“Life is a combination of magic and pasta.” – Federico Fellini
I have always loved cooking for those I love. I think there is nothing more generous than cooking for and breaking bread with those that make your heart zing. Sitting around a long table with loved ones and good conversation, while enjoying nourishing food, not only feeds our bodies but it feeds our souls and our life force as well.
I have always had a vision of Stephen’s 70th birthday in Tuscany. We rent a villa for a month and friends and family come and go. I have always seen a long wooden table covered with Italian linens underneath an olive tree where every evening we gather and enjoy something local and fresh from the farmers market, and of course a little local wine.
Sure there will be jaunts to Rome and Lake Como, but mainly we will stay put and live life as a local.
Thanks to “MY” firemen, that trip will indeed happen.
(Yes, now they are “mine.” Just like Mount Hood is “my” mountain. Well, on second thought, I did meet and thoroughly enjoy their wives, so I digress.)
For dinner, I attempted to make a delicious two-day Bolognese as heart healthy as possible, which actually made it a three-day Bolognese to skim off all the fat. Which was lovely and relaxing actually.
For dessert, I wanted to make pies since my grandmother taught me how to make crust and because anything with her energy signals love to me. *Stephen skipped the pie and ate smaller portions of this meal.
Everyone seemed content and not focused on the food but on one another, as it should be.
Ah, the importance of gathering around, coming together, and Conscious Cooking…..
I was very aware when I was cooking that I was making a meal for loved ones. I was in such gratitude that I could be cooking for such a joyous night to celebrate my best friend being alive and the men who saved him.
I took my time and I savored the process, which made for a very simple, enjoyable gathering. When our guests arrived, I asked for help and made everyone a part of the process.
We gathered around ..….
Firehouse Pot Roast Bolognese
Butter Lettuce with Pear Gorgonzola & Walnuts
Fat Free Sour Cream Dinner rolls
Apple pie, Marionberry Pie With Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
And……… lots of Italian Barbella red wine
It was a beautiful night for my family, one we will never forget. We plan to make this an annual evening with new friends who have become family.
My fifteen-year-old son carter was so inspired by Lieutenant Paramedic Mike Thorne, Engineer Paramedic Shawn Suing, Firefighter Paramedic Dan Hastie, and Firefighter Paramedic Michael Doty, that he declared the very next morning,“ I want to do in the world what these men did for our family,”…. And indeed he wants to become a firefighter/paramedic.
Way Cool.
Bon Appetite and Namaste!
Conscious Gratitude: A Supper With Heart, Part 1
