There’s a saying in Italian, “nato con la camicia” that is often translated as “born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth”, but those two phrases aren’t interchangeable.

In English, when we say that someone was born with a silver spoon in their mouth, we’re basically saying that they were born into a rich family. In Italian, anyone can be “nato con la camicia”. It only means that someone is very lucky - someone who always falls on their feet, so to speak.

I’ve read that the Italian expression comes from babies that were born with part of the amniotic sac still attached to them. In English we call that being “born with the caul”. There are various traditions around the world regarding this phenomenon. Some say the child we be lucky (as is the case here in Italy), some say that the baby will never drown and others say that he or she will have a second sight (some sort of psychic power).

It is apparently from this event that the tradition in Italy of giving a lucky shirt to an expectant mother was born.

I, of course, was unaware of this tradition, so the other day when O came home and told me not to worry about the lucky shirt because his sister-in-law was going to buy it, I just looked at him like he stepped out of a flying saucer. (Obviously, I wasn’t worried about it since I didn’t even know what it was.)

He then explained the tradition to me. It seems that this shirt has to be a gift and it is put on the baby right after birth, under whatever other clothing he has. So, I couldn’t go out and buy one myself, it wouldn’t convey the “luck” at all then.

Obviously, I was then curious to see what this shirt looked like.

It’s very delicate - made of thin silk with just a tie in the back and “buona fortuna” sewn on the front.

Here it is…

So, now my baby will be born with his “lucky” shirt on. I hope it will bring him lots of luck.

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Since it’s about time to put the winter clothes away and get out the summer clothes, I picked up a couple of Italian Space bags the other day. You know, the ones that you use your vacuum to remove the air and it packs everything down.

I have to say I was a bit disappointed as they’re not as sophisticated as the real Space Bags, not having the valve for the vacuum cleaner (not to mention the price!). Instead you have to stick the end of the vacuum inside the main opening and pull it out once all the air is gone, hoping that you don’t let any new air in.

But, the funniest thing was the instructions that came in the box. Rather than actually write them out, the manufacturer decided to use pictures to “tell the story”. I guess it makes sense if you’re selling internationally - it saves money on translations. (Are they trying to put me out of business?)

Here are the instructions. Pretty simple to follow, don’t you agree? Although I wouldn’t really call them “Assembly instructions”…

I’m sure glad they put that “Vrrr” next to the vacuum in steps 3 and 4 to show that you have to turn it on. Otherwise some poor soul might sit there all day with the end of the vacuum stuck in the bag and wonder why it wasn’t working…..

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At this time of year, the hills around here are full of color with purple, red and yellow flowers blooming all over. One of the plants that grows wild in this area is the ginestra or “broom” plant. The latin name of the plant is cytisus scoparius (in Italian, “scopa” means broom - just don’t use it in verb form).

The brilliant yellow flowers of the ginestra are unmistakeable and its perfume fills the air. Unfortunately, the perfume is long gone now, but when the flowers first bloom it pervades the area.

It’s no surprise that it’s called “broom” in English as one of this plant’s uses is in making brooms and the smaller hand brooms for sweeping out fireplaces. O’s mom even made me one. Nothing does a better job of getting all of the ashes out of the nooks and crannies of the fireplace.

Another use is in tying up tomato plants. See the long green “leaves”? They were picked and used to tie the vines to the canes. Who needs string or plastic ties?

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Friday has rolled around again which means another American recipe Made in Italy.

It wasn’t hard to think of what I would like to treat myself too if I were on a trip back to the States - one of my all-time favorites and definitely all-American …. crab cakes.

Of course, I had to search high and low for crab here and, unfortunately, fresh crab was out of the question. But, I made do with what I had and, although I know they would have been better had I been able to find some fresh crab, they were still mighty tasty.

If you can find fresh crab where you are, you’ll need to steam them, break them open, and remove the meat (making sure you don’t get any shell bits in there). If you can’t, it’s best to use frozen crab (not surimi, otherwise known as fake crab) although you could probably used canned crab as well, just be prepared for a less flavorful crabcake.

So, on to the recipe…..

