I’m probably one of the last cooks in America that have resisted buying and using the Instant Pot®. I really don’t have a reason or justification for not running to the store to buy the newest craze in this kitchen appliance when it came out a few years ago. I was just unenthused. A few friends purchased
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The traditional Italian dish “pasta e fagioli” translates to “pasta and beans.” And that’s just what I’m cooking! Cannellini or white beans are the common beans used in this recipe. This is a happy meal for me. We had just returned from Italy last year when I made this. You know how you feel when
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Butternut squash is a fall/winter staple in our home. It pairs nicely with about any meat, chicken or fish dish. One year our vegetable garden went a little crazy and we had an overabundance of butternut squash (much like our summer of zucchini overload), so you will find many butternut squash recipes on this website.
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A potato side-dish complements almost any meat, chicken, or fish meal. This simple version of cheesy scalloped potatoes are not only great for a “big dinner” but also make good leftovers (particularly with leftover ham!). First we need to clear up some controversy about scalloped potatoes. From Cooksinfo.com: “A few people speculate that for
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Sunday is sauce day in a typical Italian family’s house. My grandmother followed that tradition for many years. It was expected that we had Sunday dinner with pasta and freshly made sauce. You didn’t want to mess with Italian tradition or my grandmother. The family sauce recipe is closely guarded amongst Italians. Most will not
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Are you familiar with the song that Dana Carvey sang called “The Lady I Know?” For some reason that song was rolling around in my head as I was creating this recipe. It’s really a spoof of a song and mainly just repeats the lyrics “Chop’in broccoli.” Most people think of the song as the
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Do I call this The Italian Roast Beef Encounter because it’s smothered in wine and tomatoes? Is it because there are about nine cloves of garlic included? Or could it be that there is an abundance of Italian herbs sprinkled throughout? Maybe because I like to add in cooked fava beans when I have them fresh
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September signals the beginning of Fall, school resuming after summer, and harvests emptying gardens of summer vegetables. Change is in the air and can effect many areas of our lives. Are you ready for the transition? The five favorites for September include a fun video from Dr. Oz and Pasquale Sciarappa on the healthy aspects
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Summer is winding down, and I don’t think I’ve ever been looking forward to a cool rainy afternoon as much as this year. It was one hot summer here in the Northwest. Now maybe I noticed it a bit more this year because I literally spent at least one-half of every day cooking. This year
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The summer season does have an impact on my blogging. I’d rather be in the garden admiring and/or harvesting the vegetables, or sitting under the shade of the gazebo reading a book, or taking a walk in our neighborhood where the water features and ponds are lush this time of year, or wine tasting and
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One endearing memory of dating my hubby is his term for dinner, “din din.” I’d not heard that word before in the circles I hung out in. He’s from New York and I’m a California native, so our lives were from two different sides of the planet as far as I was concerned. Well, they
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Adding grains into salads kicks it up a notch in my book. Farro is a favorite grain that works well in salads. I learned how to make a great Farro salad in Vinci, Italy. I was all set to send you to a link in my blog with this salad adventure and realized that I
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