La Buona Tavola

No other topic, not even religion or politics, provokes such enthusiastic discussion in my mother’s family like melanzane ripiene, or stuffed eggplants, and “come le faceva la mamma,” how mamma used to make them. With nine children in her family, …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Lentils, (Lens culinaris), part of the pulse family, are one of the first domesticated crops in human history and have fed populations for thousands of years. Along with chickpeas and beans, lentils are some of the best sources of protein, …

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 …

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 …

I am just back from a trip to my little home in Montalcino, in Tuscany where the long, hot summer has come to a close.  There was finally a chill in the air that had me pulling on a warm …

With the season drawing to a close, the bounty of summer is starting to taper off. I still love the juicy goodness of my fresh tomatoes and the crunch of the last ears of summer corn but my palate starts …

Spiedini, speducci and arrosticini: let’s talk about the difference… Or not! Let’s face it, they all lead to the same thing – little morsels of meat cooked over charcoal which imparts a flavour that for a quick second makes you …