Did you know that words of wisdom, thought provoking statements or things that make you go Hmmmmm, do not always arrive with a lightning strike or are carved in stone on a mountain top? Sometimes they come on the side of a cup of coffee.

A $4.19 venti vanilla latte, to be precise.

Starbucks has had the The Way I See It campaign on the side of their cup for as long as I can remember. You may not have even noticed it. Next time, take a look. I’m not saying it will change your life, but it may give you food for thought.

The Way I see It #273

All children need a laptop. Not a computer, but a human laptop. Moms, Dads, Grannies and Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles – someone to hold them, read to them, teach them. Loved ones who will embrace them and pass on the experience, rituals and knowledge of a hundred previous generations. Loved ones who will pass to the next generation their expectations of them, their hopes, and their dreams.

– General Colin L. Powell
Founder, America’s Promise – the Alliance for Youth.

Did you know that honey is as prized and regulated in Italy as wine, cheese and olive oil? Most Americans think of honey as that little bear they keep in their cabinet and add to tea or toast, every now and then.

But the Romans and Egyptians and even their Gods recognized the value of this sweet nectar. It is one of the most ancient of foods. Beekeeping can be traced back to the Ancient Egyptians themselves.

There is a delicate relationship between the bees, plants and the whole honey-making process. The flavor of the honey gathered from the hives depends on the region and the flowers the bees “visit.” That is why there is acacia, chestnut, violet, orange blossom, alfalfa, sage and clover honey, to name a few.

Honey and the Honeybee were the inspiration for our Bella Divina 99% natural beeswax lip balms with shea and cocoa butters. We were inspired by our four floral scents of Firenze, Roma, Palermo and Venezia to create a complimentary scent that would reflect the region…..as the honeybee might fly.

Firenze Honeybee Lip Balm brings to mind the fresh citrus and mint filled breezes of Tuscany with the refreshing combination of lemon, spearmint and honey,

Roma Honeybee Lip Balm rests on a bed of roses blended with the aromatic richness of vanilla. Did you know that CHANEL scents all of their lipstick with rose?

Palermo Honeybee Lip Balm is “mille fiore” ~ a thousand flowers of southern Italy. This coastal region is famous for flower markets where it’s blossoms get shipped to destinations all over the world.

Venezia Honeybee Lip Balm captures the exotic essence of Chai Tea and Vanilla brought in from far-away lands.

Whether you’re sipping Prosecco, gabbing with your girlfriends, or kissing that special someone, every Diva’s lips should always be perfectly soft and feeling Diva-licious.

I was chatting with a few friends from the Indie Beauty Network last night, Regina from Dr. Flower, Lisa from Cactus & Ivy and Marla from Back Porch Soap. Somehow the conversation came around to Prosecco. And what actually is it? Don’t ask how we came around to this thought provoking question, it is a “had to be there” situation. I never thought  “EVERYONE knows what Prosecco is,” rather, I thought, ” how can I make sure that everyone does?”

So here we are, once again, me enlightening you, my dear readers, to further joys of Italia! I am only happy to do it.

I myself , at one time,  was part of the Prosecco Ignorati; those ignorant or unaware of the this divine nectar.

About 10 years go, I was on holiday in Italy with my sister. I think on holiday sounds so much more cosmopolitan than on vacation. We had just spent several days in Venice, which was lovely and quiet in an after-the-canals-flood, bitter-cold kind of way. A city of great beauty and mystery, but  alas, not great cuisine, at least for us. Since this trip, my sister has gone back and found several wonderful restaurants..but that is her, lets get back to me. Ahem. I was dying to get to Florence. My sister had never been and I was anxious for her to adore it as much as I did.

Upon arriving in the city center of Florence and wandering out for our first walk, my sister was struck about how noisy and fast paced it was compared to Venice. Well yes, Vespas (Italian scooters named after wasps), do travel a bit faster than lets say, a gondola. But, she was right, it was a stark contrast. I was hoping she would overcome her first impression and still fall in love with the city-village. My worries were soon put to rest.

