Delicious Marinated Vegetables Praised by
Saint Rosa of Lima and Saint Phocas the Gardener.
There may not be an official patron saint of vegetables or even vegetarians, but those of us at SaintsforSinners think that Gisella Civale's mother, Maria DiGiorgio, may one day be fit for the job. Raising 7 children with humble grit and determination, she may be considered as a patron Saint of Traditions and Family as well.
We're holding off on contacting the Papacy though, because 97 year-old Maria DiGiorgio's is among the living in Beechurst, New York, and thus not yet quite qualified for Sainthood.
We spoke with Maria's daughter, Gisella Civale, today and she told us about the delicious, delectable vegetable dishes her mother and her family has made for decades, both in New York, and abroad, in the Region of Campagna, Italy.
The recipes were so good, Gisella said she decided, at age 59, to try and prepare them and offer the healthy foods to the world.
She has succeeded with her plan. Her jars of Dolce Nonna tangy eggplant, sweet-tart peppers and tender green beans are available on the Web and in numerous stores, with more placement to undoubtedly come. They're also very prominently featured today in the http://www.nytimes.com/ "FOOD STUFF" section, written by Florence Fabricant (ASIDE: How is that for an awesome name, "Florence Fabricant"?!)
In 1958, Gisella came to America with her parents from Italy, and she says she is "carrying a tradition" and offering "thanks to her Heritage and her family, including her Mom's side, the DiGiorgio's, and her husband's the Civale's." Her daughter, Wendy Civale, is also very active in the Dolce Nonna family enterprise.
In these difficult financial times, Gisella noted that "the tough get going' and find ways to "stretch the dollar." One jar of her marinated vegetables can offer a complete, healthy, inexpensive meal for a family in many ways, and by creating a delicious salad or adding pasta.
SaintsforSinners 's Saint Rose of Lima and Saint Phocas the Gardener are "down with her plan."
Phocas said that Gisella's simple, kind-hearted way reminded him of his childhood in the 3rd Century, when he would grow extra crops to feed the people.
Sadly, Phocas wound up digging his own grave, in the end, by feeding the very soldiers sent to behead him, which they did in 303. "It was not very nice, how those soldiers treated me," Phocas said, but "Dolce Nonna's pursuit of doing good work, providing healthy sustenance in times of need, by using vegetables grown from the ground, and nurturing crops of food like I did back-in-day, only serves to remind me that, with all its sham and drudgery, it is still a beautiful world."
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