Have you ever yelled at a deer? One summer night, I stood on my deck, overlooking my little vegetable garden and watched helplessly as a deer feasted away on my almost ripe tomatoes. Ugh! I had been waiting so patiently for them to ripen. Just a couple more days I thought, why the tomatoes? The bigger problem was my garden was overflowing with zucchini! Yes, a first time gardener and I planted way too many zucchini plants. Those babies are quite proliferative! My sister was staying with me that summer so I figured a little extra would be fine. I found out later that she was not a fan of…
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Ratatouille – the perfect freezer meal
When I think of Ratatouille the first thing I think about is that cute animated movie from a few years ago. The adorable rat, Remy, who dreamed of being a chef and had so much gumption that he worked until he made it happen. I never knew how much you could learn from a rat! Seriously, animated movies sometimes have great life lessons! That’s for another day though. I love that movie and the dish with its name is one of my favorites. Other than chopping a lot of vegetables, it’s pretty easy to make. This recipe makes a lot and it freezes well. One recipe makes enough for a…
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Beans and Greens
At just about any Italian restaurant in Pittsburgh, you will find “beans and greens” or Scarola e Fagioli on the menu. This hearty dish is typically a side dish but is sometimes served as a soup, and is always served with a piece of crusty Italian bread and parmesan cheese sprinkled over top. This classic Italian (or Italian-American) dish is a “peasant dish”. Many people will tell you that it originated in the U.S., not in Italy, but that is debatable. Beans and Greens quite possibly originated in Southern Italy, where many of Pittsburgh’s Italian residents immigrated from in the late 1800s. At that time, the ingredients would have been…
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New Year’s Artichokes
Food traditions are an important part of a family's history and even more special around the holidays. Here is a little about one of my more recently acquired food traditions - and one of my favorites!
