Spaghettini con le Cozze

In Italy we call all shellfish frutti di mare: sea fruits. The term is both poetically descriptive and revealing of the pleasure Italians take in the fruit of their many seas. I remember my father going nearly every day to meet the fishing boats; the brightness in his eyes as he spread a mound of glossy black mussels or jumping live shrimp on the kitchen table was the same as when he brought home ripe, honeyed peaches from the farm or a basketful of berries from a walk in the woods.