That night we went to a little restaurant my sister had found in Fodor’s travel guide. It was called La Giostra (Italian for carousel) and owned by a Hapsburg prince who was also the chef. It got rave reviews and sounded charming. It was. It is. It has since become my all time favorite restaurant. I have taken numerous people there and told anyone I could about it. I would say that La Giostra alone is worth the trip to Florence, but come on, it’s FLORENCE, that would be a bit of an exaggeration, even for me.

After a long day of travel and touring we arrived for our reservation at 7pm. This is early in Italy. 8 to 8:30pm was the more regular hour for dinner. With the Italian’s penchant for a gelato break at about 5pm, it was easy to wait that long. My sister and I, however, were starving.

Nelum, our lovely waitress

Greeted at the door by the lovely and charming Nelum, “ahhh, the Americanas”, we were seated beneath glittering pixie lights that covered the ceiling and each presented with a glass of, what we thought was, Champagne. Compliments of the house, she said, as was the first plate of antipasti she brought out.

Wow, Champagne before dinner? Hmmm, we tried not to act like that was anything new. Nelum went through each item on the menu. I ordered the Taglierini con tartufi bianchi (white truffle pasta), my sister had the Chilean Sea Bass (Chilean Sea Bass). Needless to say, white truffle pasta is now my all time favorite dish, isn’t that just like a diva?

I have been back so many times, that Nelum brings out the Chef-Prince to slice more white truffles onto my pasta. I am in heaven at that moment. And really , who wouldn’t be, white truffles at hundreds of dollars an ounce, sliced onto my plate by a PRINCE! That is the Sweet Life!

We finished off the meal with their Tiramisu-su-su, which was yummy. Every restaurant has their own version. It is not always a cake-like slice as we usually find Stateside. La Giostra’s is a creamy mascarpone concoction spooned over ladyfingers, soaked in Vin Santo (Holy Wine) and espresso. Powerful stuff.

We returned to this restaurant 3 nights in a row and it remains one of mine and my sister’s fondest and enjoyable experiences.

This post is really about Prosecco, no? Or did you forget? It is easy to forget a lot of things in the romance of Italy. That is exactly the reason I wanted to share this experience with you. Such a simple gesture, Champagne before a meal…only it wasn’t Champagne, it was Prosecco. Champagne is made from grapes grown in the Champagne region of France. It is highly regulated in order to preserve the value of the region.

Prosecco is made from grapes grown in the Veneto region of Italy. Champagne and Prosecco are both Sparkling Wines. It is the most simplest to say that Prosecco is the Italian Champagne (sorry France), but that would really be doing Champagne a disservice. Prosecco is the laid back Italian cousin. Both are served as apéritifs (before dinner, cleansing your taste palate), both are used for celebration, both used in mixed drinks, both can be cheap or expensive.

The difference to me is that I think you can get a better tasting inexpensive Prosecco than Champagne. Also, Prosecco is not as complicated as Champagne. It is dry, crisp, fresh, light and well, simple. It does not ferment in the bottle like Champagne. It is better to drink it while it is young, 2 years and under.

Prosecco was the first ingredient in Bellini’s before Champagne became the norm. That makes sense, Bellini’s are Italian. They were invented by Cipriani at Harry’s Bar in Venice, which by the way, my sister and I did peek into. I only wish wish we had known to stop in for a Bellini- I sure it would have been the best!

Prosecco has been enjoying a wave of popularity lately in the United States. I find it to be an unexpected and more affordable, quality alternative to Champagne.

You may even find that you will be saying Prosecco Per Favore, Champagne, non grazié. Why not ring in the New Year with Prosecco and as the Italians say, Felice Anno Nuovo!

Happy New Year, My Sweet Divas.

As I am preparing for the Atlanta Gift Show at AmericasMart in January, I thought it might be fun to share a bit about how La Dolce Diva Bath & Body products get to a retailer near you!

The Atlanta Gift Show is a Trade Show that is open to wholesale buyers from retailers around the world. There are many such trade shows, but I am lucky enough to be living in a city that hosts one of the largest and most popular. The other being the New York Gift Show.

It is held several times a year, but the 2 largest markets are January and July. They last for about 5 days. La Dolce Diva has been exhibiting at the Atlanta Gift Show for the last 3 years.

