Not a Holiday

Some of my fondest memories as a child are centered on family, traditions, food and holidays. The folding tables were hauled out of the basement when the Feast of the Seven Fishes was served on Christmas Eve for 30 or more close and extended relatives. Rice balls and anchovy filled crispelli were essential features of the religious Feast of the Three Saints every September. By Palm Sunday every year, the cooks in my family would start planning the Easter meal. Hmm, lasagna or lamb? Predictably both would be on the table on Easter Sunday. But what about the weeknight dinners?

Weeknight dinners at my house were always simple and vegetables always took center stage. Some of my favorite weeknight dinners were spaghetti with broccoli or cauliflower with a drizzle of olive oil, and a dash of red pepper and Pecorino Romano. Summer salads with a bit of fish or cooked calamari is still a favorite with a good slice of Italian bread. Winter dinners were lentil or split pea soup with loads of onion and carrots. Unlike many families, if we served pasta, bread was absent. My mother would always say that it was nonsense to serve 2 starches at a meal. Today we try to limit the starches or refined carbohydrates in our meals but vegetables still command center stage.