Let me begin by saying that this post does not contain a recipe. So, for those of you who were expecting a recipe in your inbox, please stay tuned until next week!
For those of you who have been following me along on this food journey, more specifically my mission to document and preserve my mother’s traditional Sicilian family recipes, I wanted to share with you that my muse, the inspiration behind this blog, my beloved mother left this world on August 27th, 2023.
Without my mother there would be no Mangia Bedda, and I felt it crucial to pay tribute to her here.
I had the good fortune to be raised in a home where we enjoyed made from scratch, healthy and varied meals seven days a week. Of course, I didn’t always appreciate greens from the garden, legumes and sipping whey from homemade ricotta. However, I am grateful to have been exposed to them at an early age, and these are now staples in my diet.
From a young age, I observed my mother in the kitchen. I watched her roll meatballs on Sunday morning for the sauce. The aroma of simmering sauce still brings me back! She always made sure to fry a few tiny meatballs for us to snack on while we waited for lunch to be ready. Homemade pasta was usually on the menu and if I was lucky it was gnocchi, my absolute favorite food to this day. I participated by cutting the ropes of dough and rolling each individual gnocchi on the side of a box grater.
We enjoyed homemade pizza and bread on a regular basis. This was always a huge production resulting in a table full of goodies to enjoy at the end of the day! I imagine her wearing a handkerchief on her head while kneading an enormous dough with punching movements.
This feast always began with fresh hot bread drizzled with olive oil and oregano and then an array of stuffed breads and pizzas including olive and cheese buns ; paprika and herb bread; or chicory, egg and cheese filled pizza. A few loaves were turned into hard bread (friselle) for topping with fresh tomatoes, olive oil and oregano.
And what can I say about her ragu filled arancini, except that they were the best I’ve ever had. I would make an entire meal out of her arancini!
I purchased my first cookbook before the age of ten, the Peanuts Lunch Bag Cookbook which inspired me to bake my first loaf of bread. My mother always obliged my sisters and I in the kitchen, never shooing us away or worrying that we would make a mess in her kitchen. And so we explored various types of cuisines and she willingly sampled everything we prepared with an open mind.
The lessons she taught me in the kitchen are invaluable and can be applied to so many life situations.
She taught me patience. When I made our traditional Christmas Eve sfinci with her, after waiting for 2 hours for the dough to rise I impatiently decided that we had waited long enough and it was ready to be fried. No, she said. And alas after a total of 4 hours, she lifted the blankets she used to keep the dough warm and it bubbled right before my eyes! Be patient and don’t rush things, good things come to those who wait.
She taught me not to sweat the small stuff. Sometime in her last few months with us, we decided to make a batch of her white wine taralli. I had prepared the dough on this particular day and added a tad too much flour therefore making the dough difficult to roll. Frustrated, I was prepared to toss out this hard to handle dough and start over again. But she laughed it off telling me there is no need to become frustrated over small insignificant things. And the next day she handed me a bag full of the taralli she concocted out of that dough!
She was meticulous and never took shortcuts whether it was with her cooking or any other task she undertook in life.
Her approach to feeding our family was always "why buy it when I can make it at home" instead of "why make it when I can buy it"! And this rings true for me today.
As a result of my parent's influence I still maintain a small vegetable garden in my backyard each summer. Although I don't preserve vegetables nearly as much as she did, I do make my basil pesto each year; shell and freeze beans for our pasta e fagioli and I will now preserve my own hot peppers to serve on our pasta dishes!
Most importantly, my mother was supportive and did not question me when I gave up my previous career in social work to pursue my passion for cooking and create this blog. Each time I dragged my camera, lights, and notebook over to her home to document a recipe, she patiently waited for me to measure each ingredient and take my step-by-step photos of the dishes we prepared.
She offered advice and tips for me to pass on to my readers when preparing a recipe. On a regular basis, she asked whether I had shared a particular recipe. Until her final days she shared recipe ideas with me, some which I had never even heard of before. Don't worry, I carefully noted each of them!
And so, dear readers, I look forward to sharing this collection of recipes she recited to me as well as continue to decipher her tiny, handwritten black book of recipes.
I hope I have made her proud in my attempt to preserve her legacy that will live on through Mangia Bedda and most importantly, through her grandchildren.
Ti voglio bene mamma.
Maria Barilla Holmquist
What a beautiful tribute to your dear mother!
The recipes you’ve shared are wonderful and remind me so much of my own mother.
You have created such a great legacy by sharing the recipes she prepared for you with such love and joy. She will live on in your heart and with us by sharing her with your readers.
I am so sorry for your great loss! But thank you for sharing her with all of us.
Nadia
Thank you Maria, it is heartwarming to hear from readers like you who tell me that these recipes remind me of their own mom's! It is so important to me to be able to document and preserve these recipes for future generations. Grazie!
Pina
HI Nadia,
So sorry for your loss. She will live on through the recipes, thank you for sharing them with us. May she rest in peace.
Pina
Nadia
Thank you Pina, I am definitely committed to continue to sharing more of her recipes. Grazie!
Maria
I'm so sorry to hear of her passing. She sounds like a beautiful human, so loving and gentle. Cherish her memories. I'm sure writing this blog was hard and surreal for you. Sending you a virtual hug. Makes me think of the song "le mamme" by Toto Cotugno and I choke up each time. Stay strong. Her love lives on in you.
