I’m proud to announce that I have signed a two-book deal with Storm Publishing. My World War II-era historical novels featuring Sicilian protagonists are tentatively slated for January and June 2025 releases. This has been a long time coming, and I am so grateful to everyone who read early drafts and/or cheered me on through the process.
I have felt truly welcomed by Kate Smith and the team at Storm Publishing. Kate’s sincere passion for both of my books and her investment in the characters and their stories have been incredibly inspiring. I am excited to embark on this journey to release my books into the world.
Watch this space for more news and highlights of my journey.
My author journey started with an interest in the story of my Sicilian grandparents, my Nonna and Nonno, who were separated during World War II but found their way back to one another. I wrote about it as a student in Los Angeles’s popular Writing Studio class, where teacher Elana Golden encouraged me to pursue novel writing.
Nonna was 18 years old when she and her family moved from Porticello, Sicily, to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the late 1930s. They sailed aboard the legendary Rex, which appears in Federico Fellini’s Oscar-winning Amarcord.
Once settled in Wisconsin, Nonna worked as a seamstress at a garment factory called Junior House. During the war, Franklin D. Roosevelt established the War Production Board, which converted factories of peacetime industries into manufacturing plants for military equipment. And Nonna and her fellow Junior House seamstresses transitioned to sewing parachutes.
My Nonno, the son of a tabaccheriaowner, remained in Sicily until Italy joined the war on June 10, 1940. As a soldier in the Italian Army, he was stationed in Cagliari, Sardinia, the site of a series of Allied bombings. In later years, he said little about his military involvement but asserted that his loyalty was to King Victor Emmanuel III.
I found their stories fascinating, particularly the fact that their love could survive the time and distance that separated them. As I continued writing, the story evolved. It was no longer about Concetta and Gaetano Agnello but instead about two fictional characters named Concetta Balistreri and Gaetano Alioto. That tale is woven into The Last Letter from Sicily, a historical novel that sheds light on the Sicilian experience during World War II. And now I am happy to share it with you!
It’s prickly pear season with so-called fichi d’India showing up in markets across Sicily. With a sweet taste reminiscent of watermelon, these spiky fruits can be found in the wild and on farms in the Mount Etna foothills. But what exactly is a prickly pear, and how do you eat them? Read on for a primer on this dangerously delicious fruit.
What Are Prickly Pears?
Native to Central Mexico, where it is called nopales, the prickly pear plant (Opuntia ficus-India) was first brought to Europe in the 16th century by Spanish explorers. Today, prickly pears grow on every continent except for Antarctica. In the United States, you can find Optunia cacti growing in the West and Southwest. You’ll recognize them for their slender, beavertail-shaped pads, known as shovels, and their brilliant green, yellow, orange, red, and purple fruits (also called tuna). Both are edible.
In Sicily’s markets, the preferred prickly pears are labeled as bastardoni. These fruits result from the plant’s second flowering and are bigger and sweeter following an initial pruning in the spring.
If you’re lucky enough to have access to prickly pear cacti, you may be wondering how to harvest them. Whatever you do, don’t use your bare hands! Prickly pear fruit is covered in tiny spines called glochids, which can get in your skin. Ouch!
Experts recommend wearing a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, and thick gloves. There are a variety of innovative methods, which I showcase below. Tools of the trade include small blow torches, tongs, and the traditional coppo, which you can purchase online or make yourself by cutting in half a 500-milliliter bottle and affixing it to a stick.
Sicilian Pasta with Cauliflower, Pine Nuts, Raisins, and Capers
It was our first night in Palermo. My husband and I were on our honeymoon but chose to visit with relatives, who insisted we stay in their lovely home. My cousin Patrizia sat us down for supper: breaded cauliflower pasta with pine nuts, raisins, and capers.
“This is just like my mother’s recipe!” I exclaimed.
“It is a family recipe,” Patrizia said with a smile.
So, for years, that’s what I thought—until I researched Sicilian recipes for my novels. While I have yet to see this particular cauliflower pasta on a restaurant menu, I uncovered a bevy of similar Sicilian cauliflower pasta recipes, such as Pasta chi Vruoccoli Arriminati.
But none had the capers, which my mother says add the slightly bitter and salty tanginess that’s essential to counter the sweetness of the raisins. Then I stumbled on Michele Di Pietro’s MangiaWithMichele.com recipe for Sicilian pasta with cauliflower, pine nuts, raisins, and—bingo!—capers.
Michele, a New Jersey-based cookbook author, food writer, menu and recipe developer, professional chef, culinary consultant, and former certified public accountant, was gracious enough to take time out to chat with me about this recipe. We discussed her twist on a family classic, the essential ingredients, why you should overcook cauliflower, and what she hopes readers will take away.
Tell me about your background.
I am. I’m 100% Italian-American. I’m half Sicilian and half Abruzzese. My mom’s parents came from Sicily separately at the turn of the century when they were young, and my dad’s parents were immigrants as well.
What is the history of Sicilian Pasta with Cauliflower, Pine Nuts, Raisins, and Capers for you and your family?
My mom used to make a dish that was sort of like an overcooked mash, kind of partially mashed cauliflower with lots of onions. She would finish it off with bread crumbs, and it was really, really good. And she would make a pasta with broccoli that is also very similar to that, whereas the broccoli is overcooked and it becomes sort of like the sauce for the dish. It’s mixed with Pecorino. And so this is kind of a combination of those two ideas.
For me, it’s like the way that she would make pasta with broccoli, and also thinking of the pasta with cauliflower dish that she used to make me.
I am a trained chef. I worked in the food service for many, many years, and most of my job was for many, many years was innovation and trying to come up with different ways and interesting ways of doing food to make things interesting. So it’s just ingrained in me to always try and do things a little bit differently.
