Granpa Loved to Cook - Moving Forward & Sharing Papa's Legacy

I’ve pulled back from posting a while as our family heals from tremendous loss…as we learn to keep going while the holes in our hearts the size of Papa remain. Almost a month since Dad’s passing – peacefully & after the tender loving care of Mom (his forever love & High School sweetie). He’s a huge part of our family story, of who I am as a person, but was also a private man. We respected that. His illness a very tiny portion of his full life – he was so much more to us… the soul of our family, a proud “girl Dad” + Granpa to his “six” adoring grandkiddies. He leaves a legacy of goodness & spirit of unwavering generosity…and sarcasm + inappropriate jokes…just a really cool guy with a big heart. We’ll miss him immensely & honour him forever…until we meet again

Parenting while losing a parent has sure brought into clear focus what truly matters. Anticipatory grief of watching Papa slowly slip away the last few years changed me in ways losing someone so enormous & irreplaceable can.

I’m getting sorted on what is deserving of my time, but also have an unshakable knowing of what & who counts most after end of life walks through your world. For now, small projects at a slower pace, healing, old school Summer momming & appreciating the simple joys of mundane times are enough to beyond fill our days. Heartwork IS the hard work…and it’s all-consuming but necessary…grief the final, inevitable phase of love

Our family is so appreciative of those who extended genuine love & acts of kindness as we move through this heartache. It won’t soon be forgotten

Restoring spirits after a loss so immense will take time, I know, and I’m honoring my energy and what I can reasonable tend to right now. But also wanting to return to things that bring joy. Sharing simple family meals with you, our loyal readers, is one of those things. Dad was the inspo behind our food focus here. He was an exceptional cook of Italian culinary – skills he learned by helping his Mom (my Nonna) in la Cucina growing up – and anyone who had the privilege of trying his dishes could taste his passion and attention to ideal flavour. Gathering people around our table for family-style, homemade feasts was his specialty, and one of the things we loved most about him.

In fact, several years ago [to his initial annoyance ;)]Mom set up a blog “Granpa Loves to Cook” to share his most-loved dishes – regional fare from the Ciociaria area of Italy (within the region of Lazio situated between Rome and Naples). He warmed up to it and loved giving his grandkids pasta tutorials while Mom snapped pics for posts. He’s a “from scratch” (“quanto basta”, as the Italians say) cook, so lots of recipes have his tips more so then precise ingredient quantities. Mom is the ghost-writer and did her best to capture the essence of each dish, while trying not to disturb the chef 😉 Mom has already prepared a rough draft of Dad’s cookbook, and creating a polished copy is a project our family will start pouring our hearts into in the coming months.

I have some delicious recipes in drafts I look forward to sharing with you all in the weeks ahead, and it’s felt good to get back to cooking some of our family’s traditional dishes – this past weekend, Papa’s Fiori di Zuca Fritti (Fried Zucchini Flowers) & Zucchini Parmigiana after a local farm fresh veggie haul.

Keep well, eat well & love the good people in your life with all you’ve got