Archive for March, 2010

La Settimana Santa (Easter Holy Week) in Calabria

Infinitely more so than Christmas, La Settimana Santa (Holy Week) is the biggest, most important event in Calabria — and it has nothing to do with chocolate bunnies and marshmallow treats (more on that later this week).

Many villages have their own special goings-on, and Badolato is one of them. Activities last all week long and culminate in a half-day procession on Venerdì Santo (Good Friday) and an all day procession on Sabato Santo (Holy Saturday).

Last year, I gathered a collection of my posts on Pasqua in Calabria for you:

Celebrating Easter in Italy

There are more stories, photos, videos, and a recipe linked there.

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I keep struggling with what to call what goes on here, though. “Celebration” and “festivities” simply don’t fit the somber, austere, and deeply emotional mood even for the non-religious like me. This will be my eighth Easter here, and I still get choked up for La Settimana Santa.

The rhythmic beat of a solitary drum echoing through the narrow streets, the bellowing yet wailing voices of men and sometimes women singing about the suffering of their savior, the trudging up these steep, unforgiving hills with the sun beating down on those dressed in layers of robes.

It all begins at the start of the week, with groups of men who walk around the village from church to church each morning leading up to Good Friday. This video was taken this morning from my balcony:


 
If you can come to Calabria for Holy Week even once in your lifetime, I highly recommend it.


In the Life of an Expat…

In the life of an expat, there are inevitably moments when you’ll miss the place you came from.

Certain holidays and big events top the list, but there are also plenty of small, daily life type things that that make you remember your old life, the people who used to be in it every day, or just “home” itself.

From my experience, those memories are often sparked by smell, which is reportedly your strongest, most reliable sense when it comes to memory. Smell something from when you were five years old and bam! You’re there.

The other day I got a package from my mom full of clothes that hadn’t fit back in my suitcase when I visited a few months ago…and they smelled of her laundry detergent, of course.

*Nostalgia alert!*

The ironic part, though, is that I distinctly remember having a similar experience in America a few weeks into my trip as I sniffed my clothes from here, with *my* laundry detergent smell — enter the pang of missing my life in Italy.

Ah, all in the life of an expat.

A constant push and pull and battle of emotions, contentedness peppered with longing, and happiness churned with sadness, the realization that no matter how consistent and pleasant and wonderful you make your new life (even, for example, if I used the same laundry detergent no matter where I go), there will always be something to remind of you of the other place, the other people, the other life.

It’s quite fitting that while this is one of the hardest parts about being an expat, it’s also one of its greatest blessings.

I know I am ridiculously lucky to have (at least) two places to be nostalgic about.

Buon weekend at tutti!


Peas with Pancetta Plus Divina Cucina’s Secrets from a Tuscan Kitchen Cookbook

My friend Judy Witts Francini kindly sent me a copy of her handcrafted cookbook, Secrets from My Tuscan Kitchen, and has even more kindly offered to give a lucky Bleeding Espresso reader a chance to win a copy as well.

To enter the random drawing, all you need to do is comment on this post by 11:59 pm (CET) on Tuesday, March 30, 2010.

Trust me, you’re going to love this cookbook. Not only is it absolutely full of tasty recipes from appetizers to desserts, Judy’s cookbook is also aesthetically pleasing and a cook’s best friend with each page facing the recipes blank so you can add your own notes.

If you don’t know, Italian cooking is very regional, i.e., what you’ll find in Calabria, you probably won’t find in Piemonte, and vice versa. So for those of you who want to get a great taste of what eating in Tuscany is like, you must see Judy’s cookbook, which is based on her own experiences of living in the region for nearly 30 years, particularly as influenced by her Tuscan mother-in-law.

You can read more about Judy’s cookbook and how you can order your own at Judy’s website, Divina Cucina. You can also keep up with Judy at her blog Over a Tuscan Stove and on Twitter @divinacucina.

Of course I wanted to share a recipe with you as I shared Judy’s book this What’s Cooking Wednesday, so I chose something I knew that would be a big hit here. Judy has two recipes for peas in the book, one with pancetta (Piselli alla Fiorentina) and the other with cooked ham (Piselli al Prosciutto); I actually ended up combining the two recipes to adjust for what I had handy (ran out of garlic!), but what I made was closer to Piselli alla Fiorentina, so here you go.

