Author Archive
GoodReads: Social Media for Booklovers
People often ask me whether I get bored living in a medieval village. I suppose plenty of others might under similar circumstances, but when I’m not working, I always manage to find something to do whether it involves dogs, goats, or engaging in one of my oldest and most favoritest hobbies: reading.
Over the Easter vacation, I devoured three books, and it felt wonderful since it’s been a while since I’ve had quality, concentrated reading time like that. What did I read?
- Too Much Tuscan Wine by Dario Castagno
- Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos
- Waiting by Ha Jin
I loveloveloved the first, *really* liked the second, and just liked the third, but they are all definitely worth reading.
I will be writing a review of Dario’s book soon here on the blog (I promise, Dario!), but for the others and most other books I read, I tend to give quick summaries of my feelings over at GoodReads.
Do you know about GoodReads?
It’s yet another way to connect online, but this one is strictly for booklovers. You can share what you’ve read with your friends, give recommendations, and otherwise just talk about books.
If you want to be friends on GoodReads, I’m Michelle Fabio over there–or you can always keep up with what I’m reading and what I’ve read here on my books page.
So, have you read any good books lately?
Buon weekend!
Love Thursday: How to Leave Your (Teeth)Mark on the World
I’ve mentioned recently that P and I have a new garden spot. When we took it over about a month and a half ago, it was terribly overgrown so we spent many hours just getting it back to where it was no longer a jungle.
We pulled most of the weeds and unwanted greenery, but we also left a good amount for our kid, Pasqualina–she wanted to help out too.
And help she did, particularly one day when I spotted a cute heart-shaped leaf but was without my camera. I positioned the leaf by a lemon tree, ran home, got my camera, and came back to find this:
Obviously Pasqualina likes heart-shaped leaves too.
Does she look The Goat Who Ate the Heart-Shaped Leaf or what?
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
What’s Cooking Wednesday: Fried Mozzarella Sticks and Dipping Sauce
Today’s What’s Cooking Wednesday recipe is for those of you who think you have to go to a restaurant or buy the pre-packaged frozen version to enjoy fried mozzarella sticks. You don’t!
All you need is some good, fresh mozzarella and the usual items for breading, and you’re good to go.
What I made are actually disks not sticks, but that’s because our mozzarella comes in small balls, so I thought it would be easier just to work with it rather than try to make sticks.
You’re welcome to cut as you wish.
Fried Mozzarella Sticks
- Mozzarella
- Ingredients for breading listed in Breaded Veal Cutlets (see caveat below regarding measurements)
- Olive oil for frying
1. To prepare the mozzarella, cut it into sticks or disks; you can also buy pre-prepared sticks for this.
2. Dredge the mozzarella first in flour before dipping in egg and then the breadcrumb mixture. Unless you’re making a lot of mozzarella, you won’t need as much of the ingredients as listed in the cutlet recipe, so just play around with the measurements a bit until you get the right mix for your taste.
3. Fry breaded mozzarella in hot olive oil or vegetable oil if you like. Put enough oil in the pan so the sticks are about half-submerged. Let them fry for about 15 seconds on each side and then put them on paper towels to drain.
Fried Mozzarella Sticks Dipping Sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, cut into a few pieces
- Small can of tomato sauce or canned tomatoes run through grinder
- 1/4 cup of water
- Oregano
- Salt and sugar to taste
1. Heat olive oil in small pan and then add garlic and saute for a minute or two, but don’t let it brown.
2. Add tomato sauce and water.
3. Add oregano, salt, and a pinch of sugar if you like, which can cut the acidity of the tomatoes.
4. Let simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Serve hot alongside fried mozzarella sticks.
Buon appetito!
Cool Beans! Customized Party Favors and Gifts through PartyBeans
All aboard for PartyBeans!*
What are PartyBeans you ask?
They are personalized, custom party favors and gifts through the Jelly Belly Candy Company; besides jelly beans, you are also welcome to fill your gifts with M & Ms or mints.
And yes, you can order as many or as few PartyBeans containers as you like–even just one!
You can choose from pre-designed, themed graphics or include your own photo on the container free of charge.
I found out about PartyBeans.com through an e-mail from Peter Shankman’s Help a Reporter Out (HARO) and ordered containers of pink and blue M&Ms for my niece and nephew for Easter–with this photo of our sweet Pasqualina on the lid:
They arrived within a week and were a big hit, and this is why I’m recommending PartyBeans to you.
To be clear, I’m not receiving anything in return for spreading the word about PartyBeans; I just wanted to pass along a unique, fun gift idea…great for any occasion!
PartyBean on!
Have you ever ordered PartyBeans?
Can you recommend other personalized gift companies?
*Note in the comments that Jacques has informed us that PartyBeans only ships within the United States.
NIAF/Abruzzo Relief Fund for Victims of Abruzzo Earthquake
By now you’ve surely heard of the devastating earthquake in the city of L’Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy.
As I type, the death toll is nearing 200 and some estimates put the number of newly homeless at 50,000. Others are still missing, people are sleeping in their cars (if they have them), and food and fresh water is scarce.
I thank all of you who have contacted me to make sure we’re OK; we are just fine as we’re quite far from L’Aquila, but I do ask you to please consider helping those who have been affected by the Abruzzo earthquake by donating to the:
NIAF/Abruzzo Relief Fund
For US taxpayers, donations are tax deductible, and rest assured the National Italian American Foundation is an extremely reputable organization.
On the Italian end, you can also donate to the Italian Red Cross:
Croce Rossa Italiana
Thank you for your kindness.
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