The point of the show is for qualified  buyers to see multiple lines at the same time, new lines and ones they may not have seen yet. It is kind of like a shopping mall with wholesale prices (wholesale is what the retailer pays before they mark it up for their profit and sell to the consumer).

There are sections that have booths that exhibit a single brand and also buildings full of showrooms that represent multiple lines. The booth sections are broken up into categories. We are in the Body & Soul section which is mainly Bath & Body products.

The La Dolce Diva booth has been updated a bit since this picture was taken. I will take some new pictures at the show.

As you can see, the point of the booth is get the aesthetic of your brand across. You also have to remember that most booths have to set-up and break-down (put away) easily.

Several of the larger companies have far more elaborate booths, but I will say proudly that we hold our own and get numerous compliments on our display.

It is easy to get caught up in decorating your booth and dollars add up quickly, but you have to remember the reason you are there, to represent and sell you product the best you possibly can. Your booth has to be attractive enough for buyers to want to come in to see your product and displayed well for them to view your product in a logical manner. Most of the time, I, or one of my representatives, can greet and walk the buyer through the line. Sometimes we are all busy and buyers take a look around, if they like what they see, they make a note to come back. Or, they take a catalog and call you or simply fax an order in.

A booth of about 10 x 10 feet with a drape, waste basket, a table and riser, if requested, is approximately $3400. Yes, Three-Thousand-Four Hundred Dollars. That is before shipping the “booth”, airfare, hotel and food for you and your team. That is just the show fee. Lighting, electricity, booth cleaning and the like, are all extra charges. This is all in addition to the accoutrement you add to make your booth look FAB-U-LOUS!

See what I mean about being lucky to live in Atlanta? I just drop my booth off at the warehouse for the pallets to be delivered to the site. I drive to and from the show and sleep at home each night. But still, for a small business, it is quite an investment.

If you are a buyer, please visit us: La Dolce Diva, Inc. Bldg 3, Flr 4, Booth 2606, Body & Soul section. Look for the giant crowds!

If you will be exhibiting, we would love to meet you too, please drop by.

Wish us well in January! We are all hoping for a big turnout.

Is there anything else you would like to know about exhibiting at a trade show?

There was a time those words would be answered with shrill screams, waves of applause & knickers being tossed on stage. The likes of which, Mr. Pretty-Boy, Justin Timberlake, has never seen.

But that’s just it, Tom Jones is a man, not a boy-toy. With an albeit cheesy past related to tight trousers and the aforementioned panty-tossing (which, as a kid and now, as an adult, I think is weird), but it was Tom’s schtick and he rode it.

I’m not sayin’ that JT or (insert any current teen-heartthrob’s name) is any less talented, or that I am proud of Mr. Jones’ too-tight trousers and panty-tossing fans. I’m just sayin’, Mr. Jones had grown women in the palm of his hand…and still does today. They are just a bit more reserved, like he is now.

I have long been a fan of Mr. Jones, not a knicker-tossing fan, but a fan non-the-less. About 10 years ago, he was at the top of the charts with a critically acclaimed album called Reload. Well, not the top of the charts in the U.S., but in a much cooler place music-wise, England and the rest of Great Britain. I just happened to be there on a trip when I heard Burning Down the House in a way David Byrne could never have imagined. It was the top video, and you heard it everywhere. The same happened when Mr. Jones recorded Prince’s KISS a few years earlier. It was far more convincing coming from Tom than Prince. And did you know that was Tom Jones singing SexBomb which was featured in Sex and the City?

Repackaged and renamed in the States as Reloaded, it is a very different CD than the one I picked up in London. I guess the producers were afraid of not including his earlier works that most American would recognize like What’s New Pussycat, It’s Not Unusual, etc., which makes the American version far less impressive and innovative than the British release.

In the MP3 player, above, pay attention to Mama Told Me Not To Come, Burnin’ Down the House, Motherless Child, Sometimes We Cry, KISS & Baby, It’s Cold Outside. Reload was originally a “duet” type of cover album where Tom was paired with a wide range of musicians, such as, The Cardigans, Van Morrison, Robbie Williams, Stereophonics, Cerys From Catatonia, Natalie Imbruglia and Simply Red. The original CD is available on Amazon, click here: Reload.

