My earliest memories of my childhood were sitting on my Nonna’s linoleum floor at the foot of her old stove while she babied her red sauce for hours. As a first-generation Italian, I was taught to hold a wooden spoon before I could hold a rattle. Cooking is part of my DNA, and I have improved my culinary skills through the years. As I ventured into adulthood, I soon realized that my cooking experiences were very unique, and many of my friends and colleagues were not raised to have deep experiences in the kitchen as I. Soon I was sharing advice, teaching techniques and exchanging many recipes with friends and family. This blog allowed me to help, teach and inspire people to cook and break bread with their loved ones on a grand scale. There is no greater happiness than feeding someone you care about something you created in the kitchen. If you grew some of the ingredients yourself, it’s an even greater joy.

Our philosophy is that cooking delicious food doesn’t need to be complicated. Cooking is as easy or as complicated as you want it to be. A simple tomato and basil toast? Easy. An Elderflower Peach Jam? A little more effort. But still easy enough. The garden is at the center of many of my dishes, because food is best when it’s fresh and in season. I also share shortcuts and easy kitchen tricks when possible, because let’s face it-we are all trying to keep a lot of plates spinning, and we don’t have hours to spend in the kitchen.