Not So Deep Thoughts: Ravioli Dinner 2010

The following is a note I received from my Grandma this week:

My dear Michelle,
I'm so proud of you and all that you do!

Not only did my daughters learn to be excellent cooks and bakers, my granddaugters followed as well! However, you have taken it a step further by planting a veggie garden and canning and pickling, too.

It brings great joy to me to see what you have accomplished.

The ravioli, meatballs, and gravy were delicious. I enjoyed them so much! Thank you!

I am truly blessed to have had you in my life from early childhood.

I'll always love you!

Grandma

I know, right? What an awesome woman. I wanted to record it here not only for historical purposes (I might lose the actual note!), but also to introduce something that this note had me thinking about.

It is now, as an adult, that I can look back and reflect on our family dynamic, and the one thing I see over and over is food. My family LOVES food, and, I think because of this fact, we show our love through food often. I don't have many family memories that don't involve great food, and, admitedly, food is what makes me look forward to family events. Company is a close second. :)

The women in my family are good cooks. My grandma's an excellent cook, as are my mom and aunts, and now I think Lisa, Malia, and I are getting pretty good, too. And we enjoy it. I can't speak for my sisters, but I really and truly love love love to cook. I think my dream job is a personal chef. That, or an international food critic! How great would that be?

It was so fun for my sisters and I to cook for our mother and grandmother, showing off that we were actually paying attention as little girls, watching them make the "flour volcano" filled with eggs. All we were missing was Great Grandma Teresa's pasta board. I hope that we can pass on this tradition to our children as well. They may only be 12.5% Italian, but, dangit, they're going to cook like they were born in Rome!