Archive for the ‘life in calabria’ Category
Kicking Off Travellers Calabria Week with Mimmo’s Music
Starting today and continuing until Friday, July 10, we’re celebrating the fact that lil’ ole Calabria *finally* has a fabulous guidebook dedicated to her:
Travellers Calabria by Lara Dunston and Terry Carter
All this week, Lara will be here answering my questions and sharing Terry‘s and her gorgeous photos of bella Calabria.
If you want to start getting acquainted with this dynamic duo now:
- Lara describes herself as a “perpetual globetrotter (60+countries) travel writer (40+books, 100s stories for world’s best publishers) living out of a suitcase since Jan 06” on Twitter (follow @laradunston) and blogs at Cool Travel Guide.
- Terry is “a travel and editorial photographer and travel writer. He literally lives out of a suitcase accompanied by a couple of bags of photography gear.” Follow him @terencecarter on Twitter and read his blog at Wide angles, wine and wanderlust.
And you don’t want to miss a single day of the Q and A with Travel Writer Lara Dunston. Why not?
Because I will be giving away a copy of Travellers Calabria every day–that’s FIVE copies total.
Comment once on each post from Monday to Friday to be entered in the drawings; I will pick one winner from Monday’s comments, one from Tuesday’s, etc., and I will announce all the winners next Saturday. All comments must be entered by midnight CET on Friday, July 10.
For extra entries (one per day per person except as below), tweet or post about the contest on Facebook with a link to any one of the contest posts (although preferably this one since it will be the only one with all the rules) AND EMAIL ME TO LET ME KNOW at:
michellefabio5 (at) gmail (dot) com
I will enter your extra entry in the day in which you tweet/post appears, except for today; any tweets/posts today will be entered in the drawing that ends up with the fewest number of entries–which means you can get six extra entries if you tweet/post today and every day of the contest.
In the event you’re lucky enough to win two (or more) copies, you will have the choice of accepting all your winnings or having me pick another winner.
Any questions–feel free to ask!
And what’s a party without music?
Kicking things off is a new CD by my friend Mimmo’s band, Marasà. You may remember Mimmo from our New Year’s Eve celebration and discussion of the chitarra battente.
Well his band is back with their second CD, Sentéri:
This is Calabrese folk music with a twist–a famous Italian rock star (who happens to have a house in Badolato Superiore) even guests on the CD.
The songs are sung in local dialect, but the liner notes have the lyrics in both Italian and Calabrese; if you’re interested in a copy of the lyrics, let me know, and I’ll send you the PDF.
Curious as to what it sounds like?
Head over to Offma, where you can also buy your own copy for 12 euros, or to Marasà’s MySpace page, where you can listen to samples and also, for those of you who will be in southern Italy over next couple months, where you can catch them live in concert–they’re kicking the summer tour off tonight right here in Badolato Superiore. Lucky us!
And, aw heck, since I’m feeling generous, I’ll even give away a copy of the new Marasà CD to a lucky commenter. To be eligible, comment on THIS post by midnight CET on Friday, July 10.
Viva la Calabria!
Adjusting to Expat Life in Italy
I’m finally getting around to answering more of your questions from way back when. After today’s answers, the only questions that remain, I believe, are blogging-related, and I’ve answered those in my FAQ page. Have you seen my new FAQ page by the way? Go ahead, click it! And let me know what you think!
OK, back to today’s post, which answers some questions about adjusting to life as an expat in Italy.
1. Janie (whose blog seems to have disappeared! Aiuto!) asked how I was received by the residents.
Actually *really* well. Sure, many wondered why I would choose to move here and be (gasp) so far away from my mother, but the villagers have always been really helpful and kind, even before I knew P.
I’ve mentioned plenty of times that it’s not uncommon to be given bags of fruit and other edible gifts, but the villagers are also always up for a chat or to help carry packages as well; in general, I have to say the people here are just nice, or at least they have been to me.
2. Knowing that I’m a lot addicted to reading, Franca asked about buying books here.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m *really* spoiled when it comes to books. People (including my mom) send me them rather often, and I also get quite a few review copies through the blog.
I very rarely order books, but in the past, I’ve just ordered through Amazon; you can use the UK site if you’re worried about shipping issues. There are also some Italy-based sellers such as IBS.it, Webster.it, and LaFeltrinelli.it that carry some English-language books as well.
3. Franca also asked about dealing with being away from family.
Hmm. Well, that’s something that is undoubtedly different for everyone. I consider myself extremely close emotionally to my family, but I haven’t lived physically close to them since I was 17 (except for a few summers).
