Category: italian

Spartanized

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, Adult children, author, family, fitness, health, Interviews, italian, local fun, no fear

This podcast by Jodi Flynn (Women Taking the Lead) with Joe DeSena caught my eye because 1. I love Jodi’s Podcasts and 2. My nieces and nephew just completed a Spartan Race (not the first for some of them).

My beautiful niece Megan, rocking her Spartan Race medal!

Much of the conversation really resonated with me! I was shocked, because whenever I hear about the Spartan Races, I move right along. I mean, it’s nice for some people…people who like to get all sweaty and dirty and gross. Not bookish, ‘indoorsy’ type people like me.

😀

I could completely relate to Joe’s talking about the topics of ‘concrete, (something else I can’t remember), and ravioli’ (#itsallabouthefood) in the Italian neighborhood where he grew up. That pulled me in, but when he talked about one of the strategies for success is telling everyone you know what you are going to do (“commit publicly”), that was it! I use that strategy all the time! Like, when I lost weight with Weight Watchers (Hey, everyone! I’m counting points today!) and when I write a novel every year for NaNoWriMo (Hey, everyone! I am writing 50,000 words this month!).

Now here I am, thinking about me and Spartan Races in the same thought.

Which brings to mind another thought that I have used for years to keep myself from having to be athletic: How can I do a Spartan Race? I wear glasses! They might fall off and then what would I do?!

NOTE: I have never pretended to be the ‘outdoor type’. 😀

My birthday

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, Adult children, books, celebrations, friends, italian, local fun, Party for one, the beach

 

I hope you all had fun with me this week. In addition to the week of cakes, my daughter gifted me with a cake today, bringing my total to eight for the week, and this is the one with which we celebrated with singing and candles.

Here is today’s cake from Wells IGA: Caramel Sea Salt Cake!

Here is a slideshow of all seven cakes in the BirthdayCakeWalk2017.

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For my actual birthday today, I did more than just eat cake, if you can believe it! I ate whatever I wanted. A chocolate bread from Boulangerie in Kennebunk for breakfast. Sausage Flatbread with a salad from Pizza Napoli in Ogunquit for lunch. So far, that’s all. Oh, and the Salted Caramel Cake from my daughter!

And I tried to include things I love (besides food!) in my day. Connecting with my family and friends! Lilacs! The ocean! Reading! Writing! And of course, a visit to a bookstore!!

Now, for the point: It is my birthday wish that all of YOU have a day like this, too. Why wait for your birthday to be kind to  yourself? Do it now. Today.

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Who am I really?

by Karen, posted in He and me, health, italian, love and marriage, Marriage, no fear, relationships

My husband was very inspired this year with his choice of birthday gift for me.

He got me the MyHeritage DNA kit.

 

Me: How did you know I wanted to do that?!

He: Because every time a commercial for it came on or anyone was saying they did it for the last year, you said, “I want to do that!”

Me: Oh. Right.

Lesson: Repetition is your friend, married people. 🙂

Anyway, this will be the gift that keeps on giving, because I decided to write about it. I did the (pretty easy) test the next morning. The directions said not to eat or drink anything for an hour before you do it, so first thing upon arising was my best bet. Sure, I had to defer my first sip of morning coffee for twenty minutes, but it’s a small price to pay! I am going to find out what I’m made of!

Fear: What if I’m not really Italian?

I am feeling the fear! I am doing it anyway!

Stay tuned.

Mary Ann and me

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, author, books, italian, Karen's Kitchen, local fun

Mary mary-ann-espositoAnn Esposito and I go way back. Okay, sort of.

I met her in real life at a Stonewall Kitchen Cooking School event in 2008. (Also, once I saw her at the Market Basket, but I didn’t actually talk to her. Does that count?)

I really met her for the first time in my younger years, watching her on TV. She hosted  Ciao Italia on PBS. Years later, I watched all the reruns, too.

She is a skilled, wonderful cook, as anyone who has ever watched Ciao Italia knows. She was as warm and funny and caring in person as she was on TV.

I’m Italian, as anyone who knows me knows. I learned so much not only about cooking, but about life and how to live it from my Italian nana, Mary. Meeting Mary Ann, watching her cook in the Stonewall Kitchen Cooking School’s cucina, gave me back that feeling of being with my grandmother in her kitchen again for a few hours.
Being with your people: Priceless.

Anyway, Mary Ann Esposito is also an author. The Stonewall event was a cooking class and a book signing. She was kind enough to sign my book, and gracious enough to pose for a photo with me. Here’s how much it meant to me: I was able to put my hand on this photo of us from 2008 literally in seconds. I knew exactly where it was.

