Rapini, also known as Broccoli Rabe, is a superhero of vegetables! It boosts your immune system, improves digestion, protects your eyesight, supports heart health, strengthens bones and detoxes. This cruciferous…
My new adventure in cooking with lavender has been successful thus far. I’ve enjoyed rave reviews for my lavender scones, lavender limonata and my lavender biscotti. This creamy- tangy ranch…
Fresh asparagus, whether it is roasted and tossed with ravioli, made into a tart, a salad or served with eggs, is something we look forward to every spring in California.…
Lentils are one of the world’s oldest health foods. This little lens-shaped legume came to the Americas in the early 16th century. During World War II, people began to…
Native to the western and central Mediterranean, the artichoke is a domesticated variety of the wild cardoon. Cardone, in Italian, is a thistle and looks like large stocks of…
Inexpensive and readily available, cauliflower is a nutritional powerhouse. It is high in vitamins C and K, potassium, manganese, folate, fiber and cancer-preventing glucosinolates. If you are (currently) not…
One of my favorite ways to enjoy pears is the simplest, fresh off the tree with a handful of walnuts. Now, add crumbles of Gorgonzola and a drizzle of…
Burrata is a cream filled mozzarella sack. Invented in Puglia, Italy, as a way to use the scraps of curds left over after twisting balls of mozzarella. The scraps…
This is a fresh and flavorful raw zucchini dish featuring tangy capers and ricotta salata. The words ‘Ricotta’ means re-cooked and ‘Salata’ means salted. Ricotta Salata is a Sicilian…
There is only one authentic Insalata Caprese and it originated in Capri, Italy. Traditionally, tomatoes are used in the infamous dish. Since it is peach season and I have…
Potato salad with olives, tomatoes and capers is a popular salad on the island of Pantelleria (Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea). Capers are a small but distinctive…
Fennel, a favorite Italian vegetable, customarily eaten raw with a bit of salt, sees the year’s second crop in Autumn. We enjoy it in soups, salads, a creamy bowl…
Roasted, stuffed, grilled and fried, are just some of the methods Italians (particularly southern Italians and Sicilians) use to turn this versatile vegetable into a vast variety of dishes.…
The Isle of Capri, Italy, situated in the Bay of Napoli, is probably most noted for the Grotta Azzurra, (Blue Grotto) a sea cave that is filled with a…
The Italian giardiniera, pronounced jar-dih-NAIR-ah, means from the garden and is a classic combination of vegetables. Cauliflower, red bell peppers, carrots, celery and serrano chili peppers are mixed and…
I enjoy all sorts of vegetables, but cauliflower is one of my favorites. As a child, my siblings and I were introduced to this cruciferous vegetable with my mother’s…
Whenever my son, Joe, and I try a new Italian restaurant, the “one dish” that is a make-or-break decision to return, is eggplant Parmesan. The ingredients should compliment one…