“Spaghetti can be eaten most successfully if you inhale it like a vacuum cleaner.”
Today is cloudy, and without the sun, the house felt cool so I turned off the AC and opened some windows. The house got hot quickly. The adage not the heat but the humidity must have been coined here in New England sometime in August. I’ll throw another one at you, the dog days of summer. We’re caught in both of them.
My friend Maria called. She and I have been friends since the fourth grade for me and the fifth grade for her. I remember when I was in high school going many times to her Sunday family dinner. Every dish was Italian. Every dish was delicious.
My aunt married an Italian. She was my mother’s older sister. My mother used to tell us my aunt wouldn’t even carry Italian bread so my mother thought it ironic that my aunt married an Italian. To top it off he owned a fish market in East Boston which was heavily Italian back then. My father and my uncle were great friends. They fished together for smelt, and my father used to help him around Christmas. Because of the Night of Seven Fishes, the market was non stop customers. I have a new dad story from his time selling fish just before Christmas. A woman wanted a fresh eel. She said they looked dead. My father grabbed one, which was dead, and moved it around as if it were fighting him. The woman bought the “live” eel.
All of the above is the back story connecting Italian and my aunt. I remember visiting her in East Boston with my parents. She and my uncle and two cousins lived in the tiniest apartment. On one visit, she served spaghetti in clam sauce. I liked spaghetti and I liked clams, but I never would have put the two together. She served and grated cheese on top. I tried some out of courtesy. It had an unexpected taste. It was delicious. I don’t think I’ve had it since.
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keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
August 13, 2020 at 6:00 pm
Hi Kat,
My mother used to joke that I was born in a spaghetti barrel. I’ve always loved pasta in any form and with any sauce. I can eat it for any meal at anytime. I love Italian food but I was somewhat disappointed on my two trips to northern Italy with the taste of the food, bland. I know now that our version of Italian food is a hybrid between the cooking style of southern Italy and the ingredients that those turn of the century immigrants found when arriving on our shores. Real Italians don’t eat spaghetti and meatballs. I still have found that the best Italian food is served in Northern New Jersey. I joked that when the government broke up the Mafia in NYC, all their children moved to New Jersey and opened restaurants. 🙂
I loved your story about your dad and the eel. He must have been a great salesman. It reminded me of the story about a woman who goes into a butcher shop and the butcher hands her a chicken. The woman takes the chicken, she smells both ends and says, “Mister, this chicken stinks.” The butcher replies, “Madam, could you pass a test like that?” 🙂
We also hit the dog days, today the high was 102° which was too hot to even go swimming. I think we will get in the pool after dinner when it cools down into the upper 90s. 🙂
August 13, 2020 at 7:36 pm
Hi Bob,
Spaghetti is really my least favorite pasta. I love rigatoni, ziti and penne. I’m also a noodle fan. I always have ground beef, paste and tomatoes on hand just in case. My last grocery order did have some pasta. I also some some I’m saving for the election night. The pasta is in donkey shape. I jus hope I won’t choke on it come November.
My father was the consummate salesman. When he became the branch manager of Hood Ice Cream in Hyannis, a rival ice cream company asked him out to lunch. They wanted to meet the guy who was taking over the ice cream in their stores. That’s how good he was.
I even like pasta just with basil, nuts, and olive oil. When I first bought my house, I was poor. I ate a lot of spaghetti, the Ramen of its day.
It rained all of three minutes,