If you’ve ever dined at Gioacchino’s Restaurant in Bellwood, you know what good old-fashioned, made-from-scratch Italian cooking tastes like. During the summer months, many of the ingredients in Gioacchino’s time-honored recipes are literally homegrown in the garden that surrounds the house in Addison where Nella and Jack Curatolo have lived for 43 years.

While Nella is the undisputed queen of the kitchen at Gioacchino’s, Jack is the acknowledged king of the family garden. He only has a “little acre” to work with, but oh, what a bounty it yields. Among the vegetables you’ll find are beefsteak, cherry, plum and heart tomatoes; Melrose, cayenne, finger, bell and banana peppers; orecchio and Romaine lettuce; chicory; escarole; arugula; cucumbers; and zucchini.