Shaye's Italian Kitchen

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Shaye's Italian Kitchen

Life is full of opportunities to celebrate and a Tuesday lunch can be just as exciting as a Saturday supper.

Shaye | An American cook with an Italian appetite
🍝 Simple Italian countryside cooking for real home cooks
👩‍🍳 500+ from-scratch recipes in The Cooking Community
🇮🇹 Cook with me in Umbria on our Che Vita getaways Here on our small farm, we find ways to celebrate each other, our quiver of children, gardens full of flowers, ironed linens, and life on the farm. My hope is to encourage others to thrive in their own homes. We live on two acres in Washington State and on that land, we raise our dairy cow Cece, a flock of laying hens, ducks, hogs, sheep, geese, and a variety of produce in our large, organic gardens. From this ground, we're able to grow food and celebrate the tastes, flavors, and motions of life. The table is always open to visitors, strangers and friends alike. The plates are full, the music is loud, the fellowship is rich, and the wine glasses are rarely empty. The laundry hanging on the line may cause some to think we’re old fashioned – and maybe that’s true. But whether we're pulling weeds, smoking ham, reading to the children, or milking the cow, you're always welcome to join in.

11/01/2026

"We are a sharing people… The correct response is to smile, savor the gift, and offer up your own when the time is right."

Jars of honey, loaves of sourdough, bins of ripe pears. In both of my favorite communities, there's almost always something on my table that was a gift.

What's the best food gift you've ever received?

10/31/2026

A balcony in Umbria or a backyard in Washington, a garden is a garden.

"There's rarely a balcony, a doorstep, a plantable patch in Italian villages not filled with potted citrus, tomatoes, or herbs… They are a people who know and respect the seasons, who take advantage of what is available to them and steward over it in the name of growing food. Who does that sound like?"

What does gardening look like for you?

10/31/2026

When all else fails, make pasta. Slow, gentle kneading is how I work the worries out, and my kids say every noodle feels important.

Egg Pasta (per person)
• 90 grams all-purpose or "00" flour
• 55 grams egg (about one egg)

1. Mound the flour, make a well in the center, and add the egg.
2. Mix with your hands or a fork until a dough forms.
3. Knead 5–10 minutes on a lightly floured surface until soft.
4. Cover with a damp tea towel and let it rest.
5. Roll to ⅛" thick, cut into noodles, and boil in salted water 1–2 minutes until tender.

The Best Bolognese
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 carrots, minced
• 1 small onion or 2 shallots, minced
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 bottle white w**e
• 4 cups whole milk*
• 2 (18-ounce) jars crushed tomatoes
• ½ cup heavy cream*
*For dairy-free, omit and add a bit of olive oil.

1. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Sauté the carrots and onion 5 minutes.
2. Add the beef and pork and cook gently (don't brown), breaking up the meat.
3. Pour in the w**e and simmer 20 minutes.
4. Add the milk and simmer another 20 minutes.
5. Add the tomatoes and simmer 1 hour, until thick.
6. Turn off the heat, stir in the cream, and season with salt and pepper.

My tip: Make it a day ahead. The flavors melt together overnight.

Want more recipes like this? Try The Cooking Community free for 14 days. You'll find it on my Page.

Save this for your weekend.

Who's at your table this Saturday?

10/31/2026

Keep these in your pantry and aperitivo never requires a trip to the store

• Really good olives (I like the ones with pits)
• Taralli and grissini
• Almonds, cashews, and peanuts
• Something pickled: giardiniera, peppers, eggplant, artichoke hearts
• Good salami (it keeps for weeks)
• Your favorite cheeses
• Good potato chips
• Sparkling water and lemons
• Something to pour: Prosecco, Campari, c***r, a bottle of red

It's Friday. Wipe the table, put out a little something, and sit still for a while.

Save this for later.

What's always in your pantry for unexpected company?

10/30/2026

"If you're a grower of food, chances are, you're also a cook. While much of the world seeks after convenience, we are both groups of people who instead long for something far more delicious."

From my farmhouse in Washington to a stone kitchen in Italy, the people I love most would rather take the long way round to a good meal.

If you'd rather cook than order in, we are your people!

