June is the kick-off for a terrific summer and we have many specials in our store and on our web site for you this month!
Don't forget Dad too...Father's Day is right around the corner, June 19th!
Drop by our store and get him something different this year!

The Italian classes start on June 10th and it's not too late to enroll. Call Olga at 978-686- 7667.

And finally we will be continuing our cooking classes June 11, Decadent Desserts- Noon.
June 25th, NOON & 3PM: Herb Marinated Beef Tips, Grilled Polenta Cakes
July 16, Vegetarian Menu Noon
July 30, Decadent Desserts-Noon
The classes have proven to be very popular and "sell" out quickly, so please make your reservation early!
For $15.00 you get a 1 hour demonstration from local chefs who will show you how to prepare several succulent dishes... and you get to eat them too! View our updated menus, dates & additional details!!!

Class size is limited to 25, so please call and save your space today!
P.S. Groups are welcome too!

When thinking of Sicilian women, some envision little old ladies dressed in black from head to foot, wrapped in shawls and stockings knotted at the knees.

Truth be told, the description fits both of my late beloved grandmothers, but boy oh boy, have women in Sicily come a long way, baby!

Due to the highly conservative Saracen (Arab)
occupation that occurred in Sicily in the 10th and 11th centuries, Sicilian society adopted many of the customs and traditions of the occupiers. As a result, the Arab culture influenced the perception of women in Sicilian society.

First and foremost, the male was the absolute ruler of the household. As a matter of fact, at dinner time he ate first, the best food, prior to the women or children. Women in the 10th and 11th centuries donned a burka style dress, very similar to garments that we see on television today worn by Muslim women all over the world. The woman was precious to the man and had to be hidden lest she be stolen. And the feminine figure was never to be flaunted so as not to tempt any man. Thus the shawl and burka. Black was (and still is) the color of mourning in Sicily and since men often died long before their spouses due to the harsh and unforgiving living conditions, my grandmothers' garb has been traditional. Boy have things changed!

Today's Sicilian woman is a modern woman, many hold high government positions or work in other areas to help support the family. Those black-garbed images are now a distant memory, even grandmothers are stylishly dressed!

High fashion abounds in Sicily. Palermo’s Via Roma and Catania’s Corso Sicilia are lined with every designer shop imaginable. Taormina, the Pearl of Europe, hosts the European jet set lifestyle. Siracusa, Messina, Trapani and Agrigento also exhibit the high fashion of the modern Sicilian era, and one only has to visit any swimming area to realize that Sicily now is firmly entrenched in the 21st century. Last week one of my business partners, Donnamarie Pignone, who travels to Sicily extensively, dropped by the Lawrence shop with a beautiful young Sicilian woman named Agata. Agata teaches at Babilonia Center for Italian Language and Culture in Taormina in Sicily, but has been teaching Italian this academic year as a visiting professor at Elon University in North Carolina. Her English was flawless, her dress impeccable, her spirit irrepressible.

Agata informed me that women now occupy over 50% of all university faculty positions in Sicily and that they have become a vital component of the Sicilian economy. Young girls are taught about equality, opportunity, and the dignity of women in general, and it has been that way for the last several decades.

I was happy to learn that Sicilian women, (and believe me, I think Sicilian women are absolutely the most beautiful creatures on this earth), have thrown off the yoke of oppression and now stand with their male counterparts, shoulder to shoulder as equals.

Another reason to be proud of our heritage!

Who invented the telephone?

a. Alexander Graham Bell
b. Antonio Meucci
c. Massimo Grimaldi
d. Frank Capra

PS You will be surprised!
(Answer below)

Monthly Quiz just added!!!

TRIVIA ANSWER: Trivia answer: B. Antonio Meucci lived on Staten Island and invented the telephone twenty years before Bell "invented "the telephone. His house is now a museum dedicated to him and Guiseppe Garabaldi who stayed with him for a while!