Cooking with family, photographs, hints, children’s recipes
Struffoli, strufoli, struffoli—Italian Honey Balls! A Neapolitan dessert my Grandma Micaletti brought to every Easter Sunday family celebration I can remember—since I was a little girl. Grandma Micaletti, my dad’s mom, didn’t cook. She was a bakery girl. There never was a Struffoli recipe handed down in our family. My mom’s family was from Abruzzi. … Continue reading
“Help me help myself.” Maria Montessori’s quote is the inspiration for this recipe… and the Gluten-free Bisquick® box. How’s this for a contented look on a kid? Anthony, age eight, prepared this meal on his own with a little guidance and he also made the broccoli and cauliflower recipe posted earlier, but we snacked on … Continue reading
The weatherman says 18 inches of snow by Wednesday. Chicagoans are getting their provisions— ready to hibernate, cozy-in— books, movies, games, fires, family, comfort-food, shovels, plows, chairs on the street, sleds and fun…for sure no school. I’m thinking Spring,.. missing the brights, the colors, especially yellow. And of Taline’s Tarte à l’onion with it’s warm bright … Continue reading
This week a wolf appeared in my dreams with a bag of dough. According to the American Indian Medicine Cards: the discovery of power through the ways of animals by Jamie Sams and David Carson— the wolf appears to empower the teacher within us to share our knowledge with others. Mama Mic’s Magic Dough included … Continue reading
My grandmother made pizza the day she made bread, making an extra batch of dough for that night’s pizza supper. She spread the soft elastic dough out on a large rectangular baking pan with her fingers and the production line began. First ladling spoonfuls of homemade sauce. I sat around her the big round table … Continue reading
Taste of Pensacola, a Chicago neighborhood block party, cordoned off with cars at each end, so the kids can ride bikes and trikes on the street all day. Complete with a blown-up-bouncing??? like a trampoline on steroids??? machine? Where children bounce up and down, giggling, falling, getting up again, sweating with exertion, breathless with fun. … Continue reading
“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” Les Brown. Olivia graduated Sunday from Columbia College in Chicago, with her BA in Marketing. Her mom said, “Great honey, for your first event, produce your graduation party!” Following a family tradition of deep delegation—Olivia assigned the menu. I was to bring … Continue reading
Spring is the time to pick dandelion greens. An Italian favorite, with it’s bitter bite…you know it has to be good for you! Chicago is bursting with Spring. Flowering Plum, Crabapple, Horse Chestnut, Lilac, Choke Cherry, and we even have the Maggie Daley Tulipa. Some blooms are already gone, preparing for the next stage, the … Continue reading
My mother told me long ago to travel while “you can still climb the stairs.” She was talking about Europe’s cathedrals and Rome, but I heed her words. Spiraling up Costa Rica’s Guanacaste tree to the zip-line platform over the rain forest, Torrey Pines Beach State Park”s trail traversing to the ocean, the surfer steps … Continue reading
Frantz Cartright has family and friends in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. I asked him to please write this post. When the earth trembles… our confidence instantly vanishes and we immediately come to terms with the frailty of our existence. I have had many such moments in California, in Indonesia and in Haiti. Why so much devastation in … Continue reading
Italian Handful 