On Sundays, the shops close early. Except for the morning farmers market where everyone is out greeting each other Buongiorno, buying fresh seasonal produce for their big meal of the week, meeting for cappuccini, it is very quiet in Guardia.
I have been fortunate on many occasions to be invited as a guest at Adelina's for Sunday Pranzo. Lina is a traditional Nonna, she cooks everything by hand, from pasta to cheese, breads, salumis, limoncello and her famous cheesecake. She grows her own tomatoes to make passato by hand or sun dried tomatoes that she collects and dries on a basket mat that her great grandmother used. There is eggplant for melanzane parmagiana, zucchine flowers to be stuffed with Lina's own ricotta, squash for roasting with her potatoes and peppers also for stuffing. The olive oil for dipping her stone ground semolina flour bread comes from her olive orchards and her wines come from her vineyards. I love Sundays at Lina's.
On many occasions I organized group lunches and dinners for some of my guests so we can taste the wines and experience good classic Italian cooking by Lina, who also teaches cooking classes where we learn to make pasta by hand.
I asked Lina to please put together a nice Sunday lunch for me. Surely she was cooking for her family who visits from Rome on the weekends. Even though we could not be together in person, i have been looking forward to her cooking for 6 months.
When I heard that 3 other Americans also arrived and had to do 14 days of quarantine, I thought about hiring Lina to prepare and deliver lunch for all of us. Everyone loved Lina's cooking, we used to always have lunch at her home and remembered her spreads during Vinalia, which we will also miss this year, since we are confined at home. This would be a good opportunity to help each other. With very few tourists coming this year, budgets will be tight.
Lina and I worked on a menu, after I got everyone's food preferences and dietary restictions she came up with: Antipasti of melenzane parmigiana, stuffed peppers, zucchini proscuitto rollups. Handmade Pasta alla bolognese, roast pork with roasted potatoes, peppers and squash from her garden. garden fresh tomatoes and cucumber salad and her famous cheesecake for desert. Accompanied by some of her fresh baked semolina flour bread, a bottle of her own olive oil and a bottle of red wine. You know, the usual, she said.
Everyone was very excited and getting hungry as I kept us up to the moment on Messenger with photos Lina sent from her kitchen. The meals were delivered by Adelina and her son, Amedeo, in sweet picknic baskets. She also included and a bag of fresh fruit and veggetables from her garden. What a feast, we have enough to eat for days!
When I called Lina to tell her how happy everyone was, I started to feel my heart expand and tears poured down my face. Its amazing how the flavors of home, mixed with the distinct smells in the air brought on a flood of memories of my life in Italy and in this medieval village. With everything changing in the US, and the realization that nothing will ever be the same. I felt the stress of the past 6 months finally leave my body. I didn't realize how tense and fearful I was, so afraid I would not make it back home to Guardia for at least another year! I just couldnt believe I was really here until this meal and it brought me back home with the bite of pasta alla bolognese.
When I thanked her, I started to cry, I was so emotional. I shared my appreciation for all she does, that living the way she lives is rare and something to be cherished. Im not sure she sees her way of life as a priveledge, the way I do. The truth is everyone should be living this way, close to the earth, in harmony with nature. I am so grateful to say Italy is my heart's home and I followed my heart home.
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