The Meaning of (Calabrian) Life
In my recent call for questions, Jen of A2eatwrite asked:
Okay… from a Calabrian viewpoint – what is the meaning of life? And yes, I’m being serious. I’m not looking for the “ultimate” answer, just what you think the local answer would be.
This is a fabulous question, and first let me preface my answer by saying I certainly don’t presume to speak for all Calabrians, who are a rather varied group despite the basic, deep Calabrese pride that runs throughout the toe of the boot.
Calabrians work in all industries from agriculture to technology from Cosenza to Milano and beyond (even in the CIA!), so let me begin by painting the picture of the small group of old-fashioned Calabrians I’ll be drawing from in formulating my answer:
I live in a hilltop village of about 350 people, most of whom are probably over the age of 65. The houses are built on top of one another, more or less, as space used to be limited; the village used to hold as many as 12,000 people.
On the sides of the hill leading up the village, there are many plots of land, most of which are still used as garden spaces or places to keep animals.
So for many of these traditional Calabrians, those who still get up at sunrise to feed the hens, pick olives, or till the soil for a new planting of tomatoes, I’d say the meaning of life is rather simple—to wake up relatively healthy each day, strong enough to have the opportunity to take care of whatever needs to be taken care of, whether it be the land, the house, or the family.
And when they have a little left over, well it’s time to go off to the neighbor’s house and share.
I think that’s what the Calabrians I know are best at doing and what they strive to do each and every day—they do what needs to be done for themselves and their loved ones, and then go one step further and help out friends and neighbors when bounty allows.
It seems to me, for many here, immense satisfaction comes from simply knowing they do what they have to do and if they are able to share beyond that, all the better. This allows them to sleep well at night even if their beds creak with every slight movement and are held up by frames tied together by old rags.
You’ll perhaps notice I didn’t mention elaborate several course family dinners, which are certainly a big part of southern Italian life. I can’t possibly overstate the importance of fresh, homemade food and wine to the average Calabrian, and of course that’s what a lot of that hard work accomplishes.
But I also didn’t talk about sitting back and relaxing with a nice glass of homemade wine while gazing at the sea. Yes, some of that goes on down here, but more by the younger generations; the older generations hardly have time for such frivolous things with all the work they’re always busy doing.
Jen, thank you for pushing me to verbalize exactly why I love living here so much.
I am so very blessed to live among such wonderful, hard-working, kind people who provide, along with a never-ending supply of figs, lemons, and oranges, constant inspiration to be a better person in ways that truly matter.
Love Thursday: Paving the Way with Love
For various reasons, P and I have been in “house limbo” for quite a while. I won’t get into details, but I just knew that things were taking a turn for the better when, a couple months ago, I noticed this hole in the pavement in front of P’s family house, the one we have been trying to get into for all this time:
Just as I suspected, the housing wheels have *finally* begun turning, and we’ve been able to work on putting in a new bathroom and kitchen (and giving the whole thing a fresh coat of paint) before we move in, which will hopefully be within the next month or so.
Right now, we’re about halfway there with the new bathroom, and after that, the kitchen, and the paint, we’ll do other work on the place little by little–as is the southern Italian way.
P.S. Carol, I hope this answers your question about the new house, remodeling, and when we’ll be in. And to Saretta and others who wanted to know, P will be doing all the painting because he is, by trade, a house painter.
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
May all your paths be paved with love.
What’s Cooking Wednesday: Homemade Chicken and Rice Soup
Are you someone who would never think of making your own chicken stock because it sounds way too Martha Stewarty, i.e., complicated?
Well this week’s What’s Cooking Wednesday is for you.
Making your own chicken stock is easy peasy, plus you’ll feel like a star chef when you’re done…and then you’ll wonder why it took you so long to brave the task of making chicken stock. Seriously. *So* easy and delicious!
In the recipe below, I’ve listed that you need a chicken, but you actually don’t. All you really need are the remains of a chicken with just a little bit of meat left on it, skins, whatever you’d normally discard from a chicken. If you’ve picked clean a rotisserie chicken, use that! It makes fabulous, already well-seasonsed stock.
Aside from the chicken, for great soup, I recommend *always* putting in onion and celery (whole or chopped, up to you), and then, well, whatever else you like and/or have available. This particular go-around, I added carrots and chard because that’s what I had in my fridge, but you can add corn, peas, spinach, escarole, whatever you like.
