Author Archive
Deeply Rooted in Faith & Family by Ginda Ayd Simpson
This engaging, vivid tale paints perfectly the emotions of all of us who have traveled back to our ancestral Italian home–those who haven’t yet taken this journey will find the courage and inspiration to continue the search.
Read on...interactive friday: blog my blog
I always love when Kailani of An Island Life plays “Blog My Blog.”
Now it’s Bleeding Espresso’s turn.
Here’s what happens:
1. I start with a question/phrase.
2. The first commenter answers that question and leaves a new question for the next visitor to answer. It could be a general question, fill in the blank sentence, a “tell me about a time when,” etc.
3. The next commenter answers the new question and provides a question for the following visitor (i.e., the third commenter).
4. And so forth until you’re all bored to tears. Yes, I expect actual tears before we stop (photographic evidence will do).
5. Note: I reserve the right to delete or modify any questions that, you know, rub me the wrong way. Ahem.
6. In a situation where two commenters have answered the same question and you’re next to answer, please either choose one of the questions or answer both; if you don’t answer both, you are free to pass along the question you didn’t use or come up with a new one. I can’t believe this has happened 3 times already today!
The first question:
When you close your eyes to go to sleep at night,
what do you see/think?
P.S. Buon weekend!
And go check out Barb’s Scalloped Potatoes for La Buona Cucina Americana!
love thursday: when dogs become sisters
Are you feeling like there’s been a severe lack of canine love around here lately?
Maybe on the blog, but here at home Luna and Stella have only become closer and closer; a little while ago, I showed you how they ganged up to destroy an unsuspecting snowman and started snoozing together in front of the space heater.
Well they’ve since turned their (adopted) sisterly love up a notch or twelve:
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
What’s Cooking Wednesday: Pasta with Calabrian Sausage
I have to admit that I was not a fan of sausage before I moved here. Calabrian salsiccia is really something special though, and this simple dish has become one of my absolute favorites.
If you’re going to make this week’s What’s Cooking Wednesday recipe, please try your hardest to get some Calabrian sausage. The main flavor you should be looking for inside la salsiccia is peperoncino — hot pepper. Look at the photo below–see how red the inside is? That’s not undercooked, that’s piccante. And YUM.
The recipe is super easy–just your basic tomato sauce really–so feel free to experiment, throw in some peppers, mushrooms, or whatever you like, although you probably won’t need extra peperoncino!
I know a lot of people take the sausage out of its casing and crumble it into the sauce, but the method described below really lets the sausage shine. Keeping the sausage in its casings would also allow for the traditional Italian meal of pasta for the first course and then meat for the second course–although we eat it all together anyway. My American influence on P perhaps?
Pasta with Calabrian Sausage
(serves 2)
- Pasta of your choice [recommended: fusilli or penne(short) or bucatini (long)]
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small red onion, chopped finely
- 1 clove garlic, cut in half
- 2-4 Calabrian sausage links, depending on their size and how many people are eating
- Small handful of parsley, chopped
- Splash of red wine (optional)
- 1 can of tomatoes
- salt to taste
1. Heat about half a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in saucepan.
2. Poke holes in the sausage with a fork, add sausage to the pan, and and cook until browned on the outside, about 10 minutes. The sausage should also spring back from your touch a bit. It doesn’t have to be cooked through completely at this point as it will continue to cook in the sauce later, but you do want it mostly cooked.
3. Add another half a tablespoon of olive oil if the pan is dry; it may or may not be depending on the fat content in the sausage. Add onions, garlic, and parsley and sauté without letting them burn; you may have to turn down the heat a bit here.
4. Optional: Add wine and let cook off.
5. Turn the heat down to low and add tomatoes (put through a grinder or chopped to your liking), about a 1/4 cup of water to clean out the can, and salt to your taste. If sauce is still too thick, add some water; we often add up to 1/3 cup depending on the tomatoes. Cover and let simmer for another 10-15 minutes or until the tomatoes are done to your satisfaction (including proper thickness of sauce). If the sauce is too thin, let it cook for a bit without the lid on.
6. Prepare pasta and toss well with sauce. You could add some grated cheese, but I think this is delicious without.
Buon appetito!
1st of the month featured blogger: april
Sorry, no April Fool’s joke this year even though last year’s was *so* much fun for me, because today we have the:
1st of the Month Featured Blogger
Yes, singular. Just one featured blogger this month, and you know why? Well other than being one of my very most favoritest bloggers and photographers in the whole world (her photos decorate this post), she is the proud owner of five blogs.
You read that correctly, and here is a list of blogs by Featured Blogger Frances:
- Blogjem: Main blog that covers pretty much everything including great photos
- Blogforth: Creative writing blog featuring Sunday Scribblings
- On the Go Blog: Pictures and thoughts posted from Frances’ cell phone
- Photostroll: A leisurely walk with stops to take pictures
- The Meme Section: A home for memes
Frances is also the founder and fearless leader of the group She Who Blogs, a lively group of women bloggers who offer friendship, laughs, shoulders to cry on, advice, and plenty of other great things.
I’m a member, and in fact, Bleeding Espresso is this week’s featured blog at the main site, so click here to check out my interview. And for more information on joining She Who Blogs, contact me or leave a comment.
I’m not sure how Frances and I first “met,” but I’m so happy that we did. I can always rely on Frances for a kind word, inspiration, a fabulous pick-me-up photo, or a thought-provoking post about friends, family (especially growing up with Italians), and life in general.
And New York City? If you don’t love it already, Frances will convince you that it is one of the most beautiful places on Earth–I would love to teleport myself there each morning (NY time!) and walk through Central Park, sharing a coffee with Frances as she snaps photos like this:
Enough of my rambling; you should be busy getting to know Frances.
Go Blogforth
(or Blogjem, On the Go Blog, Photostroll, or The Meme Section)
and multiply the blog love!
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
Recipes
