A Small Announcement & A Recipe

I didn’t forget about you guys!

Hey Friends!

I want to first explain my absence for the past few weeks. It’s been a rough few weeks here at casa DelPaggio.

It all started with a fall where I nagged my head (that story is for another post), from which I had 2 TIAs (mini-strokes within 2 weeks).

There’s no permanent damage, thank God, but I’ve had some issues since, minor ones, but they stem from something they found. There are two arteries in the back of the head called the vertebral arteries that lead to the main artery going into the brain. Well one of them is completely blocked which they believe happened at birth or around there. The doctors stated I’m a miracle just living with one artery. although that artery is bigger than usual.

The issue is that the artery that is bigger is also blocked by about 95-98% which isn’t good as I’m sure you can imagine. The issue now is that Stanford Stroke Center, the best of the best stated there is nothing to be done. The blockage is too far above the brain stem entering the brain and that is a risky deal for me and they wouldn’t advise surgery. Their advice and the same as the doctors here in Fresno are blood thinners and rest. No excessive movement, partying ( as stated by one doc), no doing anything physical until they do more studies at the end of January.

So that’s where I’m at right now. That doesn’t mean I can’t do videos for this newsletter which I will get back to next week, promise. I don’t want to let anyone down.

While there may not be as many videos and more written recipes like the one today, I’ll still get some videos out so you don’t feel like I forgot about you. I didn’t.

Here’s today's recipe

Cherry tomato sauce. I posted a video about this a while ago but thought I would repost the recipe and also something I added to this after the video.

First, add about a tablespoon or more of extra virgin olive oil to a pan. Then chop up as much garlic as you like, but make it a rough cut not neatly sliced. A rough chop will add more flavor.

To the oil add basil (fresh or dried), then some salt and red pepper for a little zing. You can substitute black pepper if you’re not into heat.

Get them all sautéed and the aroma is driving you nuts and then add your cherry tomatoes.

There are two ways to do this, one is to just throw them in whole like I do or slice them in half. The fun of throwing them in whole is watching them burst and release all their juices. The smell is amazing.

Either way, you don’t want to overcook those tomatoes. You want to waste the flavor of those sweet tomatoes on the frying pan.

For the pasta, I recommend angel hair or linguine, or another pasta that you enjoy, but I would stick to something light for the flavor.

Once the pasta is ready pour the pasta into the pan you sautéed the garlic in and mix around. If you’re good at flipping your pasta in a pan I say go for it, if not just mix it up.

Once done just before you serve this fantastic dish add some fresh chopped Italian parsley on top and then squeeze a little lemon over the top. You can also add some grated cheese on top, but make sure it isn’t from the green bottle or imitation. Get fresh cheese either parmesan or romano.

Enjoy with a hefty glass of white wine with your guests or even by yourself. It's great as a leftover also.

Buon Appetito!!!!

Mark & Patti

Happy Holidays!