Couscous salad topped with grilled veggies, serve with grilled pita and you'll have the perfect lunch,
Nothing makes me happier than seeing a platter filled with grilled veggies drizzled with olive oil and balsamic glaze!
Or slabs of grilled sweet onions with dollops of warm gorgonzola.
For an extremely fresh salad that you can't stop eating, try this Zucchini Carpaccio
For a quick dessert take advantage of all the beautiful apricots that are still available.
Stuff them with sweetened mascarpone and plop a blackberry on top, drizzle with honey or agave and stick them under your broiler. Garnish with pistachio's.
This week:
We often cook a pork roast on the grill, I've made so many different versions of it but my favorite way is to slice it open and stuff it with herbs. I have to admit I never have been good at opening one up properly, I would usually have one side thicker than the other. It wasn't until I saw this video that it finally clicked and I got it! Please go and check it out, it's so easy to do and the end result will be a perfect spiral of herbs.
Speaking of herbs, I was inspired to make my own tuscan herb mix after recently reading Judy's post on porchetta, she spoke about how the butchers at the Central Market in San Lorenzo Tuscany each have their own personal herbal mix that they use for their porchetta usually consisting of a blend of sage, rosemary and salt with some adding in black pepper and fennel. She had a link on her blog which showed her version, and as I was reading it she also linked to David Lebovitz who made his own version as well.
This is a terrific way to use up all your herbs, I happen to have a ton of sage growing and I never know what to do with it, I almost feel guilty just letting it go. I can't explain how good this mix is I can't wait to make more my stash is getting low and now I've become obsessed with it!
All the flavors intensify, its the perfect complement to grilled or roasted meats and vegetables.
Figs always go well with pork so I decided to make a very quick Fig and Rosemary Spread using 1lb of dried mission figs** 2tbl of fresh chopped rosemary** zest of 1 orange**1 cup of orange juice**1tbl honey**1/2 cup water**salt and pepper. Place everything in a covered saucepan over medium heat, bring to a boil then simmer about 30 minutes until thick. Strain and reserve liquid, if needed add additional water to the fig liquid to total 3/4 cup. Put fig mixture into a food processor and process until smooth. Store the fig spread in an airtight container, refrigerated. Recipe from Savory Baking
So if you find yourself with leftover pork roast, change it up and make this panini! Crusty bread layered with herby pork, fig, spicy arugula and roasted red pepper, crispy and warm, oozing with fontina cheese! Need I say more??
Thank you for all the wonderful comments and emails I received for my blogiversay, I really appreciated each and every one! My 11 year old granddaughter picked the 4 winners to my giveaway and they are, .... Patrice ... Imbottito ... Fallon ... and ... Maryann S.
We are back in Venice. There are several statues like this one dotted around Venice. I'm afraid I know very little about them. This example is to be found in Dorsoduro. 
I can hardly believe it. I was only 18 when this happened, but it made a great impression on me. Florence was also inundated at the same time. Perhaps I should have waited till November to post this, but who knows ...? Since we've been on the island of Pellestrina for the past few days, and this memorial is there, near San Pietro in Volta, I thought I would post it today. In case you cannot read the inscription, here it is:
Those were the days my friend,
Today, August 15Th is the Italian holiday called Ferragosto and the day I started my blog, it's very fitting since it's a holiday that revolves around family, friends and food. It's hard to believe it's been 4 years already? It seems like only yesterday that I wrote my first post! I still feel exactly the same way about basil today.
For a small token of my appreciation I'm giving away 4 gifts for 4 years, each will consist of an amazing bottle of Mandarano Balsamic Glaze, (you're going to love how this enhances all your food!), plus The Silver Spoon Pasta cookbook by Phaidon, (because you know I love my pasta, and I love all the Phaidon cookbooks!) The winners will be picked by my 11 year old granddaughter and announced on Monday August 22nd in my next blog post. Just leave a comment and if you'd like I'd love to hear what your favorite Italian dish is. Thanks again everyone!
This photo was taken in October, last year, quite late in the afternoon. This isn't a panorama, just a normal shot that I've cropped. The church in the distance is San Stefano, the 'other' church in San Pietro in Volta.
Here is the more familiar view of the bridge as shown in yesterday's image. I hope the people who live in the palazzo do not suffer from acrophobia or vertigo.
Some of you may recognise the bridge in this photo, but very few of you will have seen it from this side. I rang a door-bell and was allowed into a palazzo to take the photo. There is a clue to the location in the title.
When I first saw this work of art I thought it represented David and Goliath, but then I noticed the wings at the ankle, which indicated a mythological connection. You can see the name of the sculptor on the base - Iacobus Sansovinus. You can take a close look as you queue to go to the top of the campanile of San Marco.
I heart cherry tomatoes, especially with the different combinations of color. The possibilities are endless on what you can do with them. Like little jewels to accessorize your food!
Fortunately for me, now is the time that I'm guaranteed a big bowl full every time I step into my garden!
I've been stuffing them with creamy goat cheese, one bite wonders busting with flavor! Warning... Be careful they're like eating candy you can't stop!
I constantly roast them on sheet pans, bathing the tiny tomatoes in olive oil and shaved garlic, then I tuck them away in my fridge for later use. 
Like when I toss them into my scrambled eggs for breakfast along with lots of green onions and serve it on top of crusty Italian bread toast. Simple, but out of this world!
When you roast them the juice seeps from the tomatoes into the garlicky oil and it becomes the perfect sauce for your pasta, add shaved Parmesan cheese and fresh basil. It's as close to perfection as you're going to get!
Thanks again to my friend Linda for sending me the seeds to grow these adorable round zucchini, after I roasted them I stuffed my pasta into it's perfect edible bowl!
I took this photo in July 2009. I was in Campo Santa Maria Mater Domini. I don't have anything else to tell you except that the name of the building on the other side of the Rio de le Due Torri may be the Palazzo Manzoni (Santa Croce 2267) or the Palazzo Gozzi (Santa Croce 2268-2269).
Anyone any good at Latin?
I love a city that can put on the front of a building "Restored 1684"! I have another photo of a plaque on a building that was restored in 1492! A gold star if you know where it is.
Recently we had family visiting us from Florida, we decided to spend the day in the city acting like tourists. We walked up and down Michigan Ave. ending at Millennium Park. The sky's were blue and the weather was perfect, we lucked out with no extreme heat that day!
Along the way we even saw Marilyn, all 26ft. of her in her most famous pose.
Visited the Observatory in the John Hancock building. I might be partial but I have to say Chicago is such a beautiful city!
Looking down the Chicago River and gazing up at Trump Chicago
Al Fresco dining was everywhere
Horse drawn carriage rides
People watching and taking in the sights
There's always some kind of running event going on in the city of Chicago but Girls on the Run was special to me this year because my granddaughter and her best friend participated in their first 5K.
Girls on the Run is a life changing experience for girls ages 8 to 13, their goal is to encourage positive, emotional, social, mental, spiritual and physical development. Here's the metal she received.
You didn't think I'd leave without showing you some of the food we've been partaking in now did you? Not in one day of course.