My mom went back to work when I was in junior high so I would call the high school where she was a teacher and the office staff would help me figure out how to make dinner while she stayed after hours grading papers and preparing for the following day. Those were the days. It took a village to raise a child. Well, thanks to the adventures on which my high school recipe mentors sent me, my can-do approach to food preparation was nurtured. I married my souvenir from a trip to Italy and watched over the shoulders of all the women in his family to learn everything I could about Italian cooking. My sister-in-law is an unbelievable cook and visiting her home in Tuscany is worth the whole trip. Just one dinner with her is heavenly. They really understand the mystery of giving the land a shabbat and allowing the water and soil to deliver the most flavor in the food straight from the earth. That just makes the culinary experience that much more enjoyable and satisfying.