I can trace all of father’s family to one small town in Italy. Though the older generations may have a more varied origin, all of my living paternal relatives who aren’t in America are in Calabria, a southern region closest to the edge of Sicily, the “tip of the boot,” so to speak. It tends to be overlooked, like most of Southern Italy, in favor of the history of Rome, the art of Florance, the canals of Venice.
That’s one thing I love about Italy though: each region, each town, you visit has a rich history and tradition worth exploring. My Nonna, the first of her siblings to arrive in America, would often transmit her culture to us through food. Visiting Italy a few weeks ago for a cousin’s wedding, I was comforted by how familiar the gatherings were to me. They also revolved around food; Strega Nonna-sized mountains of pasta, homemade sandwiches with cheese and meats and crispelle, fried dough, though these were studded with anchovies or alice, as my aunts called them. My family left with limoncello, dried fennel seeds, cheese, sausage, and olive oil in leftover plastic water bottles because it, like all the rest, was homemade.
In America, all Italian food runs together into one big amalgamation, but once you visit the country you see the distinctions depending on where you are having dinner that night. A lot of this variation has to do with climate, with Calabria being much more hot than the Northern or even central regions. Thusly, it is only in the south you see hot peppers grown and incorporated into cuisine. In Rome, for example, which is located in Central Italy, black pepper is the spiciest you will get. I thought it was a normal Italian thing to have every meal accompanied by diced peppers preserved in oil or crisp, charred spears of red and green, with a heat that snuck up on you.
Hot peppers are a martial food, or of the planet Mars. It is a planet associated with heat, friction, and no small amount of pain. Look no further than the struggle on someone’s tear-streaked face when they eat something too spicy to understand the challenge that Mars presents us. Al-Biruni says that “whatever is not poisonous but pungent and warm,” is of Mars. I have memories of family members shouting out in pain because they just ate an extra hot pepper and wasn’t expecting its pungency. They always seemed to vary in heat, to keep you on your toes.
My Nonna was born with her Moon in Aries, a sign ruled by Mars, mirroring its passion and fight. Though she was a sweet, caring woman, I see it arise in her status as reluctant pioneer — married off to my Nonno because he was moving to America and my great-grandfather wanted his family to move there one by one. I see it in her strong defense of her family and, of course, in the hot peppers we treated like gold that she would mete out at every dinner so we could eat her food even when we went back home. My 4th house, the place of family and ancestry, is ruled by Mars. I find comfort in those who do the scary thing, who assent to live through life’s intensities and shifts, even leaving what they know for something better, even if they’re scared.
So of course, we also came back to America with two homemade jars of peppers, a taste of home from thousands of miles away. If you come across a jar of Calabrian chiles, consider yourself blessed. They really go well on everything but I love them spread on a sandwich, mixed into virtually any pasta dish, with grilled or stuffed eggplant.
Recipe: Hot Pepper Relish
Note: My Nonna once said to me, “In Italy, we don’t use recipes”. So, the few times I got to witness her cooking process, it never involved measuring cups or exact amounts. Below is a basic formula that asks you to taste, pay attention, and determine for yourself is you have enough salt, oil, etc. That also means it’s hard to mess up! Do you, always.
Ingredients:
fresh hot peppers
salt
oil
Finely dice your peppers into a size that would be to easy to spoon onto bread or incorporate nicely into a salad dressing. Once again, the exact size is up to your preferences. Salt liberally and leave in a colander overnight to let all the excess water drain out. It should be salty enough to taste but not overwhelmingly so. Next, pack in a jar with enough oil to cover. Serve.
I love using astrology to weave my life together more deeply: seeing Mars show up again and again in my life, my family, my sense of comfort. Of course hot peppers are a sign of care in my life. I love seeing these threads both in my own and the lives of others; they are always there, reminding us of our interdependence.
If you want help seeing the threads of your life and accessing your own power, my books are open for November.
Book a natal, timing, fixed star or creative practice reading below
P.S. One of my specialities, and one of the most hard-hitting topics in astrology, are the fixed stars. While the planets point to the conditions of our earthly existence, the fixed stars and their constellations point to our soulful, divine journey. If you want to learn more, check out some of my fixed star offerings in the thread below!
https://twitter.com/psychic_nonna/status/1717618335096139809
For now, I leave you with this.
Isabelle Hammad is an author, who’s essay “Recognizing the Stranger” is about disapora and otherness and is all too relevant to the current violence happening in Israel and Palestine. May we recognize and name mass violence and inequality for what it is— genocide— and call for a ceasefire so no more blood be shed.
Here’s an excerpt from her introduction:
Until next week,
Love,
Chloe
¨all of my living paternal relatives who aren’t in America are in Calabria, a southern region closest to the edge of Sicily, the “tip of the boot,” so to speak.¨
Yes! And I have dug nowhere near as much into Calabrian cuisine as I would like, but it´s on the list.
¨If you come across a jar of Calabrian chiles, consider yourself blessed.¨
Absolutely. I´d rate it with that one jar of Chinese pure capsium oil I found once. Purple, and woo! Good stuff. I was kinda afraid of whatever the hell it was in the bottom half of the jar. (But I used it.)
Two cookbooks for you. The family recipes aren´t written down - except by the Italian Academy of Cookery. They ran around and got recipes from cooks all over Italy:
https://www.amazon.com/Great-Italian-Cookbook-Academy-Cookery/dp/0517635534
Then there´s the Italian Academy of Cuisine´s all regional specialities collection which is HUGE.
https://www.amazon.com/Cucina-Regional-Cooking-Italy/dp/0847831477
I haven´t cooked anywhere near all the recipes in the first one, much less the second, simply because there are too damn many (authentic!) recipes.
elm
those two will cover you for a lifetime