Author Archive
news from italy (couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried)
* Have you joined The Ultimate Blog Party? See my welcome post here! *
Remember when I told you that men can no longer (legally) grab their crotches in public in the Bel Paese any more?
Well I have some more tidbits for you. Let’s link arms and stroll through these.
* Lying about adultery to police is OK! *
For women, at least. Italy’s highest appellate court has ruled that it is permissible for a married woman to lie about extra-marital, ahem, activity in a judicial investigation because adultery damages her honor.
Yes, this court referred to a woman’s honor.
In 2008.
In unrelated news, former U.S. President Bill Clinton has announced plans to move to Italy and fight for equality under the law. Hah! Just kidding! Still love ya Bubba! Go Hibs!
Of course the Italian court in question is the same one that once ruled that a woman wearing tight jeans couldn’t, by definition, be raped because said jeans could only be removed with her consent. That ruling was, by the way, later overturned.
* If you have pending criminal charges against you, run for office! *
Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s trial on corruption charges has been suspended until after next month’s elections . . . in which Berlu is seeking to become Italy’s Prime Minister. Again.
And he’s leading in the polls folks. Gah!
Should he win, I’m sure he’ll just pass a law that says he can’t be brought to trial during his reign as Prime Minister. You know, like he’s done before.
Or maybe he’ll just decriminalize the offenses with which he’s charged. You know, like he’s done before.
Yes, we have our own version of Teflon Don over here, although to be clear, I do not insinuate or imply any Mafia connections regarding Berlusconi, who estimates he’s been in nearly 100 court cases since entering the political realm.
Convictions? Hah! You funny.
So that’s what’s new over here. And you thought Hillary’s being called a “monster” was scandalous.
Buona Festa della Donna: Happy International Women’s Day!
* Have you joined The Ultimate Blog Party? See my welcome post here! *
Today is March 8, a day to celebrate women around the world (except, ironically, in the United States where the whole thing started).
For more on how International Women’s Day is celebrated in Italy, read my post from last year: Love Thursday: Celebrating Women.
I couldn’t let the day pass without giving my fellow women some mimosa, the international symbol of the day. As I wrote last year, the mimosa around here blooms too early to still be around for La Festa della Donna, but this year, P thought ahead.
He brought me some mimosa for Valentine’s Day, climbing to the top of the tree (as told to me by witnesses) for what he insisted were the best, and now these are actually hanging to dry:
Yes, because I’m so classy, I displayed them in an old Brasilena bottle on the fireplace.
And why yes, that *is* a vase just behind them. I’m classy *and* a bit ironic apparently. And a lot paesana.
But don’t they just look at home in the bottle?
Happy International Women’s Day fellow women!
welcome to the ultimate blog party!
It’s that time of year again–The Ultimate Blog Party is here!
The wonderful women of 5 Minutes for Mom are our hosts. There will be prizes and, best of all, lots of great blogs to discover, so get on over there and sign up!
I participated last year as well (you can read my welcome post here), but for those of you visiting for the first time:
I am an American who has been living in southern Italy for, oh my goodness, almost five years already. I have a P (my fiancé), a Luna and a Stella (my adorable pooches), and you can read plenty more about me here.
This blog is a place for me to keep family and friends up to date on my life as well as share my observations on Italian curiosities from governments collapsing to plastic ball protests to*big* mistakes in ordering shoes for policewomen to pasta strikes.
No, it’s never boring in Italia.
Especially with all the great food. Need a recipe? I’ve got plenty here, but how about some bruschetta al pomodoro to start off this party?
Please feel free to make yourself at home and have a look around–some of my favorite posts are here. And be sure to let me know you’ve stopped by!
Now I don’t know about you, but I have some serious blog-hopping to do.
P.S. For those looking for a post on Sicily, there are lots more Sicilian adventures on the way. Remember to keep an eye on my Sicily 2008 Flickr set for updated photos!
Love Thursday: Hearts in Palermo, Sicily
How perfectly appropriate that my dad‘s 60th birthday falls on a Thursday . . .
a Love Thursday.
Auguri Dad, and lots of love via these hearts from Palermo’s Villa Garibaldi:
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
what’s cooking wednesday: calabrian prickly zucchini
I hope you don’t mind, but we’re taking a break from Sicily to come back to Calabria for a moment.
Today’s What’s Cooking Wednesday recipe probably isn’t one you’re going to rush out and try, but I couldn’t let another week go by without writing about:
Prickly zucchini
Actually I didn’t even know that would be an acceptable name in English for them, but it was my guess, so that’s what I typed into Google, and found a post by Rowena at Rubber Slippers in Italy (Great blog! Go read it!) entitled: Prickly Zucchini from Calabria.
Bingo!
I asked around a bit here, and no one even knows the name of these spiny little things in Italian; in Calabrese they are “cucuzze spinusi” where cucuzze is a general name for zucchini/pumpkins and spinosi (spinusi in Calabrese) means spiny or prickly.
And because of Rowena’s commenters, I learned that our cucuzze spinusi are better-known as chayote, popular in many parts of the world, particularly Mexico. Also, Wikipedia tells me that the Italian name is zucca centeneria, but I’ll stick with cucuzze spinusi since no one around these parts would know what I’m talking about otherwise.
That same Wikipedia page gives some serving suggestions, which are basically all the things you’d do with un-prickly zucchini (yes, I was tempted to write “prickless”), but I’m going to share the way everyone eats them here–this according to a very informal survey at the local grocery store.
Fried Prickly Zucchini
Prickly zucchini
Flour
Salt
Olive oil for frying
So you’re probably wondering how to get the spines off.
First, these are real spines, not like the baby ones that prickly pears have. So first trim off the spines with a sharp knife and then peel it “come la mela” (like an apple) as P says.
Slice the zucchini to your desired thickness, discarding the innards along the way.
Mix a bit of salt with flour in a shallow bowl, and get dredging.
Fry them up until they’re a light golden brown (P left the ones in the photo in the oil *a tad* too long but they were still delicious), and you can taste your very first fried prickly zucchini.
Buon appetito!
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
