Insalata Calamari

Pesce alla griglia

Greetings, Gruß, Saluti, Pozdravy, ご挨拶, Saludos, pozdrowienia, χαιρετίσματα, salutations, 问候, 인사, selamlar    !!!

Welcome to my blog.

The pictures above are a two dishes from Il Girasole restaurant in Halbergmoos, Bavaria, Germany.  One of my favorite, everyday places to eat near my office in Munich area. It is very near the F.J. Strauss Airport, so if in the area, I highly recommend.  Bavaria has many good Italian restaurants since many Italians immigrated to Germany to provide the necessary trade skills to expand the German economy.  The lovely result is some of the greatest Italian restaurants in all of Europe.

Back to my blog..  why?

Very simply, I started this to share my experiences with the food and cultures of the world.  A particular emphasis will be on my locale in the Upstate of South Carolina, around and about the city of Greenville, but certainly not limited to this area.  I’ve traveled in many cities around the world, and shared food, wine, conversation and customs with a vast array of people.

My father was raised in Sicily, and my mother was raised in New Jersey to Italian immigrant parents.  Her father immigrated to Philadelphia, and worked in the John B. Stetson hat factory, until he decided that life would be healthier if them moved to the “shore” of south Jersey, or Sea Isle City.  He started a trucking company near there and still is in the Family today.    My father came to the United States in 1940 and not long after he got here he was inducted in the US Army. He could not speak very good English, so the Army made him a medical orderly and he was stationed for 4 years in New Guinea at an Army Hospital.  He returned from the War, met my mother, and they were married soon after.

Many times my father would tell me that my mother would go to the edge of the sea, and look east towards Europe and pray for her future husband to come from Italy.  Of course Dad said her prayers were answered in himself, as they met, and married after the War.

Language defines a culture, and my parents both spoke Italian.  Or as my mother said, more of a Sicilian dialect that was referred to as “Sigi”.

My father never considered it important to teach me the language.  He considered it a handicap to not be able to speak perfect English, and therefore felt no need to teach me my ancestral tongue.  Unfortunately, the immigrants suffered deep prejudices when they came to the “Melting Pot” of USA, and felt the need to blend in as quickly as possible.  I do not think this is the case today.  People want to know more about their heritage, culture, and language.

The one thing my parents did teach me, either by direct instruction, casual observation, and eventual consumption, is how to cook Italian food.  I am an expert in the consumption part, and unfortunately have “The Curse of My Italian Mother”  around my midsection that I battle every day! But it is a good battle !

This blog is a way of sharing my cultural experience, and the food associated with Italian and many other cultures around the world.  I hope you find some value in my postings.

It is important to understand the many cultures of the world, since it has gotten smaller with the advent of jet travel and the internet.  We must get along with each other in peace, as the USA learned being a country of immigrants.

Just like language, food is a defining part of all cultures.  Welcome to my past and future experiences in the Greenville, Upstate South Carolina, and  around the world.

Grazie !