I've just returned from Rome, Italy....

The food is amazing, yes, even the pizza!  Most know I rarely eat pizza because with all that flour and cheese, yikes, I hardly think it's good for my body.  But, hey, when in Rome, I eat pizza. And pasta too!  The pizza and pasta in Rome is just not as heavy as it is in the US.  And, when dining in Rome I always have a house green salad (which the Romans usually make with nutrient-dense romaine.)  Oh, and the tomatoes!!!! So, so delicious!   And I never once saw a pre-prepared salad dressing (ya know, the kind with all those additives).  Restaurants simply put a cruet of olive oil and one of balsamic vinegar on the table and you dress your salad as you wish.  I also love the other greens available at all the restaurants too:  spinach, radicchio, artichokes.  I could live on just those veggies!  I even had steamed spinach for breakfast two mornings (not surprising, since I steam chard, spinach and other greens at home and eat with an egg on top.)  As I walked to the Trevi Fountain I saw this fruit stand along the way on a little cobble-stone side street.  

My archetype angel, Alice Waters, queen of "farm to table"

This amazing woman is the Godmother of the farm to table movement which I aspire to.  Her work as a "cook" (she doesn't call herself a "chef" --I love her egolessness) has inspired so much in the world of culinary excellence.  For Alice, food is a way of life, not just something to eat.  It is her passion and she actively gives back in many ways.  On this day, I am grateful to know of her - it's not even her birthday - but I celebrate her just the same today.