Tuesday: Soup with Side o’ Fruitcake
October 13, 2017
Sunday Bagel Sponges
May 14, 2018

Stories told at My Mother's Recipe

 

Angelo's Granddaughter

Breadcrumbs, oregano, eggs, and garlic

As a dietitian, you may assume I’m going to give you a food-related story about how amazing salmon is for reducing inflammation, or how eating more plants is the key to living a long life.

Instead, I’m going to go another route. As the granddaughter of Angelo Cagliostro – a beautiful man who was born and raised in Calabria, Italy – I grew up with a ton of homemade cooking. The seven fishes on Christmas Eve were a necessity. Pasta was a staple. Green veggies absolutely had a consistent place on our table. And meatballs were always plenty. Oftentimes when Grandpa was over, we would make the meatballs together. He would instruct me what on what to add into the mixture – breadcrumbs, oregano, egg, garlic, and some extra secret add ins – and after combining evenly, together, we would roll them into little meatballs. The homemade marinara sauce made it complete (always had extra in the freezer, of course!). The memory of creating that meal with my grandfather will never leave me. Going to his house and cooking them was always such a treat as well. He loved to stew them with sausage and serve over some penne pasta with a side of broccoli rabe and spinach– there’s really nothing better if you ask me.

What we eat undoubtedly has an impact on how we live – our health, our longevity and our mind. But I do believe that social interaction and support, making these types of memories and building those relationships, is likely even more important than we can even truly imagine.

Lauren Kelly

2018 April 29