Wild Boar, Cows on the Loose and Rabbit Stew

It’s mid August and my vegetable garden is rewarding my earlier summer efforts with copious amounts of cucumber, tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchini, green beans, eggplant, basil and parsley. I asked my neighbor down the hill how her garden was doing and she told me the Cinghiale got her garden! Cinghiale (pronounced: Chen-gall-aye) are wild boars that roam the forests using their snouts to forage for grubs in the soft soil,  “The Cinghiale destroyed your garden?!” I gasp while asking increduolously.  “The Cinghiale are around here?” “Si”, she responds with eyes wide open “A BIG one with nine babies!” “What?!?” I start thinking about my garden just up the hill from her, I imagine a enormous wild boar with big tusks rummaging through my garden followed by her nine babies. I ask her if the wild boar can be hunted because I also started to imagine a big bowl of steaming pasta in a rich Cinghiale Ragu. “No” she replies, the season for boar is closed but in the fall it will reopen.

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Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup (Keto friendly)

Mexican Tortilla Soup

How comforting it is to have a steaming bowl of soup on a cold November day. One of our favorite soups in my house is Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup. It’s like a party in a bowl and is a real crowd pleaser. I can’t even count how many countries I have made this soup in: America, Italy, Mexico, Nicaragua, Japan…I have been making this Tortilla Soup for years now and it never disappoints.

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Oven Roasted Herb Chicken and Potatoes (Arrostito Pollo al Forno con Patate) with “Keto” version

Roasted Chicken (Pollo al Forno)

What could be more homey than a chicken roasting in the oven with the smell of rosemary and thyme wafting through the air? The promise of a hearty meal soon to be set at the table. In our modern era of convenience foods the smells of a slow cooked meal are almost extinct. But this smell conveys the feeling of family and love and contributes to the families feeling of well being.

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Chili Rellenos (Mexican Cheese stuffed green chili’s with Green Sauce) With Keto Friendly Version

Chili Rellenos

Living in Italy is great and the food is fantastic but a California girl can get a real craving for Mexican food! One of my favorites is Chili Rellenos, those roasted green Poblano chili’s stuffed with creamy white cheese, dunked in fluffy beaten egg whites and fried up into a soft puffy soufflé of deliciousness.

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Babaganush (Middle Eastern Roasted Eggplant Dip) Keto Friendly

Babaganush (Roasted Eggplant Dip)
Babaganush
(Roasted Eggplant Dip)

The garden is in full swing and everyday I am harvesting crisp green cucumbers, shiny purple eggplants, juicy red tomatoes, green beans, okra and peppers. I have had to become innovative on how to incorporate all these healthy veggies into our normal meal plans. I scoured the internet and came to see that a Mediterranean diet was the solution.

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