I am beyond excited to tell you that she will be at the New England Authors Expo March 31st event: 2017 Authors Night by the Sea, in Portsmouth, NH, signing her books. I will be there, too, signing my novel, One Brave Thing.

And visiting with Mary Ann. Maybe I’ll even get another photo with her.

Life’s funny, isn’t it?

me-and-mary-ann-on-the-authors-list

Click here for the information, if you want to come!

 

Bonus from tidying up food

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, italian, Karen's Kitchen, Pantry Project, recipes

img_7029So, I did save $150 that first week by not buying groceries, and then $75 the next week.  I have rediscovered coupons!

Also, I invented a recipe using some of the stuff I had in the house when I was saving $150 by not eating out or food shopping this week: Naan Pizza.

Ingredients:

  •  One piece of Naan Bread for each person eating; this recipe makes individual pizzas
  • Tomato sauce of any kind (or green pesto or red pesto or whatever you find in your pantry or freezer)
  • Mozzarella (block, shredded, slices)-I ALWAYS have mozzarella in some form in my fridge or freezer. You could also use provolone or whatever cheese you have
  • Grated parmesan: sprinkle on top of sauce and under mozzarella. If you don’t have it, leave it out. We ALWAYS have it. Hey, we’re Italian. What can I say?

Apart from that, you can snip some basil from the garden over it if you have it, or use dried oregano and or dried basil. You can top it further with anything you have on hand that you like on a pizza (bacon, any nearing-the-end-of-its-life cold cuts or veggies).

Throw it in to the oven at 400-425 degrees for 8-12 minutes, depending on how burned (or not!) you like you pizza.

If you want to eat it like a Neapolitan, just fold it in half or into quarters and mangia!

Buon Appetito!

 

Italian birthday cake, 2015

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, baking, family, italian, quest for the best, recipes

IMG_4349My family of origin had some family traditions, but they were few.

One that has made it to the present is the Italian Rum Cake birthday cake tradition. My brother’s birthday and mine are about a month apart. We both love Italian Rum Cakes. My family? His family? Um, not so much.

Okay, they hate it.

As much as I love this cake, it is not fun to have a birthday cake on my birthday that no one but me will eat.

Also, it’s damn hard to find this cake in Maine. Actually, it’s IMPOSSIBLE to find this cake in Maine.

So here’s what my brother and I do now:

  1. We call La Cascia’s Bakery and order the Italian Rum Cake with Strawberries (included) and Peaches (cost extra-pay it! it’s worth it!). You get to choose between whipped cream and buttercream frosting (WHIPPED CREAM FROSTING ROCKS!). You must decide if you want nuts on the outside or not-I can never decide so I order nuts on half of it. 🙂
  2. One of us picks up the cake and drives to the other’s house (we take turns hosting-this year is my brother’s turn).
  3. We split the cake. Literally. We each eat half. In our defense, we order the smallest one (serves 8-10 people in real life) they make.

That’s it. Problem solved! We love the cake! Our relatives are not subjected to it! Plus it’s June (my birthday was in May) and I am still eating birthday cake!

I did find a recipe for it (without the strawberries and peaches) on the Mangia Bene Pasta website, but there are something like a thousand steps in this recipe, so it’s pretty certain that I will never make it. Ever. I’d be too tired to eat it after all that.

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Organization (or lack thereof)

by Karen, posted in books, gardening, italian, knitting, no fear, writing, yoga

office clutterOrganization? Thy name is not Karen.

I have stuff.

A lot of stuff.

I have decided that I am ready to let stuff go.

Keep it simple.

Stupid.

I have so many recipes and such that I have cut out, ripped out, torn out of magazines and newspapers and NEVER MADE. I should just throw them out, right? You’re right. You’re right. I KNOW you’re right.

And I have so many writing projects! How to organize them all? OMG. need a computer and desk dedicated just to that. Just to writing and the associated paraphernalia.

Then there’s the yoga stuff, the knitting stuff, the spiritual stuff, the Reiki stuff, the scrapbooking stuff…oh, and the Italian stuff! Folders for learning the language, cooking the food, traveling to the country.

The household stuff, bill paying stuff, the warranty stuff…oh! And all of the holiday stuff! Not just Christmas, but Christmas stuff does take up the most space. Wrapping paper, cards, decorations. Stacks and stacks (and stacks and stacks) of books. Plus the books on the actual (much too small) book case. (Note to self: my books are underserved.)

Nursing stuff! Stethoscopes, scrubs, clamps, bandage scissors, paper tape measures for measuring wounds…even though I am no longer a bedside nurse, I have learned the hard way to never say never and thus I am loath to release any of these things even though it’s been about two years since I’ve needed any of it.

