Thank you Cheryl for the wonderful article. We are Barese and have traveled ALL over Italy and Sicilia. We are southern Italians and steeped in tradition but enjoy all the other regions and their traditions. Diverse for sure...and as you know us "southerners" love our vegetables!!
Hi Jack, thanks so much for your kind words. But … what? You eat vegetables? Who knew! :-) I haven’t made it to Puglia yet but am very eager to do some exploring there. So much to discover, always!
What a delightful piece, and it makes me so homesick for the kindness I always encounter in Italy.
Also, I wrote my master’s thesis on vegetable eating in the early twentieth century. Social workers in New York at the time would go around trying to get Italian immigrants to eat fewer vegetables and more meat and starch, because mainstream Anglo-Americans at the time thought vegetables had no nutritional value. But the Italians kept right on growing their little vegetable gardens in the middle of the city.
You have given us half a mandarino...slices of. But they are delicious, so plaudits. The other slices, well, can you say burocrazia, mafia, economia stagnante ecc ecc. And as to vegetables, well, in Umbria...not so much, perhaps merely a reflection of a regional difference. Actually, it might be a local difference, because here in the northwest area of the Region may be quite different than the cuisine of, say, Orvieto, Norcia or Lago di Trasimeno. Ecco la differenza!
Thanks for the positive spin in this piece. And thank you for kindly mentioning my book. And yes, it was I who took that “full time traveler” to task for his asinine comments re: Italians and vegetables. I really try not to engage with these types of comments but sometimes I gotta speak up 🤭 Buone feste, Cheryl.
Feliz Navidad de España, Cheryl. I was able to travel to bella Italia this fall with my son. We braved the mountainous dirt roads of Molise and discovered my grandparents’ towns of Bojano and Agnone. What a beautiful adventure!
Let me add that when we spent 6 months in Italy, we were amazed at how good the vegetables were. The Italians had a more seasonal variety, meaning you couldn’t get anything you wanted (how American is that) but when you bought a carrot, for example, it tasted like the ones we grew in our garden. Every little Italian place has its own treasures, all the same but different. To me they are all examples of making the most of what you have.
I hope your son’s wedding was lovely and the travel was not difficult (train oops aside). May your new year be filled with joy and many fresh vegetables! 🥗🥦🥕🥬🧅🍆🧄🍅
Thank you Cheryl for the wonderful article. We are Barese and have traveled ALL over Italy and Sicilia. We are southern Italians and steeped in tradition but enjoy all the other regions and their traditions. Diverse for sure...and as you know us "southerners" love our vegetables!!
Hi Jack, thanks so much for your kind words. But … what? You eat vegetables? Who knew! :-) I haven’t made it to Puglia yet but am very eager to do some exploring there. So much to discover, always!
What a delightful piece, and it makes me so homesick for the kindness I always encounter in Italy.
Also, I wrote my master’s thesis on vegetable eating in the early twentieth century. Social workers in New York at the time would go around trying to get Italian immigrants to eat fewer vegetables and more meat and starch, because mainstream Anglo-Americans at the time thought vegetables had no nutritional value. But the Italians kept right on growing their little vegetable gardens in the middle of the city.
I love this!
My family immigrated, and we did eat a lot more meat after moving here. But yes, we still had an 𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑜.
One year my dad mistakenly planted yellow tomatoes. Fine for salads, but how was mom going to make 𝑙𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎 that year?
Brava Cheryl. Buon Natale!
You have given us half a mandarino...slices of. But they are delicious, so plaudits. The other slices, well, can you say burocrazia, mafia, economia stagnante ecc ecc. And as to vegetables, well, in Umbria...not so much, perhaps merely a reflection of a regional difference. Actually, it might be a local difference, because here in the northwest area of the Region may be quite different than the cuisine of, say, Orvieto, Norcia or Lago di Trasimeno. Ecco la differenza!
Thanks for the positive spin in this piece. And thank you for kindly mentioning my book. And yes, it was I who took that “full time traveler” to task for his asinine comments re: Italians and vegetables. I really try not to engage with these types of comments but sometimes I gotta speak up 🤭 Buone feste, Cheryl.
Feliz Navidad de España, Cheryl. I was able to travel to bella Italia this fall with my son. We braved the mountainous dirt roads of Molise and discovered my grandparents’ towns of Bojano and Agnone. What a beautiful adventure!
Well said Cheryl. After 17 years in Italy we still find towns, cities, food traditions, etc. that are new to us.
Italy has so much to offer.
Let me add that when we spent 6 months in Italy, we were amazed at how good the vegetables were. The Italians had a more seasonal variety, meaning you couldn’t get anything you wanted (how American is that) but when you bought a carrot, for example, it tasted like the ones we grew in our garden. Every little Italian place has its own treasures, all the same but different. To me they are all examples of making the most of what you have.
Well said
Buon Natale! 🌟✨
I hope your son’s wedding was lovely and the travel was not difficult (train oops aside). May your new year be filled with joy and many fresh vegetables! 🥗🥦🥕🥬🧅🍆🧄🍅
Warm holiday wishes to you, Cheryl.
Thanks for a great post! Your encounter with the train conductor made me smile because it triggered my own Trenitalia trauma 🙂🚂