I knew I had a message for the world when I started to write my first book:
©Come Mia Nonna – A Return To Simplicity.
The book is about cooking in the Pugliese style. It is a cuisine of the South-East Region of Italy called Puglia on the Adriatic Sea. I come from there.
My first goal was to let people know about my Puglia as I have known it and to bring the simplicity of Pugliese food into many American homes.
Yes, there is elegance in simplicity. Food does not have to be outrageously contorted to be sophisticated. Besides, a twenty or thirty minutes cooking time to prepare a delicious Italian meal could be a real convenience to any busy person.
Surprisingly, there are some people who have bought the book and are using it to lose weight. After all the Mediterranean diet has been considered the best and healthier of all nutrition, my ancestors have eaten the kind of food portrayed in my book for centuries , which kept them healthy through their lives, why am I surprised that my book is also serving the purpose of losing weight?
This is good, other than being an attractive book, other than my personal artwork and funny stories, my book is helping people with real struggles.
Losing weight is one of the greatest challenge a person can have and just like everything, there must be an inner desire to want to make changes. Zach, the young man in the video below, is going through this challenge with humor. He is participating in his own life by taking charge and resolving the eating disorder of many years. We will root for Zach until he succeeds. Click on the link below to see the video Zach produced:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZsD-hNG6Po
Zach has been persistent in following all the suggestions that his weight control coach gives him and he diligently prepares food from my book at least three times a week.
He is losing weight while enjoying cooking at home and learning about my Puglia food, such a different type of food he was used to eat.
My book is also cost conscious, ingredients are easy to find in any local supermarket, no need to go to Paris to find them. All recipes are not expensive to produce and being made of a few ingredients, they also help staying on excellent low calories diet.
There are no mayonnaise, no ketchup, no other last-minute invented creams and combinations of not better-identified food.
The main ingredient is olive oil, often a sauce comes from cherry tomatoes, or from wine and garlic combination, lemons and aromatic vinegars are some of the condiments, sweets are mostly made with fruits.
This news from Zach using my book to stay healthy, lose weight and return to simple cooking comes at Easter time, a time to cherish, share and celebrate life, our family and friends and I celebrate you Zach! Thank you so much.
With this book I wanted to give the gift of health, youth and long life just like my ancestors lived with a smile on their face and the red on their cheeks.
Wishing you an Easter filled with joy! Buona Pasqua a tutti! Ciao,
Valentina
Author and Designer
www.Valentinadesigns.com
Copyright © 2011 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved
Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer with a passion for kitchens and cooking. She operates in the USA and Europe. She loves to remodel homes and loves to turn ugly spaces into castles, but especially loves to design kitchens and wine grottos.
She is the author of two Italian regional cuisine books available here in this site on the Books page and in various other locations:
http://outskirtspress.com/ComeMiaNonna
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnq8baaAq0M
http://outskirtspress.com/SinsOfAQueen