Crispy capers, pine nuts, raisins, all three of those are very Sicilian ingredients, but the way that they’re put together in this pasta is not really traditional. I think the traditional dish just has pine nuts and raisins and often anchovies, which I left out. So it’s basically, it’s kind of inspired by a traditional dish with my personal history based on my mom’s dishes. And then, me wanting to add my own twist with the pine nuts and the Marcella wine-soaked raisins.
Why are the pine nuts, raisins, and capers important in this recipe, and how do they contribute to the overall flavor?
Well, they contribute both in flavor and texture. Texture is a really important part of flavor. And so, for me, the capers are important because they add brininess and saltiness and, therefore, also umami, but they add texture because they’re crispy. So that makes it interesting. The raisins add a pop of sweetness in a place where you wouldn’t expect sweetness. And eating the savory pasta dish and the Marcella wine, like I said, that’s just sort of like a fun, interesting twist on it, which just adds a little bit of extra flavor. They’re important because they’re all rooted in traditional Sicilian ingredients.
You intentionally overcook your cauliflower. Why?
A lot of Italian Americans and Italians tend to overcook their vegetables, which is the exact opposite of what I learned in cooking school. I often think about, oh my god, Chef So-and-So from cooking school would fall over if they saw me cooking my vegetables like this. Why do Italian Americans and Italians tend to overcook their vegetables? I’m not really sure, but they do. And what happens to it in a dish like this is if it becomes part of the sauce. It’s really a vegetable-based sauce. And it’ll become more of a sauce the more you overcook the cauliflower because it allows you to mash it or smash it with a fork. And when we combine it [with the other ingredients], that will emulsify it, thicken it, and kind of coat the pasta, which is why it’s really nice with the hearty pasta; it holds onto this heavier-in-the-texture sauce.
My mother uses breadcrumbs when she makes this dish. Can you speak to why Sicilians use breadcrumbs?
Well, it goes back to cucina povera, the combination of using what you have and not having a lot. So, back in the day, they didn’t always have Pecorino Romano. I’m sure they didn’t have any cheese at all, but they had leftovers from bread. So breadcrumbs were a way to add a little something to different dishes, a lot of times in pasta.
There are two iconic pasta dishes for [St. Joseph’s Day]. One of them, which I also have a recipe for on my website, has breadcrumbs and anchovies. It’s very, very simple. It’s spaghetti with breadcrumbs and anchovies, and it doesn’t have cheese. It’s just toasted breadcrumbs, and it gives you all that texture. With that dish, specifically, the breadcrumbs represent the sawdust of St. Joseph, who’s the patron saint of Sicily.
What do you hope readers will take away from your recipe?
I hope that all my recipes bring people together around the table. And I guess the last thing is I always just want people to make the recipe their own. I like all my recipes to be an inspiration. And just like I was inspired by the recipes and I made recipes my own, I would like them to do the same thing. So if they don’t want to have crispy capers or they don’t like capers, leave the capers out. Or if they want to make this recipe with broccoli instead of cauliflower, then do it.
>>Get Michele’s Sicilian Pasta with Cauliflower, Pine Nuts, Raisins, and Capers recipe here!<<
Maria Carolina: The Legacy of Marie Antoinette’s Sister
The next time you sip a cup of espresso, consider how it got there. I’m not talking about the production or import of beans. The very tradition of drinking coffee in Italy can be traced to a single source: Queen Maria Carolina of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. A daughter of Austria’s Habsburg Dynasty, Maria Carolina, who liked to be called Charlotte, was just as much a trendsetter as her ill-fated sister Marie Antoinette. She championed female artists, supported sciences, and exercised agency as a woman ahead of her time.
Whenever I visit my family in Porticello, I can’t help but see the Norman fortress of Castello di Solanto, one of Maria Carolina’s holiday homes. It’s right across from the port in Bagheria. A self-possessed and highly educated queen, Maria Carolina touched many other places and policies.
I first learned about Maria Carolina when I read Antoinette’s Sister by historical novelist Diana Giovinazzo, who happens to be part Sicilian. I caught up with Diana to discuss what she learned writing her brilliant book and her thoughts on Maria Carolina’s life and legacy.
What is your background, and what drew you to Queen Maria Carolina?
I’m half Italian. My dad’s part Calabrian and part Sicilian. So the Calabrian half that came was, as far as we know, just my great-grandfather and his wife. Nobody else came with them, which was just kind of odd. So we never really understood why that was. And as far as we know, there’s family back there that we don’t know what happened to them, and we could trace them back to World War II. That’s about it. And then my Sicilian side of the family, his mother’s side, came here from Sicily (just outside of Palermo, a little town called San Giuseppe Jato). So they’re all here.
I’ve always been curious about my family genealogy, how we came here, and where my family fits in the history narrative. There are a lot of people who have families who are still back in Italy. We don’t, and it’s murky, but I was curious about it, and I started getting into the research of genealogy. The question of how we came to the United States turned into, “Well, why? What was going on during the timeframe of my family coming here?” My family came in the mid and early 1900s. And so when I turned to the question of why, that’s when I started learning about historical fiction.
The history itself, the historical fiction, is going to come in a little bit later, but I first got into the history of Garibaldi, what Garibaldi did in the country, which led to Anita Garibaldi, which led to my first book, The Woman in Red.
While looking into that book’s history and doing research, I kept coming across sections that talked about the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. I had put some of it in there, but I didn’t really get into it in the book itself. And when we went to print, my editor was like, well, I want to know more. Let’s put some more of that in there. I did what any writer would do, and I decided I was going to become an expert. And I just studied as much of it as I could.
At the very beginning, I came across the stories of King Ferdinand. I was like, “Oh my God, who is the poor woman who was married to him and got stuck with this man?” And that’s when I came across Carolina.
