, fried it and (with my accomplice Carlotta) turned it into a picnic! If you try this recipe out one evening, multiply all ingredients by 10, and it'll surely transform your sorry day into a patio party. Give it a try!

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