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.

I was supposed to be at yoga class this morning but a soufflé laced with cheese and drizzled with chestnut honey led me astray.  My ‘down dogs’ will have to wait until another day. However, I am pretty certain that any dish that brings together cheese and honey has its own sort of food karma – so I may have arrived at the same result without all the effort! 

I have been drooling over the cover of my February issue of La Cucina Italiana since it arrived from Italy a few months back. 

Continue reading Food Karma: Soufflé di Formaggio, Miele e Noci (Soufflé with Cheese, Honey and Walnuts at Our Italian Table.

I am not known as a patient person, but I’m working on it. One patience-building exercise for me this year was making nocino (a walnut-based liqueur) for Christmas: I had to start all the way back in June.

Back then, I was on the treadmill at my local gym when I heard a segment on KCRW’s Good Food program about making this wonderful drink. I had sipped this delicious liquer at restaurants before, but I had no clue how it was made.

Continue reading The Nocino Report – Thank you Cousin Rosetta! at Our Italian Table.