Sandra was barely tall enough to sit at her grandparents' kitchen table while her grandmother, Teresa Notte Cicchino, chopped and cleaned fresh, colorful vegetables and herbs from the garden. When Grandma Teresa finished cooking, a delightful vegetarian meal was presented to all. Grandma Teresa taught Sandra that food is precious and must be treated with care during the preparation and cooking process. Nothing went to waste in grandma’s kitchen. She taught Sandra that in Italy, meat was a compliment to a meal, and that was the beginning of Sandra’s education in cooking lavish Southern Italian meals. Grandma Teresa made homemade pasta; dark, bitter greens (broccoli rabe, escarole, spinach, Swiss chard, mustard greens, collard greens and kale); bean and vegetable soups; and meat, poultry, and fish dishes combined with vegetables. She incorporated fresh herbs from her garden in all dishes. What Americans call tomato sauce, Italians call gravy. Two staples in every Southern Italian home are meat gravy and marinara (vegetarian) sauce. Grandma Teresa made gravy that would make you want to sing! And Sandra has duplicated her gravy recipe to share with clients. Five decades ago, Sandra began watching and learning, then creating and cooking Southern Italian food indigenous to the Molise region in Italy. Today, Sandra teaches others the joy of cooking healthy, Mediterranean dining fare. Sandra is a life-long dancer, and is also the owner of Big Apple Belly Dance, located in Manhattan.