Ingredients

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon of dry mustard
1 teaspoon of Worcestershire Sauce (yes I have found this in Italy)
2 large eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 pound crab meat
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
a pinch (or 2 or 3) cayenne or hot red pepper
oil for frying

Be sure to use fresh bread crumbs, otherwise the crab cakes will be a bit dry.

Mix together the parsley, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, eggs, mayonnaise and spices. Add the crab meat and bread crumbs, mixing gently so as not to break up the crab meat. Divide the mixture evenly into 6 to 8 crabcakes and flatten gently into thick patties. Cover each patty lightly with more breadcrumbs. It’s best to make these earlier in the day and then put them in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before cooking.

Now, heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a frying pan over medium-high heat, then add the crab cakes, in batches if need be, frying until golden-brown - about 4 minutes per side. Remove and drain on paper towels. Serve immediately.

As you can see, I served mine with hush puppies and red-beet salad, but they’re great with cole slaw (which Barb will be making for us on May 23).

Tortini di Granchio

Quando penso alle ricette americane che mi piaciono, penso spesso ai Tortini di Granchio.

Purtroppo, è un po’ difficile trovare la polpa di granchio qui in Italia, almeno dove abito io. E’ sempre meglio usare il granchio fresco quando possibile. Dovete cuocere i granchi al vapore e rimuovere la carne. Quando non è possibile usare quello fresco, è meglio usare la polpa congelata. Si può sempre usare la polpa in scatola ma i tortini perderanno un po’ di sapore.

Ingredienti

2 cucchiai di prezzemolo tritato
mezzo cucchiaino di senape in polvere
1 cucchiaino di salsa Worcestershire
1 cucchiaino di succo di limone
2 uova, sbattute
2 cucchiai di maionese
450 gr. polpa di granchio
54 gr. pane grattugiato (fresco)
sale
mezzo cucchiaino di paprika
pizzico di peperoncino
olio per friggere

E’ meglio usare il pane grattugiato fresco altrimenti i tortini possono essere troppo secchi.

Mescolate insieme il prezzemolo, la senape, la salsa Worcestershire, le uova sbattute, la maionese, la paprika e il peperoncino. Aggiungete la polpa di granchio e il pane grattugiato, mescolando delicatamente per non rompere la polpa di granchio. Dividete la miscela in 6 a 8 tortini spessi. Coprite ogni tortino con un po’ di pane grattugiato. E’ meglio fare i tortini almeno un mezz’ora prima e metterli nel frigorifero prima di cuocerli. In una padella, mettete abbastanza olio da coprire il fondo e riscaldatelo su fuoco medio-alto. Aggiungete i tortini farli rosolare - circa 4 minuti per lato.

Lasciateli scolare e serviteli immediatamente.

Per un contorno perfetto, serviteli con “Cole Slaw” che Barb farà per noi il 23 maggio.

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Today I have to drive into Vasto. Now, that may not sound like much of a big deal to you and it really shouldn’t. After all, Vasto isn’t a big city (population about 35,000), but I avoided driving into the center of town up until last week when I had to make my way in, driving on my own.

So, what’s the big deal? Well, I have to admit that I’m still not that comfortable driving my stick shift car. Even though it rarely happens now, I’m still nervous about stalling it Not only that, but what a pain in stop and start traffic to have to constantly be shifting the thing.

That’s not the main reason though. You see, for some strange reason that I have yet to figure out, the town turns off the traffic lights at odd times of the day and night. What’s up with that?

Of course, it always seems to be when traffic is heaviest. Or maybe it’s because traffic slows down to a crawl because of the havoc caused by having no traffic light. I mean, obviously the traffic light is there because it’s needed, right?

But, you can forget about people being polite and taking turns going through the intersection. I remember going to events back in the states where there would be 1,000 people in their cars, politely taking turns getting through the intersection. HA! Not in Italy! Here, it’s every man (or woman) for himself. There is actually a rule - simply stated, priority goes to the person on the right, and you can get fined for not observing it, supposedly - but that rule goes out the window too. People just keep nosing forward until someone manages to get through the intersection. Then it’s the next person’s turn. It almost makes you want to just close your eyes and hope for the best.

Of course, if you manage to get through the traffic, there’s the fun of finding a parking place. It doesn’t matter which direction you’re going in, people park on both sides of the street. But that’s a topic for another day.

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