So, I pitched the story to my agent, and it went from there. I was so just taken by the history and taken by her and her family, and everything that she did, as well as historical fiction, came into play because I’ve always wanted to be a writer. My path to writing has been very windy, and I’ve done a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I was a paralegal for a while, and then I started writing The Woman in Red. Then, I said, “Well, this is going to be my new thing.” And that’s where it came about.
Let’s discuss the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies since both of our ancestors were touched by it.
It’s basically just north of Naples, going all the way to the island of Sicily, and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies is such an interesting name for a kingdom in general. The way it came about was they were both called Sicily separately. Then Spain had control of one portion of it, and Austria had control of another portion of it. And there were wars fought between the two. Spain took it, and they said, “Okay, we’re just going to call it the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and we’re going to be part of our crown.”
Then Austria took it back, and it became the kingdom of the two Sicilies as well. They kept that. So, it went back and forth for a number of years between the two until Carlos came in. And that’s when it became its own country. I say kind of because it was kind of a puppet country of Spain for a number of years until Maria Carolina came in.
You talked a little bit about Ferdinand. Who was he?
He was such a character. He was a man-child, to put it in today’s terms. One of his favorite pastimes was hunting. He enjoyed playing games, and the games that he played were things along the lines of fishmonger or innkeeper. He really loved the people, and the people really truly loved him. They called him Re Nasone, the big nose king, and he would spend his mornings playing chess with old men out by the sea. That’s what he loved.
He really didn’t have an interest in ruling and didn’t intend to be king. When Carlos II returned to Spain, he brought his eldest son with him to be his heir, leaving Ferdinand as King of Naples. And Ferdinand just was not fit for it.
When he was 18, he married Maria Carolina, who was 16 at the time. He continued to be this man-child, and she had to be the one to come in and take care of it.
So now let’s talk about Maria Carolina.
She comes into this, and she really wasn’t actually intended to be the queen of Naples. Maria Theresa had one of her older daughters who was going to be the Queen of Naples. In fact, Maria Carolina was actually intended to be the Queen of France. That’s what Maria Theresa was training Maria Carolina for. And it is interesting because some corners of the web talk about what would have happened if Maria Carolina had been the queen of France. What would happen? Which is really weird and fascinating when you start getting into that.
Maria Theresa was the OG helicopter mom. There were so many ways where she had control over her children in their other kingdoms. Maria Carolina had to write to her mother about everything in her day-to-day life, even when her menses started, their plans for having children, and the policies they were discussing. She was very, very involved with her children. She considered every child she placed, and she had 16 of them [13 survived infancy]. She placed them in different countries. And so she considered those her colonies. They weren’t separate countries; they were colonies. So when Maria Carolina comes in here, she’s got her mother being controlling, and then she’s got Spain. Ferdinand has no intention of being the king.
So what she does—as a teenager, mind you—is manage to take over control and basically tell everybody to stay in their lanes, pushing out a lot of Spain’s influence. She winds up running the kingdom her way. The way she does it is just brilliant. She utilizes her family to help her make the power moves against Spain. And then, she would take advantage of the fact that her husband liked to go out and play, and if she wanted something with him, she would do simple things. She would utilize herself in ways to get him to be like, “Okay, I’ll give in.” Because he loved things like taking off gloves, he thought that was the ultimate sexy thing. So she would slowly remove her rings and gloves as she talked to him, and he would give in to whatever she wanted. That was the kind of woman she was, and that’s what she came into.
She’s done a lot of things, and when you step back and look at Italy as it is today, you still see those remnants. You see the architecture of Caserta and the art in that palace; she finished a lot of that palace and what she did for the people. She did progressive things, like protecting the coral reefs and utilizing science to plant the olive trees. We have so many olives in Southern Italy; so much of that is because of her, and she never truly got credit for it.
She also contributed to the military and defense. Can you speak to that?
She knew they were in a precarious position, so she focused on building that up so that they could withstand themselves. Because even geographically, if you look at Italy, you’ve got the territories north; they were all separate countries, little city-state countries in and of themselves. There were wars historically up there, so they had to protect their northern border. When the French Revolution began, you truly saw a bit of a change in the historical record when it came to her. She went from being an enlightened monarch to being very bitter and upset about the murder of her sister [Marie Antoinette].
So, she built up the military and focused on building up that strong military force because she knew it was only a matter of time before France invaded. She just knew, especially when Napoleon came in, that it would happen. She did a lot to try to protect herself and the kingdom from what Napoleon was doing.
I’d read that Maria Carolina had French chefs who introduced potatoes to Italy. Didn’t she also introduce coffee?
That was one of the things that surprised me the most when I was writing the book because when we think of Italy, we think there’s always coffee. There was always coffee, but it was considered bad luck to drink coffee before she came along. So I put in the book that every time she would turn over her coffee cup, there would be a pepper in her cup because they considered it bad luck to drink coffee. But she brought it with her from Austria because she was like, “I’m not living without my coffee,” which I can really, really relate to. So she had it with her. She had it every morning, and then it just became trendy to be able to drink coffee. And it has become such a huge part of Italian culture.
They put a pepper in her cup?
Yeah, they would leave a pepper by her cup; she’d turn over a coffee cup, and there would be a pepper to ward off the bad luck, the evil eye. And then you have this queen who’s willingly tempting Mal’occhio. They connected the two because coffee was so bitter.
She was a patron of artist Angelica Kauffman. Can you speak to her support for female artists?
Yes. I find this really fascinating. This was something that I really, really loved because it had a tie to Bridgerton because the queens of that period—you have Charlotte in England, you have Antoinette in France, and then you have Maria Carolina in Naples—had this system where they would take female artists, not just Angelica Kauffman, but other female artists, and they would exchange them between each other. They would make references. And these female artists could go from one kingdom to another, and they were patrons of these women.