Tom Jones has a new CD out called 24 Hours with all original songs. I didn’t want to jump into this recommendation without a little background for you. Those that know me well, know I like to pass on every tid-bit of information I have on a subject, so that they can have just as much useless information stored in their heads as I do. Although, I don’t think that would be possible.

I received 24 Hours as a Christmas gift from my friend, Evette. Funnily enough, she had called me a few weeks ago to let me know that Tom Jones was going to be on the Today Show. “Oh, Probably because he has a new CD coming out. I have it on my Amazon wish-list. It’s on pre-order right now..”, I said. To her credit, she did not convey an “I’m laughing with you-not at you” tone in her voice as she answered “You would.” No, I would say it was a straight-up “I’m laughing at you” tone. She can’t laugh too hard though, because she actually asked for a copy of the original Reload CD and she went with me and my Mom to see Mr. Jones in concert a couple years ago.

When I first listened to the new 24 Hours CD, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. There were tracks that I liked immediately, and the ones I didn’t, have grown on me. It is an interesting combination to a throwback ’60’s beat but with more sophisticated arrangements, sound, and production with a cool club vibe that I could sing along to, all the while, sounding like true Tom Jones. His voice is powerful, playful, soulful and fun. One of the few singers today that can rock out and sing a soulful ballad of a man who has lived life to the fullest- I’m just guessing here.

My favorite tracks on the CD are Style and Rhythm, Sugar Daddy, Seasons and Give a A Little Love.

Like my other favorite singers, Elvis and George Michael, Mr. Jones is all voice and charisma. I think he has been sold short on the true talent that he is. Packaged and sold as a sex- symbol early on in his career, I think it has been harder for him to be taken seriously by the American public. In Great Britain, he is iconic, in the States, not-so-much. But I will do my part to change that and encourage you to open your musical taste up to a man who’s contribution to music cannot be denied.

Will Justin Timberlake be able to deliver Rock Your Body, Señorita, Cry Me a River or any of his hits, as convincingly in 30 years? Time will tell.

But as Tom tells us in Sugar Daddy, “Don’t send a boy to do a man’s job.”

I’m just sayin’.

As the ice cubes in my Waterford tumbler tinkle against one another, I draw the last sip of my Baileys Irish Cream. Silky, slightly sweet, with a bit of a bite, I rise to pour another teensy nightcap. Ahhh, what a wonderful way to spend a few minutes to myself enjoying the last moments of the evening. In front of a burning fire, kittens curled up at my feet and a good book in my hand, I have an epiphany, I must share this fabulously divine experience with my Sweet Life readers!

First, let me confess, I don’t own any Waterford (it’s not Italian), I am usually sipping at the computer,  I use fake logs, my kittens are at my feet..tearing around, chasing each other and I usually read magazines or watch The Daily Show. But I DID have an epiphany. Yes, to give you a great, affordable gift idea. With a bit of effort you can even add something you have made with your own two hands-more on that later.

Where were we, yes, Baileys© Irish Cream. You may think giving a bottle of booze is a cop-out at the holidays. Unless you know the exact brand that a person will enjoy, it can seem like a lot of money for such a generic gift. Wine can be a good, even great gift, but again, unless you know the person will positively swoon, you may feel the recipient didn’t adequately appreciate the $$$ factor of your splurge for an impressive vintage. Also, most people tend to save a good bottle of wine for a special occasion and may even forget who gave it them. If you won’t be toasted when the bottle is opened, what is the point really?

With a bottle of Baileys© you solve many issues in one fell swoop. Ahem…

Price: About $16.99 for a 750ml bottle. During the holidays, they have gift sets that contains a monogrammed glass or 2 for the same price. A Baileys© monogram, not your friends. But still nice.

Gift Recipient: The best thing about this gift is that it is perfect for any of your sophisticated Diva & Divo friends of legal drinking age who enjoy a tipple now and then.

Occasion: Perfect Girlfriend gift, Couples gift, Mom gift, Hostess gift, Party Favor, Office gift etc.