Nadia
Thank you Maria she truly was, and interestingly enough she passed just a few days after Toto Cotugno. I was listening to his song that week. Thank you for your kind words!
FRANK M
Beautiful tribute.
Nadia
Thank you Frank!
Deborah
I am so sincerely sorry at the loss of your beloved mama, mentor, and supporter. Like my Sicilian mama, I learned from her, the magical traditions of our culture.
She too learned from my Nana. They all leave us way too soon, as if forever were not long enough.
God Bless you and your family. 🙏🏻🌹
Nadia
Thank you Deborah, she was the gatekeeper of our history and traditions and I hope to keep them alive. Grazie!
Denise Duvall
God bless you and your mamma!
Nadia
Thank you Denise!
Ellen
WOW, what a beautiful article in memory of your Mother! Thank you for sharing that with all of us!
Ellen
Nadia
Thank you Ellen for your lovely feedback!
Romina
My deepest condolences. Beautiful tribute to your Mamma. Know that she also lives through us making and enjoying her/ your recipes. ❤️
Nadia
Thank you Romina, I hope she is proud!
Mrs. Rose Luongo
Eternal rest grant unto her O Lord and let the perpetual light shine upon her. May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the Mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Nadia
Thank you for your kind prayer Rose!
Annie
What a heart-felt and beautiful tribute to your dear mother!! Thanks to you, all your precious family recipes will be preserved. May your beautiful mother Rest In Peace! I will include her in my prayers. Hang in there you as well, it is an adjustment to lose our precious mothers, but they are always with us! Thank you for sharing these memories with us. My mother had those same hard-working hands! Best wishes , God bless you and a Happy New Year!
Nadia
Thank you Annie, I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to document her recipes. Thank you for your kind words, yes it is an adjustment that will take time. All the best to you as well!
Sara Hall
Aww, this is so heart warming. Thank you for sharing, and my heartfelt condolences for the loss of your beloved mamma. Your stories and recipes are an inspiration to me, also an Italian food-lover with a rich history of family and food memories! Happy New Year!
Nadia
Thank you Sara, I am touched by the outpour of support and kind words. I am truly blessed. Happy new year to you as well, and especially lots of good health!
Joe Pietrangelo
I am so sorry. I sit here sharing your tears.
Nadia
Thank you Joe for your kind words, they are truly appreciated!
Maggi Ayd Reid
What a lovely tribute to your Mom - you will miss her everyday as I miss mine.
Nadia
Hello Maggi, no doubt I will and somehow we must get used to their absence.
Silvana Dereski
Thank you for sharing your treasured memories of your mother and the love and passion for cooking that you shared. As I read your post, much of it could have been written by me. Having been raised by Sicilian immigrant parents, I too spent time in the kitchen with my mom. I was always at her side when she was cooking or baking. My favourite pasta, like you, my mom's gnocchi! Her aranci, amazing! Her pizza, the BEST!
Going forward, as you share your mother's recipes, the memories will be sweet and most welcome. They may bring a tear, but in time, they will bring smiles. Take Care.
Nadia
Thank you Silvana for your kind words, I see you can truly relate to my experience with my dear mom!
Marilyn
A beautiful reflection of all your mother taught you!
Nadia
Thank you Marilyn!
Linda kalinski
Thank you so much for sharing you story and your recipes.
I have made several of them and look forward to any new recipes you are kind enough to share.
Nadia
Thank you Linda, I am truly flattered and plan to continue sharing her recipes as well as others that I discover in my travels to Sicily!
Lou Simorelli
Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. This is the same way I remember my Nonna, who I called “Mom”. My Mom was a good cook also, but nobody beat Nonna. How I miss her to this day. She passed 12/8/1972. I am a Personal Chef, and I feel her looking over my shoulder as I cook. I had a previous profession for 34years. I have been a Chef since 2007. It’s a credit to my “Mom” that I am a Chef and how good I am at what I do. THANK YOU ” MOM”.
“
Nadia
Thank you Lou for your kind feedback. I too feel that she is looking over my shoulder and talk to her as I plan my menu and cook! Nice to hear you are a cook!
Joanna
Hi Nadia,
what beautiful memory you have of your mom!
That is all we have( beautiful memory) of our moms, once they’re gone.
Keep her in your heart and thoughts.
Your mom has passed on to you her beautiful/delicious receipts.
Thank you
Joanna
Nadia
Hello Joanna, so true, it is up to us to keep them alive and I do so through my cooking for the family. Grazie!
Jennie Sama
Che bella storia!!! Such a beautiful tribute to your wonderful Mom!! My Siciliam Mom was also one who made everything from scratch. She was great.
Thank you for sharing your story! I love your site but I must be careful of my diet and often just try to adapt!
Nadia
Grazie Jennie for your kind words!
Charlie Butera
You made me shed a tear. My mom left us 4 years ago and like you I'm trying to keep the traditions alive best I can. She taught me so many things in the kitchen and in life. They will never be forgotten. Let's just keep talking about them and of course cooking like them! Thank you for this write up or home for sure.
Nadia
Hekki Charlie, I think it't the best way to keep their memories alive. It's the best we can do. Thank you for your kind words.