Now yes, making homemade soup does take a bit of time, but it’s not like you have to stand over the pot the entire time. Especially if the weather is still chilly where you are, may I recommend:
Homemade Chicken and Rice Soup
(about 6 bowls of soup)
- 1 small chicken
- Cold water to cover the chicken
- 1/2 lb. chard, chopped coarsely
- 2 stalks celery, chopped or left whole
- 3 onions, left whole
- 2 carrots, sliced
- Salt to taste
- Ground black pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup rice per person
- Grated parmesan cheese (optional)
1. Put chicken in a large stock pot and cover it with cold water. Cook on medium to high heat for about an hour and a half, periodically skimming off foam that surfaces.
2. Cook chard in salted, boiling water until it’s soft.
3. Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the water and let cool, and remove any remaining foam.
4. Add the celery, onions, carrots, salt, and pepper to the broth, and let cook for another half hour or until you start to see that the onions are getting mushy. Take out the biggest chunks, but if you like, take some of the mushiest and chop them very finely to throw back in.
5. In the meantime, clean off the chicken and put the meat back into pot, discarding bones and skin.
6. Add chard to broth.
7. Cook rice either in broth or separately.
8. Serve with grated cheese if you like (I do).
Buon appetito!
Now, for broth beginners, are you going to try this or what? And for you experts, do you have any chicken stock tips to share?
Some Fun with a First Meme
I saw this fun “first” meme over at the Facebook page of Anna l’Americana of Only in Maine.
I promised to steal it, so here it is.
Feel free to fill out your own and post it wherever you like, even in the comments here…if you’d just like to pick out your favorite firsts from the list and share, please do!
1. Who was your FIRST prom date?
My first and only prom date was named Brian, and he recently threatened to post photos on Facebook. Despite that, I still think he’s one of the nicest guys I’ve ever known.
2. Do you still talk to your FIRST love?
Occasionally.
3. What was your FIRST alcoholic drink?
Probably peach schnapps with my mom on some New Year’s Eve during my teens.
4. What was your FIRST job?
Waitress at a drive-in (no roller skates or movies involved). Best skill learned: how to make the swirly tops on a soft ice cream cone.
5. What was your FIRST car?
Never had one as I don’t drive, but if I get one, I’ll let you know.
6. Who was the FIRST person to text you today?
No texts. Hardly ever any texts. I rather hate texts.
7. Who is the FIRST person you thought of this morning?
Not a person, but a kid. Pasqualina.
8. Who was your FIRST grade teacher?
Mrs. Casari. Loved her, and loved going back to see her when my nephew was starting school.
9. Where did you go on your FIRST ride on an airplane?
Raleigh-Durham, NC from Harrisburg, PA on my 18th birthday (back to Duke after Fall Break).
10. Who was your FIRST best friend & do you still talk?
A fun gal named Heather, and sadly, we haven’t been in touch for about 10 years.
11. Where was your FIRST sleep over?
Heather’s. Her house had mirrors that covered most of the living room walls so we always played Bloody Mary and scared the bejeebers out of ourselves. Fun times!
12. Who was the FIRST person you talked to today?
P, but it was quite limited. He’s not a morning person.
13. Whose wedding were you in the FIRST time?
My cousin Debbie’s as a flower girl/junior bridesmaid. I remember big glasses and a big hat. No, you will not be seeing photographic evidence.
14. What was the FIRST thing you did this morning?
Put on my sheepskin boots!
15. What was the FIRST concert you ever went to?
Aw geez, probably something at the Bloomsburg Fair.
16. FIRST tattoo?
I’ll keep you posted.
17. FIRST piercing?
My ears when I was probably 12 or 13 years old. Piercing Pagoda baby!
18. FIRST foreign country you visited?
Italia.
19. FIRST movie you remember seeing?
ET, twice with my feet sticking to the floors of the old Victoria Theatre (no longer there) in Shamokin, PA.
20. When was your FIRST detention?
Boh.
21. What was the FIRST state you lived in?
Pennsylvania—the second state of the union, incidentally.
22. Who was your FIRST roommate?
Kristin at Duke, and yes, we’re still in touch.
23. If you had one wish. What would it be?
That I’d have the power to teleport myself here, there, everywhere. P.S. I don’t know what these last three have to do with firsts, but I’ll still play.
24. What is something you would learn if you had the chance?
To play the guitar.
25. Who do you think will be the next person to post this?
You! Consider that a dare.
The Cutest Kid in the World
How can you be sad, angry, frustrated, etc., when you have the cutest kid in the world smiling back at you?
Read on...
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
