My son Matthew has been a foodie since his first restaurant meal.  It was a Thai restaurant and he was about a year old, so it is no surprise that on September 21 he and a fellow foodie, Alison, were married in Siracusa, Sicily.

They were married in the Borgia del Casale, on the Piazza Duomo, in Ortigia and guests were given a cookbook filled with their favorite recipes. This fresco is on the ceiling of the room were dinner was served.

Here is a sample page.  … read more

I planted tiny carrot seeds in May and I’ve been harvesting the fruits of my very minimal labor.

Carrots fresh from the garden or from the market with their green tops still attached are sweet, crisp, and full of flavor. They bear little resemblance to the carrots grown hundreds of miles away, harvested months ago, and packaged in plastic bags.

A cousin of both Queen Anne’s lace and parsnips, the carrots were brought to Europe from Asia by the Moors in the 10^th century. With more natural sugar than any other vegetable except beets, carrots are rich in carotene, which improves night vision, and are renowned as an anti-wrinkle agent.

According to some food historians, carrots originated in Afghanistan, which is enough of a reason to make a falafel with carrots as the primary ingredient.  Here’s how I did it. … read more