The secret ingredient is in the name!

Dear Avia Lovers,

The world needs more than just food to feed itself, it needs Avia's.  Which means grandmothers in Latin. It is not just that the Latin word Avia is a beautiful word with a warm meaning. Latin is like the grandmother of most languages spoken in the Western world.  Imagine your grandmother in your kitchen cooking and filling your heart with love, this is the best way to nourish and refuel yourself physically, mentally and spiritually! The secret recipes are the ones filled with the medicine for a long, happy and peaceful life.  I have been experimenting with various recipes from my Italian mother and from the Italian regions of my roots, all these treasures passed down from my grandmother's!  My mom, Maria, cooks, preserves and bakes everything under the sun and the morning ritual when you wake up in her home is to ask "what's for dinner?"  Growing up she was always in the kitchen preparing our main meal for the day many hours before any of us awoke.  

When I decided to title my blog I knew that the best healing I can share are the recipes of love passed down from our grandmothers, one day I hope to pass these to my grandchildren.  Each grandmother is original with their own stories blended from the soil and circumstances of their life's.  They have come from different times, what seems like different worlds, their experiences are rich in both abundance and in the times of great loss and scarcity.  Each grandmother has passed down their lifetime filled with the ingredients of unique experiences through many generations.   My International student from Shanghai, China tells me that " the flavours of each sour, sweet, bitter and spicy are the idiom for life experience. Our life experience is mixed into each dish while we are cooking."

Cooking dinner was always an all day affair for my mom, with something brewing on the stove to fill with flavour in time for all the family to meet around the table.  I am sure now when I reflect upon my mom's home cooking over the years that she made every traditional dish completely from memory.  My mother brought with her all she had learned before immigrating to Canada.  She arrived without any papers that represented her great skills. We forget that most recipes were passed down by memory from mother to daughter and so on, they were not sourced from any cook book.  Many recipes have been lost over the years, so the ones that remain are a great treasure.  These are the original and authentic meals made from the heart with the hands of time and then and only then are we also able to experience the unique exquisiteness in them! 

 I want to share both my mother's recipes and some of my own creations that express my unique life experiences for you to enjoy.   I hope you will journey with me at Avia's Home Cooking Blog and get ready to roll up your sleeves!


Thank you and Buon Appetito! Mangia

Ciao Tutti

Created & Written by Caterina Alberti
January 4th/2014