It’s truly a beautiful thing that they never get credit for. I think this type of feminism, the idea that women’s rights aren’t just women’s rights; they’re universal rights, they’re human rights. She lends a lot of that to what you see regarding rights in Italy today. I know there’s a lot of feminism talk, and that’s something that comes up a lot, but when it comes to Italy, it’s very much a human rights issue. And I think she pushed for that because she did a lot of that. She had a female personal librarian. As much as she could, she would utilize female artists.
What is Maria Carolina’s legacy?
I think truly caring about the country, truly caring about trying to make the country a priority—and not in a nationalistic way—in a way that allows people to take care of each other.
>>You can read more about Maria Carolina in Diana’s book,Antoinette’s Sister.<<
Just about every weekend of my childhood, my family would drive from our home in Racine, Wisconsin, to Milwaukee, where we’d visit with relatives and enjoy classic Sicilian suppers. My Nonna had a pantry full of ingredients from Italian grocer Glorioso’s.
One of these staples was chickpea flour, farina di ceci, which is made by crushing dried garbanzo beans.
Using this versatile, gluten-free, and protein-packed flour, she’d often make panelle, chickpea flour cutlets that she’d serve between freshly baked Sicilian bread.
I was delighted to discover a panelle recipe just like my Nonna’s on Ada Parisi’s Siciliani Creativi in Cucina. We recently discussed all things chickpea flour, a superfood you can now find at most supermarkets. Ada, who currently calls Rome home, was born in Messina, Sicily, and aims to make Sicilian cuisine better known through her recipes.
How is chickpea flour made?
Chickpea flour is simply obtained by crushing dehulled chickpeas: the chickpeas are ground until they become an impalpable powder that is slightly yellow-colored. It is also possible to prepare it at home using common dried chickpeas. Just wash them, toast them in the oven at 150 degrees for about 20 minutes, and then blend everything in a food processor until you obtain flour.
What are some uses for chickpea flour?
Chickpeas are a food widely used in traditional recipes from various Italian regions. For this reason, but also for cultural reasons (they’re an ingredient that ancient farmers always had in their pantries, cheap and nutritious), chickpeas and chickpea flour are so used in Italy.
How does its use vary by region?
Among the main Italian recipes with chickpea flour is farinata, a type of low focaccia made with chickpea flour, extra virgin olive oil, and aromatic herbs such as rosemary. Widespread in various regions (Liguria, Tuscany, and Sardinia), it is also called fainá or cecina. In Sicily, chickpea flour is used to make panelle, fritters with chickpea flour, pepper, and parsley, to be eaten inside a sandwich (the famous pane e panelle). It is also possible to prepare vegan omelets with chickpea flour and vegetables. But also highly protein legume gnocchi by adding flour, eggs, and grated cheese. With chickpea flour, you can also make desserts: in Sicily, cassatelle di agira is a famous, sweet raviolo that contains chocolate and chickpea flour inside.
Why is chickpea flour so widely used in Italy?
It is a legacy of Italian peasant culture. Chickpeas are a very traditional and widespread crop in different regions, especially in central and southern Italy. Furthermore, in addition to being an ingredient in various typical recipes, today, they meet the needs of those who are intolerant to gluten or celiac disease.
What are the health benefits of chickpea flour?
Chickpea flour, like chickpeas, is rich in vegetable proteins with medium biological value. It contains little fat and a lot of fiber, as well as a good amount of vitamins B1, A, and E, in addition to mineral salts such as phosphorus and potassium. It is gluten-free and has a low glycemic index; therefore, it is suitable for celiac diets and recommended in the diet for diabetics.
What do you hope at-home cooks will take away from your recipes?
I hope that those who read my recipes will share and make their own idea of a seasonal diet linked to the territory and small productions. The valorization of Italian agricultural and agri-food products in every kitchen is the key to eating healthily (as the Mediterranean Diet says) and helping the agricultural supply chain increase income with what it produces.
Crystal Artist Cristalli di Cat Draws Inspiration from Sicily and Family
I would be remiss if I did not include my sister, Catherine Maita, among my picks for interviewees for this blog. Catherine studied abroad in Italy for a semester during her senior year, where she not only learned Italian and studied art history but also met her future husband on the isle of Capri.
An Orange County, California, crystals designer, Catherine crafts unique tablescapes and jewelry pieces, which she sells under the name of Cristalli di Cat at farmers markets and on her Etsy store. We sat down to chat about our childhood, the people who inspired her, her process, and her business’s future.
Can you describe your connection to Sicily?
Our maternal grandparents (Nonni) were Sicilian, and their families were from Porticello and Palermo. Mom’s influence aligned our family with Sicilian culture and traditions throughout our youth. Sunday family meals prepared by Nonna, watching Italian soccer, and gardening with Nonno were some of my fondest childhood memories. During our cherished family time during these weekly visits, our Nonni shared much about our heritage. Being so connected to family and wanting to meet our relatives in Italy and visit our grandparents’ homeland led me to sign up for a college semester abroad in Rome.
While abroad, I first lived with our Sicilian relatives in Palermo for three weeks before my time at the American University of Rome. During my stay in Sicily, I became wholly immersed in our family’s heritage, meeting our relatives and hearing their stories. They also further introduced me to the Sicilian cuisine and culture. While there, I learned so much about our Nonni’s upbringing. I visited Mondello Beach, where my Nonno would swim in the Mediterranean. I stood in the street where my grandparents first met as youth and met our cousin, who still runs our family’s now third-generation tabaccheria.
During my semester in Rome, I returned to Sicily that fall for a weekend in Porticello to attend the Festa Madonna del Lume with our family. This grand celebration started with a town-wide religious procession, starting at the church where our Nonni were married. It was one of my favorite experiences of my time in Sicily.
What was the inspiration for Cristalli di Cat?
The name of my business is Italian for Crystals by Catherine. While studying in Rome, I took an art history course.
Before my time in Rome, our brother, Erik, had always inspired me with his creations: paintings, sculptures, and graphic designs. This influence was my baseline for being attracted to creativity, leading me to sign up for this class when enrolling for my semester coursework.
