Around the beginning of this pandemic, my husband decided to devote his Aerogarden exclusively to basil. Because we use this herb quite often and in so many dishes, we didn’t want to be without it. Five months ago, however, we didn’t realize just how much basil our hydroponic wonder would provide.
Ever since we’ve given up driving, one sure way to get me to make a dish is that it requires no trip to the market. Another inducement is a request for it from my better half. Recently these two incentives merged and led me to prepare Lidia Bastianich’s Garlic Risotto.
A serendipitous confluence of my birthday with Amazon’s Prime Day led to the arrival of an Instant Pot at our door. This trendy pressure cooker, which has sparked a passion for the appliance, was a gift from my husband, who knew I wanted one but was reluctant to replace my serviceable, though less advanced, Cuisinart model. Well, yesterday, while unboxing my shiny new toy, I felt some nostalgia for my tried-and-true cooker that’s served me well for quite a few years. So, I thought I’d make one last dish in it before its retirement.
Discovery. Isn’t that what the world-wide web is all about? Spurred on by curiosity, we follow threads of information only to find new threads and thereby broaden our knowledge of almost any subject, and then perhaps begin another thread.
This often is the case for me when I read a comment left by another food writer on a blog that I follow and am then led to that blogger’s website. Indeed, this is how I found the recipe for today’s post. I read a comment about Marcella Hazan by Stefano Arturi on Diane Darrow’s blog Another Year in Recipes, which brought me to his own blog, Italian Home Cooking.
Cooking from Books 