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Ma's New Flip

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One of the best things about the summer for me is that my mom, dad and sisters all get together and come stay at my house – and just hang out.

We don’t sight-see, we don’t take day trips, we don’t make lots of involved plans or itineraries. We just slow everything down and enjoy each other’s company.

We talked and talked and cooked and cooked. I got to show them my garden with basil: (you don’t think I planted too much do you? LOL ;-)

And tomatoes: (there’s never enough tomatoes)

We made Mom's Basil Pesto

Ingredients:

1 cup of olive oil
2 cups basil
6 garlic cloves
1/2 cup butter (one stick, softened)
1/2 cup Parmesan and Romano cheese, grated

Preparation:

Put all ingredients in blender except butter and basil. Add basil and blend. Next, add one stick of softened butter and blend until smooth.

We made Summer Sauce:

Ingredients:

6 farm- or garden-fresh tomatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 stick butter, softened
4 Tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/2 tsp oregano
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 ball of mozzarella, cubed
1 lb fettuccine, cooked
Romano cheese, for serving

Preparation:

In a bowl, combine tomatoes, butter, and olive oil. Add garlic, then parsley, basil, and oregano. Season with salt and pepper.

Place sauce in a Lock & Lock container and shake vigorously. Let it sit at room temperature for several hours.

Once ready, add the mozzarella to the sauce mixture. Pour over fettuccine and sprinkle with Romano cheese

And we made Veiteredre ( Little Old Ladies):

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp. salt
2 cups grated zucchini and the flowers from the plants if you grow them
Oil for frying

Heat oil in a 12 inch frying pan on high heat.

Combine ingredients and add to hot oil one tablespoon at a time until top of pan is covered. When golden brown, flip and fry on the other side until golden brown.

Remove from oil and drain on paper towel.

Then we ate and ate – of course!

But, Ma wanted to go to this little Italian Bakery near my house for her absolute favorite Italian cookies. Now – you might ask – with all that cooking going on, why didn’t we whip up some cookies? Everyone in my family can cook really well, but not one of us got the baking gene! LOL We know when to call in the “experts”! So off we went to the bakery and I saw my father’s eyes get huge and he clutches his chest and says “Whaaatt??!?!! $100? ?!? For COOKIES?!?!?! What’s in there REALLY?” Ma just kept quiet and sat with that box of cookies on her lap the whole way home to my house!

We had a blast each night playing the Italian card game Scopa – have you ever heard of it?

We played with different partners each time to keep it fair. My mom’s a real “scopa shark” so we have to watch her! LOL

The funniest part of this entire story is that during our little escapade at the bakery, while we were waiting, everyone pulls out their cell phones to check email, facebook, whatever… and Ma comes over to me and says “That reminds me … did you know that my best friend of 25 years – Mrs. Clark – got a phone from her daughter… she showed it to me when we were having coffee” I said “Ma… we’re going to get you a cell phone” She says “No, no… I don’t need it… don’t bother yourself” … so I finally said “Listen you are either getting a cell phone today – or a ‘I’ve Fallen and I Can’t Get Up!’ button!!!!” She laughed but little did I know Mrs. Clark – her best friend of 25 years had a flip phone and ma had to have one just like it… Have you ever tried to find a FLIP PHONE in 2016?! At the last store we went to, they had one all the way in the very back of the store and now Ma and Mrs. Clark can call each other on their cell phones to their heart’s content.