Category Archives: Family

Connecting the Italian Way

Posted on May 3, 2017 by Loretta Giacoletto

“How can we connect with relatives we don’t know, who live in villages we’ve only heard about but never been fortunate enough to visit?” Hubby D and I often get questions such as these from friends wanting to trace their … Continue reading →

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Southern Charm

Posted on April 15, 2017 by Loretta Giacoletto

I’ve always loved visiting the South, whether as a newlywed driving with Hubby D on two-lane roads leading to Florida or those many return trips we later took with our growing family. Some routes we selected as most expedient—the Interstates … Continue reading →

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Cookbooks and More Cookbooks

Posted on December 1, 2016 by Loretta Giacoletto

I tend to cook via trial and error—a little of this, a lot of that—oops, oh well. Not quite what I’d originally planned but, nevertheless, still edible for those hungry enough. In cucina di Loretta (my kitchen) the ingredients in … Continue reading →

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Bittersweet Memories

Posted on November 15, 2016 by Loretta Giacoletto

“An Italian Wedding” was originally published in 2011 and is one of my favorite blogs about the G family, our cousins who live in the Piemonte Region of Northern Italian. The following year the bride and groom and his parents … Continue reading →

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The Eggplants and I

Posted on October 15, 2016 by Loretta Giacoletto

Eggplant, you either love it or not. I still recall the first eggplant I brought home years ago. The purple veggie disappeared from my thoughts until I discovered it weeks later, a moldering mess hidden on an upper shelf by … Continue reading →

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A Little Garlic Between Friends

Posted on September 15, 2016 by Loretta Giacoletto

I will be signing my Italian-American family sagas and mysteries during the Collinsville, Illinois, 2016 Italian Fest at Spirito’s Groceria on Main Street, Fri, Sept 16, 10 to 5; Sat, Sept 17, 10 to 2. And to celebrate this year’s … Continue reading →

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Tomato Sundae, Anyone?

Posted on September 1, 2016 by Loretta Giacoletto

I’ve written before about my friend E, caterer, farmer, and food preservationist extraordinaire who often challenges my ingenuity with summertime gifts of produce that require immediate attention to avoid spoilage. Such was the case several weeks ago when she passed … Continue reading →

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My Knife Collection

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Loretta Giacoletto

I have this thing about kitchen knives. It began some years ago with a Christmas gift from No. 1 son M and family—a set of Henckel Knives and a hardwood block for storing the knives. Certainly sufficient for my culinary … Continue reading →

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Card Club

Posted on August 1, 2016 by Loretta Giacoletto

Old friends never fade away. Nor should they. Eons ago, after graduating from high school, my girlfriends and I would get together. Once a month we met at each other’s homes. Actually our parents’ homes, until we acquired our own … Continue reading →

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Marinara Sauce, My Way

Posted on July 15, 2016 by Loretta Giacoletto

Hubby D and I were driving home from our place at Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks when my cell phone rang. It was my good friend E, who along with her husband J, have a successful year-round catering business, mostly … Continue reading →

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