Reason it is a great gift: The best part is that Baileys© can be opened and enjoyed immediately. Serve it with coffee after a great meal or at brunch. Write a little note encouraging the recipient to indulge in some “me” time in the evening. Way better than bunch of flowers for a hostess gift, and she doesn’t have to find a vase.

New Flavors: In addition to the Original Baileys© flavor, there is now Créme Caramel, Coffee and Mint Chocolate. I sampled all three new flavors. The Original is still my fav, the Coffee comes in a close second.

Stocking Stuffers: These flavors also come in a mini-bottle for about $1.99.

Shelf Life: The gift that keeps on giving, as the Irish say. Well, they don’t really, but I do! A few sips at the end of the evening and the evening after that, and the evening after that….

Gift Coupon: Baileys© is offering up to $5.00 off on any flavor. Click here for REBATE.

I went to the Baileys© website to do the research and gather info about this post. I was pleasantly surprised. It is really a well-done site with lots of entertainment and interactivity. I enjoyed spending time clicking on the different links, “making” drinks, learning more about the Baileys© story & making cows go-Moooooooo! I suggest you visit. I think you will enjoy and appreciate the effort they went through to help you get to know their product.

OK, get out your  art supplies, we have come to the Crafty- DIY section of the post. Don’t worry, it is pretty simple. When you visit the Baileys© site you will notice that they give several easy to make drink recipes. I have cut and pasted all these into a handy-dandy booklet that you can print out, trim and give to your friends for an extra-special, personal touch. You can say you went to all the trouble yourself, I don’t mind. See what a selfless Diva I am?- well you caught me on a good moment.

Click the PINK button below to download a full color .zip file of the 3 page pdf. There are instructions in the file. If you would like to see a mini-version of the files CLICK HERE- for viewing before download only-don’t print from this..it will be tiny.

This will make 9 individual  3″x5″ cards that can be tied together with a bow or placed in an envelope.

I was not compensated in any way for this mention-I did it out of the goodness of my heart!

I hope you enjoy!

Well, I can die now. La Dolce Diva was featured in Italian fashion magazine GRAZIA. It made my heart skip a few beats to see it there with actual Italian words describing our luscious Almond Biscotti & Tiramisu products.

Okay, so they called it La Dolce Vita and posted my website incorrectly as La Dolce Vita too….I DON’T CARE! I am just so excited to be included in their coverage of dessert inspired bath & body products. I think they were a bit tickled that they found a line that is inspired by Italian desserts!

Who can blame them for the twist on words anyway…La Dolce Diva IS La Dolce Vita.
Enjoying and recognizing the Sweet Life is the whole point of the collection in the first place.

Grazie Mille, GRAZIA magazine, you have made my year!

Tuning into Prime Time television these days can be an eye-opener. For those of us who remember when they couldn’t even say the word &%#@!…well they can say it now. And do, a lot. There is also lots of skin, inappropriate behavior and dress on both ends of the age range, ridiculous lifestyles and general unbelievability trying to be sold as the norm. I don’t buy it. You don’t have to either.

A couple of years ago, I gave my 9 year old niece the DVD set of TV’s Gidget with Sally Fields. Have you seen it? It is fab! My sisters and I spent many a summer day watching reruns of it in the 70’s. With names like Gidget, best friend LaRue and boyfriend Moon Doggy, how could it be anything but innocent fun. And guess what, my niece and her friend LOVED it. I watched all the episodes again with them myself without worrying about any awkward moments cropping up or any deep messages. Two years later, she still watches it.

Last year I gave her DVD’s of Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Green Acres and The Flying Nun. You will be amazed at how these old gems hold up. Are they a bit cheesy? Yes. So what. My niece is always asking stories about our childhood, this is a way to share, bond and laugh together. There really was a more innocent time and it wasn’t just in the 1950’s.

These DVD’s and ones like them would be a great gifts for most young girls. There are just as many great ones for boys, like Alias, Smith & Jones, My Favorite Martian and Get Smart.

The inspiration to tell you about these TV show DVD’s came from my niece, herself. I have been making her Halloween costumes for most of her 11 years. This past Halloween, she said she already had a costume. Oh, okay - I thought. I really look forward to working with her ideas and trying to bring them to life, so I was a bit disappointed. She, in fact, has said her favorite thing about Halloween was Aunt Jenny making her costume.

