If ever you have searched for a sure-fire ‘recipe’ to open a topic of conversation, try asking someone about their favorite childhood foods.  But I must warn you.  Prepare yourself:  Grab a cup of coffee, settle into a comfortable chair, or snug up to the kitchen table because you are headed for a most passionate journey.  Immediately, the fondest of memories will rise to the surface—moments of delight of holidays past, favorite foods, cherished traditions and beloved family stories will all bubble forth.  And before you know it, he or she will jump up, eyes bright with excitement, rush to the kitchen cupboard and return with a favorite recipe card clutched in hand.  “Here it is,” will be the exclamation.  And there, all smudged with past efforts, will be the proof of a favorite recipe worthy of sharing.  With arms flailing and mixing motions sweeping the air, the culinary treasure will be rattled off to you, along with a chorus of laughter and stories shared about times of days past.

    As a retired family therapist with a not-so-uncommon love of good food and travel, I challenged myself to search for stories in both Italy and France. Beginning with the simple desire to learn more about “family” through culture and tradition, I asked each person—no matter their age—to tell me about their favorite foods.  The above scenario was repeated for me time and again.  I was not only invited into the warmth of their kitchens to sample the best of their traditional foods, but was served, as a side dish, the most amazing of stories.  Yes, some folklore; some myth; but always with an element of truth mixed in with a pinch of humor and offered graciously as if on a platter.

It was a most delectable journey I embarked on a number of years ago and it is one that I continue today.  And so you will find in the writings that I offer you through my website, an ‘amuse-bouche,’ so to speak—a small compilation of recipes, stories and anecdotes to whet your appetite for the books to come.

My book(s) yet to be published are entitled, Savoring the Olde Ways: Italian-Style; Savoring the Olde Ways: French-Style; and Savoring the Olde Ways: Provençe-Style.