I adore lemons. And lemon trees. And the smell of lemons blossoms. Their sunny little faces can brighten a dreary winter’s day. Over the years, I have attempted to grow lemons indoors as my climate is too chilly to leave the little guys outside all year. My first attempt, years ago, resulted in nothing but lots and lots of lemon leaves but zero lemons. But when I moved into my new house a few years ago, I realized that I had a bright sunny window that just might be THE spot for my little lemon tree.

Continue reading A Little Winter Lemon Love at Our Italian Table.

You know that old Star Trek episode where Captain Kirk is buried up his neck in Tribbles? That’s what I feel like right now because my tomato plants are producing baskets and baskets of Roma and San Marzano tomato every day.

Urban gardening in Los Angeles has turned out to be pretty easy. Driven by the drought of last year, I ripped out my front lawn and put in raised planter beds with a drip system.

Continue reading The Trouble with Tribbles (or in this case, tomatoes) at Our Italian Table.

I was reorganizing a few cabinets the other day and came across some old photo albums – those old photo albums that many of us of a certain age 🙂 remember from childhood. (Peel back the plastic, stick on your photos, lay the plastic back on top.) The yellowing pages contained photos of my mother’s family at our frequent weekend picnics and parties – their smiling faces staring into the camera; kids romping in the background, food tucked into every possible corner of the tables alongside.

Continue reading Childhood Memories and a Few Sauces from Sicily at Our Italian Table.

When I was a kid, I used to sit at the kitchen table on a weekend morning watching my mother chop mounds of onion, celery and carrots to begin her Sunday meat sauce. Soon the aroma of the onion gently sautéing in olive oil had my mouth watering which quickly resembled drooling. Mom patiently waited until the onions had softened to add in the carrots and celery and it was at that point that I was finally allowed to help stir the pot.

Continue reading A Bolognese and a Battuto at Our Italian Table.

SUMMER!!! How I love thee!! There is nothing like the garden bounty of a midsummer’s day.

I just returned home from a trip to Uganda. (wait? what??? Uganda? I do volunteer work with women. A story for another day indeed.)

However, it meant NO salad, veggies or fruit washed in local water for an entire 8 days. I drooled over every plump ripe tomato being sold roadside; every leaf of crispy cool lettuce; every juicy exotic fruit.

Continue reading Summers’ Sultry Solstice: Eggplant Ricotta ‘Ravioli’ with Summer Tomato Sauce at Our Italian Table.

Ahhh, the summer garden. How I love the quiet time amongst my little plants in spring, waiting for their roots to take hold and for their stalks or leaves to soar. There is nothing like the joy of seeing that first zucchini blossom, tomato flower or artichoke stem. But then, a business trip calls me away and I return to find my plants have taken on a life of their own – seemingly to have grown overnight into alien versions of their little former selves; weeds, leaves and summer’s bounty all mingling into a little jungle of sorts.

Continue reading A Summer’s Riff on Pesto: Arugula, Basil and Walnut Pesto at Our Italian Table.

Italian “salsa verde” is very different from the pureed green stuff you pour into those little plastic cups and drizzle on your tacos. The Italian stuff is a briney, lemony and bright mixture with a wide variety of uses. In fact, Italian salsa verde is well suited to drizzle on simple grilled fish, roasted chicken or boiled meats in sandwiches.

I like to always have a little jar of this wonderful condiment in the fridge.

Continue reading Salsa Verde – Not the stuff that goes on tacos… at Our Italian Table.