La Buona Tavola

As the end of summer approaches in North America, we see an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables everywhere. Of course we have the usual suspects such as tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, beans, plums, peaches, and berries but let’s not overlook …

The heat of high summer calls for lots of time poolside and as little time as possible in the kitchen. We want meals that are simple, require little or no cooking and minimal effort and time. Perhaps, most importantly, the …

By this point in summer, most of us are starting to tire of the armloads of zucchini being hauled in from the garden. This abundant summer veggie has caused me to audibly sigh at times as I realize just HOW …

Pasta e fagioli, or pasta and beans, is a classic dish found in most Italian households. Like many of the dishes that are now popular around the world, this was once a peasant dish in Italy. A very simple dish …

Kale. The “super food”.  It’s everywhere: kale salads, kale chips, kale and rice bowls, kale extracts, kale and spinach green tea hyaluronic acid age prevention cream (whatever that is)! If you grew up Italian, this wonderfully versatile vegetable is not …

It’s that time of year. From the moment you bring the first zucchini into the house, up until October, it’s non-stop freezing, blanching, drying, pureeing, canning, and cooking. But, it’s not as bad as it sounds. In fact, it’s completely …

We are told that dehydrating in the old days was a very common method of preservation, especially in the hotter zones of Italy. I can remember on many visits to Italy seeing what seemed like a sea of tomatoes laying …

True confession: up until about 6 years ago I gleefully lived my life believing a truffle was a delectable orb of chocolaty goodness surrounding a mystery filling of something gooey and delicious. This type of truffle does exist, but to …

You know that old Star Trek episode where Captain Kirk is buried up his neck in Tribbles? That’s what I feel like right now, because my tomato plants are producing baskets and baskets of Roma and San Marzano tomato every …

During my boyhood in New Jersey, summer meant trips to the Jersey shore, and the Jersey shore meant clams! From then till now, to me summer means clams and clams mean summer. While clams alone in a simple broth would …