In memory of..

         Nothing helps the heart heal like the comfort of family, friends, and food. I'm an Italian, and in our culture, part of the healing process and coping with grief is to eat. I remember hesitantly having to attend funerals when I was younger, that were always followed by a gigantic family meal. Basically you ate yourself into a food coma.
        Grief is a terrible thing to deal with, and nothing can ease the loss of someone you love. So why whenever someone passes on do people bring food? I've always been a comfort food eater. I joke with people constantly that I'm going to eat my feelings, but I believe that some people actually do this when something traumatic happens. I also believe it helps.
        Whenever I cook food for people I believe the emotion you are feeling transfers into the food you are cooking, and that's part of the reason that I think you should always cook from the heart. I try to offer everyone who comes into my home a good meal. I have the fondest memories of being a child and sitting in the kitchen watching my mom and dad prepare whatever we were going to eat. The laughs and tears I have had around that table cannot be replaced by anything.
      All of these memories are ones that I will treasure for the rest of my life. I have lost grandparents, and friends and nothing can ease that pain. I know it will never go away. But the meals we have shared, and the memories we've created are the gifts they have left with me. I cherish those memories everyday and it keeps their presence in my life alive. It is always important to take time out to honor the ones we have loved, and the ones we have lost, and to remember they are still with us in some way, whether it be sharing a story, or cooking a meal that you once shared together. Their memory lives on in our hearts, and that's where it can live on forever.


In memory of Florence Gilmour