To be honest, I never was a big fan of pumpkin pie, but I do like pumpkin in other things. (Remember my pumpkin-truffle ravioli?). Personally, I think Americans neglect pumpkin as a “regular” food, relegating it to the dessert category. That’s a shame because besides being delicious, pumpkin is also very good for you. It’s [...]
Posts from ‘January, 2008’
Letters from the Past: Part I
There were several waves of emigration that took place from Italy, meaning that there were several that took place in Palmoli as well. During the late 50′s and 60′s, there was a particular type of emigration that took place. It wasn’t emigration per se because the people didn’t leave forever. But, many of the men [...]
What’s for dinner? Saltimbocca Plus
The other day O’s mom gave me some fresh sage that she’s got growing on the windowsill. What’s the best thing to make with fresh sage? Saltimbocca! If you’ve got a windowsill, it’s worth growing some sage, just to make this recipe. The name saltimbocca comes from the words salta in bocca or jumps in [...]
History Part I: Frentani
A while back I mentioned that one of these days I would get around to talking about the people that inhabited this part of Italy, and more precisely this part of Abruzzo, during ancient times. So, here’s a little bit of light history for you (nothing too heavy) that I’ve gathered from reading various books [...]
Voglia di…..
I have found that many women here are concerned about my cravings. It seems that there’s a belief that if a pregnant woman craves something in particular and does not satisfy that craving, then the baby will be born with a “voglia” – which is basically a birthmark in the shape of whatever it was [...]
Moving into the 21st Century
The omens are good for this year so far. On January 2 I had a knock on my door early in the morning. It was the broadband internet installer. How lucky can I be? And I was the first in town to get it. The phone company won’t bring DSL to these small mountain villages, [...]
A time for ….. ventricina
I’ve found the old verse “to everything there is a season” to be especially true here. To simplify things, spring is the time for planting, in summer we can tomatoes, then comes the grape harvest and wine-making, then comes the olive harvest and taking them to the frantoio for oil. So, what season is it [...]
It’s already started.
For those of you who have been through pregnancy at least once, you may know what I’m talking about. I thought it would take a little longer and would require that my stomach was a lot bigger, but no, I guess it can start at any time. What am I referring to? The belly pats [...]
I’m back…Well, I didn’t really go anywhere
I know, I know, it’s been weeks since I posted here. But, things have been a bit crazy. We didn’t go anywhere for the holidays, but were busy nonetheless with family and friends visiting us or us visiting them. After all, that’s what the holiday is all about isn’t it? Of course, the Christmas holiday [...]
