Healthy Eating

Growing up Italian and traveling to Italy developed in me a very good and healthy palate. Everyday as a child my Mamma would make all her meals from scratch. I vividly remember eating a Primo and Secondo Piatto every day at dinner with the family. The Primo Piatto is the first entree of the meal which always consisted of some grain-based dish such as soup or pasta. We would also have polenta and gnocchi dishes as part of the Primo Piatto. I now love to make homemade soups because of the wonderful soups that my carissima Mamma made for us, her six children such as lentil or minestrone soup. Whenever I now ask my own grown married children what they would like me to  make for them, their response is always .....Minestra! For the Secondo Piatto  which was also always prepared for everyday dinner, not just Sunday ones, consisted of meat, chicken, or fish and a medley of different vegetables that were in season and fresh. My favorite Secondo was  Costolette alla Milanese (Milanese cutlets) accompanied by sautéed broccoli rabe and salad. The food was always fresh, nutritious and delicious! My Papa in America was a humble factory employee unlike in Italy before World War II in which he was the proprietor of a furniture  shop but despite his financial situation, he always made having an abundance of good, healthy food a priority in his home. On Saturdays I would go with him to outdoor markets to get the best produce and fruits and then to the best Italian stores in Chicago to get Italian specialties and other important staples for  my Mamma's unforgettable Italian dishes. Because we had a large family of seven, Papa would find great deals by buying bushelful of fruits and vegetables that my Mamma would then prepare or can. Our dinner table which Papa made because later on, he needed to accommodate my brothers who were married with children. Every Sunday everyone would come for Sunday dinner at one o'clock. The meal was always the same: a primo of pasta in meat sauce (sugo alla bolognese) and a secondo piatto of meatballs and other meats , sautéed greens and salad. Fruit followed by a special pastry with espresso always ended the meal. Wine and Italian bread was always another important part of the meal which had a special connection to our Catholic faith. I remember times at the table (A Tavola) with great tenderness and fondness. I have such a passion for eating healthy and feeding my family in a healthy way because of the full and intimate gastronomic experience I had eating in my Papa and Mamma's loving home. Now that I have tried to emulate them in their cooking and feeding their family, I realize what a labor of love and sacrifice it was for my loving and aging immigrant parents to provide such extraordinary meals for us  everyday of  their lives until they could not due to old age. I am totally indebted to them for teaching me  the art of eating healthy and scrumptious and delectable food. I also learned that my body is a temple of God that I need to safeguard from foreign objects such as too much fast food, GMO's, excessive salt and sugar and as of late, from genetically modified foods. Thinking about eating in my parent's home especially during my adolescence conjures up hundreds of  warm and intimate memories that stimulate to this day long after my carissimi parents' passing all of my senses and makes me so thankful for growing up Italian. I am very grateful to my carissimi genitori, Armando and Vittoria Giannese for teaching and inspiring me how to eat with immense love for good and healthy eating, reverence for quality not quantity and vast appreciation for eating healthy. In an American society that now produces unhealthy food for consumers, it becomes more and more difficult to cook as my Italian parents taught me and this saddens and worries me for  the health and welfare of my children and my grandchildren. We must as responsible citizens of this great land demand from our government that nutrition and good eating be promoted and protected.

il Mio Pranzo Italiano Domenicale (My Italian Sunday Dinner)

When my family celebrates a special day , event or milestone, I quickly begin to plan an Italian Dinner that will unite us all together  for that special day. My dinner generally or almost always reflects my Italian Mamma's Italian Sunday "Pranzo"that I had every single Sunday when I was a child. and even after I was married my husband and I would religiously go to my parent's house to have "Il Pranzo Domenicale" with the rest of my siblings (5 brothers) and their families) . For thirty years of my life I remember only one Sunday when my Mamma did not prepare Sunday dinner when she was ill. For the other ten years before she died at 78 years of age, Mamma would at times cry because she could not make her family the traditional Italian Sunday Dinner because she could not remember the recipes she had made hundreds of other times for us due to her degenerating disease of Altzeimer's and Parkinson's. Now, in honor and in memory of her, Vittoria Giannese, I lovingly try to continue to make meals as she did but certainly, not as naturally, as flawlessly, and as perfectly as she did but as lovingly as she did. I could never prepare meals on every Sunday as she did because I was a teacher and I could barely put a casual meal on the table on Sundays with all of the multitude of things to do on Sundays getting ready for another work week. As a French and Italian high school teacher, I would have six hours or more of paper correction alone. I want to parenthetically say that that does not diminish what my Mamma did but contrastively, augments.and distinguishes her selfless giving in this way to her large Famiglia. Infact, it must be noted that my Mamma made  dinners from scratch , not with processed but real food always,with a "Primo"and "Secondo" every single day. We never went to a restaurant until I was married. When I think back to all of these memories growing up Italian by Italian immigrant parents, I feel so grateful and blessed to have had such a childhood especially when I see how many of my students and children today come from so many broken and dysfunctional   homes. That is not to say that we did not have  our problems but  our faith, our family and our food kept us strong and well grounded. Before I begin to describe what a "Pranzo" would consist of, it must be stated that missing a Sunday "Pranzo" at Papa e Mamma 's was like missing Sunday Mass for me personally. I did not want to dishonor or disrespect my parents ever.!