Jeannie: Now....and Then!

Imagine my delight when she said she was going to be Jeannie! HA! She had found the costume I made for a college Halloween party, 20 years ago. I went to a fashion school, so stakes were pretty high. In fact, at one time, F.I.T.’s Halloween party was THE party to go to in NYC.

So, it ends up that I did make her Halloween costume, just a bit early.

The longer you religiously read this blog, the sooner you will realize I have a few fetishes…I will reveal the first obvious one here: Leopard. There, I have said it. I am La Dolce Diva and I love Leopard Skin. I am not quite Eartha Kitt, I don’t roll my rrrrrr’s or make loud hissing sounds, very often, but I do like the kitschy feeling of power that leoparrrrrrd skin brings me.

As I have mentioned before, I have several pieces of leopard skin accessories and even a few leopard pillows here and there. Which brings us to another fetish, Pajamas.

Where else can you reveal your true self? No one can say you are silly or immature..they are PAJAMAS for Pete’s sake. I have several sets. From Disney characters to cowboys & horses, from the Cheshire Cat to well…my newest acquisition, a pair of leopard skin PJ’s from BedHead.

I have been coveting these for a while now and they were definitely worth the  wait. Yummy quality flannel with pink piping. I was concerned that they were a bit large- but after washing, they ended up being true to size. They washed & dried beautifully.

I have to say that they make me feel absolutely glam, or in my case- even more GLAM! Like an 1940’s movie star- but the comfy flannel version , not the slinky satin version where you slip off the sheets of your own bed.

Pair these with matching leopard print ballet slippers and no one will question your Diva Quotient.

If leopard pattern is not your second skin, BedHead has plenty of other prints and patterns to choose from. I plan to add more to my collection.

BedHead has invited The Sweet Life readers to enjoy a 15% discount on their website. Enter HOLIDAY when checking out. The offer is good through Dec. 15th.

*La Dolce Diva is not compensated in any way for this post or special offer provided. I purchased my pj’s & slippers at full price.

I love Insalata Caprese. What’s not to love? Tomatoes, cheese and olive oil all on the same plate. But I will say, when I order it, I am always a little bit anxious before it arrives. Will it be a plate of faded red tomatoes with no flavor? Bland olive oil? Mushy cheese? OR will it be a plate of ruby red lushness, succulent olive oil and firm slightly sweet cheese? Even if the waiter highly recommends it, sometimes I pass because I can’t take the stress or disappointment. It is widely known that I have a low stress-threshold.

Today, I will let you in on my little secret to perfect Insalata Caprese every time- at home.

For those of you still wondering, Insalata Caprese is a Neapolitan summer salad from the Isle of Capri. It is a fantastically simple salad and should remain so. The 4 ingredients are: Fresh, vine-ripe, semi-firm, non-refrigerated tomatoes; fresh Buffalo mozzarella cheese; excellent quality olive oil; garden fresh basil. Plus, coarse sea salt and fresh ground peppercorn.

Like you, I am always put off when I read such defined elements of a dish. I am not a gourmet chef. I don’t  have a farm-fresh supplier dropping off locally grown produce or want to take a trip to the local big-box organic market. Sometimes I just want to run to Publix (local food shop), and hope for the best. Luckily, I have found that the popularity of the Food Network and Top Chef etc. has caused chain grocery stores to step up to the “plate” and start stocking more niche products. So, happily, I am able to find a pretty good selection of ingredients. The secret is to know what to look for and what you have to make the extra effort buying online or at specialty shops.

First off, tomatoes can be tricky. Even in the height of the season you can come up with a bland, mushy, gritty tomato. Even with all the hydroponics and international year-round imports, we cannot be guaranteed of a yummy vine-ripe tomato. Although, when you find them- they are the best!

Secondly, olive oil is key to most Italian dishes. This is one area that I do go out of  my way to get the best I can afford. When cooking with it in sauces etc., I use a good but simple extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) purchased from a grocery store. When using it in it’s pure state on a salad, bruschetta, or a dip, I put my money where my mouth is. At the moment, my favorite olive oil is from O & Co., Oleificio Sociale Valdelsano, a Tuscan varietal- which is not available this season. But alternatives are 2 Sicilain varietals: Olis and Monteleone. If you have questions, call one of their Olive Oil Ladies (Divas) and they will recommend something to you. Don’t forget the stainless steel pourer!

