Difference MakersThe Advertising spot above is reserved for companies,people and organizations that are making a difference in the Italian and Italian American communities. It's a free spot and changes periodically. Are you making a difference? Contact me. | The weather is steadily getting colder here in New England and with Thanksgiving around the corner there are different foods showing up at the grocery store. The summer fruits and veggies are gone and have made room for autumn foods and for me that means castagne (chestnuts.) In Calabria they still have plenty of [...] You can grow an apple tree with seeds from an apple,but don’t wait around for any apples from that tree…. because it won’t produce any unless you graft your apple tree. WHAT? Have you ever wondered why the cherry tree you bought from your local garden center never produces any cherries? It was [...] Escarole is a favorite green in many Italian families. Some of the more popular ways to prepare escarole are in soup,with beans,and as a simple salad. The escarole in our garden has been ready for a few weeks now and we have been enjoying it to the fullest! One of my [...] Are you going to Italy this summer? If so,you must be very excited! Before you go,you’ll have lots of decisions to make on what to bring and not to bring. Here are a few tips to help you get started. First of all,make sure your passport is up to date…I [...] Thanks to all my readers and friends for helping me reach 50 Comments on my post,Q&A with ABC Italiano author Sonya Caruso! I ordered the 50 books Tuesday and they arrived today. With the help of Linda,Claudia,Marie and Barbara,I hope to get these books in the right hands and help [...] In my last post on curing black olives I mentioned that I was making them 2 ways:sott’acqua (in a simple brine of salt and water) and al forno (oven dried black olives.) The black olives “sott’acqua”don’t take much maintenance…once you make your brine and drop them in it’s a waiting game. [...] It was a small turn out for this year’s “Seven Fishes Feast”but that’s not going to stop us from making merry! We have some wonderful recipes,I’ll pull out some vino bianco and we’ll give everything a try. Linda at “Ciao Chow Linda”has gotten this party started the right [...] In March I was in Calabria visiting my family and did a little wild asparagus hunting with my cousin…if you’ve read some of my posts,you know I like to forage for “wild things”so yesterday when E and I were out on a hike with Dexter (our Italian Labrador…. you mean you [...] First of all,I would like to thank Maryann from Finding la Dolce Vita for co-hosting the first “Seven Fishes Feast”along with Italyville. I know I’m not the only one who thinks she has a GREAT blog and equally GREAT personality. I would also like to thank the team at “Feast of the [...] I was talking to my “mamma”today.. just chating and she casually mentioned that she was going to Mohegan Sun this weekend. My mom’s not a gambler…so I was thinking my dad put her up to it. I was wrong. Her friend had an extra ticket to go see Toto Cutungo and offered [...] | Heading to Calabria? Need a travel consultant,place to stay or some great ideas for what to do? Contact Bella Vita Travel Consulting in Catanzaro. | Joe Maruca welcomes you to Italyville where he writes and rants about growing up Italian in Massachusetts,his experiences living and working in Bologna,visits to the family's Olive farm in Calabria and everything along the way. In America we're considered Italian,in Italy we've become Americani... but we're always at home in Italyville. Italyville.com All Content,graphics and photos on Italyville.com are property of Italyville.com unless otherwise noted and can not be used without permission. All rights reserved. |