November Pork Festival: Diaries of a Jew in Italy
Are you there God (of bagels and lox), it’s me Michelle, please forgive me for today I have sinned.  I went to the most delicious festival in Zibello, the town best known for its production of Culatello, the prime and outrageously expensive variety of prosciutto. As sacreligious as this might be for one of the Jewish variety, I nonetheless had a religious experience with each bite of delicious cured meat that passed through my lips. November Porc (yes spelled with a C) was just

Eating my Emotions: The ‘Heart’-Ships of a Gastronome
You know the days where the only thing you want to do is drink a bottle of wine with an incredibly long straw and hide under the bed?? Well, thank god I am in Italy because eating my emotions takes on an entirely new meaning, a superior echelon per se… Eating an inordinate amount of various pastas, marinated vegetables, grilled shrimps, chocolates, and other various necessities at the ALMA culinary academy (the most presitigious in Italia) allows me to forget my troubles, frustration over my Italian ex boyfriend, and general disregard for life on gray days. Today being Saturday, I tried to forget my aching heart (ah, Italian romance) and went the open stree

Il Mio Palazzo: The Italian Mansion
Waking up at 7am in a haze of both jet lag and being licked in the face by my friend’s wolf (yes, wolf) I was very much mentally prepared to move into my own place, one that I have been anticipating for the past month and a half.. After paying a 300E fee as a deposit for my place, my new roommates and I anxiously arrived at our apartment, which, from the outside is quite impressive. Made in the traditional Italian architectural style, the house towers above the street in 3 floors, large and yellow, covered in vines and surrounded by large trees. My being the pessimist, I assumed the beauty of the outside was a nice façade to mask a horror that lurked insid

Eating Your Pets: The Carbon Pawprint
Thanks to Al Gore and other various scaremongers for global warming (not that it isn’t an imminent issue) we as a society have become well acquainted with the term “Carbon Footprint” as we are constantly told of how our actions have a direct effect on the carbon emissions into the environment.. The obvious culprits of high carbon emissions are : SUVs Cattle (methane) Oil Refineries International Trade Large Corporate Factories Etc But one serious contributor to high carbon emissions may be laying in bed next to you at this very moment….!! No I’m not talking about

The Italian Breakfast: A Love for Biscotti
When the average American wakes up in the morning, no meal sounds more enticing than a nice scrambled egg and bacon breakfast, carbs are unnecessary contributors to the protein stars of the show. In Italia however, a morning meal of this sort invokes fear and cold sweats into the natives. Italian #1: But, eggs, for first meal!? You Americans eat Frittata for breakfast!? Siete Pazzi! (you’re all nuts!) American #1: We also eat salads as dinner entrees!!! (cue horror music soundtrack) The point I’m getting to, is that breakfast for basically every Italian consists of strong espresso and a various