Just a shrimp salad very appropriate on a hot summer day. To the shrimps I added swiss chard, Castelvetrano olives, mozzarella, spices, Italian EVO and alight balsamic dressing. Delightful.

                                             A quiet street in Northampton MA.

 A panino for the ages. Crisp roll with imported Italian mortadella, a slice of mozzarelle, lettuce and a balsamic dressing. Superb.

 Fontainebleau, France July, 1070 but this quintessential couple coud have bee shot a century earlier. I just lovve this image that I recently found among my countless slides. Unfortunately it was not shot on Kodachrome but on Agfachrome 50 but the spirit of the image is preserved.

 Shells pasta with beans carrots, corn and mushrooms. This is the type of dish that I call refrigerator cleaner. All left over vegetables married together with a little fantasy as the marriage broker. Needless to state, the resul was delightul and very economical. Nothing is wasted in the kitchen. 

 

 This is the other side of Venice, the one tourists seldom see. Its void of historic palazzi on the Canal Grande but this seedier side is more real, more human and more interesting. Unfortunately fewer and fewer people live in Venice. The population is aging and the prices are always rising. The majority of those who work here live in nearby Mestre and commute. But Venice is always Venice a bucket llist place to visit and savor. And the food is really something to savor.

My first attempt at making corn chowder. I saw some really fresh corn and immediately thought of my dear and sadly departed father in law who made delicious chowders. As you might have guessed he wasn't Italian. I didn't have his recipe but I sort of figured it out. The result was a delicious and satisfying dish that differed slightly because I had to use olive oil. Thanks grandpa Wilbur, you are greatly missed