Archive for 2007
love thursday: chased by a cloud part II
Remember when I posted a photo of a heart-shaped cloud that snuck into a photo of a cactus I was taking? If not, you can find it here.
This morning as I was working on yet another last minute translation project (seems to be the only kind this particular organization gives me), I looked outside of my balcony door and saw this:
Can you see a heart?
P tells me I’m crazy, but I see one in there.
To the left of that was this:
Now there you see a heart, right?
To the right was this: 
Which I maintain is an angel or fairy with big strong wings, but
feel free to tell me what you see.
And while you’re at it, for fun, what do you see here?
(besides the ugly roof and satellite dish)
I have some ideas but I want to hear you you think first–
and no, my thoughts don’t involve hearts.
And yes, I did finish the translation, thankyouverymuch.
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
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[tags] love thursday, hearts, clouds, heart clouds[/tags]
what’s cooking wednesday: bruschetta al pomodoro
I’m not going to lie to you–I’m not cooking a whole lot these days. Throughout the summer we eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, doing very little to even try to flavor them because, quite honestly, they just don’t need it.
So for this week’s What’s Cooking Wednesday, I’m offering you something fast, easy, and delicious: Bruschetta al Pomodoro, or Bruschetta with Tomatoes–grilled bread topped with a summery mix of fresh tomatoes, basil, oregano, salt, and olive oil.
But before we get to the recipe, a little more on bruschetta:
First of all, we should start with something very basic: it’s pronounced “brew-SKET-tah” and not as many in America have heard, “brew-SHET-tah.” If you want to impress Italians, this is a good one to stick in your back pocket.
The origins of bruschetta are said to date back to the 15th century in central Italy (Rome and Tuscany fight over this) when olive oil makers brought bread to the mills and toasted it over a small fire used to keep warm during the November and December production. Then they poured freshly made olive oil over the bread to test it, perhaps rubbing in some garlic first, and early bruschetta was born.
Indeed, the term bruschetta actually refers to the bread and olive oil combination–the tomatoes were an (ingenious) afterthought, and it’s how most of us know this toasted bread combo today.
As you might imagine, the quality of olive oil greatly affects the quality of the bruschetta, so try to get the best you can for this recipe.
The bread though? This is perfect for using up that great loaf that went stale (and indeed, this is probably what made it so popular in Italy before it spread to the rest of the world).
Bruschetta al Pomodoro
(Bruschetta with Tomatoes)
*makes 6 pieces
6 thick slices Italian or French style bread
1/4 cup olive oil
2 large, ripe tomatoes (or more if smaller), diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and cut in half
4 large basil leaves, chopped
sprinkling of oregano and salt
Prepare the tomato mixture first to give the flavors time to blend.
A note on preparing the tomatoes, especially if they are rather juicy, you might want to give them a squeeze before dicing to get rid of excess juice; otherwise the mixture gets a little runny and messy once you try to put it on the bread. Some also recommend cleaning out all the seeds, which you can do as well, but I don’t. And if you don’t like skins, parboil the tomatoes for a minute in boiling water just removed from the burner and then peel with a sharp knife.
In a small bowl, combine tomatoes, olive oil, basil, oregano, and salt to taste. (You can use either oregano or basil as well–both are not necessary.)
Grill or toast bread. I do mine with a grill pan on the stove, but you can use a broiler, the oven, a toaster, whatever works for you.
When the bread is toasted and still hot, rub well with the “raw” side of the garlic cloves.
Spoon the tomato mixture on top, and serve hot.
Other notes:
- I’ve seen some recipes that call for the garlic chopped up and in the mixture with tomatoes, which is another option, but for me, it’s too strong of a garlic flavor; I, obviously, do as described above.
- Feel free to play with this recipe adding whatever you like to the mixture–black olives, capers, cheese, other grilled vegetables. It’s very versatile and great for a summer (or anytime) party.
Buon appetito!
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[tags]bruschetta, bruschetta al pomodoro, bruschetta with tomatoes, tomatoes, appetizers, recipes, what’s cooking wednesday[/tags]
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]
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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