Archive for the ‘uniquely italian’ Category
Americans to Surpass Italians in Wine Purchases
When economic times are tough, apparently Americans turn to the bottle. The wine bottle, that is.
According to a report released by Vinexpo, which is based in Bordeaux, France and runs international wine exhibitions, the United States is poised to overtake Italy as the world’s number one non-sparkling wine consumer by 2012.
USA! USA!
Italy has held the title since 2007 when it surpassed France; that year the Bel Paese bought 299 million cases of wine. Vinexpo predicts US wine drinkers will buy 313 million cases in 2012.
So should Italy, the country of Barolo, Brunello, and Chianti, be ashamed at this showing?
Hardly.
Remember, we only have 58 million people over here while the United States has a population of about 300 million. That means we’re buying about five cases of wine for every man, woman, and child in Italia–and that doesn’t count all the homemade wine stashed away in cantine from Piemonte to Calabria.
Not too shabby, Italy. Not too shabby at all.
Forza Italia!
Salute and buon weekend!
What’s your favorite vino?
eh cumpà, auguri on that cia thing!
President-elect Obama recently named Leon Panetta, former Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton, as the new Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Panetta, 70, is a former Congressman from California, prominent attorney, First Lieutenant in the US Army, and founder of the Panetta Institute, a nonpartisan public policy center that operates out of California State University.
But most importantly to us in southern Italy, he’s Calabrese!
Panetta’s parents were born in Calabria before they emigrated to the United States. His father worked in a copper mine in Wyoming before moving to Monterey, California (Panetta’s hometown) and opening up a restaurant.
So how close is Panetta to his Calabrese roots?
He reportedly doesn’t get back here as often as he’d like, but he does speak Calabrese according to his cousin Domenico Panetta, former mayor of Siderno, which is about 50 km from me.
Of course Panetta’s nomination wasn’t without its detractors, but things now seem to be going smoother on his road to lead la CIA (pronounced “CHEE-ah” in Italy by the way).
And here in Calabria, we couldn’t be prouder. So in honor of Direttore Panetta, please join us in a traditional Calabrese tarantella:
Veniti tutti ‘cca e ‘mparativi abballari!
Capiscisti?
In bocca al lupo, cumpà!
Buon weekend a tutti!
Fried Baccala’ and Baccala’ with Tomatoes
Two delicious ways to prepare baccalà, a traditional Christmas Eve fish in Calabria.
Read on...Feast of the Seven Fishes: Italian-American Christmas Eve Tradition
Read more about The Feast of the Seven Fishes, the traditional Italian-American Christmas Eve meal that features seven different types of fish.
Read on...why i love il farmacista in italy
Pharmacies in Italy run very differently from those in the United States.
I bring this up now because on Friday I finally broke down and went to la farmacia (farm-uh-CHEE-ah) after feeling not-so-good for a few weeks.
It started with a virus, but then every few days I’d get abdominal pains and was just generally rundown.
Why not go straight to the doctor?
I hate going to the doctor, and I know I’m not alone in that. The biggest part of the annoyance for me is having to wait around with a bunch of sickies who may be sicker than I am and/or with different problems, and possibly catching what they have on top of whatever I have.
But Italy lets me avoid that ever so slightly because here the logical first stop is il farmacista, the pharmacist, who can also diagnose your symptoms and give you medications that require prescriptions–and you only pay for the meds, not the advice.
My pharmacist is here every day but Sunday (he’s even here some Sundays as pharmacies are required by law to rotate so that one is open every Sunday in a given area), so it’s also rather convenient as he’s just a few steps down the Corso.
Once I’m there, I describe my symptoms, and he lets me know if I should go to the doctor or hospital or if he can provide something to help along the healing process.
Best of all, I live in a village of about 350 people. I’ve had to wait in a line (of one person ahead of me) precisely one time in five years.
Read: no shouting your symptoms across the desk in a room full of people. So that’s nice too.
Now, granted, something *very* annoying about the pharmacy system in Italy is that you have to *ask* the pharmacist for just about everything medical you can imagine–think vitamins, regular strength painkillers, cold medicine, yeast infection meds (ladies, I know you hear me on this). I’m spoiled as my mom sends me these things, but that’s more because many of these things are also ridiculously expensive here.
Anyway, I am happy to report that since my pharmacist gave me meds on Friday, I have felt so amazingly better that I have resolved to stop complaining about having no drugstore where I can buy everything over-the-counter, without describing of symptoms or asking anyone for help in the unlocking of cabinets that hold controversial items like tampons, lipstick, and shampoo.*
And that is why I love il farmacista in Italy.
Today anyway.
*For the record, we can buy tampons, lipstick, and shampoo in places other than pharmacies, thank goodness.
Have you dealt with il farmacista?
What say you?
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
