As a child growing up in an Italian household, I became accustomed to enormous amounts of food hitting the table each night. Sunday dinners were even more overwhelming as the entire family descended upon Gram's house for a full five course meal, complete with pastries and a friendly game of poker afterward. Since then, I've gone on to cook for my own family, which was by no means as large as the one I grew up with. I am now cooking for just myself and loving it! I have learned to adapt to new ways and methods of cooking and have simplified my life in the kitchen without sacrifice. I hope to pass these newfound skills on to you in my new cookbook.
This is a photo of my grandmother when she was sixteen years old. I thought it was sweet that Gomez would always lay on the floor next to her photo. This picture of Gomez & Nana's photo was taken in 2005, shortly before she passed away at Thanksgiving. It was a very sad holiday for us both, and continues to be each and every year she is not with us.
Gomez & I have been together for many years, almost 17 to be exact. We started traveling together back in 2004. However we have only been in our Motorhome since 2007. There is just enough room for us both without tripping over each other (well, in the beginning we did a bit of tripping and nose-up-my-butt because he is always right behind me). I love taking trips with him and exploring new parts of this beautiful country. My friends always say that my dog has more miles on him than most humans, lol. Learning to downsize was a bit of a challenge for a person who hates to throw away anything, but I learned to adapt. Not much choice actually. I love this lifestyle. The freedom is unmatched. We have met many special people along the way and hope to meet many more.
Alas, we come to a picture of our kitchen, known as the galley in the RV world. Talk about challenging! Whew! When you are used to having a lot of kitchen space and you end up with only 3 feet of counter space with which to create your recipes, a creative mind is necessary. It's all second hand now and I love my little kitchen.
Actually, by RV standards, I have more space than most. I have a counter that folds out to give me a little bit of extra room. I have a pullout pantry with shelves for all of my canned goods. I also have another pantry (over my washing machine!) for all of my dry goods.
My cabinets are plentiful and deep where I can store my dishware, tupperware, appliances, paper products, etc. I also have 4 drawers (yes, I have a junk drawer like everyone else, lol) where I store all of my precious tools like spatulas, flatware and of course some candles for when I feel like setting a nice table for myself. I also have a side-by-side refrigerator which holds quite a bit of food, except that I can't put that big pan of lasagna in there. Oh well, guess I'll have to come up with a single portion meal for that classic recipe!