Category Archives: Lifestyle

Ravioli or Agnolotti: Either Way They Make Sense

Posted on May 26, 2022 by Loretta Giacoletto

A two-hour morning project ready for the freezer–ravioli, or to be more precise, agnolotti. Instead of using two pieces of dough, these filled pastas are made with one piece of dough folded over like little pillows in the style of … Continue reading →

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TOM (A Mother’s Day Tribute)

Posted on May 7, 2022 by Loretta Giacoletto

My daughter never smiles any more. It’s a shame because she always had such lovely teeth. I blame her lack of humor on that crazy job. Teresa calls it a position and claims she needs to work. “Give up the … Continue reading →

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Moving On

Posted on November 2, 2021 by Loretta Giacoletto

Twenty years ago Hubby D and I, along with four of our five offspring plus spouses, bought a place at Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks. We christened it Casalago, the Italian version of Lake House, a name we had engraved … Continue reading →

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Family and Friends

Posted on March 28, 2021 by Loretta Giacoletto

It’s always something at our place in Lake of the Ozarks, otherwise known as Casalago. A few weeks ago one of the cables holding our 3-boat dock and swim deck broke away from the seawall. Fortunately, a neighbor called to … Continue reading →

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Don’t Get Me Started

Posted on April 23, 2020 by Loretta Giacoletto

Oops too late. Last Sunday when I went downstairs to get some ravioli from our upright freezer, I discovered the dial was turned to off (must’ve been those damn faeries). Bummer! Everything inside the freezer had defrosted. I’m talking soups, … Continue reading →

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Remembering Italy. A timely repeat of a blog from three years ago …

Posted on April 6, 2020 by Loretta Giacoletto

It’s Me—Giuseppe! One of my fondest memories of visiting the Piemonte family villages in Northern Italy is the year Uncle J and my brother K went with Hubby D and me. The last time Uncle J had been in that … Continue reading →

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Pure Gold in the Eye of the Beholder

Posted on November 12, 2019 by Loretta Giacoletto

A good friend and colleague of Offspring #4 stopped by yesterday with a promised gift of hen-of-the-woods mushrooms, otherwise known as quarin in the Piemontese dialect of Italian-Americans in our Illinois town and barbison or quarin in Colleretto and the … Continue reading →

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Our Wild Neighbors

Posted on June 21, 2019 by Loretta Giacoletto

Hubby D and I reside in what was once a Southern Illinois coal mining town. Now the town is best described as part of the Metropolitan St. Louis area. Realtors refer to our diverse neighborhood as desirable. I like that. … Continue reading →

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Priorities and Then Some, as in Chicken Stock

Posted on May 30, 2019 by Loretta Giacoletto

Life has been more than hectic these past two months, what with Hubby D’s open-heart surgery and his subsequent ahead-of-schedule recovery. Our from-the-heart thanks goes to the amazing cardiothoracic team of physicians, nurses, and staff at Washington University School of … Continue reading →

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Antipasto, Family Recipe

Posted on February 26, 2019 by Loretta Giacoletto

Every region of Italy has its own version of antipasto, depending on local products that are readily available, and if the desired end result is a quick first course to a meal or if it’s preserving a huge batch to … Continue reading →

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