biglietti di auguri per le Feste fatti a mano / handmade Holiday cards

December 9, 2014 | Simona

IMG_2283 / handmade Holiday cards and envelopes

stones, shells and paper on linen (from La FABBRICA del LINO)

The New Year lies just ahead, inviting and insidious.

It will bring us an assortment of joys or sorrows punctuating a sequence of blessedly uneventful days, which we will fill with the wonder of being alive.

L'anno nuovo si avvicina rapidamente, invitante ed insidioso.

Ci porterà un assortimento di gioie e dolori che punteggeranno una serie di giorni benedettamente ordinari, che riempiremo del nostro stupore per la vita.

An afternoon walk on a favorite beach

On a recent afternoon, I went for a walk on a favorite beach and collected polished stones and shells.

Un pomeriggio di recente sono andata a camminare su una spiaggia del cuore e ho raccolto ciottoli levigati e conchiglie.

the precious gift of a glorious sunset

I stayed until it was time to wish the sun Good night. I saw it slowly glide below the liquid horizon, leaving behind a joyous explosion of orange light.

At home, I painted the new year's name on stones and shells and filled the zero with color.

Then, I chose suitable paper from my stash of hand-decorated sheets, cut it into strips and folded them into square pockets.

Sono rimasta fino al momento di augurare la buona notte al sole. L'ho visto scivolare al di sotto dell'orizzonte liquido, lasciandosi dietro un'allegra esplosione di luce arancione.

A casa, ho dipinto il nome del nuovo anno su ciottoli e conchiglie e ho riempito lo zero di colore.

Poi ho scelto della carta adatta dalla mia riserva di fogli decorati a mano, l'ho tagliata a strisce e le ho piegate a formare delle taschine quadrate.

some of my paste paper

I made the paste paper above during a workshop with artist Ellen Golla…

Ho decorato la carta qui sopra durante un workshop con l'artista Ellen Golla…

paper with various textures

and the textured paper above during a workshop with artist Randi Parkhurst.

e quella qui sopra durante un workshop con l'artista Randi Parkhurst.

IMG_2267 / handmade Holiday cards and envelopes

stones, shells and paper on linen (from La FABBRICA del LINO)

Finally, I stamped my wish on the front of the pocket: "May all your wishes come true" is my wish for all of you.

Per finire, ho stampato il mio augurio sulla taschina: "Che tutti i vostri desideri si realizzino" è il mio augurio per tutti voi.

The short video below shows my hands folding a strip of paper to make a pocket.

Nel breve video qui sotto le mie mani piegano una striscia di carta e formano una taschina.

I contribute my handmade Holiday cards to the Handmade Holiday event I launched for the Holidays 2014.

You have until December 24 at midnight Pacific Time to share images and words.

Contribuisco i miei biglietti di auguri all'evento Feste fatte a mano che ho lanciato per le Feste del 2014.

La scadenza per partecipare è il 25 Dicembre alle 9 del mattino.

FTC disclosure: I have received the linens free of charge from the manufacturer (la FABBRICA del LINO). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting them on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

FTC disclosure: Ho ricevuto le tovagliette gratuitamente dall'azienda produttrice (la FABBRICA del LINO). Non ho ricevuto e non riceverò alcun compenso per presentarli sul mio blog. Le opinioni espresse nel post sono interamente personali.

Feste fatte a mano / handmade Holidays

November 26, 2014 | Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

I made it last year at a wreath-making party

Here are three proposals to counteract the consumeristic Holiday drumroll that has started weeks ago:

make [some of] your gifts or cards by hand
purchase [some of] gifts or cards handmade by an artist, possibly local to you
contribute to a handmade project on a crowdfunding site as a gift to someone (who will then receive the gift attached to your contribution)

I hope you will join the party by doing any or all of the things I listed above and also sharing what you did on this post so others can be inspired. I will regularly update the post and also broadcast it on my social network accounts.

Important note #1: What interests me is not what people could do by hand, but rather what you have done this year using your creative skills and/or in support of other people's creative skills.

