PASSIONATE RATIONS

“Salumi” is the Italian equivalent of the French “charcuterie”—a branch of cooking devoted to prepared meat products, primarily pork products.  “Salumi” is not a misspelling of “salami.”  Salami is a type of salumi.

I mention this by way of background for the story I just posted on my Food Fiction page.  If I no longer choose to eat meat, at least I can still write about it.

The story burst forth spontaneously in my imagination after hearing a National Public Radio (NPR) broadcast entitled “Salami:  A Cure for What Ails You,” about Celebrity Chef Mario Batali’s father, who owns a salami-curing venue named “Salumi” in the Seattle area.  Add my curiosity about the history of a certain pig farmer I happened to visit in the course of my job and John Calligan, the story’s protagonist, was born.

Odd inspiration, I know.