If you can’t imagine olive oil really being all that different, stop into a gourmet shop like William-Sonoma, they have a olive oil tasting bar. Just like wine, you will find that your palate is drawn to certain flavors over others. Then go home and taste your plain EVOO, I think you will notice a difference.

Olive oil is also good for you. It is high in mono-unsaturated fat, a type of fat that researchers are finding has good health benefits. How many things can you name that are good and good for you? Admittedly, this is coming from a Diva that considers chips and salsa a food group.

Thirdly, cheese please. I just like saying that. Cheese, oh cheese, I love cheese. The textures, the tastes the smells..well, not always the smells. Insalata Caprese calls for Buffalo mozzarella, which can be found in the deli section of your store…not the cheese freezer with the yogurt.

Lastly, fresh herbs are essential to tasty dishes. Don’t skimp on them. I qualify the fresh leaves you can buy in bags in the produce section as “fresh”. Some may quibble and say “fresh” means picked off the basil bush in your backyard. Whatever. My way works just fine.

After lastly, coarse salt and fresh ground pepper. There are a lot of different types of salt. Americans are probably most used table salt which is usually pure sodium. Sea salt is made from evaporated sea water. You may not be able to tell the difference if evaporated in water, but when sprinkled on food in it’s coarse state, sea salt provides a different mouth feel and taste due to the different rate of dissolution.

Fresh ground peppercorn also offers a much different and heightened flavor than table “ground pepper”.

Now to the secret part… sotto sotto (shhhh…), if you read my comments on tomatoes carefully, you were surely envisioning the typical round Beefsteak tomato. A-HA!..not so fast. I have found the surest way to get a fresh ripe tomato every time is to think smaller. Just like Tiffany’s, the best things come in small packages. I use grape tomatoes . They have the thicker skin and inner texture of Beefsteak tomatoes, taste of Roma and not as watery as cherry tomatoes. And they are small and oblong like grapes. I will admit it is a piccolo (tiny) variation of the Insalata Caprese.

I also use Bocconcini. These are small rounds of Buffalo mozzarella. You will find them in small, whey-filled containers in the deli section of your store. I find the size of slices much more visually appealing than trying to slice the large rounds into rectangles.

Sheesh!, who thought it would take me this long to get to the heart of my Insalata Piccolo Caprese!

I use 2 containers of grape tomatoes, 1 approx. 8oz. container of Bocconcini, 1 bag of basil leaves, olive oil to taste, salt/pepper to taste. The best part is that all these ingredients are available all year round. These will make about 4-6 side dishes or 2-3 good size lunches. The cheese comes in pound and 1/2 pound sizes. It is FRESH cheese, so it does have a fairly quick expiration date. About 1 week after opening.

This dish is to be made and served, not placed in refrigerator. If you do, olive oil will separate and congeal- just as icky looking as it sounds. Harmless, but icky.

Slice tomatoes in halves, slice cheese to desired thickness (a bit less than a 1/4″), slice or tear basil into small pieces- just enough to add a bit of color, a few dashes of salt and a few grinds of pepper, drizzle olive oil over top. More of any of these ingredients can be added afterward. That is the beauty of most Italian dishes!

I make this up for a quick lunch, antipasto, or a contorno (side dish) for meals.  I sometimes just make the tomatoes and skip the cheese. My friend Evette (who is Italian) likes to skip the tomatoes (how does she call herself Italian?) and just have the cheese. Hmmm…cheese salad- not a bad idea. Add a slice of Tuscan country bread, which I can also find in the bakery of my grocery store, a glass of a chilled, crisp, white wine and you have yourself a delectable feast for the eyes and the tummy.

Kick back and enjoy La Dolce Vita! Buon Appetito!

Trivia Alert: Did you know the red of the tomatoes, the white of the cheese and the green of the basil in the Insalata Caprese are meant to represent the colors of the Italian flag? Now you do.