Daily lessons in this art history course were instructed outside a classroom. Classes took place among the art in churches around Rome, as famous artists painted frescoes that remain. During this class, we also frequently visited architectural structures in Rome. The designs and custom works throughout the city were genuinely fascinating, and I have held this inspiration for years.
When I lived in Rome, I also visited open markets every Saturday to practice conversational Italian through interactions with vendors. During these visits, I became attracted to stone- and crystal-designed jewelry and handmade creations by these local artists. I began collecting crystal and stone jewelry pieces for myself and as gifts for friends and family.
Several years after this college study-abroad experience, I turned to floral design as a creative outlet for stress relief management. I was coping with my emotions around our father’s terminal illness, and designing became a soothing outlet for stress relief. I could reconnect with my passion for art. This therapy then translated to a business venture as I had friends and family encourage me to pursue starting my own small business to share my work with others.
I spent a full year visiting southern California artist markets on the weekend to get advice from small business owners and to gather inspiration for new designs. During that year, I also attended my first Gem Faire event. Exploring crystals at the fair, I felt an immediate connection to these elements. I knew then that I wanted to work with crystals and incorporate them into my design work.
Describe your works.
My crystal design arrangements feature thoughtfully curated crystals, stones, and dried florals. I envisioned combining these elements to create a soft (florals) and sharp (crystals) visual effect, drawing in calming vibes from these competing but connected properties.
My jewelry designs feature hand-selected crystals as pendants on gold chains. In my personal style, I layer accessories and encourage my clients to explore mixing properties of different crystals in their own stylish looks. I also design rings with vibrant and sometimes oversized stones, making many statement pieces. For my jewelry line, I don’t have any two identical pieces, making each piece unique and one of a kind.
How do you source your materials?
I always want to ensure the quality of my materials for my clients. I source materials for my designs from a network of wholesale vendors who source directly from mines. I set up private viewings to hand-select elements. My other go-to space for curating materials is Gem Faires throughout Southern California and Arizona. I can find some of the most unique items at these fairs and support other small business owners. For my floral designs, I source from business owners of wholesale flower shops and from vendors at farmers markets.
What is your process behind designing a new piece?
Inspiration for my designs is a constant trail of ideas coming to me during nature hikes, visits to museums and art festivals, and time spent at calming places like Laguna Beach.
Another hobby I have had for years is photography. I am constantly taking photos of inspiring places and views around Southern California. When I need a dose of inspiration, I retreat to Laguna for a long walk and take photos of exciting views of the water and surroundings on the walking trails. My photo captures and viewing crystals at Gem Faires generally lead me to ideas for new designs and collections for my business.
I am very much in the moment when inspiration hits. I will literally be at a Gem Faire setting crystals together on a table, zoning out, and designing among the crowds. I also keep a design ideas notebook to capture my ideas and sketch out design looks. Once I have a vision for a new line, I work with my suppliers to source materials. Then, I bring myself to a calm space with music and materials and design the entire collection in one sitting. When the creativity is there, I don’t stop designing until I feel the collection is complete.
What are your cultural or historical influences?
My floral designs are inspired by our Sicilian great-aunt Josephine. Following her retirement from teaching, Auntie Jo owned a floral design business. She had Parkinson’s disease, and floral design was a calming escape from her ailments. She created beautiful works by hand, which she donated to local hospital gift shops in efforts to raise funding for Parkinson’s research.
Every time we were together, Auntie Jo was designing or handcrafting gifts for people. She encouraged us all to design with her… It was a wonderful inspiration at a young age! We witnessed her work filling people with immense joy and bringing colorful art into their homes.
In my early adulthood, living in Rome and traveling throughout Europe during weekends and school breaks for four months at university there served as constant inspiration. I believe my bold, structured, and statement looks are drawn from my experiences and cultural immersion in the European lifestyle. The fast-paced movement, the fashion, and the fascinating history of Rome greatly influenced me. Cobblestone streets, quiet hilltop views of the city, busy streets, and historic structures all contribute to my design aesthetic. In Sicily, the ocean colors, vibrant tones of fruit at the markets, and the gorgeous landscapes inspired me so much. I captured so many design ideas then that I am now further exploring and infusing them into my work.
You do custom work. Can you describe that process?
I create many personally envisioned designs but receive several custom requests for my work. Generally, in my custom orders, someone is looking for an arrangement to fill a home or office space or get a gift for a friend or family member. I also get requests for event design work. I have planned and hosted hundreds of events, from large-scale corporate events to intimate client engagements to birthday parties for my daughter.
For every custom order request, I’ll first meet with a client to discuss their vision and ask them to send images of their space for the design. I ask for preferences for specific colors or healing properties they want to bring into their space. I always want to ensure that I have captured someone’s vision, so I will create several different looks to provide options to the client. If I’m designing for a “zen den” or calming-type space, I’ll generally have very soothing colors or soft florals like pampas. For event decor, it can be anything from helping to determine a theme to table settings and even guest party favors. I photograph these design looks and provide a lookbook that I pitch to clients. Seeing someone’s vision brought to life in my work is always so fulfilling.
What are your most popular pieces?
Probably the most requested design is the first arrangement type I created when I launched my business. I call the design a “crystal garden.” In this design, crystals and florals are combined and collected into a singular space on a wooden carved plate. These arrangements can easily be set on a side table in a room or atop an office desk. I have a client who keeps one in her yoga studio, and we have added several crystals over time to that space, which is now an entire “crystal wing” in her studio.
My other most requested pieces are large crystals in a design scape for a home entry or table centerpiece look. These generally include very unique crystals that I will source at Gem Faires.
