The weather has finally warmed up in my neighborhood. Not quite warm or predictable enough to plant our usual retinue of garden plants. But one of the most welcome plants has already popped up of its own accord. This is none other than wild arugula. It’s a delightful plant with sawtooth leaves and a delicious, peppery flavor. When we lived briefly in Italy, we’d find it growing wild in the fields where we lived. The plant is an annual but it self-sows readily. We’d go out in the morning and pick a bunch for an afternoon or dinner salad. The Italians call it “rughetta”…

I usually don’t talk so openly about my family’s deep background but this week at SleuthSayers I’m sharing some old photos and history about my mother’s back story growing up in Italy. I think you’ll find it interesting. She grew up in a small Italian village, and that experience of wartime living affected her for the rest of her life

That’s the subject of my article, which I’m calling…

I wrote this essay back in 2003 or so, when I had just gotten engaged and was living abroad in Italy for a month. (Later changed to a year.) This essay has never seen the light of day until now…