Category: parents and kids

An Italian Mother’s Day Menu

An Italian Mother’s Day Menu

If you grew up in a wonderful household full of love, warmth, and good food it was probably a direct result of your mother (sorry to all of the well rounded fathers out there).  In turn, your lovely mother deserves, at the very least, a home cooked An Italian Themed Mother’s Day Menu or meal.  Our selection includes easy to […]

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A Plea to Cook at Home: Fast Italian Food

A Plea to Cook at Home: Fast Italian Food

(photo: cooking at home begins with basic ingredients; olive oil is key) “By becoming a cook, you can leave processed foods behind, creating more healthful, less expensive and better-tasting food that requires less energy, water and land per calorie and reduces our carbon footprint. Not a bad result for us — or the planet.” Why Don’t Americans Cook at Home? […]

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Italian Children’s Book: ABC Italiano and Learning Italian

Italian Children’s Book: ABC Italiano and Learning Italian

My first experience with the Italian language was in utero and I suspect I overheard a conversation between my mother and grandmother in relation to food (something along the the lines, “cosa stai facendo per la cena?” or what are you making for dinner?).  Post birth, I didn’t aquire English until I was five or so; legend has it that […]

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The Wine Press: On The Importance of Italian American Traditions

The Wine Press: On The Importance of Italian American Traditions

With the passing of my grandparents, my father and his uncles have moved to sell the first Scordo home here in the United States (purchased in the late 1960’s and just a few years after my parents and grandparents arrived in the United States).  The house is full of memories and Italian American traditions, as I spent the first five […]

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Italian Rituals: The Sunday Visit

Italian Rituals: The Sunday Visit

One of the nicest Italian rituals I continue to observe  is the “Sunday visit.”  The idea of the Sunday visit is centered on spending time with your family and friends, maybe consuming an espresso or aperitif, and celebrating a leisurely day without work or obligations.  I was exposed to the Sunday visit early on at my grandparent’s home, where we […]

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Homemade Wine Making Weekend

Homemade Wine Making Weekend

(photo: grapes ready to be crushed) Late September is one of my favorite times of the year here in Northern New Jersey.  The temperature and humidity dip, leaves begin to change color, and I begin to relish my days spent outdoors in the sun and cool air (it’s amazing what happens to one’s sense of appreciation when certain things won’t […]

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On The Myth of Equating Poor Eating Habits with Economic Class or Spending Power

On The Myth of Equating Poor Eating Habits with Economic Class or Spending Power

The Tradition You Come From Matters One of the critical life lessons I learned from my Italian family is how to value food and dispel the myth of equating poor eating habits with economic class or spending power.  Specifically, I was taught: How to cook and the closely associated idea of, Why food is important and should be taken seriously. My mother […]

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Avoiding the Disease of Self Entitlement: 3 Symptoms and Cures

Avoiding the Disease of Self Entitlement: 3 Symptoms and Cures

(photo: cast from the film, American Psycho) I see it all the time, twenty and thirty somethings ingrained with the idea that they deserve what they deem desirable, whether it be a new wardrobe, apartment in a trendy city, new luxury car, a monstrous new kitchen, the latest Smartphone, and/or a 6 bedroom home in a privileged suburb.  Let me […]

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Personal Finance Beginnings: What To Tell Your Kids About Money

Personal Finance Beginnings: What To Tell Your Kids About Money

(photo: my young uncle washing his hands in an outdoor fountain in Bagnara, Calabra – Village of Pellegrina) One of the most important life skills you can teach your child is how to save or, more specifically, why it’s important to save.   My parents would often bring me to the bank as a small child and I observed my mother writing and cashing […]

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10 Parenting Tips For New Parents

10 Parenting Tips For New Parents

When Tommaso arrived a little over 5 weeks ago he did not come with a technical specification document (that’s geek speak for instructions on how he was built).  You see if Tommaso had the correct documents I could simply troubleshoot his crying, turning red, uncontrollable kicking, etc. as opposed to the, ummm, going with my gut type behavior I’m exhibiting […]

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