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.
Celebrating Easter in Southern Italy
Pasqua, or Easter, is by far the most celebrated holiday in Italy.
Indeed, I’m taking this week off from the blog so I can enjoy some of the festivities, catch up on various work and personal projects, and also continue packing as our move is really picking up steam. Woohoo!
I will be back blogging on Tuesday, but in the meantime if you want to keep up with me, you can always follow me on Twitter @michellefabio or become a fan of Bleeding Espresso on Facebook.
But I’m certainly not leaving you with nothing to do:
- Pasqua in Calabria: A description of Badolato Superiore’s day long procession on Sabato Santo (Holy Saturday) and La Cumprunta, the magical Easter Sunday meeting between the Madonna and Jesus.
- Pasqua in Calabria: The Photos: Photos of the festivities on Sabato Santo and Easter Sunday.
- Still Celebrating: Easter celebrations in Italy continue into Easter Monday, or Pasquetta.
- Calabrian Cuzzupe: Recipe for traditional Calabrian Easter cake.
- Deno’s Easter Eggs: One of my favorite childhood Easter memories–now with an additional comment from the infamous Deno himself! How cool!
For those of you who have been around the blog a while, you’ve probably already seen those links…but not these videos, newly uploaded to Flickr. They are of La Cumprunta in 2007; I tried unsuccessfully to upload others from Sabato Santo and even Good Friday. I *will* keep trying, so do check back for updates. Enjoy!
Buona Pasqua!
Going Green: Start a Garden, Support Local Farmers and/or Join a Community Garden
Welcome to the third installment of Going Green!
Previous Going Green posts include:
Now, just in time for Spring, we’re talking about some literal greens—in gardens.
By growing your own food, supporting local farmers, and/or joining a community garden, you’ll not only be getting the freshest, healthiest, and most delicious food available, you’ll also help save the planet from some nasty carbon emissions.
What carbon emissions, you ask?
Did you know that in America, grocery store produce often covers around 1,500 miles before landing on the dinner table?And that’s only the stuff actually produced in America–imagine how much traveling imported fruits and veggies do!
All that transportation adds up to a whole bunch of extra *blech* in the air—completely unnecessary as you can grow your own food, participate in a community garden, or simply buy from local farmers’ markets.
Popularity of Home Gardens in America
Home gardens are increasingly popular, not only for the fresh fruits and vegetables but also because they are a great way to save money. The National Gardening Association estimates that about 20% more American households than last year will plant gardens, and many are doing so to pinch pennies.
Hey, even the President Obama and First Lady Michelle are gardening these days! It’s the coolest!
Home Gardens on the Homefront, i.e., Calabria, Italy
Here in rural Calabria, it’s rather common for people to keep an “orto” full of fruits, vegetables, and herbs. You may remember my mentioning our “giardino” here on the blog in the past, but unfortunately as it doesn’t get much sun, we could never plant much; we had peppers, parsley, basil, and that’s about it.
But, through a great stroke of luck since Pasqualina came to stay with us, P and I have secured a plot of land very close to the house we’re slowly moving into as it’s remodeled…and it’s gardening time!
This piece of land gets sun all the live long day, which is perfect for all kinds of fruits and veggies. The “orto” already had lemon, orange, fig, and peach trees, and (after spending *many* hours cleaning up the essentially abandoned land) we have added onions, garlic, lettuce, artichokes, basil, and parsley.
Soon we’ll also plant eggplants, peppers, and, of course, tomatoes! Whee!
Now, some resources to get you started on becoming more green:
How to start a garden:
- About.com Guide to Gardening by Marie Iannotti
- Eat Healthy and Save Money with a Vegetable Garden (ABC.com)
- Planning a Vegetable Garden (National Gardening Association)
- Teach Your Kids How to Start a Garden (Better Homes and Gardens)
- Tomato Casual especially for tomato lovers
- Urban Garden Casual for city dwellers and those who think they have no space for a garden
All about community gardens:
- American Community Gardening Association
- Australian City Farms & Community Gardens Network
- Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens (UK)
- National Garden Association (US)
Find local farmers to support:
- Australian Farmers’ Market Association
- BigBarn – The Virtual Farmer’s Market (UK)
- LocalHarvest.org (US)
- SustainableTable.org (US)
- U.S. Department of Agriculture Farmers’ Market Map
If you know of more helpful sites on gardening, etc., (especially international ones), please share in the comments!
Are you gardening this year? Do you normally garden?
Buon weekend!
P.S. For those wondering what has happened to Cherrye’s My Bella Vita, there are some technical details that she’s working furiously on–don’t worry, she’ll be back as soon as possible!
Love Thursday: Love in the Lasagne Verde
You know we love Calabrian Stuffed Lasagne around here, but this week we have some extra love for an extra special lasagne, Lasagne Verde.
Emily of My Muffin Thursdays sent along this gorgeous heart of spinach pasta dough, which she made as part of The Daring Bakers’ Challenge:
Aw, don’t you just *heart* this photo?
Do go check out the finished product as well–it looks fabulous!
Have you ever made or eaten Lasagne Verde?
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
P.S. For those wondering what has happened to Cherrye’s My Bella Vita, there are some technical details that she’s working furiously on–don’t worry, she’ll be back as soon as possible!
What’s Cooking Wednesday: Glazed Apple Oatmeal Cinnamon Muffins
One of the American magazines my mom so generally sends me from time to time is All You. Have you heard of it?
I *love* this magazine. The writing is casual and comfortable, and it includes many ideas that I’m actually likely to use–not just things that although I find interesting would never attempt.
One of those fabulous ideas was an easy recipe for Apple-Cinnamon Cupcakes in the December 26, 2008 issue, and this week’s What’s Cooking Wednesday recipe is my adaptation.
Aside from making delicious muffins, this recipe doesn’t make very much–so it’s great for those of us who will have to eat most if not all of the muffins ourselves.
I added oatmeal to make them a bit more muffiny as opposed to cupcakey and also to add more nutritional value, although as they were, these were actually respectable as far as sweets go (nutritional information is listed in article on page 114). These came out extremely moist and quite dense–just the way I love baked apple cakes, er, muffins.
Plus I figure with the oatmeal, these are now totally OK for breakfast, right?
Glazed Apple Oatmeal Cinnamon Muffins
(makes 5-6 muffins)
For muffins:
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large Granny Smith or other tart apple
- Juice of half a small lemon
- 1/2 cup oatmeal
For icing:
- 1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients for muffins.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together egg, milk, oil, and vanilla, and stir into dry ingredients until just combined.
4. Peel and grate apple into fine mesh sieve over the sink, being careful to stop before hitting the core. Squeeze in lemon juice and mix to distribute among apple.
5. Stir apple and oatmeal into muffin mixture.
6. Grease muffin pan and fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake until golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (about 20 minutes).
7. Let muffins cool for five minutes then remove and place on wire rack.
8. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together confectioner’s sugar and lemon juice, and then drizzle over muffins.
Buon appetito!
P.S. Remember today is Pesce d’Aprile in Italy!
For more fun, check out April Fool’s Backfires!
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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