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Happy Halloween!/Spices

November 1st, 2009 Kristi Leave a comment Go to comments

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Outfit:
Black cashmere blend Banana Republic sweater
Levis
Black Boots
Menu:
Breakfast: one pancake
Lunch: two slices pizza
Dinner: mini meatballs; vegetables and dip, little pickles wrapped in cream cheese and ham; candy; candy; candy; wine
Finances:
$9 for wine


SPICES

I have a lot of spices in a small kitchen. I buy most of my spices in small bulk plastic bags and realized I had a kitchen drawer full of these bags, so I put my old Bonne Maman jars to use.

The drawer is to the right of my stove. On the counter above the drawer, I keep some bulk oregano in a glass jar and some bulk salt along with garlic, sugar and cruets of vinegar and oil.

Directly above that counter, is an open shelf with some smaller jars of spices.

Then, nearby in a glass-front cabinet, I keep some of my bulk spices that I refill into smaller containers: such as dried whole peppers, dried red pepper and peppercorns.

As you can see, I’m a little fanatical about having an organized kitchen.

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Categories: La Bella Cucina, Mangia! Mangia!, Style Tags:
  1. lunasa
    November 1st, 2009 at 11:27 | #1
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    It looks like you have a very organized kitchen, I think that’s a really good idea putting those jars to use like that. I too have little bags of spices that are in bad need of rehousing so to speak. I think I might borrow your idea!
    Those pickles wrapped in cheese and ham sound really good too! Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

  2. Kristi
    November 1st, 2009 at 15:03 | #2
    Reply | Quote

    Lunasa,
    Please do!
    K

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What is it about those Italian women? You know the ones I’m talking about: beautiful, sexy, dressed to the nines just to take the kids to the park. They have a certain something that is indefinable. It is in the way they dress, the way they prepare their meals, the way they spend their leisure time.

It is because they know the importance of la bella figura. Roughly translated from Italian, it means putting you best foot forward in everything you do. It means cutting a beautiful figura. The opposite of la bella figura is la brutta figura, which is what someone might say about the falling down drunken guy at the party or the super tackily dressed woman at church. It means ugly figure.

La bella figura is much more than your appearance. It goes much deeper than that. It is about how you act. It is about how you treat others. It is about how you care for yourself, your home and your family. Living a life in line with la bella figura doesn’t take money. In fact, it is more about how to have class without a lot of money.

Someone who exudes la bella figura will have clean, pressed clothes and be well groomed. They will not be rude or sloppy. Their fingernails will be impeccably groomed. Their hair shiny and clean and their shoes will be polished. They will not have stray threads hanging from their suit hems. They will not be driving a car in need of the car wash.

La bella figura means driving that 15 year old car and meticulously cleaning it and caring for it. It means keeping your belongings in good repair. It means taking time to clean your house and not cluttering it up with meaningless objects.

When you focus all your spare energy, time and money on the things that bring you the most amount of pleasure, then you are truly living a life in line with la bella figura. The best part about it is that you don’t have to be Italian to do so. You just have to think like an Italian.

Italian children are raised to present la bella figura in whatever they do. From the time they are small and are groomed perfectly to attend church or school, they know that appearances count. They count because it is the first thing people judge about you. That first impression does matter. Appearances are also important because when you take the time to look nice, you are showing that you care about yourself. When you care enough to look good, it shows you have good healthy self esteem. Nothing is more attractive than self confidence.

In addition, dressing nice also shows respect for others. If you invite people over for dinner and greet them in flip flops, baggy sweats and a stained shirt, it is really disrespectful to them. The same if you dress sloppy to go to church or even to the market. By dressing nicely and being well groomed, you show respect for everyone in your world.

Having la bella figura means presenting yourself in the best light possible in all your interactions.