azahorik

As a sometime blogger and occasional blabbermouth, I've spent over the past ten years living in both Italy and my native United States.  Whenever I have a free moment, I enjoy writing about my experiences both at home and abroad.  Words make me happy, putting them to paper (or to Microsoft Word) makes me even happier, and sharing my experiences with the wider world helps me to feel fulfilled and connected in a sometimes chaotic and disconnected lifestyle.

My interests are primarily related to food and cooking (because there are few pleasures in life as great as good food!) and fitness (because you have to pay for those pleasures somehow).

In cooking, I straddle two very different culinary worlds. 

My own heritage is strongly Pennsylvania Dutch, since both sides of my family have been living in southeastern Pennsylvania since the early 1700's on one side and just before the Civil War on the other.  Shoo-fly pie, schnitz und knepp, brown apies, bread and butter pickles, homemade sauerkraut, hog's maw, dried corn, apple butter, funny cake, and fastnacht doughnuts, they're all foods I've eaten for my whole life, and I'm proud to call them my own.

On the other side of the coin, I've been living on and off in Italy with my long term partner for over ten years now, and in that time I've learned a great deal about northern Italian food culture and traditions.  I know what's authentic and what's not, I know how to make my own pasta, and I know the difference between a good prosciutto and a bad one. 

(That is to say, if you've tried prosciutto in the U.S. and disliked it, hold judgement until you've tried it at the source.  Why?  Because it's only the youngest and lowest quality prosciutti which get marked for export!  The locals get to keep the good ones.)

And, of course, I pay for all of that eating by lifting things up and putting them down, so if you want any tips on weight lifting or general fitness, I'll be happy to share!