Nothing from your archive, please: this is about the year 2014. (I know I broke the rule by posting a photo of last year's wreath, but I haven't made this year's one yet and I wanted to post this announcement before Thanksgiving.) Exception: if you have a very recent post pertaining this Holiday season, feel free to share it.

Important note #2: Baked or otherwise prepared edible goods are a popular gift choice and also part of the Holiday table's traditions. Please, share here what you made to gift or give away, rather than for consumption at your table.

Here are the sharing instructions:

If you have a blog, post about any of the three things you did and leave the link in linky tool at the bottom OR send an e-mail to simosite AT mac DOT com and include your name, blog name and blog address, and a permanent link to your post. Please, include the words "Handmade Holidays" in the email subject, so I can more easily retrieve the message in my inbox. Maximum two posts per blog.
If you don't have a blog, tell us what you have made or done in a comment to this post and/or an e-mail to simosite AT mac DOT com; include your name and a photo or a link that best complements your accomplishment (for example, if you supported a crowdfunding project, specify the link; if you made something by hand, share a photo, maximum width 400px and maximum file size 130kb). Please, include the words "Handmade Holidays" in the email subject, so I can more easily retrieve the message in my inbox. Maximum two contributions per person.

The deadline is Wednesday, December 24, 2014 (midnight, Pacific Time).

Note: If you send me an email and don't receive an answer to it within two days, please contact me again: sometimes email messages get lost in cyberspace. Or leave a comment on this post.

[jump to linky tool & roundup]

Feste fatte a mano

Ghirlanda che feci l'anno scorso ad un "wreath-making party"

Ecco tre proposte come risposta ai tamburi del consumismo delle Feste che hanno cominciato a rullare da qualche settimana:

fare [alcuni] regali o biglietti di auguri a mano
comprare [alcuni] regali o biglietti di auguri fatti da una o un artista, possibilmente locale
contribuire ad un progetto fatto a mano su un sito di crowdfunding come regalo a qualcuno (che poi riceverà il regalo associato al contributo)

Spero che vi unirete a questa festa speciale mettendo in pratica una o tutte le cose che ho elencato qui sopra e condividendo quello che avete fatto su questo post im modo da ispirare altre persone. Aggiornerò di continuo il post e lo condividerò sui miei canali sociali.

Importante nota #1: Non chiedo di sapere che cosa si potrebbe fare a mano, ma quello che avete fatto a mano quest'anno usando la vostra creatività e/o a sostegno della creatività di altre persone.

Per favore, niente post dal vostro archivio: questo evento è per il 2014. (Lo so che ho contravvenuto alla mia regola con la foto della ghirlanda, ma non ho ancora fatto quella di quest'anno e volevo postare prima del Giorno del Ringraziamento.) Eccezione: se avete un post recente che riguarda le Feste di quest'anno, condividetelo pure.

Importante nota #2: Prodotti da forno e altri cibi sono un regalo popolare e fanno anche parte della tavola delle feste. Per favore, condividete cose che avete preparato per regalare, non cibi da consumare alla vostra tavola.

Ecco le istruzioni per condividere:

Se avete un blog, postate la vostra realizzazione di una o più delle tre proposte in alto e inviatemi il link usando linky tool in basso oppure mandatemi un messaggio a simosite AT mac DOT com e specificate il vostro nome, nome del blog e link al post. Per favore, "Fest fatte a mano" come titolo del messaggio in modo che lo possa identificare facilmente. Massimo due post per blog.
Se non avete un blog, descrivete quanto avete fatto in un commento a questo post e/o in un messaggio a simosite AT mac DOT com; specificate il vostro nome e mandatemi una foto o un link che correda il vostro operato (per esempio, se avete dato un contributo ad un progetto artistico, mandatemi il link che lo descrive; se avete fatto qualcosa a mano, mandatemi una foto, larga massimo 400px e file massimo di 130kb). Per favore, "Fest fatte a mano" come titolo del messaggio in modo che lo possa identificare facilmente. Massimo due contributi per persona.

La scadenza per mandarmi il vostro contributo è il 25 Dicembre alle 9 ora italiana.

Nota: Può succedere che un messaggio si perda nel ciberspazio, quindi se non ricevete una risposta alla vostra email o un mio commento sul vostro post, per favore contattatemi di nuovo lasciando un commento su questo post.