Then there’s the Go and Do files. Some are filled with stuff we already Went and Did. Should I keep those or toss them? What about my idea file? I just read an article on FB (sorry, author of said article, I do not remember your name) that it’s good to write down ten ideas every day. I LOVE THAT! If I keep this file, then I’ve already got a head start!

Many things are in their own folders already, and it seems sort of organizational…but there are multiple folders for writing and yoga and knitting….and did I mention there is no place to put these files?

I think I need professional help.

Anyone? Anyone?

Mental health break

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, family, italian, Marriage, NaNoWriMo, restaurants, writing

IMG_0012I took a two-day break from Nano writing and went away overnight to celebrate my husband’s birthday (and, you know, to take a break from sitting! At the computer! Writing! OMG! I haven’t been able to feel two of the fingers on my left hand for a week!).  We had supper at Nolita,  a new-ish Italian restaurant in York that we like.

I felt a little bad that he hadn’t had a cake on his birthday and gotten to hear the sweet strains of the “Happy Birthday to You” song wafting toward his ears on his day, but so be it. We wanted to have the cake with the entire family, and that couldn’t happen until the following day.

When we arrived at the restaurant, my husband had to run back to the car to get his reading glasses (he is so not into my rendition of “This is what’s on the menu” that he’d rather run back out into the 27 degree cold dark night that to listen to it).

That’s when the waitress came over and I mentioned it was my husband’s birthday. She said, “Does he like tiramisu?  We give a free tiramisu for someone’s birthday.”

Now, Bill does not like tiramisu, but oh my God! I love it!  But, it was his birthday after all, so I asked if there were other dessert options and she said they have gelato. As (my) luck would have it, I’m pretty sure the only thing he dislikes more than tiramisu is gelato.

“Yes, he does like tiramisu! Bring that!” I said, conscience clear.

What I hadn’t realized (and in fairness to me, I was halfway through my Italia Margarita at the time) was that said tiramisu would be accompanied by, um, fanfare. And I’m pretty sure that if there is one thing Bill dislikes more than gelato and tiramisu, it’s fanfare. In our 26 or more (we can’t agree on this) years together, he has never, ever seen a cake coming toward him with a gaggle of servers singing the birthday song to him.

And yet, I lived to tell the tale, so it’s all good.

Also, that tiramisu rocked!

 

 

 

Passaggiata

by Karen, posted in family, health, italian, local fun

I live in a rural part of my town in Maine. There are few places that I can get to on foot that wouldn’t require packing for a half day passaggiattatrek. That’s why I looked forward to the Bean Supper this year. This is a destination that I could comfortably walk to and from and to which there was a good chance I could convince my daughter to accompany me.

As we walked along my road, the word ‘passaggiata‘ came to my mind. This is, as I understand it, the Italian custom of taking a walk through the town after dinner.  Historically, this is something my family has only practiced on holidays.

You know, hardly ever.

Other than the walk we took after Thanksgiving dinner one year, I am hard pressed to remember any other times we’ve done this. Why not? Okay, in the summer it’s because I am no match for those horseflies that will use every ounce of energy they have in their creepy little bodies to enter either my nose or my ears or, failing that, sting the crap out of me. But this time of year there is no good reason. Oh, yes, one: I’m too lazy.

Well, tonight I am happy to say that we walked to dinner, ate, and walked home. The rain felt lovely. Despite the deluge that was predicted, it remained fairly light so we didn’t get too drenched.The company of my daughter was much appreciated. I even entertain the thought of doing this again tomorrow night.

We’ll see.

Moscato who?

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, Date night, italian, Marriage, quest for the best

bella bolle

My husband and I have different tastes in a lot of things, and wine is no exception. Years ago, someone gave us a bottle of Moscato D’Asti by Nivole, which (surprise!) we both loved. Every so often we bought a bottle, for a birthday or anniversary or some such occasion.

Then suddenly we couldn’t find it anywhere anymore. Everywhere we went, we looked for and even asked for it, and everyone was familiar with it, but no one actually stocked it anymore.  Which totally sucked.

So, we finally gave up. One day when we were food shopping, I saw a pretty bottle of wine that happened to be a moscato d’asti. It was a different brand, but it met our wine-buying criteria:

1. Pretty bottle

2. Cheap

I’m talking $7. We decided to live dangerously and buy it. It took a couple of weeks to finally open it. If either Bill or I had to be up by 4:30am the next day, neither of us was very interested in sharing a bottle of wine the night before.

The planets finally aligned on Christmas day. We both had the following day off from work so we cracked open the wine. There was only one negative: what a bitch that cork was to remove! Other than that, however, we both loved the wine. I am saving the bottle so we don’t forget what kind it was.

We definitely plan to get this one again. You know, unless this brand goes MIA next.