Another very popular piece is my jewelry, which I just launched this year. I wear my creations for calming vibes and to amplify styled looks, and I generally will get customers by people approaching me to ask where I got my necklaces or rings. I am always thrilled to design jewelry for new and existing customers, as I can attest to the good energy and happiness that comes with these creations!
What are your plans, and can you give us a hint about upcoming collections?
Since I launched my business in 2022, I have been involved in markets and in-store collectives. I also have an e-commerce space on Etsy and accept custom orders through my website and Instagram. I want to continue to grow my brand’s presence in those spaces.
I am also in conversations with other artists about collaborations. I plan to expand my client base in the custom design space, as I have found great joy in bringing scapes into people’s homes and other spaces. And I want to build my jewelry and accessories line.
Many clients return to me at markets or through message requests to add to their Cristalli di Cat jewelry collection. The response to my necklace creations led me to launch ring designs to complement necklaces as accessory sets. I will hopefully soon also have crystal earring designs to offer.
I have ideas for other special products for my shop in the future. I’d like to source and sell other home decor or lifestyle items that would elevate or enhance my pieces.
My favorite future plan is to continue to teach my daughter design and help her develop what I see as innate creative skills. She has launched her own side table kids’ toys and games sales booth at markets where I am a vendor participant. I want to continue to inspire her to pursue her curiosities as a young entrepreneur and to encourage her to maybe one day start her own business or two.
If you’re a fan of donut holes, you’ll love sfingi, the quintessential donut of Sicily. While commonly served on Saint Joseph’s Day and at Christmastime, these sweet and sometimes savory treats are a hit any time of the year. I caught up with Sicilian Food Tours owner Carmel Ruggeri to chat about her version of sfingi, which reminds me of my own Nonna‘s recipe.
Tell me about your background.
I was born in Australia. My parents migrated to Sydney in the 60s. They are both from Scoglitti, which is located on the south coast of Sicily. I have owned many Italian restaurants in Sydney and have always had a serious passion for food. I started tours about 13 years ago because my customers were continuously saying, “when are you going to take me to Sicily, Carmel?” I base myself in Scoglitti when I am in Sicily. It is a quaint little fishing village located on the south coast. White sandy beaches and it has numerous amazing seafood restaurants which people from all over the island come to visit.
What does your heritage mean to you?
I am a very proud Sicilian. Sicily has a rich history of mixed cultures, and I think this has helped shape my curiosity about discovering different cultures and meeting various people from all over the world. Sicilians are very proud of their rich soil and their produce, as am I, and I want the world to know who we are and taste all our produce and products. We have strong family values and a strong sense of community, which is evident as you visit the villages of Sicily and attend feasts and events throughout the island. Most of our events are around food. Growing up, when we came together with our cousins and extended family, it was always about food, and if there were only 10 of us for Sunday lunch, there would always be enough leftovers for days. My mother showed love by feeding us, and until today, even though she is very unwell and barely able to walk, her first question to me in the morning after breakfast is, “What can we prepare for dinner tonight?” I’m proud to say she passed on the cooking gene to me.
What aresfingi, and how are they typically served?
Sfingi is a donut. Sicilian recipes differ from village to village. We serve it with sultanas and roll them in sugar and cinnamon. When I was a child, my mother used to make them with fennel seeds. I definitely prefer them with sultanas.
What is the difference betweenzeppoleandsfingi?
Sfingi are donut-style fritters made into random shapes. Zeppole are made from pastry and have fillings, such as the Zeppole di San Giuseppe, which is a pastry made for the patron saint day of Saint Joseph. They look like an open profiterole with cream in the middle. However many of my Calabrese friends call savoury sfingi zeppole. They add anchovies inside the dough mixture and fry them and serve them. Many restaurants serve these on bar menus around the world. They help drink sales because they are nice and salty and make their customers thirsty.
Is this a family recipe? What went into developing it?
I have watched my mother and aunts make sfingi since I was a little girl. Like most recipes handed down from my mother, it was, “Add a pinch of this and a pinch of that.” Her recipes were never precise, and I had to work it out on my own. I know now that with sfingi dough, you need to mix it well and give them enough time to rise to get those large, great, airy bubbles in them.
I noticed yoursfingirecipe happens to be vegan.
Most of the recipes I know of sfingi are vegan. My cousin, who is from the Messina region, adds mashed potato to hers, and another friend told me that in Sardinia, they add mashed cauliflower.
What do you hope at-home cooks and bakers will take away from your recipes?
I hope they get to try a little bit of Sicilian flavors in their homes and enjoy how such little ingredients can go a long way.
Tell me about Sicilian Food Tours. Where do you go, and what can participants expect?
Sicilian Food Tours is based in the seaside fishing village of Scoglitti, and we travel to the surrounding areas such as baroque Modica, Ragusa Ibla, majestic Noto, Ortigia on the East Coast, and many other south Sicily locations. I like to think that guests get a full cultural experience on my tours. They come into our family home and see Nonna cook. Guests get to meet many of my relatives at their bakeries and pastry stores and come behind the scenes and see how everything is created. They come to my cousin’s tomato or eggplant farms and see produce from start to finish. We pride ourselves on being a tour with a difference, offering meals with an array of differences from a Michelin-style restaurant to eating a Sicilian salsicciaat a BBQ to a winetasting with lunch at a beautiful winery with a top sommelier on hand telling us about all the grape varieties and winemaking. Our tours are very personalized tours, and we only run three- or four-week-long tours a year.
Bocce Ball Player Teresa Rea Shares Her Favorite Sport
It’s the quintessential Italian sport, now played worldwide, attracting people of all ages and rivaling soccer in its popularity. Bocce, a form of competitive lawn bowling, pronounced “bot-cheh,” has emerged from your grandfather’s bocce court as a serious contender for the Olympic Games, falling just short of the requisite 16 countries. And it’s become more common to see women participating and competing at elite levels. Just ask Mill Valley, California, resident Teresa Rea, who, along with her teammate Jolene Kramer, won the 2019 U.S. National Bocce Championship Women’s Doubles Gold Medal.