Well, let's  get started in describing how I plan "Un Pranzo Italiano". First,  I decide on an Antipasto or food that comes before the meal such as Foccaccia with an array of cheeses and deli cuts such as Mortadella, Prosciutto Cotto or Salame all thinly cut and creatively folded on my Bellissimo Italian ceramic plate with "Sottoaceto" and "Sottolio" bowls surrounding the meats. Next, il "Primo Piatto" is served such as fresh Tagliatelle with Bolognese sauce or a Tuscan Ribollita soup with the freshest greens and vegetables in it all drizzled with the best extra-virgin olive oil  and the king of all cheeses as Mario Batalli would say....PARMIGIANO REGGIANO  freshly grated on top! The next part of the "Pranzo" is the "Secondo Piatto" which might be Veal alle Scaloppine with mushrooms and a "Contorno"  (side-dish) of roasted potatoes with fresh rosemary and sautéed broccoli rabe in garlic and EVOO. Certamente, select Italian wines complement each part of the meal such as a San Giovese  from  Emiglia Romagna or a Pinot Grigio from Friuli. To end "Il Bel Pranzo" I would perhaps begin with a dilectable "Macedonia"  (fresh fruit in season cut in small bite-size pieces with a touch of lemony sweetness, followed by a semi-freddo gelato with biscotti and mini Italian pastries accompanied by an espresso and digestive or Italian liqueur such as Amaretto di Saronno to aid the digestion of the sumptuous but wholesome meal." Acqua" wih lemon slices would also be served throughout the meal as well as  "Buonissimo"  Italian  rustic bread. Bread and Wine (Pane e Vino) must always be present  to symbolize  the Christian sacrificial meal of The Lord.

In essence, "Il Pranzo Domenicale" for me through my Catholic and Italian upbringing is a sacred tradition that was truly a gift to me by my dear parents all through my childhood which I remember so fondly that I want to continue replicating it to the best of my ability for my "Famiglia."  I now know that it is just not an Italian tradition but one that stems from the Christian civilization. Daniel Rabourdin states in his "Theology of the Table" that " the family meal is a sacred custom with a real beginning and a real end."  I agree with him that we have to treasure and maintain this social activity and bring it back to our families. I truly believe that if we begin serving our families at the table nightly or as regularly as we can, we will be able to heal little by little our brokenness in our families in this  very secular, relativistic and materialistic world. As Father Peyton said, " A family that prays together stays together." But I would add also that a family that prays and eats together, stays together,

BUON APPETITO!

