My dear Shalane...

I miss you! I miss you always but tonight I'm remembering how much fun we used to have on our sleepovers, and how much you took care of me when I really needed someone. You're such a lovely person and my life feels a little less cool without you in it over here on the west coast. Here are a few pictures of a few things I've been up to! Wishing you were here to share these moments with us!!!

 Healthy pick-me-up breakfasts on your old placemats....

Potato bacon soup at the pub!

Peanuts at the "peanut pub".... 

Poutine!!!!!

Crispy, sweet, delicious sweet potato frites! 

Picnics.....

With this view! 

Chile cheese dogs for the superbowl! 

Nutella on toast for Valentines day! 

Alcoholic beverages with friends....

Trying new things, like this DELICIOUS jalapeno bacon quesadilla....

Salty treats on our fat days <3

Discovering "broccoflower" with Nicole...

And delicious fish and chips....

I hope to see you again, Laney. You're such a wonderful friend and a wonderful person, and I miss you here!!!!!!!!

Hopefully I'll be baking soon so I'll put up some more pics then!!

I LOVE YOU!

xoxo

Jess (and of course Paul, and your godson Sir Digby Chicken Caesar Sutlow) 

xooxxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxooxox

Bella, look what I made!!

I love making cupcakes. Something about them always puts a smile on my face. 

For these little guys, I blended together cocoa powder (about 1.5 tbsp), icing sugar (enough to thicken the icing so that it would stick to a spoon) and butter (about 1/2 cup). Then, I topped them off with a swirl drizzle of caramel sauce. The cake batter was a little too muffin-y for my liking... so I will save the white vanilla cake recipe for when it is improved. Even though I didn't fall madly in love with the batter... the icing was magical and I think that the cupcakes are pretty darn cute.

I want to share a few photos with you and my dear bella Jessica. I have a feeling that she is going to be very proud of me when she finds out that I made them all by myself (I avoided adding sprinkles, so that I wouldn't risk accidentally spilling them all down the sink hehe). Jessica, I am missing you and all of our baking days and foodie nights!! Big hugs for you, Paul, and Digby!!

Have a positively sweet evening everybody,

<3 Shalane

Happy thanksgiving to one and all!

Ah, thanksgiving. A wonderful time of year! Well, two wonderful times. The Canadian version (that recently took place) and the American version (that has yet to happen). What does thanksgiving make you feel? What memories are connected to this wonderful time of year for you? And what is your favourite thing to eat? (Obviously, the latter is the most important question of all)....

This year, I spent thanksgiving with my wonderful family at the KOA in Lynden, WA. My parents love it there, the people that own it are warm and friendly, and we always have a chance to spend time with my awesome cousins Lori, Angelo, and Nikki, and our newer friends, the Morehouse clan. It's such a fun time! Not only do we have an opportunity to go outlet shopping, but there are some serious good times to be had. The KOA is a great campground that is always really clean and where the people are always friendly, they have themed parties and movie nights all summer long, and there is a super cool pool that has specific hours where it's ONLY for adults. Amazing! It's good fun! We had a great dinner this year; the KOA ladies roasted FIVE DELICIOUS turkeys to share with all of the guests, and we were asked to bring something to contribute. I, of course, brought delicious chocolate spice cupcakes....and they were a hit! I will post the pictures of the cupcakes up once they finish downloading, and will put up the recipes for both the cupcake and the buttercream! Moist chocolate, cinnamon and nutmeg spice buttercream....they were really, really good. Mom and dad made their classic "ai-oyo" which is super-"Canades" for pasta (most commonly, spaghetti) with an aglio (garlic) and olio (olive oil) sauce. They also thrown in little bits of anchovies and hot peperoncino flakes....I think they are famous at the KOA for making their aioyo. Just ask Lor! Or 319.....but I digress!!!!!

See here for more information on this delicious pasta dish: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aglio_e_Olio

Thanksgiving......is situated in the most beautiful of the 4 seasons...where the leaves start to turn orange and bright red....where the air is cool and you can start to see your breath. I, for one, am thankful for roasted sweet potatoes. They are one of my favorite things. My husband will argue that the best thing about thanksgiving is the fact that you can make turkey sandwiches the next day. I might argue that that's the SECOND best thing about thanksgiving. Cold cranberry sauce and chunky slices of turkey on thick white toast. Man. oh. Man. I think I know why "Sunday roast" is so popular in the UK now....thanksgiving every sunday? Yes please!

