Remembering our Nonna this Mother’s Day

A Sicilian Lifestyle Blog

Connecting through food

What better way to bring people together than through food! This is a key philosophy in the Strazzanti household, even through all the lockdowns, food has brought us together. Sharing photos and exchanging recipes, to even our parents joining us on our virtual live masterclass!

Cooking and baking connects us, and not only through eating but through all the conversations we have shared over a meal and the memories created. Just like this one of our Grandma, Nonna Forte from Naples. What a woman she was, strong, assertive, caring and gentle, a real inspiration and role model to look up to. What better way to celebrate Mothers day than to reminisce about her Italian bakes and create some delicious cakes.

She was an amazing baker, and when we were children we would spend the weekends baking Italian cakes and making pizza from scratch, the Neapolitan pizza.

We so vividly remember the scent of grandma’s cakes, it was like no other cake bake we had smelled before, what was the secret to make it so delicious and moorish we would ask ourselves!

Special moments to be remembered

Emilia who became a professional pastry chef, as she just had to stay connected to this part of grandma, finally at the age of 18 discovered the secret. It was when she was visiting relatives in Naples with grandad Forte, when our cousin asked Emilia to bake a cake with her as she knew how passionate Emilia was about learning the family recipes. And low and behold this tiny blue and green packet of vanilla scented baking powder announced itself from the baking cupboard and once teared open the scent of Grandma’s baking wafted through the air.

Emilia almost in tears, as she got taken back to being that 5 year old girl again realised there and then that this is what baking and cooking creates, special moments to be remembered, nostalgia, a shared experience and memories with others, bringing people together and passing on recipes from one generation to the next.

Share the love with a cake bake or >pasta recipe parcel with one of our family recipes.

We want to be part of your creations too, so remember to tag us so we can share with each other @strazzanti_co #Strazzantiandfriends