For Italians, olives are a crucial component of the antipasto (appetizer) dish.  Olive cunzate, in the Sicilian lingo, is a generic term for seasoned or marinated olives.  Green olives are usually processed in a brining solution and black olives are usually salted and oven-dried, similar to Moroccan olives.  This recipe is made using only brined […]

Artichokes are my favorite vegetable and I especially love artichoke salad.  This salad is made in the springtime when fresh baby artichokes are available.  However, fresh artichokes require a great deal of preparation before cooking.  You must first remove the a good deal of the hard outer leaves,  scoop out the fuzzy choke, and cook before […]

When I think about Italian comfort food, pasta é fagioli (pasta with beans) is on the top of my list.  I call it food to hibernate by.  Pasta é fasoli, as Sicilians call it, is a humble, earthy and hearty dish that is a staple of most Italian kitchens.  It is simple to make but […]

The holidays are over with and if you’re like me, you’re tired of eating beef, pork, turkey, and seafood.  Eating pasta is definitely out of the question because it would only add to the recent weight gain put on by the holiday binge-eating.  Yes, I was a naughty girl and also helped myself to one-too-many […]