Teresa, who is represented by the Marin Bocce Federation, sat down with me to discuss bocce basics.
How did you get started with bocce ball?
In 1999, someone suggested that I join their league team. I’d never played, and I played 20 years of volleyball. So, they knew I had hand-eye coordination, which is probably the one requirement for this sport. And so I’ve been playing in leagues at Marin Bocce Federation ever since. But in 2004, I discovered there were regional leagues and regional tournaments. Sometimes, it’s four-player: four men, four women, two men, two women… There are three-player tournaments, there are two-player tournaments, and there are singles tournaments. They’re all around what’s called the Western Sector of the United States Bocce Federation. That is the nationwide organization that represents us with Canada, with Europe, with South America.
In 2004, I began playing in those tournaments and upped my game. About two or three years later, I began playing Punto Raffa Volo, the principal Italian game.
What exactly is Punto Raffa Volo?
Punto means pointing. You’re bending over and lagging the ball. Raffa is a running shot where you approach a fixed line, must then throw your ball, and clear a line about 12 feet out. And then, having called your target shot, you’re aiming for a specific ball down the court. Volo is similar, but you run to a different line, and you have to hit your designated target ball on the fly.
And there’s a high degree of precision in it that does not exist in the open play that many Americans play. You can’t bump another ball more than 40 centimeters in our game. If you do, there are a lot of rules. Balls are all marked, and things can be put back and removed from the court if you don’t hit your target. So, I’ve been playing that ever since.
I had the opportunity to represent the United States and play in the United States Bocce Federation Nationals, which occur the last week of every June, sometimes in California, typically Chicago, St. Louis, or Boston. That attracts players from around the country to play several different formats. And then, in 2019, probably the best moment was when my teammate Jolene Kramer and I won the gold medal in the women’s doubles.
What are the basic rules of bocce?
The object of the game after you’ve thrown the small ball, or pallino, out onto the court past the center line is to get at least one or more of your balls closer to the pallino than the opponent. And you take turns trying to do so. You may either be trying to get closer or bump them out and leave yourself there to be closer. And if you get one of your balls, only one of your balls closer than any of theirs, you get one point, two, three… If all four of your balls are closer, you get what’s called a casino.
That’s a simple open game. The object of Punta Raffa Volo is still the same. You want to have more of your balls closer to the pallino than the other team. Only the team with the close balls gets points in a given frame.
What’s another popular style of bocce?
There is another game called Volo that’s part of this collection, and you play with metal balls, and there’s lagging. It’s about 50% lagging and 50% shooting. And that’s mostly men, I would say. Yeah, it’s 90% men because it’s all about throwing the ball the entire distance of the court.
What’s the history of bocce?
Well, I mean, we all suspect that it started with a couple of cavemen saying, “I can throw this rock closer to that rock than you can.” It’s evolved in each country because bocce is the Italian version of boules lawn bowling. Boules and pétanqueare French, and lawn bowling is English.
It evolved predominantly in the countryside on crushed oyster shells or dirt courts, which leads to a somewhat lumpy terrain that’s played on. But it has evolved to the point where most of the Italian clubs are indoors, and it’s a synthetic rubber surface that is mostly flat. I’ve only met one pair of courts that was literally perfect. Everything else has its little idiosyncrasies because the earth under it moved, or the building shifted, or whatever.
What is it like to be a woman playing this stereotypically male game?
Well, amongst the players, the presumption is that the women will only do the lagging [the typical rolling style]. They’ll not do the shooting [aiming to displace another ball on the court]. That has eased over the decades that I’ve been playing so that there’s every reason to believe a woman’s as likely to be a shooter as a man.
Young boys tend to gravitate to the sport because of the chance to shoot. So very often, you’ll see if it’s a mixed doubles foursome, the woman will be doing the first two balls and lagging for position, and the man will be doing the latter half. When they created the categories for women to play doubles together, many more women learned how to shoot. And now, probably 60% of the men shoot, but at least 40% of the women do.
Have you been to Italy?
Oh, yes. Twice. My best friend from high school married a Fiorentino, and the three of us and their two kids went roaming through Tuscany. Multiple times, we saw men out playing bocce on their dirt courts. Once, in Cinque Terra, I also saw a bocce court right near the beach.
Do you have a favorite Italian dish?
Probably eggplant parmigiana.
What do you do when you’re not playing bocce?
I’m retired now, but I was a land-use planner for 30 years.
So, what’s next for you?
There are still tournaments, and I’ll probably participate in a fundraiser in October. The beauty of fundraisers is that you can have players of all levels who care to join and play, and you’re making money for a nonprofit that needs support.
>>Looking to join a bocce club? Here are some tips.<<
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My Sicilian grandmother may have been the cook of the household, but it was my grandfather who grew much of the produce she used in her dishes.
I can still remember sitting in the kitchen as Luciano Pavarotti’s tenor voice filtered through the fragrant air. Nonna was stirring a pot of something wonderful on the stove when Nonno burst through the door with a tray of sun-dried tomatoes. He’d dried them himself by wrapping the tray in plastic and setting it out in the sun to do its magic. Who needed store-bought when doing it yourself was so easy and delicious?
Food blogger Andrea Lagana of Hip Hip Gourmet agrees, but she “sun dries” her tomatoes in the oven before popping them into a dehydrator.
“Doing it outside is nice and all, but there are lots of variables to consider (such as bugs, temperature, rain, etc.), so using a dehydrator is the no-fail preferred method in our family,” she says.
Andrea took time out to share why she dries her own tomatoes, which tomatoes are best for drying, how to boost dried tomato flavor, and which recipes are best for sun-dried tomatoes.
What is your background, and where is your Italian family from?
