Archive for July, 2007
let the answering begin!
A few days ago, I asked you what you would like to know about me so I could fill out the 8 things meme that JennieBoo tagged me with, and you responded. Big time.
Thanks! And now I will begin answering.
There ended up being (as of this writing) 21 questions, give or take, considering some had parts a/b/c/etc. Crafty questioners!
In my ongoing anal quest for order, I have grouped them somewhat by topic, and I’ve decided that today I’ll post the first part of the answers–the non-Italy or non-blog-focused ones, essentially.
More answers will be posted as the week continues, so stay tuned!
I truly hope this re-organization doesn’t offend the early questioners, especially NYC/Caribbean ragazza who has been waiting quite a while already for her answer. Mi perdoni?
Here we go!
1. Erin, pulling out The Book of Questions (which, incidentally, I also have, and love, and had just packed away the day before), and asked “If you could have free, unlimited service for 5 years from an extremely good cook, chauffeur, housekeeper, masseuse, or personal secretary, which would you choose?”
Let me put them in order of my preference:
Housekeeper: Ding ding! We have a winner! This one I would *definitely* appreciate. Oh to never clean a toilet again!
Personal secretary: If this means I’d never have to see the inside of the post office, sign me up.
Masseuse: Mommy likey. Is Raoul Bova available?
Chauffeur: Would be nice, I suppose, but I don’t drive anyway, so I’m not sure that it would make much of a difference in my daily life. Unless s/he is paying for gas, that is.
Cook: I actually enjoy cooking and so does P, so this would be the least useful to me, although someone to simply clean up after I or P cooks would be lovely (back to that housekeeper thing, eh?).
2. Giulia asked if I have a deep, dark secret, and if so, whether it eats at me that I can’t spill it or whether it doesn’t bother me to keep it in.
Interesting question. I have two secrets, I’d say, and to be honest, neither of them really eat at me on a daily basis. I’m actually quite good at keeping secrets, mine and others’–I kind of put them somewhere in a safe place in my psyche and forget about them. I think, indeed, sometimes I literally forget them. So, in other words, I’ll never tell….
3. Giulia also asked what I thought of the Zapruder film, that of JFK assassination fame.
This one’s easy. I wrote a little about my feelings on this whole thing here, but specifically on the Zapruder film? I think it clearly shows that Lee Harvey Oswald was not only *not* the lone gunman but also that he was not even the man whose bullet(s) killed President Kennedy.
From the direction JFK’s body jerked after being hit (away from the grassy knoll, implying that a bullet came from that direction) to the “Umbrella Man,” there really doesn’t seem to be any doubt that there was more than one person involved in the actual shooting or its planning.
On a personal level, it makes me physically sick and teary-eyed every single time I see clips of the Zapruder film, for its gruesomeness, yes, but also for the fact that an American president was killed in the middle of the day in the middle of a city surrounded by Secret Service officers over 40 years ago, and we citizens still don’t know the truth.
4. Wanderlust Scarlett asks a rather straightforward, easy-to-answer: “What next? Do you want to keep things as they are? Do you want to do anything more? What dreams do you have for the days to come?”
Personally, I’d like to get settled in our new house and then begin thinking more seriously about children–hopefully to arrive within the next 2-3 years. Up until that point, I’d like to travel around Italy and Europe a bit. I’d also like to better my Italian and learn another language, possibly French, learn to knit and crochet, further develop some other artistic talent (painting, drawing, journal-making), and learn to play the guitar.
Just to name a few things I have in mind.
Professionally, I’d like to develop a few more long-term relationships with clients in my freelance writing pursuits as well as publish something book-length, whether it’s a novel or something non-fiction. Other business ideas (from internet café to raising rabbits) are floating around as well, although nothing is past the dreaming stage, so I’ll refrain from boring you with the (lack of) details.
5. Jennie Boo (bless her heart) threw me a softball with “What’s your favorite scent of shampoo?”
To be honest, now I use just about anything that’s on sale, but the old Salon Selectives’ apple scent will always hold fond memories of high school for me. I also really like Pantene.
6. Tui asked if my personal journal is paper or digital, and if it’s digital, whether I use journaling software.
I keep a paper journal, although it’s definitely been neglected since I started blogging. I don’t know that I’d really get into doing a digital one, as I like to look back on my handwriting in the old journals as well–tells me a lot about how I was feeling when I wrote. If it was steady and smooth, for instance, I was probably calm, but where it’s erratic, well, internally I probably was too. I also like to see how it’s changed over the years, becoming, scarily more like my mother’s every day.
Bonus factoid: I almost always use the same color pen (black) except for one SARK journal that I had in which I used every color pen and pencil imaginable. That was fun!
OK, that’s all for today folks.
Now it’s your turn–what are *your* answers to these questions? Don’t be shy!