Submit your post here: URL and title / Aggiungi qui il tuo post: URL e titolo

Cathy of Delaware Girl Eats used the last of her heirloom peppers — originally brought from Abruzzo (Italy) to the US by her grandfather — to make a Sweet-Hot Red Pepper Jam that once jarred, makes a wonderful edible gift.

Cathy writes: "It’s not too late to preserve the goodness of fresh fruit or vegetables as a gift for a family member or friend. Farmers markets still are offering apples, which can be made into chutney, or tomatoes for your own homemade ketchup or chili sauce."

Using dark chocolate and various types of dried fruit, Helen of Family-Friends-Food built some beautiful Festive chocolate (Christmas) trees as a gift to her daughter's pre-school teachers.

The little girl helped with the decoration, though Helen had to watch closely to prevent her "from eating all the goodies before they made it onto the chocolate discs."

Helen writes: "Oh, don’t be put off by the lengthy list of ingredients and instructions – these are really VERY easy to make."

I wonder if the edible trees will arrive intact to December 25. Somehow I doubt it.

Simona of briciole (your host for this event) beachcombed one afternoon and used the result of her hunt to create special Handmade Holiday cards. To hold the polished stones and shells, she made pockets out of strips of paper she had decorated earlier.

Simona tells the story of her afternoon walk on the beach looking for suitable material: "I stayed until it was time to wish the sun Good night. I saw it slowly glide below the liquid horizon, leaving behind a joyous explosion of orange light.

At home, I painted the new year's name on stones and shells and filled the zero with color."

Ruhama of rumahama makes delightful cards all the time and this Holiday season was no exception: the Snowman Cometh!

Ruhama explains: "I always make our Christmas cards…

This year, I rediscovered the snowman die… He's not as fancy or rustic as the newer snowmen dies available, but my machine won't fit some of those, so I'm stuck with cute.

Several ideas later, I settled on a patterned paper, real wooden arms (thanks to Chip for cutting me thin strips!) and a fluffy scarf. I couldn't find Fun Flock, but while wandering through the paint aisle, I happened across fake snow paste. Perfect!"

What would the Holidays be without cookies? Sally of Cooking Lessons baked pretty Linzer Cookies which make a gift guaranteed to leave the recipient speechless.

"The dough can be made ahead. The cookies can be made ahead. Store them in an airtight tin for about a week. Fill them with jam a few hours before serving. Voila! To give as a gift, fill them and place between layers of waxed paper in a pretty cookie tin."

Jann of Traveling Food Lady packed together a homemade edible gift (Banan-nut Bread) and a hand-written invitation to a party and hand-delivered it to her neighbors.

"This recipe never fails, loaded with goodness and is the perfect sweet bread this time of year. On the back of the Merry! Merry! cards I wrote our invitation to the dinner. The bread was baked early enough in the day so I could deliver these packages for my guests to enjoy with a cup of coffee or hot tea!"

alert and update

August 26, 2013 | Simona

Update

This is to let my readers know that the problem described below has been resolved, thanks mostly to the help of

TypePad Support staff, who suggested I contact the offending site's host
The company handling the advertisement that was popping up on the fraudulent site, who immediately followed up on my requesto to investigate.

Needless to say, this episode caused me a good amount of stress. Why would anybody plan to attack my blog in such a way is really beyond my comprehension. Shame is the only suitable reward of such behavior.

The root URL of the page you are reading is most probably

www.briciole.com/
OR
briciole.typepad.com/

That's as it should be.

If, however, the URL reads abcc1.com/briciole-food-blog
then, your browser is on a site that fraudulently displays briciole's content inside an iframe. The page will turn gray and an unauthorized ad will be displayed.¹

Neither your browser nor your RSS feed reader are endangered by this.
There is no need to unsubscribe from briciole's feed.

To go to the real briciole, close the ad window by clicking on the X (top right corner), then:

control-click OR command-click on this link to open a new browser tab with briciole home page, OR
control-click OR command-click on any hyperlink on the page you are in to open the linked page on a new browser tab, OR
type www.pulcetta.com on your browser

Thank you for your patience while I am working to stamp out the fraud.

