Marcella Ansaldo is a chef and teacher who has a passion for writing. She was born on Isola del Giglio, a small island off the coast of Tuscany. She is currently running a cooking school in Florence, www.giglicooking.com. You can contact her at info@gigliocooking.com
This will be my fourth summer in Maine. When I first set foot in Maine, two friends of mine, Berno and Laura Hamilton, welcomed me into their home, a cottage behind a row of pine trees off the Sommes Sound. Berno drove me around the island in an old-fashioned
My mother was pregnant with me the day her father took her to visit the kitchen of the cargo ship where he was working as the crew cook. My mother, being weak-stomached, immediately fell ill from the dense smell of paint, petrol, salt, moisture and fried onions in the
Fresh peas are the true sweet stars of this season! They begin to appear up now, with the first warm days after the rain. Bright green and tender, they are newborn peas with an irregular shape, some even pressed as they are not yet strong enough to support the pressure
You know it is the last gasp of the artichoke season when the large, round, flat mammole and romani appear on the produce tables at the market. Mammole, the sweetest kind of artichoke, are purple with heart-shaped petals. Also the biggest artichoke, their tight, fat leaves hide a large
This winter has been exceptionally long and cold, but sparks of spring are starting to sprinkle through the air. Flowers bloom and market stands become crowded with heaps and heaps of big, beautiful artichokes. Although an artichoke's consistency is fibrous and tough on the outside, the beauty of this