Happy San Valentino… Italian love phrases for the day

Happy Valentines Day! I could go on about the Italian origins of this romantic day but I found this cute little book instead that offers something way more useful. Berlitz’s Hide this Italian book for Lovers offers a slew of fun, cute, sexy and romantic Italian love phrases that not only sound really good (and there is pronunciation help!), they could just land you an awesome Valentines date! “I can’t live without you” …make it hotter with “Non posso vivere senza di te.” Here’s a few key Italian love phrases for Valentine’s day.

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Recipe: Pasta con fagioli e salsiccia

It’s sausage season (that’s January and February to the uninitiated) and there’s always a few sausages that break and really should be used immediately. And really no one minds, because no matter how you prepare it, fresh ingredients taste great. Here’s what we had this week: it’s quick, easy, and makes you wish there were more left overs (this recipe should feed four).

Pasta with beans and sausage / Pasta con fagioli e salsiccia

2 cups dry pasta (penne work best, but that’s just my opinion)
1 fresh sausage link (7 oz of ground pork meat, cured with salt, hot peppers and red pepper paste)
1 medium potato
1 medium onion
6 oz romano beans
olive oil
grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese to taste

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From the archives: Italian immigrants arrive at Union Station

These are some of my favourite vintage photos as an Italian-Canadian. From the archives at York University, these pics show Italian immigrants arriving at Union Station in Toronto. The clothes, the suitcases, the look of wonder; these photos from 1951 look almost movie-perfect to any story about immigrant arrival. I’m on the lookout for more vintage, archival photos of Italian-Canadians, if you know of any, share them in the comments!
 

Italian Dessert Food Groups Pyramid

I have a definite appreciate for the four-course meals that are part of Italian rituals…but in doing my Italian Food Pyramid a while back, it struck me that there’s also a certain method and hierarchy to Italian dessert too. Thus, the Italian dessert food groups or pyramid.

I find the after-dinner ritual of dessert just as comforting as Italian food itself. Offering guests a small glass of alcohol and proceeding into coffee. I also appreciate the serving of fruit, something that is not necessarily always common in other cultures, before the heavier things are served. And it’s always in that order, so the pyramid was easy to build. Digestivo first, coffee and fruit and nuts, followed by a good canoli (or panettone at Christmas, or zeppole in February…).

The rituals of desserts and dolci play a big part of my family heritage with recipes that are old and new variations that have become favourites. What I love about Italian desserts is that they aren’t always super sweet, but can go a bit to the savoury side, using nuts and honey and wine in cooking. What this really stems from is Italian dolci always being simpler, in fact it was mostly fruits used as sweets many years ago, and it is thought that only with the addition of French and American influences that some of the other cakes and rich desserts that items like tiramisu become popular. Many cookbooks point to Italian desserts being “humble”, which I don’t necessary agree with. It’s not the fat content in the desserts that I find satisfying – and I think this might be the same for others – but it is the complex tastes that do it for me.

My attempt to diet, especially while making this Italian dessert food groups pyramid is being, is being challenged. But it a part of a meal I’d loath to give up, if just for the memories and familiarities it brings.

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The significance of gold…and snakes

Before she left for Canada, my grandmother made one last purchase. A gold ring in the shape of a coiled snake. I’ve never seen another like it and I’m left wondering if there was some significance to the snake itself or if buying gold was another way of protecting what little money they had.

There is this Italian obsession with gold, though I’ve come to know living in Canada that it isn’t unlike other cultures obsession with the same precious metal. I’m well aware that that my friends who travel to their country of heritage go shopping there, like India, to get a better price on gold, just as we do when we go to Italy.

I was struck by the image of a snake bracelet the other day that I adored, only to have it make me recall a snake ring that my mother has, as my grandmother is no longer with us. It is precious to my mom because she remembers it from the trip to Canada and, of course, throughout her life. I remember it on my grandmother’s hands a lot.

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Recipe: Nutella Butter Cookies for World Nutella Day

Happy World Nutella Day! Two bloggers Ms Adventures in Italy and Bleeding Espresso started the February 5th celebration of World Nutella Day in 2007 to celebrate their chocolate hazelnut spread.

I’m celebrating one of the best days of the year with a jar of Nutella and a spoon, but, I suppose, you could also use Nutella to make some cookies too. The last time I was in Italy, my relatives made these simple cookies that hit the spot. They used a “pasta frolla” a dough that is similar to a shortbread and common in many Italian desserts. There are many different recipes for pasta frolla with the ratios of flour, butter and sugar altered to better accompany different fillings (such as ricotta, nuts or fruits). This pasta frolla recipe is one of many found in Great Italian Desserts by Nick Malgieri.

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Eating Italian: our food groups and food pyramid

It’s time to forget the Canadian food groups and follow something Italian!

After getting married last year, a Calabrese-Pugliese-Sciliano wedding, I’ve done my fair share of eating. It’s been an all-Italian free-for-all, starting with antipasto buffets and ending in a sausage and sopressata making fest this last weekend. It’s time for a diet. But I still want to eat Italian!

My largest problem with dieting has always been what prescribed diets want you to eat. I have no desire for cottage cheese or bananas or some bland chicken breast. I still want Italian food – in my own way. I was trying to create a healthy menu for this week and I remembered when I was young being taught the “Canada Food Guide”, particularly the 1980s version. It told you how much to eat of all the food groups. Great. Except the food groups didn’t include taralli, polenta, figs, tomato sauce (is that considered a vegetable serving?), ricotta or anything else recognizable. I hated that. Just like we all hated having the smelly mortadella sandwich at school when everyone else had peanut butter.

Searching for the food pyramid or food groups these days shows just how far thinking in diets has come. There’s an Italian Food Pyramid (and an Indian one, Mexican and so on.) Finally something I can relate to! It inspired me to put a nice looking one together – for all those young Italian-Canadians learning about food groups, this is for you! Polenta and foccaccia for grains, figs and grapes for fruits, artichokes and rapini for veges, parmesan and calamari for proteins. Did I miss anything integral? Let me know in the comments!

(images are courtesy of various sources from depositphoto.com)

Italian Traits & Characteristics – can this 18th century description be right?

My husband, upset by someone at work, shouted in the car today as he told me his story: “You never attack my reputation! You never attack an Italian’s reputation.”

Ah, another ltalian trait come to life in our Italian-Canadian world? It also got me thinking about my older post about a friend who found out, only after we believe he was indeed Italian in spirit and character, was actually Italian by birth. Is it stupid to try and find and define the characteristics of one race…is that racism? But certainly there are characteristics and beliefs that tie us together. A Google search later and I found a very old essay just about this very thing…Italian Traits and Characteristics.

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