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[tags]jfk, john f. kennedy, president kennedy, conspiracy theories, zapruder film, goals, personal goals[/tags]
Fighting Forest Fires in Calabria with Canadair
It’s a bird…it’s a plane…it’s a ship…
It’s all three! In one photo!
Trust me, they’re all there if you look closely enough.
The plane in question is one that drops water on raging forest fires — a “Canadair.”
Here are some closer looks at the plane, albeit out of focus. I haven’t had much practice photographing low-flying planes, obviously. But the sky? Ah! Did someone say endless blue?
Aren’t propellers just precious?The day after these photos, this was the scene on the railing of my balcony:
We were blessed with the wet stuff only for about 7 minutes, though, so the planes were out again the next day–they’re a pretty regular feature around here this time of year unfortunately.
As terrible as it is that we have to deal with the fires, I do rather enjoy following the planes as they make their circuitous routes from the sea and back, over and over again. There’s something rather soothing in the rumble, perhaps my knowing they’re doing their best to keep us all safe.
Sights like this also help ease my mind and soul:
it’s all on you
My fellow She Who Blogs-er Jennie Boo has tagged me to write another 8 things about me, and darn it, I’m fresh out of Sognatrice trivia.
So…I’m asking help from you, faithful readers.
What would *you* like to know?
I’ll answer the first eight questions you post in the comments in response to Jennie Boo’s tag, but I promise to eventually answer anything you ask–while reserving the right to offer up a “No Comment” or an “I don’t recall” just like any remotely public figure, of course.
Fire away! We’re waiting….
(Photo by P)
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[tags]dogs[/tags]
Love Thursday: Amore Mio
Shh…don’t tell P, but I snapped this photo of him while he was taste-testing the merluzzo from yesterday’s recipe.
I was across the table from him (not my usual seat) pretending to fiddle with the camera to prepare for upcoming food shots when I zoomed and snapped.
Just so you know, this is 1 in a series of 1. There may not be another for a very long time. Doesn’t sit still much this one. Check out the movement in the fork!
And he’s more than just a pretty face! For more P cuteness, check out Conversations with P. And if you want to read about how we met, it’s in How a Jean Jacket and Some Wind Can Change Your Life.
I hope all of my American readers, at least, are having a nice long holiday weekend–I think I just may take one myself in honor of my birth country. God bless America!
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
what’s cooking wednesday: cuoricini di merluzzo in bianco
My fellow Americans…Happy Fourth of July!
In grand tradition, we probably should be firing up the grill for hot dogs and hamburgers (yes, we have them both here, buns and everything!), but back home we also ate a lot of hardshell crabs to celebrate, so we’re going to keep with the seafood theme for this week’s What’s Cooking Wednesday.
Unfortunately, we don’t have good crabs here (they’re so tiny!) but we do have excellent cod.
This dish is called “Cuoricini di Merluzzo in Bianco,” which is literally “Small Hearts of Cod in White.” Sounds romantic doesn’t it?
First, let me explain a little about cod. The best description of the different types in Italy I’ve found is here, and it’s broken down like this:
merluzzo: fresh cod
baccalà: conserved, in pieces, under salt (many Italian-Americans have this for Christmas Eve but even more of you probably recognize this as a name from a certain gangster TV series that recently ended)
stocco: dried and sold whole
I believe we’d call “cuoricini di merluzzo“cod medallions–round pieces about the size of the palm of your hand.
Note here that we’re talking about “pieces of cod” as opposed to “codpieces.” Hah! Go ahead, click on it. I’ll be here when you get back.
We used frozen cod because someone had given me a bag, but you could also do this with fresh fish (haddock as well, in which case my mom would probably call it “Poor Man’s Lobster”).
This recipe is so easy and so delicious, there’s no reason you shouldn’t try it–unless you don’t like cod of course. It’s great and light for the summer with a simple salad on the side, or you can do it as part of a larger meal with this as an appetizer.
Cuoricini di Merluzzo in Bianco
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 kg frozen cod medallions (about eight)
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
salt to taste
water, enough to cover cod in pan
juice of a lemon for serving
Defrost cod (submerge in cold water if you’re in a hurry).
Put olive oil in pan over medium heat, add garlic and allow to cook for a minute or two.
Add cod, salt, and parsley, and let cook on one side of the fish for a few minutes (you’ll see it start to brown a bit in spots), then flip.
Turn down heat to low, add enough water to come up to the fish but not cover completely, and let cook for 20-25 minutes. The sauce will be boiling, so just let it as such, giving the pan a shake every so often, until it thickens enough for you.
Serve hot with sauce from pan poured over the fish.
Garnish with a good squirt of fresh lemon juice and a sprig of fresh parsley.
Buon appetito!
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[tags]merluzzo, cod, cuoricini di merluzzo, cod medallions, fish, recipes, cooking, what’s cooking wednesday[/tags]
Michelle 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
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