We say Persimmons, Italians say Cachi
Persimmons are easily found in supermarkets and fruit stands in Italy this time of year. The fruit is native to China and known as Kaki. Here in Italy, they are known either by the Chinese name, or by the Italianized spelling, Cachi. Recipes here (in Italian).
The photo is by my friend Tarcisio Arzuffi, taken this week in his backyard in Grottaferrata.
Alice Waters: USA’s mother of Slow Food
Last Sunday, renown chef Alice Waters was featured in an interview on 60 Minutes. She talked about why fresh, organically-grown food is so important for human beings and the planet they call home.
Waters is on the advisory board for Slow Food USA, which is part of Slow Food International (see post here) founded in Italy by Carlo Petrini.
Eat the View: a suggestion for the next U.S. President
If Roger Doiron has his way, future U.S. Presidents won’t just fill their days walking the world’s corridors of power. They also will be able to step just outside the Oval Office doors to check on how their very own beans and Brussels sprouts are growing.
The project, which Doiron launched earlier this year is Eat the View. It is a campaign advocating that vegetable gardens be planted in visible public spaces around the US, including the most highly visible of all, the White House lawn.
Doiron is the founder of Kitchen Gardeners International (KGI). The group’s mission, according to its website:
…is to empower individuals, families, and communities to achieve greater levels of food self-reliance through the promotion of kitchen gardening, home-cooking, and sustainable local food systems. In doing so, KGI seeks to connect, serve, and expand the global community of people who grow some of their own food.
An article earlier this year in the New York Times described the non-profit KGI as “a virtual community of 5,200 gardeners from 96 countries.” (“Out of the Yard and Onto the Fork” by Anne Raver, April 17, 2008)
In his newly posted video (below), Doiron shows why it is a good idea for the White House to have its own vegetable garden, and offers a hands-on, how-to guide for the next American President — whoever that might be:
(I found the link to KGI in the True Blue Liberal article here — “Slow Food Nation Gains Momentum” by Shepherd Bliss, Aug 5, 2008)