TWO ORIGINS OF MY HOPE

My blog began with the intention to present all of the hopeful messages and contributions that come from Italy and its civilization and culture but now two years later and after a few challenges and sufferings in my life, I find myself talking more about my greatest hope which comes from Christ and my Catholic faith. I also now realize that my Catholic faith and my Italian cultural upbringing are often times inextricably linked. For example, the Eucharistic banquet of bread and wine ( the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass) which is the true body,blood, soul and divinity of Christ which was instituted at the Last Supper can be tied to my daily family suppers which always included bread and wine at the table when I was a child growing up in an Italian home of first generation Italian immigrants. The Eucharist  at mass was my spiritual sustenance as bread and wine at home for supper was part of my corporeal sustenance. Both the earthly and more importantly, the heavenly food fed me like a queen with the best quality of spiritual and bodily nourishment I could ever receive! When I was born my dear Papa wrote a rhyme on a cake which he brought to the hospital which said: "E nata la Regina e la chiameremo Dorina."  (A queen has been born to us and we will call her Dorina.)
Dorina means "little golden one" in Italian but from its Greek and Latin origins, it means  "gift of God". I feel so humble knowing that, but the greatest gift of God to me was sending His only Son, Jesus Christ to give me the greatest hope, that of bringing me eternal life. If we choose Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we can be saved and  receive His true presence  when we receive communion at daily or Sunday Mass or when we go to adore Him at Eucharistic Adoration. If people only knew what the sacrifice of the Mass and Eucharistic Adoration really are......as Heaven on this Earth, we would all fall to our knees in Thanksgiving to God for these most precious gifts. Eucharist means"Thanksgiving". Mass which is the highest form of prayer for Catholics is where I can humbly thank God for sending His only Son to atone for all of my sins.

In future posts I will be talking about other subjects that reflect a spiritual and cultural tie that came to me through grace,experience, wisdom, and knowledge of my Italian and Catholic heritage. The topics are endless and I am excited to continue to talk to you about the two topics of my Italian and Catholic heritages that are now converging to be present in this blog of mine under the overriding theme of HOPE/LA SPERANZA.

Hope Through Difficulties

We want to be self-reliant but we need to take an introspective look and ask for help if we are suffering. Jesus offers us hope so that we can be free. We need to be able to feel and express what we feel whether it is pain,failure or anxiety. We need to look at ourselves and not repeat the same thing or be defensive. When we are suffering, it is a sign to let God in. Be at peace with your self-evaluation and then get help. We are made to work with others. Our crosses draw us near to God so God allows difficulties so that we can get closer to Him. Jesus wants us to come in to our place of wounding and when we are filled with Him then we can  be healed and resolve our problems with strength, hope, determination,drive, and perseverance.
We cannot fix things on our own. We need to be resourceful and use strategies and get help from others as we help others when they need us.
We cannot deny our difficulties. We have to work through them and we need to persevere. We need to be humble and be at peace. In this way, the virtues of the Holy Spirit will be with us with more joy, peace, trust, hope, and courage. We need to have a growth mindset not a fixed mindset in order to succeed or to overcome our obstacles, to never give up! When we fall down in our difficulties and suffering, we need to use it as a process of healing and grace and try again in moving forward little by little.
Galatians 5:22
We need to process our difficulties and sufferings and we can begin to discover and heal them.
Others  can make it through others who have experienced what you have experienced so they can help you better because they have been there where you are at. That  holy person can be a contagion to you.  You can be a Eucharist to others and they can be a Eucharist to you. To doubt is OK to fear is OK. God is always working in us .Life is a process of healing and God's plan will provide continual hope and healing through His grace. To lose hope is a sin. But God does hear the cry of the poor and we must stay strong.
We need to go forward with joy and hope through our challenges of life.

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You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.

1 Thessalonians 1-5

Prayer Font of Hope

Prayer is the basis of Hope! Turning to my Catholic faith through the Blessed Mother,devotions and novenas, the communion of Saints,the Bible, Eucharistic Adoration, the Sacraments with the Eucharist as the summit of Catholicism helps me to focus on the promise of Heaven as I go through the joys but especially the trials and tribulations of life. Being Ill is not a punishment or our fault. God  can use it for His glory. By God's power we are made strong from our weakness. God can use our sufferings for His glory. My prayer life  guides everything I do and sustains my faith with  courage, perseverance and most importantly,with  HOPE. My personal relationship with Christ is an ongoing journey that continues to grow especially through the greatest prayer of all...the blessed sacrifice of the mass.  The everlasting love that God has for me and for all of humanity is what sustains me and gives me inexhaustible hope.The Blessed Mother is my intercessor to Jesus through the praying of the rosary daily.  So, the theological virtue of Hope which inspires my every thought and deed springs forth first and foremost from God through unceasing prayer.

 1 Thessalonians 5:17, St. Paul “Pray without ceasing”.  

O Jesus,

through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,

I offer You my prayers, works,

joys and sufferings

of this day for all the intentions

of Your Sacred Heart,

in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

throughout the world,

in thanksgiving for your favors,

in reparation for my sins,

for the intentions of all my relatives and friends,

and in particular

for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen.

Prayer found in Catholic Exchange .com