If people asked Lydia Dahling what they wouldn’t find in her refrigerator, she would answer, “Velveeta, lamb and veal.”

“The three things I said you wouldn’t find in my fridge are the three things I won’t eat,” she says.

The 21-year-old is a Decatur resident who is majoring in vocal performance in the School of Music at Indiana University in Bloomington.

Dahling says she recently returned from her second trip to Italy and can’t wait to go back.

“I did a music and language thing there,” she says, “We took an Italian lesson in the morning and staging rehearsals and different performances in the afternoon.

“It’s a great place. I love the people, the culture and the food. I love the food. And I love the language, too. Both times I’ve been there I stayed in a small town. I stayed with a family the first time and I met their friends and other locals,” she says.

Q. What’s the best dish you had there?

A. My favorite and unique was at a restaurant in Florence – pasta filled with pear. The sauce was made up of a Taleggio cheese with asparagus slivers. It was so good! The sweetness of the pear was wonderful against the creaminess of the cheese with the asparagus. It was so, so good!

Q. What differences did you see between Italy and the United States?

A. The food is definitely much cheaper over there. The meat and cheese is higher quality. It was easy to eat in a healthy way and not cost you an arm and a leg. There didn’t seem to be a lot of overly processed food.

A lot of Italian cooking is really quick – not the Bolognese, which takes a couple hours. Other pasta recipes you can make the sauce in the time it takes water to boil – maybe 10 minutes.

I realize Americans tend to overcook pasta. Al dente. Americans go past. It melts in the mouth – not supposed to do that. And the sauce, some are too thick. Bolognese you shouldn’t pair with spaghetti. It should be with penne, rigatoni or tagliatelle.

Q. When did you first begin cooking?

A. I cooked some my sophomore year of college. Last year when I came back from Italy, I said, “I’ve got to learn to do this.”

Q. You mentioned that before attending college, your mother, Tamara, did most of the cooking?

A. Yes, but last year I came back and said, “OK, I’m making this now.” When I’m home, I do most of the cooking.

Q. What vegetable do you eat most often?

A. I really like leafy greens: dandelions, kale, mustard greens. I put them in soups, risotto, different pastas and mixed green salads. Greens are so versatile. Use them in so many different ways.

Q. Who would you say is your cooking idol?

A. Probably my host mother, Leonarda of Urbania, Le Marche, Italy. Because everything she made was fantastic. Every time we went to a restaurant, her food was so much better. You just couldn’t compare.

Ragu alla Bolognese

1/2 pound ground beef

1/2 pound ground pork

7 ounces pancetta (or bacon), chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

2 celery ribs, chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped

1 (28-ounce) can chopped tomatoes (or 2 pounds chopped fresh tomatoes)

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 to 3/4 cup milk

Bay leaf

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Mix together the ground meat and season with salt and pepper. In a large heavy saucepan over medium heat, cook the pancetta until the fat has melted. Add the chopped onion and continue to cook until it is translucent. Add the carrot, celery and bay leaves and continue cooking until the vegetables begin to soften and brown. Raise the heat to high and add the ground meats, and cook stirring with a wooden spoon to break up the meat. Cook until lightly browned.

Add the wine and cook until it has evaporated. Puree the tomatoes and add to the pot, reducing the heat to low. Simmer until thickened for 2 hours. If the sauce becomes too thick, thin it with a little beef broth. Add the milk and continue to cook over low heat for another hour or two until thickened. Makes 4 to 6 servings. Traditionally, Bolognese is served with tagliatelle, a long ribbon-like pasta, but some short-cut pastas, such as rigatoni or penne, also work well.

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

5 ounces pancetta (or bacon), chopped

4 or 5 cloves of garlic, minced

3 large eggs

About 1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

1 pound spaghetti

Cook the chopped bacon in a skillet, adding the garlic as the fat begins to render. Whisk the eggs in the serving bowl, adding the cheese, salt and pepper. Bring a 6- to 8-quart pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti, cooking until al dente. Do not overcook the pasta. When the pasta is al dente, drain and toss with the egg mixture, adding the bacon as well. The heat of the spaghetti will cook the eggs and coat the pasta. Serve immediately. Makes 4 to 6 servings.