I Love my Nonna!!

I apologize in advance if this post gets a little sappy, but what can I say, I LOVE MY NONNA!! As most of you know, my nonna (and most of my family for that matter) lives in Italy and I live in the US. Most of the time, I try not to let the distance between us affect me, but there are other times where all I can think about is how much I miss her and wish more than anything, that she lived down the street from me. Unfortunately, she doesn't and on those rough days, I call her and we chat for hours and that does make me feel a bit better. At the end of the day, I'm just a girl with a big heart and I feel like there is a little hole in my heart that needs to be filled by her hugs and kisses. I do try my best to go visit her as often as I can but as you all know, it's not that easy and can get very pricey. My love for cooking came from her, I remember being a tiny little thing and my nonno (grand pop) making me a wooden stool so I could stand on it right next to her wanting to help and do anything she needed done. The thing about it for me that makes cooking (and eating of course) so special, is how it makes people feel. If you're not feeling well, lay down and I'll make you some soup, if it's your birthday, sit down I'll make you your favorite meal, if it's a Holiday, a big meal is the centerpiece of it, so you get what I'm saying, to me, it's the solution to everything. My nonna is truly passionate about cooking for that exact reason. It's not about impressing someone with your skills, it's about love, comfort, and the joy you get knowing that a simple meal makes people feel that way. When I'm feeling a little down from missing her and the rest of my family, I like to prepare a meal full of my and her favorite dishes to be shared with friends and believe it or not, that really does make me feel so much better! As cliche as this sounds, the kitchen really is the heart of the home and food feeds me in more than one way. I wanted to share a few pictures with you and also a couple recipes that I make non-stop because they make me feel like my nonna is right here with me. 

Nonna, me and Little Laura, my adorable little cousin.

With nonna in our favorite market on Saturday morning, picking up some fresh fruits and veggies.

Making our favorite apple cake, incredibly good!! 

Even though I'm not in this picture, I wanted to share it with you so you can see her teaching my younger cousins to bake, just like she taught me. This picture is so precious to me! 

Here is the episode where we made her apple cake together, you must make this now! 

And of course, I have to share the episode where we made gnocchi together. The very first thing I ever learned to make from her! 

Cheers to all the wonderful nonnas out there!