In the past, I was a reader of many books! However, for one reason or another in recent years, I've bought them, put them on the shelf in hopes of reading them soon. Alas, the pages rarely turned! However, with California under a "Stay at Home" order, I thought it to be a good time, to remove a title or two from the shelf, or perhaps order another book or two.
The first title coming to mind was “The Decameron” by Giovanni Boccaccio. The Decameron is a collection of a hundred short stories or so, written in the 1300s, when ten young Florentines fled from the Black Plague to reside in Naples. I had read a couple of those tales many years ago, when I was a 9th grade English student.
A couple weeks ago, after thinking current times "enjoyed" similarity to events endured during the 1300s, I ordered, "The Decameron" via Amazon. I expected delivery last week. However, when it didn't materialize, I rechecked the order and found it wasn't March 21st as the expected arrival date – it’s a month later on April 21st. Amazon has delayed many of their deliveries due to this Covid 19 crisis we find ourselves in!
Hungry to read, I turned my attention to 7 Biba Caggiano cookbooks on my pantry shelf. Biba is well known in this part of California. In the past, she sometimes appeared on our local PBS station, often alongside Leo Buscaglia. Biba also owned and operated the popular Sacramento restaurant, Biba’s! Sadly, Biba passed away late this past summer. However, her cookbooks on my shelves live on.
I have found a comfortable spot here at home, and have been turning pages of Biba’s amazing recipes for a couple days now. For you foodies out there who enjoy Italian Cooking, they are a treasure! Some of her cookbooks continue to be available on online used book markets.
For Pinterest users, some of her recipes are available here: Biba Caggiano Recipes on Pinterest.