¹ I do not in any way endorse the product advertised. I don't know for sure whether there is a relationship between the
fraudulent site and the product, but my message to the site of the product was never answered, so I suspect there is.

Women’s Power Strategy Conference

June 13, 2013 | Simona

Life is full of surprises and of sources of inspiration.

This story starts with a book and a bowl of beans. The book is Harlot's Sauce, A Memory of Food, Family, Love, Loss and Greece. It was the Cook the Books' Club choice in the fall of 2011. I read it and loved it and was inspired by it to prepare a dish with glorious beans I had just brought back from Italy. Patricia Volonakis Davis, the book's author, enjoyed the recipes the Cook the Books Club members prepared so much that she added them to her web site.

meeting Patricia at the Conference (3/24/2012)

Not long after meeting virtually thanks to my fagioli, Patricia and I met in person at the first Women's PowerStrategy™ Conference that she organized.

The Women’s PowerStrategy™ Conference is

a gathering of leaders from diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise who are joining forces to educate and inspire women of all ages to believe and invest in their own talents, skills and potential. [more details on the About page of the conference web site]

Patricia's organization of the conference was inspiring and so were the people I listened to there, from the organizer herself, of course, to Red Room's founder Ivory Madison, from literary agent Verna Dreisbach to pastry chef Marisa Churchill (whom I interviewed) to name just a few. A mishap made me miss the inspiring keynote speaker, Malissa Ferruzzi Shriver, but fortunately her speech was videotaped, so I enjoyed it later.

The second edition of the Conference is coming up this Saturday, June 15, in a bigger venue (the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa, CA), with a larger program and a list of speakers that makes my head spin every time I read it. As the announcement I have on the side bar says, I have the honor to be in great company.

The program is full of interesting panels and interviews and, above all, people. If what happened last year is any indication, conference participants will laugh, be moved, make connections, and learn about wonderful individuals and organizations and the difference they make in this world.

Like last year "for every adult ticket purchased, The Women’s PowerStrategy™ Conference will sponsor one girl or woman who could otherwise not afford it, to attend the entire conference, meet the speakers, and enjoy a delightful lunch, free of charge." [more details on the About page] Isn't it wonderful?

Hope to see you there!

anno nuovo nei parchi / new year in the parks

January 6, 2013 | Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

Joshua Tree National Park

If the word "desert" (deserto) brings to your mind a desolate, waterless land covered with sand and devoid of vegetation, the deserts in Southern California will correct that notion. I chose to visit the deserts closest to us during this Holiday season, because I felt the need to be in a simple landscape for a while, to quiet down some internal turmoil and thoughts that seemed to always come in an avalanche, drowning my ability to analyze them and put them in some kind of order. We spent the days around New Year's Day (Capodanno) in some of the most amazing places on the face of the Earth. It was a great gift to ourselves.

We started with Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, went on to Joshua Tree National Park, then crossed the Mojave National Preserve to reach Death Valley National Park. I will write more about each place, as each deserves some carefully written thoughts. Here, I am sharing four images of intense emotion out of the hundreds I took. My passionate desire to capture some of the natural magic surrounding me mostly remained a wishful thinking (pio desiderio) as the majesty of the landscape eluded my limited skill as a photographer.

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

On New Year's Day, we crossed the Mojave National Preserve and stopped at the visitor center in the restored Kelso Depot. While admiring the exhibit there, a feeling of gratefulness all but overwhelmed me: this 1.6 million acre park belongs to us, to the public. This land is our land.

I then thought about making a proposal for the New Year for briciole's readers. It is not meant to be a resolution, which feels like a burden we place on the new year before it is old enough to stand on its feet.

I was ready to write a post about my proposal, when I read a thoughtful post written by dear Patricia Volonakis Davis, titled A Better You Equals A Better World. I invite you to read the whole post, though I will be focusing on a portion of it.

As soon as I read the first point Patricia makes, I knew I had found the right name for my proposal. This is what she writes:

Instead of making resolutions, let this year be a year of "gratitutions." Gratitutions are statements of gratitude made along with any criticisms you have of yourself or changes you wish to make.

