Tim was hot at my suggestion of changes to our weekly menu. "But the beans
stay!" he insisted. The Sausage and Beans (Salsiccie e Fagioli) had become a
staple since its discovery early 2020 from my favorite cookbook. For new
inspirations, I turned to the same source, Italian Cooking For Dummies by Cesare
Casella and Jack Bishop.

20 years ago, fresh off the boat, I tried to make foreign dishes by myself and
the $20 book was a major culinary investment. The first success was the Pasta
with Tomato and Basil Sauce, something new among my fellow Chinese
students who regularly gathered to cook and feast. But the dish had no meat and
was finally forgotten.

I have, however, never seemed to grow tired of the book. Far more than a 
collection of recipes, it details the tools, ingredients, preparation, and culture
and has invited me to explore as my vocabulary expands. I learnt to dice
the onion and to prepare the beans from scratch, for example, as well as the
knowledge of herbs, pasta shapes, tomatoes, olives, etc. Around the time Tim was
born, I was making the Beef Stew and Roasted Fruits regularly.

The next big hit was the Pasta with Tuna (Pasta con Tonno). We were working and
I was no longer stingy on food. This was when I realized that quality mattered. Cheap
tuna in salt water was no match in flavor for tuna fillets in olive oil and roma tomatoes
picked ripe and canned whole beat cookie-cutter diced brands any day. Fresh
parsley and a generous spoonful of capers made this simple pasta mouth-watering.

Indeed, simplicity is the main appeal of my book. Most recipes are everyday
meals for the common folk. From these, I have selected the following to try in 
2021:
- Pasta with Eggs and Bacon (p110),
- Rigatoni with Eggplant (p117),
- Penne with Tomatoes, Capers, Anchovies, and Olives (p119), and
- Bucatini with Tomatoes, Onion, and Pancetta (p126).