Paleo is the ultimate “go to” way of eating these days. So, I’ve decided to convert as many of my recipes into Paleo versions as possible. However, I will also add the traditional recipes as well for the “non-Paleo crowd. 2 in 1! My promise to you: These Paleo recipes will not be slight…
Tag: tomato
Pasta Alla Puttanesca Una Pentola-One Pot!
Una Pentola One Pot! The featured photo with Brio displayed on the plate of the cascading Puttanesca is not my own, but it is my namesake so I simply had to share 🙂 The history of pasta Puttanesca carries many colorful Italian folk tales. This slightly salty, piquant pasta sauce is full of flavors that…
Replace Bottled Sauce with 20 Minute Magnificent Marinara
While there are hundreds of amazing brands of pasta sauces on the market, I don’t buy bottled sauce anymore…period. Here’s why. This rich, thick, bubbly brew costs about $3.50-$4 a batch, possesses all of the freshness under the Tuscan sun and puts a smile on the face of everyone who consumes it. The Mmmms are infinite! Reasons…
Salade Nicoise
Nicoise Salad, or Salade Nicoise is a delectable, customary, bright, summer salad originating from Nice in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in France. Typically, utilizing produce from the open markets and balanced with distinctive Provencal seasonings. Commonly known as Salade Nicoise, this classic salad is in harmony with the cooking style of the invigorating, sunny…
Tuscan Panzanella-Italian Bread Salad
This week we will be exploring the wonders of salad–standalone, sandwich fillers, ethnic-based, potato packed and even an unusual, colorful veggie cornucopia! Today, I’m starting out with an old world, Italian, family favorite-Panzanella. This fresh, colorful spring and summertime salad offers an incredible and flavorful marriage of tastes–savory, salty, tangy, pungent and sweet. You may…
Pico de Gallo aka Salsa Fresca
In Mexican cuisine, pico de gallo literally means beak of rooster. Legend has it that fighting cocks are calmed by their handlers by placing the rooster’s head in their mouth. Yum! 😉 It is said that darkness causes birds to immediately begin the sleep cycle. Often as soon as the handler puts the bird’s head…
Pasta Sauce: The Nectar of the gods? a little history
Spaghetti or pasta with tomato sauce, also known as marinara, is a staple of southern Italian cookery or almost anywhere that southern Italians live today. However, spaghetti with marinara hasn’t always been a pillar of southern Italian cuisine. It’s actually a relative newcomer. Let’s briefly touch on pasta. Once upon a time every school child…
Italian Bacon & Egg Pasta with Tomatoes & Kale
Una Pentola (One-Pot) Bacon & Egg Pasta with Tomatoes & Kale Another perfect, simple, quick, easy and flavorful example of “Northern Italian Peasant” food at it’s finest! This recipe was inspired by my Mama Carmela’s love of fresh field greens. At the first sight of mustard greens, she would gather her tools and the hunt…
Ciabatta, Filone, Focaccia, Muffuletta, Vastedda, Ah Pane! & a Quick Ciabatta Recipe
Ciabatta, Filone, Focaccia, Muffuletta, Vastedda, Ah pane…“A bread by any other name would smell as sweet. I can sense Sir William Shakespeare rolling over in his grave as I write this… Today, I want to briefly delve into a little history of another Italian staple; Bread or as we Italians affectionately call it “pane.” Although…
Catsup or Ketchup? The Victorian Era Cure-All & Some Other Saucy Claims
The British-based “ketchup” or American-named “catsup” is a tomato-based table sauce used for dunking fries, spiraling on hot dogs and glazing meatloaf…on and on. However, in the Victorian Era, it held some pretty saucy claims. European traders were first introduced to the thick red pottage while visiting the Far East in the late 17th century….
Once Upon a Spice 