It’s fall! This year I am pretty sure we all have felt it sneak up on us. There is something about going through something as a world wide world that has brought me to realize that this can unify us.  While we have experienced  the financial and health effects of the pandemic in different ways, one thing we all have had  in common is that this has affected everyone’s life.

While I am pretty sure no one has enjoyed the effects of it, one thing for sure it is something we all can relate to it. We all have shared this common trial and have had to make adjustments. 

In the midst of being told by news media outlets, and reminded how horrible this year would be, time has gone by one way or another, and with it also are slowly coming back the holidays that we hopefully be looking forward to. So I hope that even if this year has felt more slim for many than usual, that we can keep our hope for a better future bright by looking forward to better days ahead. 

One thing that makes me happy is to bake. I love the color of cakes and breads, I love the texture of different desserts, I love adding a bit of chocolate chips, crunchy nuts, or coconut flakes for a tropical flavor to my cakes, and I love the smell of moist cakes, just as much as I love eating a cake fresh out of the oven. 

Growing up my life was very simple. Being that my parents raised 5 children in Italy, we didn’t have a lot of things, but one thing we all enjoyed as a family was food. 

I can count on one hand how many times we were able to afford eating out at a restaurant. Yet my parents made it a point to never make us feel like we went without. 

When it came to food they basically learned to make anything from scratch. They would ask recipes from friends whenever they would try a new dish, and dig up secret italian recipes of even the most delicious desserts from the best local pastry shops. 

If there was a fancy meal that we couldn’t afford to buy at a restaurant, they would still make it a point to make it at home. We cooked with fresh eggs from our chickens, meat and milk from my grandfather’s cow, and lots of fruits and vegetables raised in our gardens. We even had a gelato machine to make home made gelato almost daily during the summer time.

One thing I always teach my kids now is that you “will never feel deprived if you can cook anything that you desire from home.” Sure ingredients can at times cost a prohibitive amount of money, but eating at home is a very great way to save money especially when budgets are slim. If you have the power to cook anything, you will not go without a delicious palatable meal and you will eat like a king under the majority of life circumstances. 

That ‘s the reason why I have challenged myself over the years to try to make an dish, even more sophisticated ones like SUSHI for example,  at home. There is a sense of empowerment when you know you can make something with your own hands. That sense of independence makes you free and independent. 

I have learned that in life another way to get through times is to enjoy the little things. And for me right now one little happy thing is to bake. I don’t need a fancy kitchen for that. A few good utensils and gadgets for sure, but a good meal can by whipped from the simplest of items. 

Living with faith in life means hoping for a better future and trusting that God has promised that to us, while also to learning to love the good things that we have in the present, even if during hard times they may seem just a few. 

I think this year many people have felt more sadness and despair than ever, but I hope you’ll be able to see some light shining through all of this right now.

During the fall season we love as a family to make recipes with Pumpkin. There is nothing more delicious than these moist cheesecake pumpkin bars. 

You can print this recipe or pin it on Pinterest for your records. I hope you will enjoy it as much as we did. I adapted it from a popular recipe and reduced the amount of oil and sugar to make lighter and less caloric, without taking away its original fragrance. Enjoy!

An Italian classic that can be enjoyed as a breakfast cake, an afternoon snack, or served when guests come over. The coffee cake of Italy can often also be found at corner and grocery stores in prepackaged form or as a cake mix. 

The crostata is  sister to the French tarte. When served in pastry shops, the tarte is usually covered by a clear glaze that is made with gelatin. 

I have so many fond memories of coming home to this dish. Perfect for both summers and winters. We often made this cake whenever we had mature fruit that we didn’t want to spoil.

Often filled with jam, nutella, or a combination of jelly and fruit. 

The most popular fillings are definitely nutella, peach jelly perhaps filled with sliced up apples, or with a chunky homemade fig jam. There are also many versions filled with apricots, wild berries, strawberries, and even chestnut jam.  When choosing jams alone, the crostata turns out at its best with confitures that have lots of bits of softened fruit on the inside. Homemade jams are preferred. I have seen them with fresh plums over a thin layer of jam as well. 

A good rule of thumb when filling them with jam is to pair the jam flavor with the fruit being used. Other times, a contrast can be a winner as well. Take orange jam with apples for example. The sweetness of the apples combined with the citrusy flavors of the orange are a feast in your mouth. 

Feel free to have fun and create your own desired toppings for this dessert at home. 

A lot of the Italian home made cousine, consists of basic recipes where some of the components can be adapted in order to put seasonal ingredients to good use, as well as what may be considered leftover food that one doesn’t want to go to waste. Many dishes in Italy have a slight variation from one region to another because in the past people adapted them depending on what horticulture grew better in their area, together with what the majority of the people could afford to buy for food at the time. So feel free to also create your own variation with the fillings. 

For this recipe I crated my own variation for example and I chose to do a custard filling topped with berries.

I love Sunday’s for many reasons. I love that it is a day of rest for us and a day where I try and step away from all the work of life and focus on family. I call it the day to reset our brain. I still have quite a few things to do don’t take me wrong. We go to Church so we have to get our whole family ready, and when we get back there is cooking and caring for our kids. One very fond memory of my childhood is with my parents often cooking on Sunday or Saturday afternoons in preparation for Sundays. That is something that my husband and I have been picked up on and love to do. I now often look forward to Sundays so that we can have those warm and gooey family meals. I think of comfort food when I think of Sundays. I also try and make our recipes a bit healthy still so I don’t regret it the next day.

So for Father’s Day we made this very quick and somewhat better-for-you dessert. I adapted it from the Carmelitas sold at Rockwell Ice cream in Provo, Utah. They are delish. I make mine with less sugar and a bit more oats though.

Here is the recipe and at the bottom I’ll post what we did to make it a bit lighter.

Enjoy!