“THE OLIVE TREE IS THE RICHEST GIFT OF HEAVEN” —Thomas Jefferson “Anyone who has uprooted or felled an olive tree either property of the government or the state or private citizen will be judged in court and if found guilty will be sentenced to death”. I would say that Aristotle in quoting the constitution of…

My mother never trusted any food if she could not confirm its origin. Therefore, she always bought whole items, even when purchasing such things as spices. In many Italian kitchens, one finds hanging displays of hot small red peppers or braided, dried fresh garlic, instead of bottles of flakes that often contain chemicals or additives…

It’s not always possible in our hurried society, but if there is a mother, father or grandparent in the kitchen, children are more apt to learn to cook. As a bonus, they will come to enjoy a variety of foods while learning the art of cooking and eating. The missing elder in the kitchen is…

For most Italians, the dinner table is a place of giving and sharing love and friendship. Sadly, many people do not understand the merits of the family table. Our table has given us so many wonderful memories that when we moved to Europe, uncluttering our life by distributing all our possessions to others, our youngest…

It doesn’t surprise me that our children’s fondest memories are from times we spent around our family table. Besides our daily family dinners with our parents and children, our holidays were always spent with our extended family in our home, as we had the largest home and could accommodate some 30 family members. Today we…