I dream of traveling to Italy. The land of my maternal heritage holds such a strong personal draw for me. Italians find immense pleasure in growing, cooking & eating food. We delight in the process - and seem to value knowing where each ingredient comes from. In my own imagination... all other Italians can relate to stopping after that first bite of food (that which you took part in growing, cooking & serving) and getting a bit teary eyed at the wonder of it all. Shown above is a picture of my maternal great grandmother - Marina Scarpenti - standing proudly in front of her green beans. And me in my garden, the first year we dug up the lawn.

I do not have many Italian relatives left with whom I can learn from. I want to visit Italy - see the villages and towns that mia famiglia came from -and meet some of them. I don't need to do the typical tourist thing... I hope to find a sweet Italian mama who will let me sit in her kitchen and watch her cook. Someday...

Until then, I find great joy in creating simple dishes that remind me of something Grandma Scarpenti might have made.

Home made pasta is an experience.

Why go to the trouble? Because it is completely different than dried pasta... and for me - the process of making it from scratch is romantic - and it connects me to my roots.

The process is also quite simple. All you need are eggs and flour.

In Italy - they use Tipo '00' flour - which is very finely ground. In my local searching - Bread flour is comparable. It's very finely ground. Also, blend in some Durum Wheat Semolina. This contains high levels of gluten to make it elastic.

I like to make a 'well' on my cutting board with the flour.

Then, crack in some beautiful fresh eggs.

Begin mixing together. I use my pastry scraper at first...

But eventually, you have to get your hands into it... Afterall, your hands are your best tool.

Mix and knead for a few minutes,

Until it's nice and smooth

Wrap it in some plastic to keep from drying out - and let rest for 30 minutes. You've worked the gluten in the dough nicely, but now it needs to rest so that you can roll it out. Otherwise, it will want to shrink back up, and will be difficult to roll thinly enough.

After it has rested, begin rolling.

You want to get it as thin as you can. I pick mine up, flip it over, dust it with a bit of flour if it's still sticky and keep rolling.

Then, take your large sheet of nice, thin pasta and roll it up gently. Taking care not to squish it.

With a sharp knife - cut your pasta to the desired width.

Gently unroll each piece and set it aside to wait while the water boils.

Little people love this part...

Add some friends, and it's done in a flash! (we made a huge batch this evening!)

Bring a BIG pot of water to a boil while you are making your pasta. Salt the water generously. It should taste salty. This is important. You will only need to boil this fresh pasta for a couple of minutes. Taste it and don't over-cook!

Here is a quick lunch I made the other afternoon when I didn't know what to make. I was out of a lot of things... but I DID have eggs and flour. This batch was made with bread flour and (freshly ground) whole wheat flour. I sauteed some garlic in some bacon drippings, then added chopped broccoli leaves (and a few florets) from the garden - salt and pepper and some grated hard cheese... perfetto! Simple yet delicious.

If you want to watch another Italian making pasta - you'll love watching Gennaro Contaldo make pasta dough. And seeing how quickly he can roll it out.

If you have dietary restrictions - just adjust the flour type you use. The other night, I made three different pasta doughs to suit my guests.

Traditional Pasta Dough:

3 Eggs
2 cups bread flour and 1/2 cups semolina flour

Gluten-free Pasta Dough:

3 Eggs
2 and 1/2 cups Rice flour, Quinoa (or corn) flour (I added a bit of arrowroot powder - though it's not really necessary)

Egg-free Pasta Dough:

2 and 1/2 cups Semolina & bread flour
enough water & drizzle of olive oil to bring the dough together

I will admit - the traditional recipe was the best. But I love the fact that it's possible to adjust things for those in your life whom you love. Everyone loves to twirl up a bite of pasta. I'd love to know if you give this a try!

Buon appetito!

I'm not the best planner.

I was humbled and a bit nervous when I was asked last month, to be a contributing writer for the wonderful website 'Plan to Eat'.

I am thrilled to be a part of it, and I love the concept (I hope to eventually try out their amazing meal-planning software.)

There is such truth to the fact that if you don't plan to eat, you won't eat well.