I like the word "gratitution," because it invites us to pause, think, give thanks and then act mindfully.

Mojave National Preserve

So, here is my proposal, rephrased in light of the new perspective as a gratitution. Let us be grateful for parks, for the land set aside at county, state and national level for conservation and for the public to enjoy. This land is beautiful, sometimes to the point of leaving us grasping for words.

Then, let us honor our parks by visiting them. If you've always wanted to visit a specific park (parco), near or far, let 2013 be the year you finally go. This does not require special trips: chances are, there is a county park where you live. Let that be the object of your attention.

Death Valley National Park

Each park is a treasure (tesoro) and has treasures to give. We may think we are doing something for the parks by visiting them, but I can assure you, the parks do a lot more for us.

I am grateful for the visionary people who worked and work hard to ensure the legacy of our parks (in the case of Joshua Tree, it was a woman, Miverva Hamilton Hoyt). I am grateful for all the people who work to ensure that our visit to each park is informed, enjoyable and safe. I will continue to do all I can to support our county, state and national parks (including writing about them).

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

anno nuovo nei parchi

or launch the anno nuovo nei parchi audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

[jump to Comments]

anno nuovo nei parchi

Joshua Tree National Park

Se la parola "deserto" vi fa pensare ad una landa desolata, priva di acqua e vegetazione e coperta di sabbia, i deserti della California meridionale correggeranno tale idea. Ho scelto di visitare deserti durante le vacanze di Natale perché sentivo il bisogno di trovarmi per un po' in un paesaggio semplice. Sono dei luoghi incredibilmente affascinanti.

Abbiamo cominciato il viaggio con Anza-Borrego State Park, poi siamo andati al Joshua Tree National Park, abbiamo attraversato Mojave National Preserve e abbiamo concluso il giro a Death Valley National Park. Ho intenzione di scrivere qualcosa di più su ciascuno di questi luoghi. In questo post condivido quattro foto tra le molte che ho scattato. Il mio desiderio di catturare in qualche modo la magia dei paesaggi e rimasto più che altro un pio desiderio dati i miei limiti come fotografa.

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

Il giorno di Capodanno abbiamo attraversato Mojave National Preserve e ci siamo fermati al centro informazioni nella stazione restaurata di Kelso. Mentre ammiravo la mostra didattica sono stata sopraffatta da un profondo senso di gratitudine: questo parco di oltre 6200 km² appartiene a tutti noi.

Allora ho pensato di fare una proposta per il Nuovo Anno, un invito ai lettori di briciole. Ero pronta a scrivere la mia proposta, quando ho letto un post bellissimo scritto dalla cara Patricia Volonakis Davis, intitolato A Better You Equals A Better World. Vi invito a leggere il post per intero (in inglese): io mi riferirò ad una parte di esso.

Come ho letto il primo punto che Patricia elenca, ho capito di aver trovato il nome giusto per la mia proposta. Ecco che cosa scrive:

Instead of making resolutions, let this year be a year of "gratitutions." Gratitutions are statements of gratitude made along with any criticisms you have of yourself or changes you wish to make.

Invece di fare buoni propositi, facciamo buone gratitudini. Buone gratitudini sono affermazioni di gratitudine unite ad autocritica e a progetti di cambiamento che vogliamo realizzare. (traduzione mia)

Patricia ci invita a fermarci, pensare un attimo, essere grati e poi agire con attenzione.

Mojave National Preserve

La mia proposta, riscritta in termini di buona gratitudine, è questa. La gratitudine è per i parchi, per i territori messi da parte a livello regionale o nazionale per la conservazione e per l'uso del pubblico. Queste aree sono bellissime, a volte talmente tanto da lasciarci senza parole.

La parte attiva della buona gratitudine è quella di rendere omaggio ai nostri parchi visitandoli. Se avete da tempo in mente di visitare un certo parco, vicino o lontano, che il 2013 sia l'anno in cui lo fate. Non c'è bisogno di fare viaggi: è possibile che ci sia un parco vicino a dove abitate e potete sceglierlo come oggetto della vostra attenzione.