I’ve had to rely on phone calls, letters, e-mails, etc., to keep in touch for quite a long time, so I suppose in a way I’m kind of used to being away from them now. The holidays and certain special occasions can be difficult, but how do you get through anything tough?
Me? I cry or I don’t; I keep myself busy or I don’t; I reminisce about the past or I don’t; I plan trips home or I don’t. You know, I don’t know. It’s really hard for me to give advice on this because what works for me won’t work for everyone–heck, what works for me one day may not work the next.
I guess my best advice is that you do your best to work through the feelings of missing your loved ones in your home country, and if you really feel like you’re unhappier here than you would be there, you move back.
Or at least that’s what I would do. I think.
Fellow expats or those who have moved away from “home,”
what are your adjustment tips?
What’s Cooking Wednesday: Green Beans, Pancetta, and Potatoes
This week’s What’s Cooking Wednesday recipe screams summer because of the gorgeous fresh fagiolini (green beans) that star in the dish; a more hearty version of this basic combo can be found at my recipe for Pork, Green Beans, and Potatoes in Tomato Sauce.
Now, before we get started, if you think you don’t like green beans, please find some fresh ones. Trust me, they have nothing to do with canned green beans (to be honest, I’m not a huge fan of those either). As with any beans, they take a little prep work (washing, snapping off the ends, and blanching), but they are *so* worth it.
We didn’t grow our own fagiolini this year, but we will definitely give it a go next year. The beans used in this recipe, of course, are locally grown though. And if you’re curious as to what *is* going on in our garden, check out our:
Lettuce/lattuga:
Onions/cipolle:
The cucumbers and tomatoes are ripening as I type! Yay!
OK, the recipe. Traditionally instead of the pancetta, the Badolatese would use “carne salata,” spicy, salty lard particular to here; (luckily) we didn’t have any, so we substituted pancetta, and it worked great. You can use cubed ham if you’re short on pancetta.
Green Beans, Pancetta, and Potatoes
Fagiolini con pancetta e patate
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- Half kilo (about a pound) of fresh green beans
- One medium onion, diced
- 100 grams (about 1/4 pound) of pancetta, cubed
- 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks or cubed (your choice)
- Salt to taste
1. Wash beans and snap (or snip) off ends.
2. Bring a pot of water to boil, then drop in beans for about 3-5 minutes until they are bright green but still rather al dente. Many say to then drop them into a waiting bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process, but I never do–they’re always fine, and I save myself another dish to wash. You just have to get used to when to take them out, that’s all.
3. Put about five tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan and heat over medium. When the oil is hot, add the onions and let saute for a couple of minutes.
4. Add pancetta to pan, again letting it saute for a couple minutes, then add potatoes and mix together.
5. The potatoes will take the longest to cook, of course, so let this mixture cook for about 15-25 minutes–depends on how large your potato chunks are.
6. Add the green beans and some salt and mix everything together. Let cook for another 10 minutes or so, stirring and adding water if it gets a bit dry. The dish is ready when the potatoes and beans are cooked to your satisfaction. Be sure to adjust for salt.
7. Serve hot with bread–or eat leftover cold the next day as a salad. YUM!
Buon appetito!
Love Thursday: Just Me and the Kids
Yes, I know the blog has been heavy on books and reviews lately, but that’s certainly not all we do around here. We also, for example, admire our baby goats.
Yes, the girls have been showing more sisterly love:
But there’s just nothing like a Mamma’s love is there?
Happy Love Thursday from our pen to yours!
The New Kid on the Block: Margherita
Since goats really don’t enjoy being alone–and since I can’t possibly stay by Pasqualina‘s side every minute of the day even though I would love to–we went ahead and got her a playmate.
Meet Margherita:
Yes there was some headbutting the first day, but since then, the girls have been getting along quite well; I even peeked in on them one night to find them sleeping with Pasqualina’s head resting on Margherita’ bum.
They often sleep together in this little “cuccia” in the wall of their new pen:
Yes, P built them a brand new pen in our new garden area, so now they have their own outdoor space; I think Pasqualina especially appreciates the fresh air since before she was inside most of the day. Here she is ruminating:
Margherita has really taken to us rather quickly, which surprised me since she’s already three months old and wasn’t used to getting petties all the time (she comes from a herd of 100 or so goats). Oh but she *loves* petties now!
And indeed, our little ‘Rita and little ‘Lina have been getting along quite well:
We’re all looking forward to many fun, faaaabulous times together.
That’s all from the kids today!
Mwaaaaaaaaaah!
P.S. I will announce the winners of La Bella Lingua on Thursday, May 21 (contest still ends the 19th though); there’s still time to enter!
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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