Growing crops of Calabria in Bay Area
Vicenzo and Maria Dito and their teenage daughter Rosetta left Calabria - the toe of the Italian boot - in 1974, knowing life in America would mean trade-offs: greater economic opportunities than in their isolated, hardscrabble homeland, but less for their kitchen in American stores.
The Ditos couldn't bring along their dairy goats, vineyards or olive trees, but they took the seeds of their tomatoes and peppers, beans, greens and herbs.
Some of those heirloom varieties are now available from Franchi Seeds; back then, they could only be found in Calabria.
After a successful high-tech career, Costantino has become a custodian of Calabrian foodways, with her classes, culinary tours and cookbooks: "My Calabria" (W.W. Norton and Co.; 2010), co-authored with Chronicle contributor Janet Fletcher, and "Southern Italian Desserts" (Ten Speed Press), due out in October.
Peppered with peppersWhen we visited, the eggplant and tomato seasons were winding down, but the garden was still festooned with peppers.
For the San Marzanos, Vicenzo Dito built a Great Wall of Tomatoes using leftover PVC pipe: Nothing is sitting on the ground, so there's nothing to go rotten.
The black seed has an intense licorice aroma and taste, augmented by deep-brown notes like coffee.
Not surprisingly, dinner often comes from the two gardens: The pantry is always loaded with our stuff.
Costantino's teenage son Adrian has the family green thumb: "He spends a lot of time with his granddad in the gardens and is learning a lot from him so he can carry on some of the traditions," Costantino said.