Death Valley National Park

Ogni parco è una ricchezza e ha ricchezze da elargire. Quando visitiamo un parco pensiamo di fare qualcosa per esso, ma in realtà è il parco a fare molto di più per noi.

Sono grata a coloro che si sono dati e si danno da fare per stabilire parchi e a tutti coloro che lavorano per fare in modo che la nostra visita sia istruttiva e gradevole.

♥ i parchi

risveglio / waking up

September 19, 2012 | Simona

THE VIEW FROM THE BED

I have been away from home for a week, away from my kitchen. I am in a beautiful place, surrounded by beautiful people. More on the trip in a future post.

eventi e notizia / events and news

June 19, 2012 | Simona

events…

There is a lot going on here at briciole this week and the next one, and you are all invited to participate:

Presto Pasta Nigths #269 — deadline: Thursday, June 21
Weekend Herb Blogging #339 (English and Italian edition) — deadline: Sunday, June 24
Novel Food #16 — deadline: Sunday, July 1
Abbecedario Culinario d'Italia: M come Matera (in Italian) — deadline: Sunday, July 1

Follow the link to learn the details of each event then join us for the ones that appeal to you.

and news

I recently started to contribute to Ganzo, a neat online magazine on Italian taste, style, happenings and people. My posts so far have focused on beloved kitchen tools and their usage:

You can always access the list by clicking on the link under In Other News on the right panel.

ciao Lucio / goodbye Lucio

March 3, 2012December 12, 2025 | Simona

On Friday morning I woke up to the news that singer-songwriter and musician Lucio Dalla had died. I have been trying to find the words to explain how important he was to me and millions of other Italians, but I can’t, so I have looked on YouTube for a video to share and decided upon one (uploaded by elbex) from the historical Banana Republic Tour with Francesco De Gregori (remember my Dinner Table book? De Gregori is one of the “potential guests”). The title of the song, Cosa sarà, means What is it? (Lucio Dalla is the one who sings first and the video shows him playing the saxophone, one of his instruments.)

Cosa sarà
questo strano coraggio
o paura che ci prende
e ci porta ad ascoltare
la notte che scende

What is it
this strange courage
of fear that assails us
and makes us listen to
the falling night

Lucio Dalla was born on March 4, 1943 and everybody knew it because it was the title of his first hit. His career spanned four and a half decades and he wrote a large number of songs that are part of us. Tomorrow, March 4, there will be the funeral in his home town of Bologna. This article includes the video of another one of his most popular songs, Caruso.

Ciao Lucio!

sette link / seven links

February 2, 2012 | Simona

Paola of An Italian Cooking in the Midwest and Brii of briggishome have invited me to the seven link challenge (here and here): albeit with some delay (for which I apologize), I am hereby taking it up.

It is a difficult challenge to answer, because it asks me to choose a post with specific characteristics and since I have about 500 posts, it is not easy to keep all of them in mind. So, my choices come with the disclaimer that they represent my current thought and are subject to my memory. In a month, I may have a different set of answers. But maybe I am taking this a bit too seriously (I am known to do so) and should just relax and have fun.

1. The most beautiful post

It takes me time and effort to write a post, so they are all beautiful to me.

2. The most popular post

homemade mascarpone

Measured by number of page hits according to google analytics (which I started using a bit more than a year after I started the blog), it is the post on making mascarpone at home. If you have not tried the recipe, I recommend you do it: the mascarpone you get is vastly superior to anything you can buy in the US. (The post has also the Italian version.)

3. The most controversial post

Being controversial is not my style. Probably the most controversial statement I made is in my second post. Nobody knew me at that time, so I didn't get any reactions.

4. The most helpful post

This is really difficult to answer, because the perspective can be that of the writer or that of the reader. I certainly don't know which of my posts is considered the most helpful by readers, though I have received nice testimony to that effect for a number of posts (like this one on Swiss chard).

