It Started on a Lazy Sunday Afternoon
I can't recall when I first started cooking and entertaining. My mom tells me that at old ripe age of 8 , I was already capable of whipping up a good batch of hand made southern Italian pizzas. When I was 11 , I vividly remember when while living it Italy, I would literally cheer on guests as they gathered around our festive spreads. For me, seeing relatives and friends around the table was biggest treat, easily surpassing the rigatoni with eggplant.
Now a few decades later, I still get easily excited when I think about cooking and entertaining. The experience for me is more than just fun. It is cathartic. It is quasi meditative in terms of he the inner calmness that it produces in me. On the surface, friends, family , especially my mother, think I am in a state of utter turmoil and distress. What they see is just the outward expression of focus while I prepare my dishes. They do not know it and I can't just seem to explain it.
So now let's get back to blogging. Partially inspired by a recent movie - you all know which one I am talking about - and partially inspired by my number one fans - my family, I have decided to capture some of my culinary work photographically and publish it like many others do using a blog.
Some Love Around the Island expresses what I do in my kitchen. Life in the kitchen is not about cooking. It is about the pouring out of Love. Just imagine a little rustic pichet , filled with your favorite red wine. And now imagine yourself filling your guest's glasses. Gathered around the island, your guests almost queue up in front of you. With anticipation, they prepare themselves to present you their glasses, almost as if they were solemnly offering you a gift. And, then the act happens. The wine pouring begins. With all your heart. For a moment, the laughter stops. Heads turn and everyone is attentive. All eyes are watching, as the red goodness, flows from container to container. And then you break the silence of crowd. Heads turn again , this time up towards you . Et Voilà and there you have it . They see the glow, they see the glee. They see the pouring out of Love in your humble little kitchen, around the Island.
For me, "Some love around the island" happens for me time and time again. Sometimes it is about wine pouring , sometimes if is about sauteed artichokes.
It is for this reason , my dear friends, that I said to myself that is was time to start to capturing and sharing some of the love and pleasure more widely.
Salute !
Now a few decades later, I still get easily excited when I think about cooking and entertaining. The experience for me is more than just fun. It is cathartic. It is quasi meditative in terms of he the inner calmness that it produces in me. On the surface, friends, family , especially my mother, think I am in a state of utter turmoil and distress. What they see is just the outward expression of focus while I prepare my dishes. They do not know it and I can't just seem to explain it.
So now let's get back to blogging. Partially inspired by a recent movie - you all know which one I am talking about - and partially inspired by my number one fans - my family, I have decided to capture some of my culinary work photographically and publish it like many others do using a blog.
Some Love Around the Island expresses what I do in my kitchen. Life in the kitchen is not about cooking. It is about the pouring out of Love. Just imagine a little rustic pichet , filled with your favorite red wine. And now imagine yourself filling your guest's glasses. Gathered around the island, your guests almost queue up in front of you. With anticipation, they prepare themselves to present you their glasses, almost as if they were solemnly offering you a gift. And, then the act happens. The wine pouring begins. With all your heart. For a moment, the laughter stops. Heads turn and everyone is attentive. All eyes are watching, as the red goodness, flows from container to container. And then you break the silence of crowd. Heads turn again , this time up towards you . Et Voilà and there you have it . They see the glow, they see the glee. They see the pouring out of Love in your humble little kitchen, around the Island.
For me, "Some love around the island" happens for me time and time again. Sometimes it is about wine pouring , sometimes if is about sauteed artichokes.
It is for this reason , my dear friends, that I said to myself that is was time to start to capturing and sharing some of the love and pleasure more widely.
Salute !
Cooking started for me under the age of 10. My family had a restaurant in a small town north of Toronto until I was 10. I have childhood memories of that kitchen.
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