Tag: Italian

Mary Ann and me

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, author, books, italian, Karen's Kitchen, local fun

Mary mary-ann-espositoAnn Esposito and I go way back. Okay, sort of.

I met her in real life at a Stonewall Kitchen Cooking School event in 2008. (Also, once I saw her at the Market Basket, but I didn’t actually talk to her. Does that count?)

I really met her for the first time in my younger years, watching her on TV. She hosted  Ciao Italia on PBS. Years later, I watched all the reruns, too.

She is a skilled, wonderful cook, as anyone who has ever watched Ciao Italia knows. She was as warm and funny and caring in person as she was on TV.

I’m Italian, as anyone who knows me knows. I learned so much not only about cooking, but about life and how to live it from my Italian nana, Mary. Meeting Mary Ann, watching her cook in the Stonewall Kitchen Cooking School’s cucina, gave me back that feeling of being with my grandmother in her kitchen again for a few hours.
Being with your people: Priceless.

Anyway, Mary Ann Esposito is also an author. The Stonewall event was a cooking class and a book signing. She was kind enough to sign my book, and gracious enough to pose for a photo with me. Here’s how much it meant to me: I was able to put my hand on this photo of us from 2008 literally in seconds. I knew exactly where it was.

I am beyond excited to tell you that she will be at the New England Authors Expo March 31st event: 2017 Authors Night by the Sea, in Portsmouth, NH, signing her books. I will be there, too, signing my novel, One Brave Thing.

And visiting with Mary Ann. Maybe I’ll even get another photo with her.

Life’s funny, isn’t it?

me-and-mary-ann-on-the-authors-list

Click here for the information, if you want to come!

 

Connection

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, friends, Holidays, Karen's Kitchen, my one word

I was just watching Valerie Bertinelli’s new cooking show on the Food Network. It turns out that Karen’s Kitchen isn’t so different from Valeries’s Kitchen. She lasagnawas making a buffet for a Christmas gathering and it consisted of lasagna, salad, and a favorite Italian cookie from childhood.

I realized as I watched that one of my own favorite Italian dinners is the same. The lasagna recipe I remember from my own family dinners of yore, salad, and a different cookie, but still a favorite Italian cookie that I grew up with (I am not surprised that both of our dessert recipes include chocolate… 🙂 ).

Of course there are some differences, the biggest of which is this: Valerie has both of her parents with her. Mine have long since departed.

At the end of the show, I was surprised to hear them talking about choosing a word for next year! Their words were much different from mine (Hello, ‘Butter’? ‘Bacon’? How did I not think of using a food as my one word? Ha!).

Lesson: we really are all connected, aren’t we? We can be connected to people that we have never met by our food and our (Italian) heritage, as in this case, but there are many other ways that we can find connection in our everyday lives.

 

 

Organization (or lack thereof)

by Karen, posted in books, gardening, italian, knitting, no fear, writing, yoga

office clutterOrganization? Thy name is not Karen.

I have stuff.

A lot of stuff.

I have decided that I am ready to let stuff go.

Keep it simple.

Stupid.

I have so many recipes and such that I have cut out, ripped out, torn out of magazines and newspapers and NEVER MADE. I should just throw them out, right? You’re right. You’re right. I KNOW you’re right.

And I have so many writing projects! How to organize them all? OMG. need a computer and desk dedicated just to that. Just to writing and the associated paraphernalia.

Then there’s the yoga stuff, the knitting stuff, the spiritual stuff, the Reiki stuff, the scrapbooking stuff…oh, and the Italian stuff! Folders for learning the language, cooking the food, traveling to the country.

The household stuff, bill paying stuff, the warranty stuff…oh! And all of the holiday stuff! Not just Christmas, but Christmas stuff does take up the most space. Wrapping paper, cards, decorations. Stacks and stacks (and stacks and stacks) of books. Plus the books on the actual (much too small) book case. (Note to self: my books are underserved.)

Nursing stuff! Stethoscopes, scrubs, clamps, bandage scissors, paper tape measures for measuring wounds…even though I am no longer a bedside nurse, I have learned the hard way to never say never and thus I am loath to release any of these things even though it’s been about two years since I’ve needed any of it.

Then there’s the Go and Do files. Some are filled with stuff we already Went and Did. Should I keep those or toss them? What about my idea file? I just read an article on FB (sorry, author of said article, I do not remember your name) that it’s good to write down ten ideas every day. I LOVE THAT! If I keep this file, then I’ve already got a head start!

Many things are in their own folders already, and it seems sort of organizational…but there are multiple folders for writing and yoga and knitting….and did I mention there is no place to put these files?

I think I need professional help.

Anyone? Anyone?

Mary Ann Esposito’s new book

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food

Ciao Italia Family Classics: More than 200 Treasured Recipes from 3 Generations of Italian CooksCiao Italia Family Classics: More than 200 Treasured Recipes from 3 Generations of Italian Cooks by Mary Ann Esposito
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It’s by Mary Ann Esposito…what else do you really need to know? Well, here’s one thing: follow her on Facebook: she is quite generous with her tips and recipes!

View all my reviews