momma's kitchen - italian lunch box
by Camille Di Loreto

I think I was one of the first girls in kindergarten at PS#13 to have pierced ears. It sure was an attention grabber in the mid 50's. I thought nothing of it since I think I was born with pierced ears. Actually, I think was about two years old when I had them pierced. This was pretty typical for italian girls. Mrs. Miller, my teacher seemed to think it was rather a strange custom! Times were different back then. It really was not fashionable to be the "Madonna" of the kindergarten set. There wasn't a tattoo or bangle bracelet in the class, just my Italian earrings!

As I continued on my academic adventures, I realized earrings were not the only thing different about me. Let's take school lunches for example. I recall those noisy metal lunch boxes all of us had as kids. Usually there was picture of a popular TV star or cartoon character on the outside of it. In those days the mom's packed the lunches. So at 12pm, on the dot, the lunches box came out from under the desk and the air of the classroom changed from smelling like Crayola crayons to peanut butter and jelly with the crust cut off or bologna and mayo sandwiches.

But when I opened the tin lunch box... the aroma of roasted peppers rose out of it's depths and I knew it was leftovers again. It was always a surprise and it was always something to look forward to. My mom was the Queen of leftovers and, of course, that made me the leftover Princess. No crust cut off my bread all I had was crust (According to Mom that is the best part)!

My lunch usually consisted of some portion of last night's dinner. Poverina, you might say! But, don't feel sorry for me, my lunch was great. Mom knew how to create something new from the old just by adding eggs. Leftover roasted green pepper? No problem, just add a scrambled egg and fry it together. Leftover potatoes? Add onions and eggs and you've got something new. Left over spinach? You guessed it, just add eggs! She would come up with more ways to have eggs than anyon!

All these variations were served on "a nice fresh Italian roll". I can hear her saying it now at this very moment. "I have a nice fresh italian roll just for you!" It really made me feel special. Only the rolls weren't leftover! You might be wondering what I had for snacks. Oreos ? Potato chips? Not from my italian mother, no sir, not from the Queen of leftovers! My Mom would pack a prickly pear. And thank goodness she peeled it! It was difficult enough trying to explain what prickly pear was to other first graders. "EEEWWW! What's that?", I would hear. "No, it is not a pear and yes, it is prickly. Oh! And no, it's not prickly now cause it's already peeled!" I was a kind of Emiril Lagasse of the under 10 year old set.

Then, there was Lent. Mom somehow had her own rule about eating meat during Lent. We had fish twice a week instead of once. Personally, I think she devised this plan just just to get me to eat more fish--she knew I would not take issue with this rule since it was supposedly a religious edict. I thought this was the 11th commandment.

"Thou shalt not eat meat on Wednesday and Friday during Lent". I later learned that this was Mom's commandment. So on Friday (oh how I loved Fridays) my lunch was tuna. Not just plain tuna and mayo (not in my house). Tuna, onions, celery and olive oil and "a nice fresh italian roll."

In fourth grade at St. Andrew school my teacher's name was Miss De Angelis. Miss De Angelis was Italian. My school did not have a cafeteria. I ate at my desk in the classroom. Miss De Angelis walked up and down the isles checking who was eating and who was feeding the trash can. One Friday, during Lent she stopped by my desk and said she knew what I was having. It smelled soooo good! Later, she would mention the tuna sandwich to my mother a during a teacher conference. Miss De Angelis complimented my mom on the how good the tuna sandwiches looked. For the remainder of Lent Mom packed two sandwiches in my lunch on Friday's. One sandwich for me and one for Miss DeAngelis both on "a nice fresh italian roll". And Miss De Angeles sure did enjoy the sandwich Mom packed for her and I was a stellar student that year.

I hope you will share some of your experiences with me. I would love to hear from you. Email me at camille@virtualitalia.zzn.com

Let's create some leftovers!

Asparagus Omelette Italian Style
About 8-10 stalks fresh asparagus And trimmed to fit your frying pan
1/4 cup olive oil
1/8 -1/4 cup freshly grated romano cheese
3-4 eggs beaten
Fresh ground pepper
1-2 cups italian bread crumbs
salt to taste

Blanch asparagus. Set aside In a mixing bowl beat eggs, add grating cheese, fresh ground pepper and salt. Add enough italian bread crumbs so mixture is rather thick but well blended

Place enough olive oil in frying pan to cover entire pan. You will probably use about 1/2 of the recommended amount. Place over medium to heat. When oil is hot enough place asparagus in pan and cook slightly.( About 5 minutes- If asparagus is very thick cut into slices.) Now take the bread crumb mixture and pour over cooking asparagus. And let cook. This should form a nice round omelette. Check heat. Check underside of omelette. It should be a golden brown.

Remove the omelette using a spatula. This is a little tricky. Place the omelette cook side down on large flat plate. Take frying pan and place over plate. Flip the dish over . The omelette should now be with the uncooked side down in the frying pan. Continue to cook until golden brown. Serves 2-4

This may be served alone or with a nice spring salad. It is also great the next day on" a nice fresh italian roll." all by itself .

Potatoes and Eggs
Any cooked potato will do. Not recommended for mashed potatoes however.

3 eggs scrambled with 2 tablespoons water
Your choice of precooked potato, Cubed
Medium to large onion chopped
1/4 cup olive or canola oil
1 small green pepper chopped
fresh ground pepper to taste

In large frying pan preheat oil. Add chopped onion and green pepper. Cook til tender. Add potato. Cook just till potato starts to brown slightly. Add egg mixture. Cook according to taste. This is great alone or on a fresh crusty Italian roll.