What are you thankful for? I'm thankful for every opportunity I have to grow. I love learning, I love learning about different cultures and languages and learning about people and friendships and flowers and bugs and I LOVE learning about food! I take every day as a learning experience, and in my 24.75 years of life, I have learned to learn well. I am thankful for these opportunities to grow as a person, to grow in wisdom, and to grow in my places in my own life, and my place in the life of others. I am thankful for my wonderful husband, for without him, sometimes I wonder where I would be! He's a wise soul....who always seems to know better than myself, and for his love and his wisdom, and for his unconditional, unwavering support, I am eternally grateful. I am grateful for his wonderful family, my mother and father-in-law, my "sis" Emma, and my "bro" Ian and their wonderful families...and of course, the kooky Moretti bunch (and all of it's extensions.....@Bruni familia, @Panetti familia....etc....etc.....etc......). I come from a crazy brood, and you know only recently in life did I realize that the reason why they are so crazy is because they just all love each other so damn much. We also love to scream. We're Italian, and it's pretty much the only way we know how to communicate! I am grateful for my mother, for my father, and for all the sacrifices they make, and for their patience and love, and for my brother, and all the siblings I've known and loved all my life from all the countries in the world. I am particularly grateful for our new puppy Sir Digby Chicken Caesar Sutlow (bonus points to people who know where that name comes from!), who just turned 1 year old on the 14th of October!!! He brings us such joy!! 

I'm grateful for my Shalaney-bug, and for all that she inspires me to do in my life! She is the girl who always makes me smile. She will never break my heart <3. I am grateful for my dear friend Brennen, for my raptor pals (who I don't see all that often, but who still have a special place in my heart) and for all of my wonderful mentor-friends.....those of you who have been instrumental in supporting me through my educational path...and those of you who always steer me in the right direction. I am grateful for all of my friends....for the position they allow me into their lives, and for the confidence they show by having me by them in moments of trial and tribulation, and in moments of love and joy. 

(She's going to kill me for posting that picture of us but it reminds me of SUCH good times!)

Every day in life is a classroom, and a chance to learn something new. I'm working on a wonderful cake for my dear friends' son's 1st birthday, and can't wait to work with a new recipe! I'm learning every day, things about my family, things about my friends, and every day gives me the chance to be grateful for one more thing. 

Happy belated thanksgiving to all my wonderful Canadian followers and friends, and a preemptive happy thanksgiving to all of my American pals. Eat, drink, and be merry! 

xo

Jessica

Thank Goodness for Family Magic Soup

Hi everyone,

It has been quite awhile since my last post. I am really, really, very sorry! Life got busy, as usual, and time slipped away on me. But, I am back! And, I promise to stick around for awhile this time!

Over the past couple of months, I finished my degree, moved provinces and started a new job! It has been quite an adventure and, 5 extra pounds later, life is still great! As always, I am a lucky girl and I am so, so, so happy!

Today, I want to share a delicious soup recipe with you. I promise you that it is good till the last drop! I was having lunch with my parents today, and my dad, being the amazing cook that he is, whipped this up for us like it was no big deal. I couldn't believe my taste-buds. Real magic was happening in that bowl. I swear! Anyway, I have decided to call this one, "Thank Goodness for Family Magic Soup".

On a semi-unrelated note, the following photo is PG rated: I would like to take a moment to share with the world the fact that my parents still make-out on a regular basis. They are like two teenagers in love. It is so adorable! They truly have the most incredible relationship. They are each others' best friends AND they make each other so ridiculously happy. Every time they look at each other, it is like they are falling in love all over again. No need for watching chick flicks. This is what real love looks like, people:

Now on to the soup making business:

Ingredients: Vermicelli noodles, beef broth, Pho beef noodle soup mix, chopped white onion, meat or tofu of your preference, basil, hoisin sauce, hot sauce

All this adorable family time and delicious soup made my heart smile today!

I promise you that this soup is absolutely slurp-tastic. Share it with your families for an afternoon of magical happy hearts and stomachs!

Have a great night,
Shalane <3

An Ode to the Dinner Table

Tonight, hungry followers, I have decided to pay due homage to a wonderful staple that can be found in nearly every single persons home. This is a place unlike any other in the home. Sure, we all bathe, we all brush our teeth, we all sleep, we all get dressed, we all wash the dishes, we all watch T.V. and play on the computer, and we all take a moment to stare outside a window that frames our favorite views. But there is one place in the house where magic is made, where people come together to pray, to celebrate food, to be together, to share stories and laughter, and that place my friends, is the dinner table. 

