The Culinary Diary of a Quarantined Mother - by Valeria Gatti
Review
by Maria Teresa De Donato
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Appetizers, first and
second courses, unique dishes, desserts, and much more is the content of this
work by my friend, colleague, author, and blogger Valeria Gatti.
There are excellent
explanations and advice, presented in the form of ideas and variations, which
can foster our creativity in the kitchen while considering different personal
needs and tastes.
I invited all family
members, including teenagers and children, to participate in the preparation of
the various dishes. Everyone can and is
strongly encouraged to express their artistic side in the kitchen, make
themselves useful and learn while having fun.
However, those who
approach this publication intending to read the usual recipe book will be
greatly surprised. In fact, according to
the author's admission, "this is not a cookbook but the book of a family
in the kitchen." (p. 162)
Reading the Culinary
Diary of a Quarantined Mother (V. Gatti, Edizioni Convalle, 2021) will be a
happy experience, a tasting of exquisite dishes and delicious drinks consumed
at home using, why not, also the services generally reserved for occasions
special 'in a simple, genuine, relaxing, but equally stimulating and above all
full of love for loved ones, for your family.
The idea for the book was
born during the time of quarantine.
Therefore, in a moment of forced isolation with limits and narrowness of
all kinds. This forcing has given some
positive results, missing the hugs of our family and friends, of the
possibility of having an everyday social life and of moving freely, as we have
always been used to.
This, at least, is the
author's perspective: a positive, constructive perspective that led her to a
profound inner journey. "Working
with [puff pastry] is a natural stress reliever, an intimate pleasure, a
journey into ourselves. Pizza is a journey."
(p. 123)
Yes, trying not to be
discouraged, but, on the contrary, doing our best with what we have available
at the moment, adverse circumstances included, turns perspectives upside down
and transforms us from victims into authors of our destiny.
Therefore, the Culinary
Diary of a Quarantined Mother also becomes a book of awareness, awakening
conscience, giving up letting go, losing hope, and feeling without a way out.
"In these days, it
was easy to go back to distant memories, to images and scents that were
fundamental for my growth ..." admits the author. The recipes are not simple: their
preparation, cooking, and tasting are moments of reflection, of introspective
analysis. They are a way and tool to
return to one's roots, regain possession of one's human dimension, and
revolutionize our everyday Life. They
can transform it into a precious treasure to be appreciated and enjoyed in its
most straightforward, genuine, and essential form. We can establish a new balance. Let's go back to understanding that the
things that matter in Life and that we need are extremely few and lie there,
under our eyes: our dearest affections, the love we have for them and that they
have for us, and the mutual appreciation that being together, sharing
peacefully and joyfully the little things, brings.
Quarantine - or any other
unforeseen event potentially able to shake in us what we believed to be
certainties but which have proved to be only conjectures - can represent a
moment of total metamorphosis: changing habits, making changes to our lives,
experiencing things in the family, that
we had always neglected, considering them' external opportunities' and, why
not, opening up to others, sharing, even with those who were not part of the
close circle of family and friends, what we had always kept for ourselves but
which can help them too.
The Culinary Diary of a Quarantined Mother is,
therefore, a book of recipes, growth, and personal development. It's a book that teaches us to share, to love
Life and our family members, and to show human solidarity. Hence, it will thrill you and stimulate
reflection and creativity by bringing a ray of light and a fresh breath of air
to your Life.
It's a book written with
the heart of a woman, wife, mother, and author that I recommend to all readers.
