It was a long, cold winter that had followed a cold, wet summer. I just started to get my gardening mojo back as spring emerges.

While I have been gardening for a long time, I’m still so much of a novice. I don’t know enough about what I’m doing but I’m doing it anyway. It’s a real adventure that costs about a hundred bucks every time I head out the door to the garden center.

Last year I made these wonderful nettle and ramp ravioli, and it was a huge hit in our household.

Risotto has long been a favorite of mine. It’s something that can work as a wonderful primo piatto all year round; you can make it seasonal by adding a variety of ingredients.

When I was a kid, there was a meal that my mother made regularly on Christmas Eve. It was rich and sumptuous and very, very easy.

Anyone who ever took a cooking class at our B&B would have tried his or her hand at this recipe. It's a favorite.