Ah, also, I did leave out the sugar, as P freaks out when he tastes sugar. The peas were definitely sweet enough, and this dish was delicious…and talk about easy peasy! Sorry, couldn’t resist.

Piselli alla Fiorentina


  • 1 lb peas
  • 2 oz pancetta, cubed
  • 1 clove garlic, sliced
  • 2 tbs chopped parsley
  • 1 tbs sugar
  • Salt
  • 8 tbs olive oil

1. Place peas, garlic, parsley and olive oil in a saucepan. Add salt to taste.

2. Add enough water to cover peas.

3. Cook over low heat, covered.

4. Just before the peas are done, add the pancetta and sugar. Serve with their sauce.

Buon appetito!

Remember to comment for your chance to a win a copy of Judy’s cookbook!


For All Goat News, Subscribe to Goat Berries!

I love writing about my experiences as a goat maaa because I find myself learning something new every day, especially as we’ve gone on this goat pregnancy journey.

From your comments here, I know a lot of you love to read about our goats. On the flip side, I do realize that not everyone cares *nearly* as much about them as I do or understands my obsession, so instead of interspersing goat posts here (not as often as I’d like!), I’ve done up a new site — just for goat news from our pen and elsewhere.

Some of you already know about my new website, Goat Berries, but for the rest of you who care to read about the kids, do head on over because woooh boy, there’s some big goat news around these parts lately.

And be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss a single post! You can also follow @goat_berries on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

And in other “new site” news, you can also now find me at MichelleFabio.com, my professional writing website with samples, testimonials, and more; if you know anyone who needs a writer or editor, feel free to direct them to MichelleFabio.com!

Yes, I’ve been *very* busy with CSS lately…and I’m not done yet. If you’re a Bleeding Espresso fan on Facebook, you may have noticed that my logo has changed. Or maybe you’ve noticed the new favicon in your address bar? Hmm….

Have a great week, and as always, thanks for reading!


Calabrian Zeppole di San Giuseppe for Italian Father’s Day

Today is La Festa di San Giuseppe or St. Joseph’s Day. Here in my corner of Calabria, we celebrate with “i zippoli” or le zeppole, which are quite different from what some of you know as zeppole, but we’ll get back to that in a moment.

This is what ours look like:

That photo was taken on Christmas Eve in the United States after my mom and I whipped these up for the traditional family get-together at my dad’s house. Why zeppole on Christmas Eve, you ask?

Well because these little guys are *huge* family favorites — think legendary status — and I had a sinking feeling that no one on that side of the Atlantic had tasted their goodness since my grandmother passed away in 2001.

My intuition was right, and these were a big hit, gone rather quickly, and the source of many happy memories floating around my grandmother’s old house. Even the Russians in attendance had to ask how to make these babies.

Well, you don’t have to ask as I’ve already posted the recipe at Calabrian Zeppole.

You can read more about today’s holiday, what fava beans have to do with it, and the different types of zeppole throughout Italy at Fava Beans and Cream Puffs.

And if you want to know how to handle those favas and what to make with them, check out Calabrian Sausage and Fava Beans.

And hey, if you’re feeling a bit adventurous, why not take some vacation days, compare flights, and hop a plane in time for some zeppole? I’ll save you some. Probably. Hurry!

Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to get snapping, literally, as I get my fava on.

Auguri to all the Giuseppes and Giuseppinas!

And buon weekend a tutti!


Michelle KaminskyMichelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived. 

Calabria Guidebook

Calabria travel guide by Michelle Fabio

Recipes

 

Homemade apple butter
Green beans, potatoes, and pancetta
Glazed Apple Oatmeal Cinnamon Muffins
Pasta with snails alla calabrese
Onion, Oregano, and Thyme Focaccia
Oatmeal Banana Craisin Muffins
Prosciutto wrapped watermelon with bel paese cheese
Fried eggs with red onion and cheese
Calabrian sausage and fava beans
Ricotta Pound Cake