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​My mother has been gone for almost 28 years and one of the things I remember about her were her sayings. One in particular is, “questo o niente,” this or nothing. Meaning, this is what I’m serving or this is what I have, take it or leave it.  When my children were little, I made them try everything, just a little. One time we made our son sit at the dinner table until he ate five string beans. He sat there a good long time and finally ate them. He learned his lesson, they taste better hot. Fortunately for them, they have acquired quite a discerning palate and try a variety of different foods.
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My apologies for the delay in posting the accompanying blog to my Instragram/Facebook pages on the delicious Ahi tuna that my husband and I had the other evening. Let me first say, if you are an Amazon prime member run to Whole Foods right now and pick up a piece of Sustainable Wild Caught Fresh Ahi Tuna Steaks that are $14.99/lb. The special runs until Tuesday, May 14th.
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A friend told me that it has rained 20 out of the past 22 days. It’s dreary and damp and you need a nice comforting meal on a day like today. This morning I pulled out Lidia’s Italian American Kitchen cookbook for some inspiration for tonight’s supper. I came across her recipe for Meat-Stuffed Peppers. This recipe is different from both my mother and mother-in-law’s as it calls for cubanella or banana peppers and meat filling using a combination of beef, veal and pork. It sounded delicious.
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Most of the time when I watch Lidia Bastianich on public television, the recipes she prepares makes me want to go out and try them. This happened again last weekend when Lidia was making Chicken with Pomegranate. Unfortunately, my online search for her recipe didn’t yield any results. However, I was able to find the video episode and by stopping and starting, I was able to come close to the exact measurements she used to produce the sauce for this dish.
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​Several weeks ago, my husband and I visited some friends of his in Delaware. Many years ago, my husband worked for this family when they had a potato and grain farm in Freehold, NJ. As housing developments began to encroach the farm and the third generation wanted to continue farming, the farm was sold and the operation moved to Townsend, Delaware.
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For Easter this year we were a small group of four adults. Traditionally, our family likes ham for the holiday. Last year and this, I purchased a delicious spiral cut Wellshire Farms ham from Whole Foods for $3.99/lb. (prime member price). Although I selected the smallest ham I could find, there is still quite a bit leftover.

What was one way I could re-purpose this ham? How about a quiche Lorraine, but low fat. I checked the internet and found a recipe by Joy Bauer, nutrition and health expert from NBC’s Today show. Her recipe replaces the normal quiche crust with frozen chopped spinach, shredded cheddar cheese, eggs and a bit of Parmesan cheese. The filling uses eggs, egg whites, reduced fat milk and reduced fat Swiss cheese. I did skew the fat by using some of the spiral ham from Easter in lieu of turkey bacon.
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With Easter just days away, I knew that a typical Easter basket for a 20 month old may not be what my daughter wants for her daughter. There’s plenty of time for her to have a more traditional Easter basket with chocolate, jelly beans and peeps. However, I thought small Easter basket with some sugar cookies may be more to my daughter’s likening.
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Lidia Bastianich had a delicious springtime pasta recently on her Facebook page. I couldn’t resist trying orecchiette with asparagus and peas, especially now that asparagus are in season. It’s perfect for a meatless Friday. Orecchiette translates to little ears and they look like little saucers.
 
There is no sauce per say on this pasta. You are using the sautéed vegetables with their flavored, residual extra virgin olive oil and some reserved pasta cooking water. 
 
This is a two pan supper. You’ll need a large pot of salted water for the pasta and a sauté pan to cook the asparagus, sliced garlic, peas and scallions. After the pasta is cooked, use a spider (a skimmer that is wide and made of wire mesh) to transfer the pasta to the sauté pan. The pasta is mixed with the vegetables and tossed with fresh parsley and some additional extra virgin olive oil. 
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Last Friday I was in the mood for another new supper option. In my freezer I had a container of blanched summer corn and in my refrigerator, the container of the blanching water from cooking the corn last summer. Periodically I checked the water over the winter to make sure it didn’t acquire an off smell or taste. I felt confident it was safe as it was boiled for blanching the corn.  It was still good, so I proceeded with my idea of making a corn risotto. I found the recipe in the New York Times.
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I babysit my granddaughter one day a week. After babysitting all day, I like to come home to an easy to prepare supper.  Last week I thought I would try something different. I planned on serving a vegetarian meal of grilled portobello mushrooms, sweet peppers and onions. I found this recipe in Bon Appétit Magazine November 1997.


​meet donna

A former teacher, shop-a-holic, empty-nester redefining quick, family approved dinners.

​If you have questions or comments, click on the envelope icon above to contact me directly. 

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