People make places memorable, and therefore, Sicilians are a reason you’ll love Sicily. This photo, taken in Caltabellotta, shows Paolo, a shepherd and cheesemaker; Riccardo, an entrepreneur; and Anna, an inn keeper. They are stuffing cannoli. But it’s not so simple. I was in Anna’s kitchen after she fed me a fresh frittata made with wild asparagus that was foraged earlier that day and fresh artichokes from her garden (One of the best frittattas I’ve every had.).

Riccardo, her son, had just showed me around the bed and breakfast that they operate upstairs from the kitchen where we are in the photo. Paolo, a good friend, brought with him to share his pecorino (sheep) cheeses with pistachio and saffron, but not only.

Knowing about my passion for cannoli (Thanks to Pierfilippo and another Paolo, not pictured), he brought fresh ricotta that he made from his sheep’s’ milk. His mother prepared the cannoli cream for our aperitivo so we could stuff  on the spot the cannoli shells he picked up at the pastry shop in the ancient town center. Needless to say, these cannoli were outstanding! After I ate every morsel, Anna sent me on my way with a bottle of olive oil made from from the trees on her property and dried oregano that she prepared. See them laughing? Yup. That’s what the entire evening was like.

(Meet Anna and Riccardo at Casa Puccio B&B in Caltabellota)