tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43515369754717822452024-02-19T02:05:45.893-08:00Nonna's housedeb at nonna's househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06914946991884551752noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351536975471782245.post-40009939271136145282011-07-11T00:09:00.000-07:002011-07-11T00:09:06.699-07:00I heart youHello dear readers. Here's a quick post to let you know that I'm still here and I appreciate your visits. I'm currently consumed by planning and preparations for my upcoming wedding. While I'm off on that journey, I'll leave you with a few heart photos from my travels. Enjoy!
Chile ristra at a farmer's market in New Mexico.
San Francisco, where some people leave theirs.
Berry soup on our 2010 deb at nonna's househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06914946991884551752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351536975471782245.post-33354901497533540842011-06-05T22:22:00.000-07:002011-06-05T22:22:50.684-07:00Stanley Cup survival tips for Vancouver visitorsIf you happen to be in Vancouver for #TBEX11, the travel bloggers conference, or you're embarking on your Disney cruise to Alaska, here are a few tips to survive hockey night in Canada.
Hockey is our game. Get used to it.
The Vancouver Canucks have never won the Stanley Cup but came close in 1994 resulting in the now legendary 1994 riots. Vancouver is up against the Boston Bruins, one of the deb at nonna's househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06914946991884551752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351536975471782245.post-43471927131665901792011-06-01T22:31:00.000-07:002011-06-01T22:31:19.684-07:00Disappearing: Dictionary Stands
A hand-crafted wooden stand holding the weight of a giant dictionary is a thing of the past. A reference book that stood in the corner of a public library or a place of reverence in a private residence. Thousands of pages filled with words that enabled meaning, now replaced by Google and predictive text.Swivel dictionary stand
The dictionary and stand in this photo resided in the master bedroomdeb at nonna's househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06914946991884551752noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351536975471782245.post-74641779066726164192011-04-22T14:12:00.000-07:002011-04-22T14:12:07.615-07:00Easter pastieri
In a previous post I mentioned how pastieri is one of my favourite Easter dishes to make simply because it's so easy. This dish was passed down to me from my Calabrese Nonna Filomena. Other than our family, I've never seen it made by anyone else.
Mix all ingredients together before baking.
In Naples they make something called pastiera, which is completely different from our recipe. Go to deb at nonna's househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06914946991884551752noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351536975471782245.post-38061222000567665302011-01-12T23:08:00.000-08:002011-01-12T23:10:05.822-08:00Earthquake/Terremoto: Fragments from Calabria
Earthquake. Terremoto. It’s in my blood. As far back as I can remember earthquakes have been part of my family’s lore from Calabria, Italy.
When I first heard of the devastating earthquake in the Abruzzo region of Italy in April 2009, my heart stopped. The first beat it missed was for family and friends who might be in harm’s way. The second beat it missed was for the people who lost deb at nonna's househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06914946991884551752noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351536975471782245.post-68829326469753839222010-12-14T22:34:00.000-08:002010-12-14T22:34:45.184-08:0010 things I like about MexicoA recent trip to Playa del Carmen, Mexico, was the perfect place to escape from the snow-dusted streets of home. There are lots of things I like about Mexico, particularly when it's winter in Canada. Here are the 10 favourites from my recent trip.
