This turned out to be one kick-ass recipe. Better than any I've had growing up.

Here's a pic:



I also made a batch of cannoli. They tasted just like the ones I used to get at my favourite bakery in Montreal. Boo was much more interested in them on the tray, but didn't care to eat one. She had a little bowl of the extra ricotta filling instead.




And Pouni, well, here she is posing in her Fortress of Power™.



And Luna, when you read this, Buona Pasqua a sappi bene che mi manchi e sei amata.

Via Muse!

Accent – oh yeah. It ranges from none to a slight muddle of south-eastern Connecticut to St-Leonardese (Italian-Canadian), and back again depending on who I'm talking to. I can do a number of accents and have an ear for lots of accents.

Bra size – 44DD and then some.

Chore I hate – Clearing the table.

Dad's name – Tony.

Essential make-up – lip gloss and mascara

Favorite perfume – Coty Wild Musk

Gold or Silver - white gold

Hometown – Bridgeport, CT/ Montreal, QC

Job title – Mama

Kids - 2 girls: 3 and almost 2

Living arrangements – 4 bedroom house rental

Mom's Birthplace – Pula, Yugoslavia

Number of apples eaten in last week – No apples this week. Oranges and grapefruit, lots!

Overnight hospital stays – Tonsillectomy in 1971 and 30 years later when my first daughter was born.

Phobia – heights, snakes and anything to do with eyes. I get grossed out watching someone put their contact lenses in.

Question you ask yourself a lot - What the hell is wrong with people?

Religious affiliation – Roman Catholic. (Latin Masses, magical work, including children, art, and music in worship, especially on holidays, etc.) I am not to be confused with the neo-conservative nutbars and their tendency towards slavish obedience to the letter of the law especially in terms of their sexual hangups. With regards to divorce/remarriage, contraception, what to eat on Fridays, and other real-life issues, I'm firmly liberal.

Siblings – none

Time I wake up – 8 AM-ish

Vegetable I refuse to eat – I've never met a vegetable I didn't love.

Worst habit – I can become fixated on things.

X-rays – teeth and spine

Yummy food I make – Almost anything I make is yummy

Zodiac sign – Leo

Happy Easter! Buona Pasqua!

Frohe Ostern! Joyeuse Pâques!

Best wishes of love and joy to you and yours.

Busy, busy today. Working on the content of my main site, and planning what I need to cook and bake for Sunday.

Traditional Italian dolci of Easter typically includes pizza rustica, la colomba di pasqua (a dove-shaped sweet bread), pizza ricresciuta, pupa cu l’ova, torta di ricotta, pastiera di grano, taralli, cassatelli, ciciarota, biscotti di pignoli and Easter sweet bread with hard-boiled, pastel colored eggs baked in the center.

I don't think I have any Easter egg dye left over from last year. Does anyone know if food colouring in the water I boil them in works?

What is the meaning of Easter eggs anyway?

The egg is an ancient and powerful symbol. To the Romans it symbolized life and fertility.
Christians later adopted the egg to symbolize life after death.

Sadly, today, the significance of giving someone an Easter egg is lost.
It is in fact a gesture of great friendship and love.


AND THEN

My preference is milk chocolate. Just in case you were wondering

I made the mistake of buying garlic in bulk. Garlic goes bad quickly when not kept in a cold room. I had to peel 20 heads of garlic, and then each individual clove, and jar them submerged in extra virgin olive oil. Then I got the bright idea to take 6 of them and roast them. Currently I have garlic roasting in the oven and onions browning slowly on the stove for pizza later. I love garlic. I love onions. I didn't think it would be an unpleasant experience to have both going on at the same time.

Let me tell you this much, it stinks in here.

I've opened windows to share my pain with my neighbours.

La Festa di San Giuseppe

This is a picture of the altar after supper. There was much more there earlier. That's a tray of my zeppole made from scratch!



Today is the feast of St. Joseph. It's a happy day very much like St.Paddy's Day, except instead of beer, cabbage and the color green, we have wine, pastries, and the color red!

My tradition is the one I learned from my Neapolitan relatives. We set up an altar to honor St.Joseph with wine, cookies, almonds, zeppole and citrus fruits because they were native to my uncle's home town.

This is also the day to do prosperity spells and rituals.

To learn more about this and other traditions click here.

AND THEN

the festivities continue. I made the zeppole and will be posting a pic later on.

Another important part of this feast day is that we honor the head of the household, the breadwinner, the father. Part of the blessing will also include a blessing for my husband, whereby we ask that St. Joe to take care of him because he works so hard to earn the money that provides us with all we need, and gladly helps me with the girls, and the chores when he's home.

We love him lots.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Here's his info if you wish to add him to your repertoire of saints.

I got a response to my email to Varga Studios just now.



*My father. Sorry folks, I need to maintain that little shred of anonymity!

I have to say, Mr. Varga designed the most stunning representation of Saint Michael I've ever seen. I feel better now. I know where it is, and one day I will go see it.

In the early nineteen sixties, my late father, a sculptor by art and by trade made a 9' marble statue that stands somewhere in Chicago, Illinois. All I have is a little snapshot of him posing with it. I didn't know how to find it.

10 minutes ago, I sat in front of the computer, and asked my departed father to please help me find it. It is very important to me. I then had the words "St Michael stone" flash in my mind. A quick and effortless Google search later...





If you live in the Chicago area, and know where this is, please email me.

My Daddy made this.