A Summer Recipe: Pasta all’Ortolano Umbro

Pasta dell’Ortolana Umbra – showcased with garden  vegetables –  would be literally translated “pasta of the Umbrian-vegetable-grower”  (a feminine gardener).  Since our friend Renato gave us all the vegetables from his garden, I’ll call my sauce, “Pasta all’Orotolano Umbro.”  Mille grazie, Renato for sharing your garden abundance. I used Renato’s vegetables in this pasta dish…

A Spaghetti Sauce Trio: Eggplants, Ricotta and Tomatoes

That freshly-made fresh ricotta from our favorite caseficio inspired today’s pasta recipe. Eggplants and ripe red tomatoes – goodnesss from friend Renato’s garden – formed a delectable combination to that  fresh ricotta in today’s spaghetti sauce. Easy, simple and buonissimo.  Ready to try it? Spaghetti alla Ricotta e Melanzane Ingredients (for four persons) 2 medium-sized eggplants 2 ripe…

The Edicola: From Deities to Newspapers

In the Greco-Roman ancient world – and even in ancient Egypt –  edicole flanked imposing city entrances or temples (or were located inside the temples), and held images of the divinita’ minori (“minor deities”); the major divinities merited the construction of entire temples. Roman edicole in Jordan From the Latin, aedicula, (diminutive of aedes, temple), an edicola was indeed a tempietto (mini-temple), often richly sculpted, incorporating…