I’m a proud second-generation Italian. Both of my parents were born in Italy, both in Calabria, but in different towns. My dad is from Scilla, and my mom is from Montalto Uffugo.
Did your family sun-dry tomatoes?
My parents don’t actually remember their families sun-drying tomatoes in Italy because they were so small when they left. However, my mom does have a few memories of her aunts and uncles sun-drying figs from their fresh backyard fig trees, so I’m sure it’s not far-fetched to say that they did tomatoes, too.
When did you start sun-drying tomatoes, and why?
I started sun-drying tomatoes as soon as I started living on my own (about a decade or so ago!). It was always a staple in our house growing up and something I would help my parents make every year. I just knew I had to carry on the tradition not only because we’ve been making them for so long but also because they’re so dang delicious, and I seriously can’t live without them! So much so that I’ve actually vowed to make them every year for the rest of my life.
What is your preferred tomato-drying method?
I personally like to start my fresh halved (usually Roma or San Marzano) tomatoes in the oven on the lowest rack for a couple of hours. Then, I transfer them to a dehydrator to finish drying out. This process can be long and requires patience and persistence, as you have to keep going in every so often to check on them and take the ready ones out (they can be ready at different times). I like this method because it’s efficient, reliable, and easy.
However, if I lived in Italy under the hot Italian sun, perhaps I would stick to the old-fashioned way of actually using the sun to dry them out completely. My mom used to start them outside in the sun in our backyard (instead of the oven), and then she’d move them to the dehydrator to finish.
How does the process differ from traditional sun-drying?
Traditional sun-drying includes salting the halved tomatoes to draw out excess moisture (which we don’t do) and placing them in direct sunlight for several days with a protective covering like a screen or a cheesecloth to keep the insects away. The tomatoes will get rotated or flipped a few times during this process to ensure even drying. The process is generally longer than my family’s method of using a dehydrator, as the sun must be shining in order for the tomatoes to dry out completely.
What types of tomatoes are best suited for sun-drying?
We love using fresh and ripe Roma or San Marzano tomatoes for sun-drying. These beauties are the perfect size (go for the smaller ones) and have fewer seeds and more “meat” than other varieties. They also have a firm texture and lower water content, making them ideal for sun-drying. We also make fresh tomato sauce at the same time, and, as any Italian will tell you, Roma and/or San Marzano are basically the only options!
Can you list some common mistakes to avoid when making sun-dried tomatoes?
Not using the right tomatoes: Remember, San Marzano or Roma. My Italian parents wouldn’t approve of any other variety!
Overcrowding the dehydrator. The air needs room to circulate, and overcrowding the trays or overlapping the tomatoes will result in uneven and improperly dried tomatoes. For best results, place the tomatoes in a single and even layer.
Taking the sun-dried tomatoes out too soon. You want to make sure they are dry but still bendy when you press them between your fingers. They shouldn’t be moist, squishy, or hard at all.
Not tossing the ready ones in a splash of oil while waiting for the rest to finish. As I said, this process can take several days (or even weeks, depending on how many tomatoes you’re drying). Tossing the ready ones in a bit of oil and keeping them in a container with a tight-fitting lid keeps them fresh and prevents mold before jarring.
Not ensuring that all of the sun-dried tomatoes are completely submerged in oil at all times (after jarring). Make sure to always press them down beneath the oil with a fork after each use and/or topping up the oil as often as is needed.
Not having patience. It’s a virtue and so required in this process. But trust me, it’s totally worth it and will pay off tenfold!
How can you enhance the flavor of tomatoes during the drying process?
You can definitely add salt to the halved tomatoes before drying. I’m sure you could also add some spices (e.g., garlic powder or Italian seasoning) if you wish. I haven’t ever tried doing this before drying, but I’m sure it would be a good experiment.
Personally, my family likes to keep the tomatoes plain Jane during the drying process. We enhance the flavor after the tomatoes are completely dried out by adding loads of fresh chopped garlic, oregano, salt, and oil as we jar them.
What are the benefits of drying tomatoes at home versus buying them from a store?
Like anything homemade, they’re just way better for so many reasons! First and foremost, they are much cheaper in the long run than store-bought varieties. I find that you can’t find a good-tasting jar of sun-dried tomatoes for less than $15 these days (and I’m talkin’ the smallest of small jars you could find). I also find that the oil used in most jarred varieties isn’t an oil I consume on a regular basis, so I prefer making my own so I can control the exact ingredients and measurements that go into each jar.
And, of course, the real benefit of making sun-dried tomatoes at home is that I seriously cannot find a sun-dried tomato that is as delicious as the ones my family has been making for all of these years. Call me biased, but it’s a fact!
What are some creative ways to incorporate sun-dried tomatoes into your cooking?
I love using sun-dried tomatoes in my cooking, so I feel like I can never have enough of them! Eating them straight out of the jar is, of course, also delicious. But here are some ways I like to use them:
In pasta—why, of course! I wouldn’t be Italian if I didn’t suggest throwing some into the next pasta dish you make. My mom adds them to her pasta aglio e olio (a traditional simple olive oil and garlic pasta), which takes it to a whole other level.
If you’re feeling fancy (but not really, because all it takes is 10 minutes to make!), try my pesto rosso (aka my sun-dried tomato pesto), where the homemade sun-dried tomatoes are the true star! You can use this pesto on pasta, as a base for a pizza, or as a marinade for things like chicken or pork. It’s even great on eggs.
I love chopping sun-dried tomatoes and adding them to anything, from pizza (they’re so good on pizza!) to meatballs (like my homemade sun-dried tomato turkey meatballs with spinach and goat cheese).
One of my favorite things to do with sun-dried tomatoes is make Mediterranean-inspired dishes. They pair well with olives, capers, artichoke hearts, and spinach.
Here are two of my go-to recipes that use sun-dried tomatoes:
Mediterranean Baked Halibut (you can use any white fish)
