As I looked at my bread crumb covered hands the morning of Thanksgiving, I saw my mother’s hands. They were mine, but they were also my mother’s. There they were, the wrinkles, the veins, the egg and crumbs stuck together from my fingertips to my rings. It was beautiful. The memory of my mother’s hands rushed in and filled my heart with warmth. How many times did I see as a young child my mother’s hands covered in sticky bread crumbs? The vision of my mother standing in front of her modest kitchen stove with a plate of egg and a plate of bread crumbs next to it…my mother in her apron (that I have now and wear at times) is as though it was yesterday…

The memories never fade. From chicken, to carrdones (a plant we used to drive on Sundays to find in the woods that only my mother could spot and as trained back seat viewers learned to spot) to eggplant…oh just delicious…If it was chicken she was covering, that usually meant we were headed for a day trip to the beach.

So this led me to the thought of “The People in my Kitchen”….Over the years, and just recently on December 17th, (hosting OUR national cookie day) I have had the privilege of having so many pass through my kitchen and cook, visit, talk, watch while I cook, I watch while they perform a task and cook….From my mother in law and her husband learning the art of artichoke preparation to my son in laws brining and carving the turkey, making the gravy or their favorite dishes…it has left me humbled to find that my kitchen has made all those that have been in my kitchen feel so comfortable….This is the kitchen where my husband has perfected his delicious home made rolls and where my uncle taught me how to really mince garlic, chop herbs and cut an onion without too many tears…to my grandchildren knowing where everything is kept and how to freely help themselves.

Memories are fresh in my mind. The warmth remains forever in my heart and in my kitchen as I pass by and cook and look at my crumb covered hands. So here is to the warmth of the kitchen because of the people who are in it and who have yet to visit…

Ciao,

NONNI