The dinner table is where I have made friends, ended friendships, reunited with far away family, been made to feel like family, and where I have celebrated some of the most wonderful, beautiful times of my life. It is also where some of my most passionate arguments have taken place with my family. It's where my brother nearly lodged an oak chair into my back, where I told my mother that I hated her, and where I challenged my fathers authority more than once. It is from where plates when crashing, glasses went flying, and cutlery went soaring. There are so many wonderful experiences that I've been through at a table. Just this summer, I had all of my friends and family from far and wide at one long table (as you can see in the photographs below) behind my house. The English invaded! And what a wonderful invasion it was. We ate, we drank, and we caught up. It meant more than words can say to have all of our most valued family members and friends at the same table. Barbecue and beer.....can you think of anything better? 

I remember every single time I left for Italy, my grandmother would call to ask what I wanted for dinner when I arrived at her house. The answer was always "pastina con brodo"....little pasta in homemade chicken broth. Always. That meal always put me straight into the swing of things, put me to sleep, allowed me to relax and feel like I was finally in the right place. At that table I had years of fresh killed chicken, fresh plucked eggs from the chicken coop, fresh Italian cheese, homemade pasta in homemade sauce, delicious olives, soft oven baked bread.....it almost makes my heart hurt to think about how much I miss the feeling of sitting at that dinner table. Bacon straight from the pig that was killed that winter, salad from the garden, carrots so fresh and orange that they almost glow. One of my fondest memories at that dinner table was staying up nearly all night once with my grandmother taking beans out of their shell for drying. We talked, but I mean really talked. About her life, about her marriage, her children, her loves, her hates. I feel like that night my grandmother showed me a side she had been longing to show me for ages. She just needed the right time and place. At the dinner table, when it was just us two.

I have also experienced wonderful reunions at dinner tables, beers and appetizers with my friend Stephen when he comes home from being at sea for ages. The last time, we had the privilege of having his wonderful brother Tom with us as well. No one makes us laugh like Steve! A coffee date at JJ with Leah, dinner at Patrick and Justine's, greek and/or steak with Brandi and Chris, buns and deli meats with the Machado/Woods clan on Sundays, breakfasts after a walk of shame, awkward first dates over coffee, dinners catching up with cousins who don't have the chance to see one another as much as they would like...laughter and tears....BOTH thanks to my wonderful cousin Andrea, who makes me laugh so hard sometimes it hurts! Think about the last few times you have been at the table with someone, or on your own. Were you celebrating someone's love? Someone's life? Someone's passing? Someone's birth? 

What a wonderful place, the dinner table. What a wonderful place where people can be together in their love and in their panic and stress and fear. What a wonderful place to share stories and love and tenderness and kisses! What a wonderful place where memories are made, where children's drawings take life, where cakes are decorated, where items are fixed, where music is written, and where fruit ripens! 

Take a moment in the next week to treasure the time that you have with loved ones at the place where you share food and break bread. 

The following are a few pictures of my some of my favorite moments at a table. I hope they bring as much joy to you as they do to me.

Spicy pasta on the Arno river:

Dinners with SHALANE <3

Lunch with my zio and zia in Paterno......homemade EVERYTHING!

Drinks with my new friends....

First trip to comicon!

The table where I met my husband the night after this photo was taken...

Where I learned to play dungeons and dragons...

Windmill creation on our first camping trip together...

When my husband asked me to be his girlfriend...

 Pizza in Celano with my cousin....

Seeing Marta off when she left for her first year in Medical school!

Christmas lunch in Italy with my brother...

Drinks and cards at Angela's house...

Christmas party with work friends!

HUGE family dinners at mom and dad's!

Paul making me breakfast on my trip to meet his family in England...

Catching up with old friends in the UK...

Christmas dinner at my mother and father in laws, Gloucester <3

Drinks with new friends....

Prepping for Star Wars beer pong...

Anytime I get chinese food dates with my little brother...

Cultus Lake with the godparents <3

Our last Christmas living at home...

Christmas bingo!

Hugest burger ever!!!!!

Signing marriage papers....

First birthday cake :)

Picnic with great friends...

Celebrating my graduation with LUNCH! 

Goodbye dinners....

Summer with the English...

Sister and brother in law celebrate 12 years of marriage here!

My wonderful father and father in law..

My 4.5 year old nephew winning beer pong..

Again, Chinese with Julian..mmmm...

Our wedding reception....bliss!

Rest in peace, my wonderful, beautiful Zia Maria <3

Paul meeting the pub crew....Monday mornings, bright and early, beers and chips....

Making perogies with good friends <3

My ring bearers communion...

My brothers graduation...

Dinner with my girls...

I dedicate this blog entry to my wonderful grandmother and to my late aunt Maria, who shared a wonderful dinner with us just days before she passed away. <3