Caption for above photo: My husband and I riding our bikes by wheat fields in Poland while a local farmer rambles by on his tractor.
Do you have a Passion?
We all do, now discovering it, that’s the trick! Have you discovered yours? I have. Here’s my “about me” journey.
From Sicilian immigrant family to the American Dream
I am the 3rd generation born in America, descended from my immigrant great grandparents who escaped Sicily’s crushing poverty at the turn of the 20th Century for the American Dream.
So, if descent tells you anything about a person you probably are thinking I love to eat, I talk loudly, I am opinionated, and I use hand gestures a lot! Well, you would be spot-on, but I digress, let’s focus on the ‘I love to eat’ part!
I grew up in a quintessential Italian-American family and community. My family was big, loud, and spent a lot of time together around a table, eating, laughing, and yelling at one another. I appreciate this childhood so much as it gave me an enduring love of good food shared with loving family.
Food was always a huge part of my life as long as I can remember. We gardened and canned our own tomatoes, we made our own tomato sauce, pasta, and my mother baked, oh could she bake!
Besides all the home-cooking we were living in an Italian-American community around Lawrence, Massachusetts where the old ways were still very much alive.
No doubt the Italian immigrants brought their culture with them. Within a few city blocks you could get the most amazing pastries, Italian deli meats, Sicilian tomato and cheese sausage, cookies, cassata (cake), granita (Italian ice, oooh, the almond flavor was my favorite)! And finally, BREAD! Oh, Pappy’s Bakery, do I miss you!
On a Sunday after church we would often go to this neighborhood and make the rounds. Just thinking about the mouth-watering smell of bread when you walk into Pappy’s Bakery is making me hungry. It was a magical place, you could see through the kitchen windows where big machines were whirling around huge balls of bread dough. The baskets behind the counter were full of abundant Italian bread sticks, rounds, ovals, hoagie rolls, etc. This was artisan bread done the artisan way. Delightful and delicious! This is where my love of bread began, how could I not fall in love with food when this was a part of my every day life?
Now, besides the amazing shops that we patronized, my mother baked homemade goodies all the time. Blond brownies, blueberry muffins for breakfast, chocolate chip cookies, banana bread, cheesecake, chocolate chip bundt cake, apple crisp, etc. I remember her Oster mixer just grinding away and knew that there was a bowl to lick in my future. As soon as I was old enough, I begged her – “Let me bake!” Her only rule – Clean the kitchen when done. Fair enough.
My Baking Passion
That’s where my passion started, right there in my mother’s kitchen. She was kind and gracious allowing me into her space to bake, and let’s face it, make a mess like only a 7-year old can do. Thanks Mom for the support and patience!
Fast forward to college – although I could not bake in the dorm, I looked forward to Mom’s care packages of cookies lovingly baked and shipped. Of course, they were broken into bits, but I always joked, “That’s okay, they have less calories that way!!”
The American Dream – Education & Beyond
Then, I started my own career. It would be a wild ride. I graduated Norwich University, Military College of Vermont, and joined the U.S. Army. I was commissioned in the rank of Second Lieutenant. This would set me on an incomparable journey to any woman in my family before me.
I was the first of my Sicilian-American female descendants to move away from the enclave where we grew up. This was a big deal but I knew I needed to pursue my own life. The Army was it! I loved it. It was a pathway to new experiences, language, culture, challenges, heartbreak and triumph. I spent nearly 23 years traveling and learning about other cultures and people. Never did I miss an opportunity to absorb new food experiences as the Army assigned me to a new home every 1-3 years.
- Colorado (Mexican)
- Georgia (smoked barbecue)
- New Orleans (oh my Cajun!),
- Washington D.C. (Lebanese food)
- Bosnia-Herzegovina (borek, cheese stuffed phyllo),
- Poland (pierogi, stews, challah)
- Germany (pretzel bread)
- Iraq (Middle Eastern foods like lamb, flat breads)
- France (French bread, eclairs)
- …and the list goes on!
While on a year-long assignment in Warsaw, Poland, I met my husband. He was born in Toruń, Poland about two hours north of Warsaw where my in-laws still live. Many stories I share are inspired by my travels to his lovely country and charming home where I have spent time with his family over the last 17 years.
My love of food evolved and grew stronger through extensive travel. The flavors, the culture, the way food brings people together, it doesn’t change, but the flavors do! What a world.
Have you ever had a craving?
My most memorable craving is from Iraq. I was deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. It was a war zone and I did not have the ability to cook and certainly could not bake for myself. I remember longing to just bake a tray of chocolate chip cookies. I craved them! I craved the normalcy of getting in a kitchen and baking. The satisfaction of bringing ingredients together, adding heat, savoring the aroma of something baking in the oven, then ultimately, biting into a warm, gooey, chocolately, vanilla-buttery treat! Oh, how I longed for that.
When I retired from the Army, my husband and I decided to move to Colorado where we have now lived for eight years. After moving here, I decided to pursue to my love of baking further by applying my G.I. Bill (thank you American taxpayers for this great program) towards an Associates Degree in Baking and Pastry. That was a glorious time! Indulging my whims in a professional kitchen was pure heaven. The one class that stood out above any other was Breads. After having lived in Europe where I patronized dozens of artisan bakeries, I was missing the flavors of GREAT bread. I discovered how to make that bread and have never looked back. That was it – my passion was fully borne, baking GREAT bread!
Crazy Bread Baking Lady
Over the last 8 years since retiring, I have been pursuing bread, baking it, eating it, pairing it, and sharing it. I started a local cottage industry selling bread at farmers’ markets.
If you feel half the passion I have, you know how immensely satisfying it is to bake up that perfect loaf!
Now I want to help you achieve your bread-baking goals. Thanks for taking the time to read my journey. Join me as I share my passion and vision to bring — GREAT bread for all!
Now that you know all about me, I would love to get to know you. Visit my blog often, leave comments, subscribe to my newsletter. I hope we will be long-time bread-baking soulmates.