How to sun or oven dry tomatoes/Sun-dried tomato and black olive spread

Sun-dried tomatoes first came about when Italians looked for a way to preserve their abundant summer crop for winter use.  but the treated tomatoes are so flavorful, they are now enjoyed all year. Throughout the Mediterranean in August each year, brilliant red tomatoes, peppers and zucchini drying in the sun color the roofs, along with [...]

What makes a recipe?

I’ve learned over the years that many people misread the purpose of a recipe. This I have discovered from the number of people who have written to me or stopped me in public to tell me that when they follow one of my recipes, the dish never tastes the same as when they sampled it [...]

Tomatoes, The Queen of Vegetables

In my home tomatoes are one vegetables that we can’t do without.  We eat them raw, cooked, grilled and whatever other way there is to ingest them.  We eat them for breakfast, lunch, dinner and for snacks when there is no meal on the table. The food literature I’ve been reading tells me that tomatoes [...]

Cooking Class 2, Basic Tomato Sauce &Fresh Sauce

Basic Tomato Sauce Makes 4 cups 4      tablespoons olive oil 6-8 cloves garlic, mashed 4      cups crushed tomatoes 1/4  cup chopped fresh basil, or 1/2 teaspoon dry basil salt and pepper to taste -In a heavy saucepan, place the olive oil and the garlic and cook over medium heat until you sear the garlic but [...]

Fennel, Fennel and Cranberries Salad

Although for centuries fennel has been a homeopathic remedy that relieves gas on the stomach, it has lately become a fashionable ingredient in salads.  A fennel plant, which looks something like a stalk of celery, provides a wonderful taste when its base is chopped and added to salads or soups.  The base, called a “bulb,”is [...]

Tomato, The Queen of Vegetables

In my home tomatoes are one type of vegetable we can’t do without.  We eat them raw, cooked, chopped, sliced, and whatever other way there is to ingest them.  We eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and for snacks when there is no meal on the table. The food literature I’ve been reading tells [...]

Much Ado about Zucchini, Part 2

When The Zucchini reach the old world, you can say, it was magic.  The Italian not only gave the squash variety its commonly known name, but they have developed dozen of ways to cook zucchini.  Both the Italian and the French have created so many wonderful ways to eat zucchini it would be impossible to [...]