An Italian Christmas Tradition

The Italians love food, and Christmas is no exception.

On Christmas Eve it is traditional to eat fish dishes; certainly, no meat is eaten on Christmas Eve. Panettone, a traditionally light Milanese cake, also plays a part in this meal but can be eaten at any time with family and friends during the holiday season.

Religion and faith plays an important part in the Christmas festivities, with families attending mass together and watching the Pope appear on his famous balcony on Christmas Day.

Christmas lunch is often stuffed pasta parcels, followed by stuffed goose or boiled capon or more seafood.

Made the traditional way, panettone is a comparatively complicated recipe, but this simple version suitable for a bread machine is a quick and easy way to create this delicious Christmas treat:- Full of candied fruit, raisins, citron, anise or fennel seed, lemon zest and even almonds – here’s three online bread recipes to choose from:-


For a full flavoured, spicy and aromatic, panettone, visit http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art27031.asp
For a simple, quick recipe visit http://bread.allrecipes.com/az/PanettoneII.asp
Using American measurements, this should make a fragrant, tasty loaf, visit http://www.recipezaar.com/106369

In Italy the children have to wait until 6th January for their presents, so it’s probably just as well they have plenty of delicious food to enjoy until then. Buon Natale!

For further ideas for Italian recipes and Christmas Recipes, visit our website.

Find more recipes & cookbooks at the One Dollar bookstore.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jen_E_Carter



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Editing Secrets

Editing a manuscript whether it is for yourself or someone else often feels like butchery. But when I am finished, I get a deep sense of satisfaction at the nice, tidy, polished product.

Here are some of the things I've learned as an editor that I wish I had learned as a writer.

• The story mus have a strong story arc.

• No head hopping except in very emotionally charged scenes.

• No gerunds (words ending in ing) and eliminate use of the words was, that, were, had, had been. These are words that make a work passive.

• No author intrusions, including back-story, especially in the first 3 chapters.

• No long passages of narration, or places where the story is told from the narrator’s POV.

• The POV should belong to the character that has the most to loose in that particular scene.

• No passive voice

• Eliminate all but the most necessary dialogue tags

• Characters should be very well developed, growing through the story.

• All subplots should converge in the climax

• All characters, settings, descriptions that do not set mood, or are vital to the main plots resolution are cut.

• Short resolutions should occur after the black moment. After the black moment should come a moment of no return where the character realizes their ‘wants and desires’ will never make them happy, so they ‘choose’ to follow their needs.

• Story starts at the precise moment the character’s life changes forever. Story starts in an action/dialogue moment.

Follow these steps before sending your manuscript out into the world and I'll bet you'll never find yourself in the slush pile.

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The Wildest Horse Race in the World by Marguerite Henrcy

I am an avid reader of any book or novel that pertains to Italy. I stumbled upon this book accidentally. It was a discard from a school library and because it pertained to medieval Italy, and therefore research for future novels of mine, I immediately purchased the book.

This is a classic tale about a young boy and a horse who enter the famous Italian Palio. The author, Marguerite Henry did an exceptional job at researching this novel by attending the Palio and Siena herself to study the sport. She brings to life the pain, the excitement, and the passion for this sport.

Throughout the sometimes heart-wrenching tale of endurance, Henry reveals the ancient practice in vivid detail. It is a story of overcoming the unsurmountable, of perseverence, of achieving the impossible.

The book was first published in 1976 and can still be found on-line at various bookstores. It is beautifully illustrated to bring alive the details and scenery of the ancient city of Siena.

So, if you are a collector of Italian books, then this is a must have for your bookshelf and children.

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