Another meatless dish we often had was Eggplant Parmesan. However, I remember Mom always fried the breaded eggplant slices before placing them in a casserole dish. I have breaded the eggplant the same way Mom did, but I baked the slices instead of frying them.
What is the definition of cannoli? It is a tube-shaped crispy pastry, open ended on each side, which is quickly fried, cooled and then filled with lightly sweetened ricotta cheese. A singe cannoli is called a cannolo, meaning “tube,” but many cannot eat just one of these amazing pastries; hence the term cannoli is heard more often. Cannoli was originally developed in Sicily, however, there are many variations of the original.
Growing up in an Italian family during the 40’s and 50’s I have some wonderful memories of our Sunday dinners.
Did you know that after a man reaches the age of 35, he loses 1% of his muscle mass every year for the rest of his life? I don’t like to talk about my age, but that means I have lost almost 40% of muscle (you do the calculation) and in a few years I’d be less than half the man I used to be.
That is, until I met Kevin and Karen Dubree, two young and charming entrepreneurs from Chicago who are co-owners of HIT Fitness in Naples, Florida . They practice a revolutionary new training technique called slow-motion high intensity training. Their clients range from 10-85 years of age.
It’s difficult for us seniors to keep up with the new technology out there for communicating with others. But once we get the hang of it we go at with full force.
Take for example, The Computer.
Most seniors are skeptical of purchasing a computer and getting started. Usually a son or daughter encourages their parent to get a computer so they can communicate by email to their grandchildren who always want to hear from Grandma and Grandpa. So good ol’ Grannie and Poppy take adult education courses to learn the ways to use a computer.
I’ve always enjoyed gardening. Nothing too fancy, a few flowers, herbs, and the occasional tomato or pepper plant. This is a tradition that was passed down to me by my mother. I remember her planting a classic Italian garden of plum tomatoes, basil, and green peppers in the postage stamp strip of grass in back of her home in Flushing, New York.
She would dutifully tend to it every morning during the spring and summer months and the produce she’d somehow manage to coax from it was nothing short of astonishing! There was always fresh Italian tomatoes for salads or to put on sandwiches and just enough to make a small batch of fresh sauce which was seasoned by an abundance of fresh basil.
