I know this is Jen’s Kitchen, but I’m sorry to report that you’ve got me (Greg) writing this one. This area of the blog is Jen’s domain – but she was having trouble getting her writing juices going, so I offered to give her a hand (her timing in the kitchen may be pure perfection, but if I don’t get this post going, it’s sure to be over-cooked).
Jen shows of her tomatoes
I may not know a lot, but I have learned two things while living in Italy:
First, every home has two types of olive oil. They all have the generic store bought one (that’s still delicious) for cooking and salads as well as the “special” olive oil that is pressed by someone’s nonno in some small town in the mountains somewhere… Continue reading Don’t Buy The Jarred Stuff!→
Well, we have heard a lot from Greg so I thought it was time for me (Jen) to give this blogging a go. I have had a lot of people ask me how to make sauce. Growing up in an Italian family this was a staple in our house. I didn’t even know until college that most people buy pasta sauce from a jar! Sorry, but… yuck.
I am by no means an expert cook but I have had many very talented woman in my life that have taught me a lot. Until recently everything I know has been taught to me by my nonna (grandma), my mother and my mother-in-law, who are all incredibly talented in the kitchen.
Even though my Mom isn’t Italian she learned from the best Italian cook (my nonna) how to prepare all of my Dad’s favorite Italian meals. In the beginning of their marriage she made all the foods she grew up eating – good Ohio cuisine. This consisted of meat and potato cooking such as meat loaf and casseroles. Don’t get me wrong, all these foods are delicious… just not to my Dad. It wasn’t until maybe a year or so of eating this food that my Dad admitted he missed his mother’s cooking and my Mom’s path to creating mouth watering Italian dishes began. One of the best things she learned from my Nonna was how to prepare Sugo (sauce). My Nonna’s recipe requires a lot of chopping and it is time consuming to make. Since I have been living in Como I have had the opportunity to learn from another very talented woman, my Zia (Aunt) Claudia. She recently taught me a quick and easy way to make delicious sugo with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry and refrigerator. I hope you enjoy the sauce as much as everyone here enjoys eating it. Continue reading Easy and Delicious Marinara Pasta Sauce→
