The smell of garlic mixing with basil wafted to my nose. Laughter filled the room as kids rolled out billowy pizza dough into creative shapes and ran to the "market table" to retrieve ingredients. In the corner, some oil and Italian sausage were sizzling in an electric skillet. "What will help thicken our sauce?" one called out. "How much [...] Keep Reading
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Building community in the kitchen: The secret is in the sauce (and three recipes!)
Cooking has always been a place of creativity, community and comfort for me. I grew up in the kitchen stirring sauces with my mama, kneading dough with my Italian Nana, and rolling lumpia egg rolls with my Filipino grandma. As an adult, I have gathered many friends and family members in my kitchen to cook together. When I was a young married [...] Keep Reading
Grilled Italian Chicken with Strawberry Salsa: Berrylicious!
One of my absolute favorite parts of living in the Central San Joaquin Valley is being in the heart of our country's fruit bowl. I don't live on a farm but our city is surrounded by them. I was driving down the street the other day and I started dancing in my seat when I saw my favorite strawberry stand was open. You haven't really tasted [...] Keep Reading
Haitian Rice & Beans: Savoring Time Around the Table
This weekend our agenda was to have no agenda. After a harried and hurried month of February – full of Valentine’s Day festivities, Monday holidays, birthday parties, meetings and more – we needed a break. On Saturday, we slept in, made a late brunch of pumpkin pancakes and chicken sausage. We wore our jammies until noon. I can’t remember the last [...] Keep Reading
