Faces Behind Recipes
Behind the recipes are the faces of my nonna, my mom and some other family members. The recipes scribbled in my mind are on torn pieces of paper. I want these recipes to live on. The more people access some of these family treasures and traditions, the more our culture and traditions survive.
My recipes are the foods I bring to the table that give me comfort. I grew up with my Calabrese grandmother and she cooked with very few ingredients, but her food was so good. As a little girl she gave me small jobs like chopping the parsley and garlic. My favourite was rinsing the tomato can to pick up all the juice.
Her style of cooking was very basic. None of the recipes were written and quantities were “quanto basta” (how much is enough). She used an old tea-cup to measure flour; therefore, I have had to put an amount to her recipes. Sometimes, it is “quanto basta” or as much as you need or see fit.
Here is my grandmother on the far right. She was born in 1906 in Figline Vegliaturo, Italy. She came from a prominent well-to-do family, but after her father immigrated to the America, the family struggled. Her mother died when she was twelve years old and the girls did the best they could. She married a hard-working farmer, but their life was hard. They had plenty of food from the harvest, but very little meat and material goods.
I am grateful every day for the values she taught me and for her sacrifices.
The other person who influences the recipes I bring to the table is my mom Nilde. A cancer survivor, she is 83 and still cooks for 30 people on Christmas Eve and entertains weekly. I will share some of her recipes with you too. Here is my mom and me in our passport picture before we left for Canada in 1960.
Here she is today cooking in her summer kitchen.
I also love to travel and some of my recipes are from around the world. Don’t be surprised to find an Italian twist on some of them. I loved China and you will eventually find a recipe for my version of Peking Duck with an Italian twist.
