Archive for the ‘life in calabria’ Category
A Surprise Crop of Pomegranates
On the border of our garden (which wasn’t a garden this year because we were too busy with the new campagna to plant anything), is a line of pomegranate trees. The land is terraced, so they’re not very easy to see down there on the slope, and to be honest, since they produced a grand total of two pomegranates last year, I wasn’t really paying attention to them.
Well P and I caught a glimpse of them early this morning, and they were absolutely *full* of melagrane!
Melagrane dal giardino
I love pomegranates, or as we called them back in the Pennsylvania Coal Region, “Indian apples.” I actually didn’t know the fruits were one and the same until I learned about mythology and the story of Persephone in Hades. See, public school education works!
I’ve written about pomegranates before as the harbingers of the fall here in southern Italy — and indeed, the past few days have had a distinct autumnal chill in the air overnight . . . which means my loverly October is just around the corner. Yay!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a bowl of seeds to chomp on to keep my antioxidants up.
Pomegranate seeds...yum!
How do you enjoy pomegranates?
Zucchini Flower Fritters – Frittelle di Fiori di Zucca
Zucchini flowers
Longtime readers might remember my zucchini flowers stuffed with ricotta, spinach, and prosciutto crudo as well as fried zucchini flowers.
Well this time when I picked up some zucchini flowers at the market, P asked if I would make some fritters, which is the usual way they’re made in this area of Calabria.
P’s aunt has made them for us many times, but I had never asked for the recipe or technique. As luck would have it, the day I bought the flowers, she happened to be walking by the house when I took the dogs out for their lunchtime walk.
The recipe she gave me on the spot is below; of course there are no measurements, but I have faith in you!
Seriously if you’re afraid of working with zucchini flowers, it’s time to conquer the fear. I was right there with you, but these fritters are amazingly simple and delicious. Enjoy!
Zucchini Flower Fritters – Frittelle di Fiori di Zucca
Frittelle di fiori di zucca
- Bunch of zucchini flowers
- Flour
- Water
- Pinch of baking soda
- A few pinches of salt
- Oil for frying
1. Clean the zucchini flowers by snapping out the stamens (assuming you have male flowers, the ones attached to stems).
2. Chop roughly into pieces and place in boiling water for about a minute.
3. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Fiori di zucca
4. Mix together flour, water, some salt, and a pinch of baking soda so that you get the consistency of pancake batter. Fold in the flowers. This part, by the way, is completely up to your tastes. When P’s aunt makes them, to be honest, I don’t taste much of the flowers because there’s so much, well, flour. I like mine bursting with zucchini flower flavor — they also look prettier, I think, as the flower colors show through. So use your own taste to determine how much batter to flowers you should make.
5. Heat oil for frying (I use last year’s olive oil) in a shallow pot or pan. You’ll want enough in there so the batter can sink to the bottom and then have a little way to rise and dance at the top, and you also don’t want your fritters crowded. The pan I used fit three fritters at a time. Zia also told me to throw in a pinch of salt when ready to fry.
6. When the oil is hot, take a large spoonful of batter and drop it in. As mentioned above, it will sink at first but then rise as it fries. Turn them a bit until you see all sides are browned, remove with a slotted spoon, and place on paper towels to drain.
Zucchini flower fritters
Buon appetito!
Love Thursday: Have You Hugged a Goat Today?
I’ve written about finding goat zen in the goat pen before, and although I normally keep the goat-related posts over at Goat Berries, I just had to share some photos from this morning over here for Love Thursday.
Pinters Magooch
My baby Pasqualina all grows up.
Pretty Pinta
I've got my eye on you.
Can I have some Maaaaa?
Is it normal to tear up with joy when looking at your goats?
Eh, who wants to be normal anyway?
Happy Love Thursday!
P.S. Hug a goat.
Calabrese Folk Music from Tarantella Power 2010: Aquila Bella
As many of you know, my village was home to Tarantella Power again this year; I do have a video of tarantella music and dancing to share as well as more photos from the five-day (!) event, but first I want to share with you this video of one of my absolute favorite Calabrese folk songs, Aquila Bella:
The song is about a beautiful eagle that delivers a love letter to the singer’s beloved — unless she’s sleeping, in which case, the eagle is to let her sleep (and dream sweet dreams) because for her the night turns:
“Dorma gioiuzza, fai li sogni d’oru; Ca c’esta cu pe tia la notta gira.”
*le sigh*
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
The Eye on Italy Podcast
If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you have probably already heard about the Eye on Italy podcast (but please make sure to read through the post for updated info!). For those of you who haven’t, here’s your official introduction:
Eye on Italy is “[a] podcast for anyone who’s loved Italy or wants to love it.” Each week, Jessica Spiegel (WhyGo Italy), Sara Rosso (Ms Adventures in Italy), and I talk about current events and other interesting topics that relate to the Bel Paese.
We have been privileged to host some rather awesome guests so far, including Gelato King David Lebovitz; B&B owner and creative soul Diana Baur; and art historian, sommelier, and food expert Katie Parla. We’ve tackled all kinds of issues from the freedom of the press in Italy with Livia Iacolare, community coordinator and assistant producer of Italy’s Current TV, to uncovering the Holy Foreskin with author David Farley.
There are already 14 podcasts available for your listening pleasure, but there’s no need to feel behind! Now that we’re taking a little August break like the rest of Italy, you have plenty of time to catch up on what you’ve been missing so far. You can subscribe on our page or directly at iTunes.
And for those of you who have been following, first thank you! Second (and this goes for everyone) keep an eye (hah!) on the Eye on Italy website for posts throughout August as we’ll be sharing links to some of the news stories and blog posts that have caught our attention . . . starting today with the spotlight on Art & Culture.
Thanks again to all who have been listening, and as always, if you have feedback, comments, or even guest suggestions, please pass them along either through the website or at the following locations:
- Eye on Italy on Facebook
- @EyeonItaly on Twitter
Happy listening (and reading)!
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