I suppose I do some general planning each week when I buy meat, fruits and veg for the basic layout of my meals. The thing is, I live for the spontaneous. I dread routine. I love the challenge of opening the fridge, scoping out the chilly landscape - and creating.

The downside to my planning weakness is that I usually end up out of clear ideas - 3 days too early... (my shopping day is Friday). This is when I have to really dig deep. Most of the time, this is when the magic happens.

The other day, I had a friend (and her 5 kiddos) over. We chatted away the morning while our kids ran amuck and before long it was lunchtime.

Lunch is another hard thing for me.

I never plan for lunch.

I usually depend on my Italian make-too-much-food-at-every-meal problem/blessing to cover our lunches. It usually does the job.

On this particular day, I lucked out. I had my daily sourdough loaf (if you slice it thin and give it a quick toast it stretches far), and two leftover meals from the nights prior: Egg Frittata (a crust-less quiche) and Meatloaf.

Both of these make fabulous cold sandwiches.

They also pair wonderfully with my home made milk mayonnaise and some Dijon mustard. I topped the the Egg Frittata sandwich with sauerkraut and some cracked pepper - and wow! Heaven.

When I look more closely at these two wonderful things: Frittata and Meatloaf, I realized - they are also my two favorite use-up-the-leftovers meals.

Let me explain how. I'll start with the Frittata.

When I made this particular Frittata for dinner, we were out of mostly everything...but we always have eggs.

I had some random bits that needed eating. Some stale-ish roasted potatoes (not enough for all of us to eat for lunch) and another small-ish helping of leftover asparagus. I was plum out most other desirables (usually I love to put in some fresh zucchini or roasted red peppers) but... it gets worse... I was OUT OF ONIONS.

Even when I'm out of all other fresh produce, I usually NEVER let myself run out of onions (and garlic). I buy a lot of them... for this Italian - it makes me a little shakey just to talk about it...

BUT - I pushed on. Thank goodness for Spring garlic chives. I ran out to the garden, clipped off a nice large handful to use instead.

Never be afraid to improvise!

Garlic chives went into the cast iron pan with some oil, salt, then the other bits: (cut up asparagus, and potatoes). I seasoned generously with salt and pepper and moved to the next step...

Here's how to make one from start to finish:

USE-UP-THE-LEFTOVERS FRITTATA

A glug of olive oil or (free-range) pork/bacon fat (read here if you don't believe it's healthy!)
Onions and/or garlic (any type)
Your favorite seasoning (or whatever you have on hand) dried or fresh herbs, etc. Don't forget salt.
Fresh Vegetables or Meat (this is when using whatever you have is great)
Cheese (a handful of any kind works) - not totally neccessary if you don't have it
Splash of milk - more milk makes it more moist and custard-like, less makes it firmer (I use raw milk, but I've used coconut too) - not necessary if you dont' have it
About a dozen eggs (use more or less depending on the size of your skillet)

Pre-heat your oven to 350.

Start by making sure your skillet (cast iron is what I use) is well oiled. Add your onions and garlic and cook until softened. Add herbs/seasonings. Add any vegetables that need to cook through. (if using raw potatoes or raw meat like sausage, make sure they are mostly cooked before adding egg.)

If using leftover cooked veggies, add them just before adding the egg, so not to over-cook.

Whisk eggs, milk & cheese together in a bowl. While the skillet is still on the stove top (with the veggies/add-ins) pour in your egg mixture. Allow egg to fill the pan, (tip slightly if you need to distribute the egg) but don't stir at all. Turn off stove top, and carefully lift your skillet into the pre-heated oven. (You obviously can't use a skillet with a plastic or rubber handle.)

Keep an eye on your Frittata and check after 10-15 minutes. Take it out when the center is firm and it no longer jiggles in the middle when you shake the skillet.

Slice and serve, sprinkled with sea (or kosher) salt. Add a salad on the side for a full meal! I think it tastes even better the next day cold. Great for breakfast with some toast & honey, or as I shared earlier, on a sandwich.

Here are some of my favorite combos (usually the simpler the better!)

potato & roasted red pepper

sausage & onion

bacon & leek

zucchini & fresh fennel

jalapeno & cilantro

onion & herb