In general, I consider writing my posts always helpful for myself for a number of reasons:

writing forces me to make myself clear
in the case of a recipe, writing makes me being precise
questions from readers may point to areas that need clarification
writing a post is part of the big conversation that having a blog entails
in a number of cases, I have used material from a post to write a longer article

I have added clarifying notes to my post on making mascarpone at home a few times in response to comments or references to my post. The post helped me realize that differences across the world pertain not only measurements, but the name of ingredients, in this case whipping cream.

5. The most surprisingly successful post

ingredients for spaghetti burro e parmigiano

I did not expect that my post on pasta al burro e parmigiano would become popular and be referenced by a number of esteemed bloggers. This and pasta with ricotta were my favorite pasta options as a kid.

tagliatelle con la ricotta

6. The post that did not get the attention it deserved

Answering this makes me a bit uncomfortable, as it is a veiled criticism of readers for not paying attention. In each of my posts, I try to convey a bit about me and a bit about my cultural background, besides whatever dish or other topic I am discussing. Publishing means that you offer what you have to the public, but you also have to accept that not everybody may share your interest or feel like expressing their appreciation (or otherwise) publicly.

In the fall of 2007, Lisa of Champaign Taste and I started Novel Food, an event that brings together literature and food. In the four years we have been co-hosting it (most recently, I have hosted it by myself, as Lisa is taking time off blogging), we have had a group of devoted participants. It is an event very dear to my heart and I will continue hosting it. I am taking advantage of this venue to bring it to people's attention: I believe it deserves it. It is a bit more challenging than other events, but it is quite rewarding. (The next edition will be announced some time in February.)

7. The post I am most proud of

The very first one. Short as it is (the original was shorter than the current one, since the second sentence was added after I published the post it references), clicking on the Publish button to send it out there took some courage and I am proud of that.

Looking at my first post also gives me a sense of how far I have traveled, in terms of my writing, my photos and my circle of friends in the blogosphere. Thank you all for being there!

Pola of An Italian Cooking in the Midwest also kindly presented me with the Cannolo Award, which I have been proudly displaying on my sidebar ever since.

I would like to pass the award to two bloggers:

Ann of La Buona Cucina pays homage to her Italian heritage in the kitchen of her home in South Carolina, where she lives with her beautiful family. Besides cooking for her family, she teaches cooking classes.

Kathy of Food Lover's Odyssey knows a lot about Italy and its culinary traditions and her blog is a rich source of information. I am particularly grateful to her for her weekly review Italy on a Plate: The Week in Italian Food, an always interesting collection of carefully selected blog posts, news and events (here is the most recent edition).

cinque canzoni / five songs

June 8, 2008December 12, 2025 | Simona

Lenny of Una finestra di fronte has tagged me with a meme pertaining the five most beautiful songs. There is no food in this post, only music, which is another one of my passions, so I welcome the opportunity to write about it. I interpreted the specification “most beautiful” as meaning “for me,” so this is a rather opinionated post. This is fun for me, but it is going to be difficult to make it meaningful for my non-Italian readers, since three of my choices are Italian songs from some years ago. Looking at the lyrics made me realize how words and music work in them and how difficult it would be to make them justice in translation. In any case, for each song, I found a video on YouTube, in case you’d like to listen to it and, for the Italian artists, I found a wikipedia entry.

I will start with my favorite Italian song, La donna cannone from cantautore (singer and song-writer) Francesco De Gregori (English translation of the lyrics). Listening to it always makes my eyes sparkle with delight.
Then there is Io vorrei… non vorrei… ma se vuoi by Lucio Battisti. It is another intense song that kept me company during my teenage years: I wrote its lyrics on my school diary year after year.
The last Italian entry is Amore bello by Claudio Baglioni. Pretty much all his songs are great, and a number of them are connected to specific moments or people of my life. (In this case the video’s quality is poor, but the concert is recent and it was held in the US.)
The first English song in my personal hit parade is Every Breath You Take by The Police. Still a great song to listen to, still fresh.
The first time I visited my husband in California, we took a car trip to Lake Tahoe and then Alpine County. On the road, we listened to a collection of songs by George Gershwin. My favorite was, and remains, They Can’t Take That Away From Me.

I have decided not to tag anybody in particular with this meme, but to invite anybody who feels inspired to answer it: believe me, it is fun!