Ciao Italia: Plant, Harvest, Cook!

CIAO ITALIA: PLANT, HARVEST, COOK! takes the reader on a seasonal home garden vegetable journey focusing on simple growing tips for anyone interested in growing their own vegetables and how to cook them Italian style. In simple language, anyone interested in growing their own vegetables whether on a grand or small scale will find this book filled with helpful gardening advice. No former green thumb necessary.

Over 30 years of trial and error and getting down and dirty, have been the foundation for this book, as well as a love for fresh homegrown food. The book highlights what’s growing in the early spring garden, featuring such cool weather crops as lettuce, radishes and peas and as the pages turn, progresses to what’s growing during the hot summer months with crops like tomatoes, eggplant and peppers.

Over 100 healthy and delicious recipes from soup to dessert are featured. Accompanied by beautiful food photography and photos from the author’s personal collection, this book will make you want to plant, harvest and cook!  

Chef, author, and TV personality Mary Ann Esposito is the creator and host of the nationally televised PBS series Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito™ (www.ciaoitalia.com). The author of fourteen cookbooks, most recently, Ciao Italia: Plant, Harvest, Cook ! Mary has worked beside world-renowned chefs Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, Martin Yan, Jasper White, and countless others. Through Ciao Italia and appearances on other television programs—including The Today Show, Regis and Kelly, QVC, the Food Network, Hallmark Channel, Discovery Channel, Fox, Martha Stewart Radio, RAI International, The Victory Garden and many others—she has shared traditional Italian cooking with audiences around the world through personal appearances and social media platforms.

Many organizations have recognized Mary Ann for her efforts to preserve the traditions surrounding Italian food and culture. In 2013 she received the Order of the Star of Italy Cavaliere from the President of the Italian Republic, as well as the Premio Artusi award for her work promoting Italian food. Johnson and Wales University presented her with the Distinguished Author Award. St. Anselm College conferred an honorary doctorate, and the Italian Trade Commission named her a 2010 Hall of Fame honoree.

The Order Sons of Italy in America (OSIA) honored Mary Ann with the 2009 Lifetime Achievement in the Culinary & Cultural Arts of Italy, as did the National Italian American Foundation. As part of the focus of Ciao Italia, Mary Ann established the Mary Ann Esposito Foundation (www.ciaoitalia.com/foundation), whose goal is to continue fostering the traditions of Italian regional cooking in the United States by providing scholarships for the next generation of chefs. When not filming Ciao Italia, Mary Ann can be found in Italian kitchens giving hands-on cooking classes all over the “boot.”