Rome-Grown: Visiting a Sustainable Garden
- 25414 Views
- May 4, 2012
- 6
Shaping Cultural Experiences
Travel has been an integral part of my life since I was a young child. I grew up in a multicultural, bilingual home in the Netherlands with a Polish mother and a Dutch father. My
- 16290 Views
- May 10, 2012
- 7
Update & BBC News Link
A brief update: One interview video will be uploaded tomorrow evening. I believe the BBC News One-Minute World News provides well-balanced reporting of news, hence why I wanted to share it. Top stories on May
- 21800 Views
- May 11, 2012
- 5
From Nigeria to Boston
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VNkCazT_T4&feature=youtu.be
When you first meet Oluwagbeminiyi Osidipe, you encounter a very vibrant, friendly, and unique personality. Oluwagbeminiyi or Niyi – as she shortened her name for simplicity – was named by her mother, who had a “very personal experience” when she had her, Niyi explained. Niyi is a Yoruba Nigerian transplant who arrived in the U.S. in 2006. As one of the most densely populated (West) African countries, Nigeria derives its name from the river that spans its land. To the South, it borders the Gulf of Guinea to the Atlantic Ocean. Originally colonized by the British, Nigeria gained independence in 1960. Its main ethnic groups are the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba, who speak English and their own respective languages, while major religions include Islam, Christianity and indigenous beliefs. Niyi shares her story, her views on politics, cultural differences she’s embraced with humor, and what we can learn from each other by expressing curiosity. Her message is simple: travel enriches us through its exposure to new cultures, and enables us to grow.
- 11957 Views
- May 16, 2012
- 6
Mark Twain on Travel
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” (American author Mark Twain, Innocents Abroad).
Have you had the opportunity to travel (extensively, within your country, or even once abroad)? Can you relate to Twain’s sentiments? How does travel enrich us?
- 12184 Views
- May 19, 2012
- 19
Pleasing The Taste Palate
Food has the wonderful quality of uniting us no matter where we are. There is nothing partisan or narrow-minded about food. It simply invites us to indulge, create recipes, and share with others. Two of my favorite Polish dishes (included in collage) are pierogies and barszcz czerwony – a beetroot soup – served on Christmas Eve in Poland. How does food bring us together? What are some of your favorite dishes and why? Can food trigger memories?
- 12308 Views
- May 23, 2012
- 2
Stereotypes: Truth or Fiction?
DEFINING STEREOTYPES: “An idea or statement about all of the members of a group or all the instances of a situation.” (Merriam-Webster). Stereotypes enable bias and preconceived notions to perpetuate, but can also reveal valid
- 11295 Views
- May 29, 2012
- 4
Annual Human Rights Report
“The world changed immeasurably over the course of 2011. Across the Middle East, North Africa, and far beyond, citizens stood up to demand respect for human dignity, more promising economic opportunities, greater political liberties, and
- 9660 Views
- May 31, 2012
- 4
Euro Crisis & Emerging Stereotypes
Brief Crisis Breakdown Since the onset of the global financial crisis, or Great Recession, in 2007, the Eurozone has feared impending growing global debt levels, as well as sovereign debt within European countries themselves. In
- 10236 Views
- June 4, 2012
- 2
Remembering Tiananmen
Today marks the 23rd anniversary of Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests in Beijing, China. Inflation, a lack of career prospects, the fall of Eastern European communism, and political corruption, are all said to have fueled anger
- 11949 Views
- June 7, 2012
- 18
Coffee's Uniting Power
A cup of coffee can bridge cultural gaps. At least, that’s what Gizem Salgicil White, founder of Turkayfe.org, believes. Her organization aims to create awareness of Turkish culture, particularly within America. Gizem is a Turkish native,
- 6423 Views
- Valerie Sisco
- November 6, 2017
- Food
Today’s post is by Valerie Sisco, Culture with Travel Food Correspondent
Long before I ever visited Italy, I dreamed about eating authentic Italian food made from local ingredients seasoned, prepared and cooked Italian-style. I’d heard that it was the country’s wide variety of locally grown fruits and vegetables that make their dishes so fresh and flavorful, and I hoped to try as many as I could.
When I booked my travel for a spring foodie tour, I couldn’t wait to dine on fresh pasta topped with garden tomatoes, sample the enormous Rome artichokes I’d heard so much about, and eat homemade tiramisu flavored with rich Italian coffee. I figured I’d probably discover dishes that were unknown to me but I didn’t expect to find a secret sustainable garden in Rome where dining on the abundant harvest is special, scrumptious and by invitation only.
The Rome Sustainable Food Project is an endeavor of the American Academy in Rome, started in 2007 under the guidance of Alice Waters, founder of the renown Chez Panisse in California. Although the food project is relatively new, the Academy has existed since 1895 as a center for study and research in the arts and humanities, offering fellowships in history and culture.
Before the food project’s creation, the Academy’s kitchen turned out lackluster meals that left its residents hungry for the food Rome was known for. Now a member of Rome’s Slow Food Community, the Academy grows a variety of fruits, vegetables, olives and herbs for its menus, along with food sourced from nearby farms and organic suppliers to provide meals for the students in residence.
The guide of my Rome food tour, author Elizabeth Minchilli, is a member of the Academy and arranged a private tour of the gardens and buildings for our group, along with an invitation to lunch.
Before boarding the bus in central Rome that would take us to the Academy on the Janiculum Hill, our group swung by the markets in Trastevere to see the bountiful selection of fruits and vegetables, along with the colorful group of fishmongers and cheese sellers, just to whet our appetites for our imminent organic feast.
When we arrived, we were ushered into the dining room to eat with the Academy’s residents at communal tables. Since none of the group’s Italian was fluent enough to read the menu posted on a chalkboard, Elizabeth translated what was waiting for us as we moved through the buffet-style line and gathered around a large farmhouse table.
There was soup with potatoes and chickpeas, a variety of salads — spinach and lentils, celery with lemon, escarole with raisins and pine nuts, a main dish of pasta with lamb, and for dessert a table of vanilla yogurt with honey and citrus fruit.
Although I’d only eaten lamb one other time in my life, it felt rude to decline. So when in Rome I decided I would eat what the Romans eat, and that included lamb pasta. I was rather glad I did when the American chef stopped by to see how we enjoyed the food and tell us that the menus are inspired by what’s in season and the kitchen cooks it up Roman-style.
After a tour of the vegetable gardens, bordered by a grove of olive trees and an orchard of fruit trees, our group visited nearby historic Villa Aurelia, also owned by the Academy and used for private events. As I walked the hidden pathways and beautifully landscaped gardens of the villa perched high on a hillside with a birds-eye view, it really did look like all roads do lead to Rome.
I imagine I’m like most visitors to Rome, who hope for an authentic experience in food and history to make a treasured memory to hold onto long after returning home. But the exclusive invitation to come to a table laden with the delicious Rome-grown food of my American dreams is a forever keepsake of the eternal city.
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