10/30/2026

Three ways to aperitivo, depending on your day

The 2-minute: Open a bag of chips, pour something cold, and sit down. The point is the pause.

The 10-minute: Slice a little salami, crack a wedge of Parmigiano into rough chunks, add a bowl of olives, and pile it all on one board.

The 30-minute: Make something with a bit more forethought, like bruschetta, crostini with whatever's in season, or stuffed fried olives. Mix a special drink and use your favorite glass.

It doesn't need alcohol, either. Sparkling water with lemon counts. What matters is that we stop, reconnect, and give ourselves something to look forward to.

Aperitivo is a daily rhythm on our Che Vita Getaways in Città della Pieve, and it's one we've brought home with us.

Save this for later.

How do you aperitivo?

10/29/2026

Can I be honest? I hate asking for your attention. I know it’s limited and your to-do list is full. I know your life is precious and meaningful. To ask you to watch a reel, leave a comment, and engage feels… weird. I hate it actually. It didn’t start like this. It started by simply sharing experiences on the blog. To find like minded friends. I wanted to create and share what I was feeling and experiencing - it couldn’t possibly be held in. But life moves. Mine moved. I bet yours did too. At the end of the day, I don’t want your attention. I want to be in community with you. I want my words to find ears that will benefit from hearing them, I want my recipes to bring joy to your table, I want to help you have the vacation of a lifetime. I want my efforts to bring you joy. I want to live a real life - that may not mean much to the world these days, but it means something to me. This is a human account. I make human recipes. Real ones that real people eat. There’s nothing here to shock you. I don’t want to grab for your attention with inflated claims and trending narratives. I guess in some ways, that means I’m not willing to ‘play the game’… and maybe the hundred followers I lose a day is the fruit of my stubbornness. But I see beautiful, talented people on here lose out every day to bots and AI accounts and absolute garbage… and well… that’s not what I want to put more of in the world. So if you see my account dwindling, know that I’ve never been more proud of the content that I am producing MYSELF (YouTube videos, The Cooking Community | From-Scratch Recipes for Home Cooks recipes, newsletters, blog posts, podcast episodes, and Italy trips). The red arrows hurt me. I want to do well for the sake of my work. But not as much as endlessly chasing an artificial feeling of value, faking a life that isn’t real, or people-pleasing despite my conscience. I just wanna cook amazing food and explore Italy. It’s not much, but it’s mine. And it’s real. And if that is enough for you, I’m glad you’re still here.

10/29/2026

Don’t tell me I can’t have it all! 😂

10/29/2026

Ethics of production, nutritional value, and pleasing taste. These are my three measures of quality in the kitchen.

"This work became my life's calling: to take the highest-quality ingredients I could source from my land and my community and to turn them into nourishment and pleasure for those at my table."

They've shaped my kitchen for twenty years.

What guides the ingredients you choose?

10/29/2026

All the flavor of lasagna, with half the effort. This is the soup I make on busy weeknights when everyone needs something rich and cozy.

Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1½ pounds loose Italian sausage
• 1 onion, peeled and minced
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 (32-ounce) jar tomato passata or sauce
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• ½ teaspoon dried chili flakes
• 8 cups broth
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• ½ pound pasta (lasagna noodles or mafaldine; gluten-free works too)
• 15 ounces ricotta (omit for dairy-free)
• Torn mozzarella and Parmesan, for serving

Method
1. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the sausage, breaking it into bite-sized pieces, and cook through.
2. Add the onion and cook 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
3. Stir in the passata, tomato paste, oregano, basil, chili flakes, and broth. Bring to a low simmer and season with salt and pepper.
4. Add the pasta and cook in the soup until al dente. Stir in the ricotta.
5. Serve hot with torn mozzarella and grated Parmesan.

My tip: Don't skip the torn mozzarella. It melts into the soup and makes it.

This lasagna soup is one of the recipes in my ebook, Comforting Soups & Stews of the Italian Winter. You'll find it on my Page.

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What's your go-to weeknight soup?

Address

PO Box 369
Malaga, WA
98828

Website

https://shayesitaliankitchen.com/community, https://shayesitaliankitchen.com/chevitagetaway

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