How Mamma Mangia Came to Be

Happy Sunday our IG famiglia. I thought today would be the perfect day to tell our story of how Mamma Mangia came to be.

4 years ago I came to the realization that I was calling my mom almost daily for recipes or cooking help of some sort. I thought, “what will I do when I can’t call her anymore? Or when she can’t call and get a recipe from her siblings? What will happen to all these recipes?” I BEGGED for probably a month and finally convinced her that her ancestors wouldn’t haunt her if she wrote down her sacred recipes. We started our journey of making an heirloom family cookbook filled not only with recipes but with stories, pictures, pedigree charts, and lots and lots of love and sacrifice.

It took 4 YEARS to finish it. I had the honor of making over 100 of these recipes and learning the stories behind each of them. As I continued on this journey I began to feel so incredibly connected to the people whom the recipes belonged to. I felt a power and strength as I worked to preserve their recipes and tell their story through food.

I realized the love of food and family and culture it was instilling in my little 2 and 4 year old daughters. They would beg to make pasta on Sundays and any time I was cooking they wanted to be involved. My husband even joined in and it bonded our tiny family like nothing else could.

After we finished the cookbook, my mom and I cried that this long, difficult, and emotional journey was over. We had worked so hard at preserving this connection with the past and didn’t want to let it go.
I once again approached my mom and convinced her (again) that it would be ok to share some recipes (if you know my mom you know what a big deal this is). We started Mamma Mangia mostly for selfish reasons but also to share our love of famiglia and the power of food in bringing us all together.

SUNDAYS ARE FOR FAMIGLIA