1. Frida Kahlo sells everything
Negra Modelo beer with Frida label
2. The beach is beautiful and not just for beach bunnies
Lunch stop at deb at nonna's househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06914946991884551752noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351536975471782245.post-25571571293745998912010-12-07T22:51:00.000-08:002010-12-07T22:59:38.229-08:00Beauty and deathI was saddened to hear of the construction worker who died of his injuries from falling off the Canada Place sails in Vancouver. I watched the workers in August, appearing as ants against the massive white sail structure they were repairing. I have the greatest respect for workers who could do that kind of job so high off the ground, exposed to the elements, and often in plain view of a crowd of deb at nonna's househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06914946991884551752noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351536975471782245.post-47978701276447570252010-10-30T20:06:00.000-07:002010-10-30T23:51:35.247-07:00Mushroom (funghi) memoriesI don't know of anyone who has a middle ground position on mushrooms. You either love them or you hate them. I love them.While digging out dandelions and mushrooms from the garden, thinking I should be making a nice insalata with them, I realized I had no idea how to pick a "safe" mushroom. The backyard mushroom yield reminded me that two years ago we were in Calabria during funghi season. On ourdeb at nonna's househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06914946991884551752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351536975471782245.post-40357190708453478652010-09-29T23:12:00.001-07:002010-09-29T23:19:45.696-07:00Happy Birthday NonnoAlthough my Nonno Tony lived into his nineties, he didn't make it as far as today, which marks his 99th birthday. Ninety-nine years. His mother carried him during the time of cholera epidemics in southern Italy. She was later taken by the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic.Italy, as a country, was only 50 years old. As was Italian as the official language, an adaptation of the Tuscan dialect, and deb at nonna's househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06914946991884551752noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351536975471782245.post-82643746296831273152010-09-19T21:04:00.000-07:002010-09-19T21:47:34.912-07:00What I did on my summer vacationI've neglected this blog for far too long. If you've come back, I thank you so much for your patience. Now that fall is approaching I will dedicate more time to keeping up to date. In the meantime here are some snippets of things I've seen or done over the past four months, or "what I did on my summer vacation."On the outskirts of El Paso, I fell in love with fresh fruit popsicles at Flautas y deb at nonna's househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06914946991884551752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351536975471782245.post-48077376237013851532010-07-01T11:24:00.000-07:002010-07-01T11:37:59.934-07:00Canada Day 2010To honour Canada Day I listened to slam poet Shane Koyczan's "We Are More," which millions heard during the opening ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Shane has joined the ranks of hockey and beer commercials in expressing the sentiment of what it means to be Canadian.Here's an excerpt:we are cultures strung together then woven into a tapestry and the design is what makes us more deb at nonna's househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06914946991884551752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351536975471782245.post-38397414508668608612010-05-03T22:26:00.000-07:002010-05-03T22:49:31.604-07:00AnniversaryNonno Joe & Nonna Filomena married in Bocchigliero (Calabria, Italy) on May 1, 1915. I've been thinking about them a lot as my own parents pass wedding milestones. Here's an excerpt from their wedding registration:"L'anno millenovecento quindici, il giorno primo del mese di maggio, alle ore pomeridiane quattro e minuti venti, in Bocchigliero, nella casa posta in Vico Manca."Check out this deb at nonna's househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06914946991884551752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351536975471782245.post-58714667570893200702010-03-14T21:33:00.001-07:002010-03-14T21:51:11.016-07:00Where have the superheroes gone?Vancouver and Canada put on a friendly party for the 2010 Winter Olympics. We donned the red mittens, stole enough courage to take public transit, and actually talked to strangers.In the quiet weeks following the Closing Ceremony, the streets of Vancouver seem deserted. No more flag-waving, no more cow bell, no more outburst of our national anthem. We are slowly recovering from the collective deb at nonna's househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06914946991884551752noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351536975471782245.post-55102216192088913632010-03-14T20:49:00.000-07:002010-03-14T21:28:56.587-07:00Closing Ceremony of the 2010 Winter OlympicsThe Closing Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver was held a few hours following the Canadian men's hockey gold medal victory. The closing show was meant to be a tongue-in-cheek poke at Canadiana. It quickly degraded to what one Twitter tweep described as a monster truck rally. The stereotypes included mounties, lumber jacks, hockey players, floating moose and the now infamous giantdeb at nonna's househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06914946991884551752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351536975471782245.post-17105073584350565972010-02-21T23:30:00.000-08:002010-02-22T00:08:27.295-08:00Virtually here: Winter Olympics, Vancouver 2010I've put together this post for my friends and family who want to interact with the Olympics but are too far away from Vancouver -- or won't leave the suburbs. There are oodles of bloggers reporting on the best pavilions and events, so I won't touch those. This is simply a list of things you can do remotely to control a part of what we're experiencing live. Enjoy!Vectorial Elevation Part of thedeb at nonna's househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06914946991884551752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351536975471782245.post-11656222607680359312010-02-10T22:01:00.000-08:002010-02-10T22:40:13.159-08:00Granville StreetGranville Street in downtown Vancouver is a pedestrian mall that was a rapid transit construction zone for years and has recently transformed to celebrate LunarFest (Chinese New Year is on February 14th) and the Olympics. The mall is a buzzing crossroad for locals and Olympic visitors.Here are a few photos from yesterday's stroll along Granville. And yes, it was a beautiful spring-like day!deb at nonna's househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06914946991884551752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351536975471782245.post-65602409331200903942010-02-09T23:06:00.001-08:002010-02-09T23:12:49.194-08:00Cheering MessagesThis message board in front of H-Mart, at the corner of Robson and Seymour Streets, was a clear attraction for visitors and foreign students. Who could resist the call for "Cheering Messages for your country"?Do you have a message for your country?deb at nonna's househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06914946991884551752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351536975471782245.post-27725293298534503802010-01-26T20:46:00.001-08:002010-01-26T20:55:33.930-08:00Red and WhiteNot to be outdone by the red Olympic mitten craze, one of my favourite retailers has embraced the red and the white in their latest window display. Dressew ("dress-sew") is a bargain-priced haven for sewers and crafty people with a selection of fabrics from upholstery to faux fur, and a wide-range of notions from buttons and buckles to fringes and boas. I'm neither sewer nor crafter but I do deb at nonna's househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06914946991884551752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351536975471782245.post-11723303424287122672010-01-14T20:57:00.000-08:002010-01-14T21:36:11.829-08:00Red Mitts!I don't usually go gaga over stuff but I've been smitten with mittens. The red, 2010 Olympics, go-Canada-go, mittens. Ever since I spotted them in a TV ad way back in the fall, I've wanted a pair. Unfortunately, Santa couldn't find a pair to fill my stocking, neither could the Befana. But yesterday, eureka, at The Bay!Yes, like many people who live in this city, I'm tired of the construction, thedeb at nonna's househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06914946991884551752noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351536975471782245.post-84827055211142300462010-01-07T22:59:00.001-08:002010-01-07T23:03:58.607-08:00My backyardIt's 2010 and that big, global sporting event is coming to my neighbourhood. Here's how I know it's coming. Stay tuned for more updates from my backyard.deb at nonna's househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06914946991884551752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351536975471782245.post-18244907124536903402009-12-23T00:07:00.000-08:002009-12-23T00:35:55.021-08:00It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas(With apologies to every Christmas songwriter.) On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love said to me: forget the lords a-leaping. "Come," she told me, "pa rum pum pum pum." And with Jack Frost nipping at my nose, we made our way to a place where treetops glisten and children listen to hear sleigh bells in the snow.The stars were brightly shining. A silent night, a holy night! All was calm, deb at nonna's househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06914946991884551752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351536975471782245.post-28040103893890209612009-12-06T21:10:00.001-08:002009-12-06T21:38:37.076-08:00Christmas BiscottiThis is my holiday spin on our traditional Italian biscotti, or what we used to call "Auntie Inesse cookies." The dried cranberries and pistachios give the cookies a lovely holiday feel. Enjoy!Ingredients: 1/2 cup butter 3/4 cup sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla 2 cups flour 1 tsp baking powder1/4 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 3/4 cup chopped pistachios 3/4 cup dried cranberriesMethod: Cream butter and deb at nonna's househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06914946991884551752noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351536975471782245.post-28207178038208456832009-11-29T17:33:00.000-08:002009-11-29T17:43:47.895-08:00Zucchini SousaZucchini sousa is a traditional family dish that's made with large zucchini during the height of the season when you don't know what you'd ever do with one more zucchini. This dish was a highlight of my childhood summers, made with zucchini from the gardens of nonnos, zios and neighbours.I don't know what the word "sousa" means or if it's even a real word. And I don't know of anyone outside the deb at nonna's househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06914946991884551752noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351536975471782245.post-25388387933600233422009-08-16T11:35:00.000-07:002009-08-16T11:47:20.779-07:00Fresh romano beansI love beans. Sweetie is allergic to beans. When sweetie is away, I make "bean delight!" Doesn't matter what the dish is, we always call it bean delight. My last bean delight dish was a warm romano bean salad. I was thrilled to find fresh romano beans at a local produce place and greedily purchased them for my dinner. I was so happy, I think I skipped a few steps along the Drive.Reality set in deb at nonna's househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06914946991884551752noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351536975471782245.post-138473557091573502009-07-28T22:20:00.000-07:002009-07-28T22:35:51.037-07:00It's smoking hot and I decide to bakeWhat was I thinking? We're in the middle of heat wave and instead of sitting in a tub of ice water, I turn on the oven to bake a cake. And you remember that I don't cook a lot. Well, I had the kitchen to myself and wanted to bring something memorable to our friends' crabfest. And we had a fridge full of rhubarb.This is a no-fail recipe but sweetie says I make it better than anyone. For that deb at nonna's househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06914946991884551752noreply@blogger.com0